Define "Competent" Swimmer

[headmount]

A few have brought up pool vs ocean speed but what also true is the different style needed out in the ocean if it's not mill pond glass. 

On windy days I'm breathing on the best side for a downwind angle.  If dead downwind, I turn across a bit each time I take a breath.  Inhaling some slop won;t do you any good. 

Also you need to lift your head more to check out where you're going because ocean currents can be more significant than your swim speed.  Sizing that up, you need to think and make a strategy for vectoring your direction.  Plug away and check again to see how your progress is.

[headmount]

How do you cancel repeats?

[WhatsSUP]

SlatchJim:  NICE!!!!  I'm sure your boy was delighted to find himself in the top of the group in the open water beach guard swim!! Good on him!  You're a brave man to have put a used car on the line against a 17 year old!!!!!  Bold move!   

pdxmike:  Interesting!!!!  I have already started to notice my freestyle stroke is getting out of sorts (pulling to one side) in that I've only been breathing on my strong (right side) every .  Tomorrow's pool session will DEFINITELY be laps whereby I start breathing (both sides, or lateral) even though I fully expect to be doing mostly side, breast, and back when I  start getting into Bay and open water stuff!

[SuppaTime]

I swim side stroke almost exclusively while surfing or wind surfing and going for distance. Sprinting I will crawl. If I am swimming laps off the beach I will put on goggles and do the crawl. But for windsurfing, the easiest way to self-rescue with a broken mast/boom/whatever is side stroke with one hand on the nose of the board. Paddling the boards lying on rolled-up gear does not work, for me at least. I haven't had to self-rescue with a SUP but I assume I would side-stroke it in if the board was no longer functional.

One advantage to the side-stroke is visibility. Last thing I want is to get run over by a kiter, surfer, windsurfer, jet ski, or (in the Columbia River) a big nasty barge.

Note to self: Sew one of those paddle-loops in my board shorts.

[SCruzSUPr]

One advantage to the side-stroke is visibility. Last thing I want is to get run over by a kiter, surfer, windsurfer, jet ski, or (in the Columbia River) a big nasty barge.

Note to self: Sew one of those paddle-loops in my board shorts.

Wow today this thread became quite relevant.  I was at Privates, gunning for a nice big wave, when I wiped out and my leash broke.  I watched my board topsy-turvy its way to the inside in a great big hurry, and found myself... with no means of transportation but me arms n legs...  about 300 yards out.  Suppa Time - +1 on that sidestroke!  Slow, but didn't get winded and had a fix on that board.  Visibility is a good thing, but it doesn't save you when you are on the inside, from the rinse cycle. 

All's well that ends well, though.  Lots of wonderful rides, understanding (well, at least not bellyaching) proners. And I'm home in good shape.

paddle loop woulda been nice....

[supdiscobay]

Waves looked great today in Santa Cruz.  Nice west swell hit everywhere well.  Not surprised by a broken leash out there.  I had my first broken leash in over 10 years, prone surfing at Oxnard Shores last weekend.  I was lucky the shore pound didn't break my board.  I replace it every so often and always have a newer big wave leash for bigger days on my Stand Up. Sounds like you and the board were ok.

I was able to duck under white water and it wasn't a long swim.  But I did get rolled pretty good in the shore break.  Sometimes you think you got it and then that sneaker pops up and bites you.

[The Kernel]

This is a timely thread as last week I started swimming at my gym in place of a regular workout. I decided that it would serve multiple purposes. I have always felt that you can never have enough swimming experience and when it goes bad, really bad, all you're left with is you. When I lived in New England, I played underwater hockey on a consistent basis. This was the best training, short of formal free diving training and big wave survival training, that you can do. If you don't know what underwater hockey is, there's plenty of videos online that make it look as ridiculous and stupid as it sounds but it's a hell of a workout and forces you to work on your breath hold and stay calm underwater for as long as possible. If you play with guys who know what they're doing, it can get pretty intense, fins, sticks and arms everywhere, hitting you in the face, in the back, water splashing everywhere, etc., all the while you are trying to hold your breath and slide a lead puck into a goal. It's been a year and a half since I last played and I can feel it. I feel it when I surf in bigger waves and I've most definitely felt it in the pool the past 2 weeks when I've realized I'm not as strong at swimming as I think I am.

I also miss wearing rubber from head to toe, for the reasons that Creek pointed out. Much easier to float then swim. Full winter getups give you that extra buoyancy which can be nice.

kayadogg:

Wow....that is effing cool!  Yet another post on the Zone that has opened my mind to a new concept.  What a great way to build up the ability to stay calm under "pressure" so to speak. 

Here's a quick link to a short vid on it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve8ojyXoY2M

This is exactly the type of training I need....Functional AND fun!  Obvious to see how it could translate back to keeping one's cool in the surf zone. 

If anyone wants to try this locally here in SoCal, I am game!

Reviving this topic to add a personal anecdote after Kayadogg's underwater hockey suggestion....

Finally played a hack underwater hockey game with the kids and my neighbors and their kids in my inlaws' pool.  We had a blast.  We used paint stirring sticks and other pieces of scrap wood to push around a "puck" that was actually a small toy rubber crab filled with BB's, with some weighted pool rings as goals.  The kids were 5-7 years old and played against me and another dad in the shallow end. 

So it was just a test to see how fun it was and to see if it was useful cross training.  Wins on both counts.  Now I'm looking at making some better sticks and getting a real puck and pushing this much further.  Overall, more fun than one could imagine in breath holding/remaining calm under water training.  The neighbors are a couple of medical doctors, and while initially amused/skeptical at my suggestion that we play, they were fully bought in by the benefits and fun we had.

My daughter is five and looks like a mermaid swimming underwater; with blonde hair floating behind her while she smiles mischievously as she whacks the puck away when you think you are going to score on her.   She loves to ruin your day, then she laughs in your face if you happen to surface for air at the same time with her.  I hope to remember that for years, but maybe will get the GoPro into action so I can capture some footage to be used at the rehearsal dinner when she gets married in 25 years or so.

We're gonna get all kinds of mileage out of this in terms of underwater confidence and fun....direct applicability to surf survival training.

Thanks Kayadogg!

[SUPJorge]

Sounds like a blast!