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Sea swimming on holiday tips
Tired Badger
Pirate › ✭✭✭
in Triathlon
I'm off on holipops in a few week and would like to keep up my swim training as well as run training. Any tips on sea swimming in a location that is not life guard managed?
I was planning on wading out to waist deep then swimming along the coast whilst my partner walked along side, I'll check locally for incoming / outcoming tide but I've normally just got in and swam in the UK, I think I'm only worried because of it being in foreign country.
Thoughts?
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Where are you going TB? Swimming along the shore is a good plan but as you say you need to be wary of tide but more important is any currents.
Sheltered bays will be less risky and avoid swimming off of headlands! I went snorkling off Lanzarotte by the Lighthouse at the South West tip near Playa Blanca a few years ago and nearly didn't get back to shore even with fins on!
If you do get caught in a current swim across it not directly against it, it may take longer to get to shore but you will have a chance of not getting too tired in the process.
Unless you are going to the tropics I would also take your wetsuit as this will help.
Happy holidays
pay significant attention to where boats and jet skis launch, and where they operate.... they are often careless in keeping an eye out for swimmers, and reckless in the pace at which they operate.
In my experience, in many holiday destinations, there are beaches with roped off areas for swimming.... they aren't necessarily lifeguarded, but they are safer from other water users.
Stick to the hotel pool, running and the pool bar.
I'm going to Vale Do Lobo in Portugal, I was planning on taking my wettie, unfortunately no hotel pool for laps. Family villa with a "play pool" Thanks for the responses I'll keep the currents and water sports in mind.
Don't forget to swim on other side if you going abroad
Last year when we were practising sea swimming in the UK I invested in one of those chillswim tow floats. They make you so much more visible and are handy to hang onto if you get a bit out of puff or nervous and need to regroup.
I had thought about one of those pull tow floats, hmmmm another thing for the tri bag excellent
I'm going to have enough trouble driving without swimming back to front
Get one of those 'strap on's', no not one of those! thats a rudder! A strap sharks fin! , walking the shark would be so much cooler than walking the dog
If you can't get back because of a current it's proably a riptide. Just swim perpendicular to the beach until you can swim in. Just google riptides. The main thing is to not fight them and don't panic.
the beaches in the south of Portugal are fairly calm - it is the west and north that are more dangerous. Some of the beaches in the south have lifeguards too, but don't rely on them. So long as you aren't too far from shore you should be ok
A lot of these resorts will have tri training camps at some places a tri club of their own, join an organised group ... safest way
Just as an update, I bought one of the chill swim floats and it worked brilliantly, I was able to run to the coast from the villa with a backpack containing the float my wetsuit and other swim kit. get changed on the beach and put the backpack and run trainers in the float. I swam for an hour along the coast and then had dry run trainers to put on for the run back. It was also great for resting on when I had just got through the breaking waves.