Open water newbie

The Don Burns CDM swim is a fun swim, and pretty easy to navigate. The water temps have been warmer this year (just did a series of 4 swims in Huntington Beach this a.m.), and I think CDM tends to be on the warm-ish side by August. As Fresnoid notes, the best open water swimmers tend to have a higher stroke rate to avoid getting battered by chop and wind. And while sighting isn't such a big deal at the CDM swim, the Newport Pier to Pier swim (as well as several other area swims like the Seal Beach Rough Water, Dwight Crum Pier to Pier in the South Bay, Gatorman-La Jolla Rough Water) does require some good sighting skills to make the shortest distance from point A to point B. In any event, have fun -- the open water swims out here have a good vibe and it's nice to enjoy our ocean this way.

Thanks Fresnoid, Yes, I plan on doing some open water swimming workouts between now and the actual swim. I am hoping to buddy up with the open water swimmers from Seal Beach (Sea Monkeys), Cal State Long Beach Masters, or the Newport Beach Lifeguard Swim Club. Fortunately for me I work in Costa Mesa, CA, so I could drive down to Carona del Mar after work (about 15 minutes) and do some actual swims down at the beach. I am going to have to change up my double dip and/or triple dip weekends (I do two or three pool workouts in one day) to include some ocean time. I have been told the ocean has been pretty warm this year. Lucky me. My Long Beach swim colleagues are all focused on Mission Viejo and IGLA, so no help from them. :-(

I will try the waters this Friday afternoon. I had already scheduled to leave work early on Friday, so I will just change my plans and drive to Carona del Mar and swim a mile or so. At the very least begin getting acclimated to the water temp. The water in the pool where I swam yesterday was cooler than it usually is so good for me on getting cooler temps. Personally not a big fan of jumping right into the pool, I usually ease my way in. Will have to change my water entry and deal with it.

What types of goggles do you OW folks prefer. I am not referring to which brand. Do you prefer lenses that are clear, smoked, polarized, blue, polarized red, plain old polarized, polarized amber etc. I got back in the ocean again today (Corona del Mar) and used polarized amber goggles. I thought they were great. I could see quite good below the water line. It was actually hilarious, orange swim brief, orange goggles, orange swim cap. I working on it here. It took me about 10 minutes to acclimate to the water temp. The water was 68F. I am getting a little more comfortable being in the ocean and swimming.

Middle of day, outside, I prefer smoked or mirrored. But if I'm swimming in an event in which I need to sight the buoys, I've found blue is the only color in which I can adequately sight them. Still have issues if I have to look into the sun, but red and amber wash the buoys out of sight, and the smoked makes it difficult for me to see in the early morning light that is typical.

What no one told me about Open Water Swimming. 1) swimming in a bay is not the same as swimming in the ocean; 2) swimming directly into the ocean towards deep sea, is not the same as swimming along the shore behind the waves; 3) swimming in the ocean varies considerably from beach to beach; 4) you will feel more comfortable swimming in a group, rather than swimming by yourself; 5) ocean swimming is a different kind of swimming that requires an approach all its own, mind, body, technique; 6) my appreciation/respect for Diana Nyad, and others like her (ocean/distance swimming) has gone through the roof; What happened this weekend that enlightened me? I joined a group of 30 swimmers and who did the following: A) swam around the Balboa Pier; B) swam around the Newport Beach Pier; C) swam around the Huntington Beach Pier: D) swam around the Seal Beach Pier; All in one morning. The bus left at 8:00 am, we were done by 12:00 noon. I only swam around the fist two piers as thats were my comfort level was at. Will I repeat this event next year. YES!!! This group of swimmers was the most supportive of any group of swimmers I have ever encountered in my four years of swimming. This group of swimmers included: pool swimmers, open water swimmers, three lifeguards, two olympians (water polo); two father/son, three swimmers from the #2 swim team in the PAC 12, a few US Masters Swimmers (3 clubs representated), and an assortment of others made up the rest. Some of these swimmers have swum from Catalina Island to San Pedro/Long Beach. This is/was a very accomplished group of swimmers. I was very fortunate to be asked to join them. I am very glad I took them up on their offer. Was this an official swim? No, it was not sanctioned, or recognized. This was all for fun, and what a fun time it was! Have I been converted to Open Water swimming? No. I will continue to swim in pools and compete at USMS pool events. I will, however, while the water is still warm, I will add open water swimming to my workouts on a regular basis. I will swim in bays, and in the ocean. The next time I show up at a swimming event with my arm floaties this group of swimmers will say "right on!", while that other group of swimmers will say "OMG that is not how swimmers are suppose to behave. Don't dress like that.". I say relax, you are taking swimming way too seriously, and I've already defeated you mentally. What did this group of swimmers chant at the end of the day? "Four More Piers" "Four More Piers" "Four More Piers" "Four More Piers" Thank you folks for allowing me to join you on this aquatic adventure.

Middle of day, outside, I prefer smoked or mirrored. But if I'm swimming in an event in which I need to sight the buoys, I've found blue is the only color in which I can adequately sight them. Still have issues if I have to look into the sun, but red and amber wash the buoys out of sight, and the smoked makes it difficult for me to see in the early morning light that is typical. I like an amber lens. It almost mimicks polarized (but cheaper) and they are generally not too dark, so there is no problem sighting buoys. BUT for in-pool training, a clear lens is all I need. You can get a Swedish set that comes with a couple lens types to give you an idea of what you'd like. www.aquagear.com/.../