Open water accidents you've experienced?

A few years ago,.I swam out from the La Jolla Cove on a January afternoon,...in a wetsuit,...about a half mile out, the wetsuit came unzipped,..I thought I was dragging a Coke machine. Fortunaltely I was able to find the lanyard and get zipped up...normally I need assistance on land getting zipped up. On another occasion the zipper jammed and I could not get out,..I was overheating and went back into the water,...a life guard used a Leatherman, and got the zipper down. True story! It was a message to me from God to not wear a wetsuit.

I've been OW swimming for 11 years and have only had one mentionable "accident". In early May of this year, I was swimming in L.I. Sound. It was a cloudy day, but I didn't think anything of it as I went out to do my normal swim which takes me about 1/4 mile from shore at the furthest point. When I reached the 1/4 mile buoy, I turned around and saw that a thick fog had rolled in and I couldn't see shore. At that point I thought it was exciting. I changed my mind when I began swimming back to shore and realized I could see anything but water and the fog all around me. After a few minutes swimming I was relieved to see the shore buoy coming into sight through the fog, but quickly became horrified when I realized it was the same buoy I had left minutes before. Somehow I had gone in a circle. This was probably the only time I have ever truly been frightened in open water swimming; the water was cold (in the low 50s) and I knew that if I kept swimming around I was just going to get tired. So I hung out at the buoy. Fortunately a boat came along a few minutes later and I was got a ride back to shore. When I did I realized I had hurt my ring finger on one hand. It was swollen, but I assumed it was a sprain since it didn't hurt and I had no idea how it had happened. A few weeks later, when it still hurt, I went to the doctor and found I had broken the finger - I guess while I was climbing onto the boat. It has since healed, eeven though I have slightly less range of motion in that finger. So that's my story about open water injuries. Not too likely to happen to anyone else, though I suppose I have learned a lesson about fog...still, with all the enjoyment I've gotten from OWS in the past decade (my favorite thing in life), it's still worth it.

Thanks Bobinator. The mostly likely accident for me must be leaking goggles. Quite often it leaks after just one or two laps in the pool.:shakeshead:

On another occasion the zipper jammed and I could not get out,..I was overheating and went back into the water,...a life guard used a Leatherman, and got the zipper down. True story! :rofl: There are more ways lifeguards save lives! Ron, you can run an anti-wetsuit ad :D

How about bringing a waterproof compass? Yeah, that would have been awesome! I've never really used a compass before but in that situation (fog) I think I could have made it work. I really did come close to panic for a brief moment in the fog, but a really focused part took over almost immediately. And, yes, I was trying to climb atop that buoy and sit on it but it kept tipping over.

I have only done lake ow swims (Lake Michigan, Erie, and smaller lakes around here) and never used a wetsuit. It sounds to me like ocean ow adds another dimension with a lot of variables to it.

And if you had the rare chance to see what the inside of the stomach of a shark was like that would be exciting to hear :D I was joking, but read this story and take a look at the picture, would you not hesitate to swim in the ocean? :eek:

I was joking, but read this story and take a look at the picture, would you not hesitate to swim in the ocean? :eek: I have to admit that reported shark attacks on NJ beaches within weeks preceding my first ocean swim race did nothing to calm my fears. But I reasoned to myself, things can happen anywhere--a tree limb can fall on me while walking down a street. I was quite grateful, though, not to learn until after I did that swim that a friend mentioned he'd almost turned around when he "saw something in the water" near him that (although I didn't ask him what that something was) might have been a shark. He continued, unharmed. It's always in the back of my mind in ow swims... in my long bay swim, I felt something rough brush against my leg... never figured out what it was, didn't stop to look... some stuff I just don't want to know. :eek:

Whoa, I take back what I said about ow being safe! :applaud:

Several things: 1) Getting my hand/arm caught in an abandoned crab trap in shallow water towards the end of a 5 mile race. Nearly had a heart attack as it felt like something grabbed me. 2) Near accident: During 10k, having a powerboat almost run me over and then cutting in front of me so closely that I got a lung full of exhaust and a mouth full of engine crud which lead to vomiting. 3) Not an accident, but... Having my urinary tract shut down during the MIMS race and having to drop out and go to the hospital to be catheterized. 4) Getting a fish-hook in the foot at the end of a race in the Lehigh River. 5) Being thrown backwards by a wave at the start of a 5k and hitting a teenage girl in the process, practically knocking her unconscious. I had to drag her out of the surf as she was pretty out-of-it. 6) Not an accident at all: At the same race as #5, standing on the sidewalk while waiting for the bus to the start and having some woman who was just passing-by grab my butt. 7) Having a kayaker run over me completely at the very end of the Little Red Lighthouse swim. 8) During the Boston Light swim, my brother, who is an ex-college football player, throw my water bottle to me much too hard and smash me in the face. He thought he had to throw it like a pass and I would catch it. 9) Having a large chunk of floating wood clobber me in the head at an Atlantic City ocean race. -LBJ