Lauren Allen
Walking into the Salish Sea, you pee when the water hits your waist. A reflex to the cold. You take your time cleaning your goggles with spit and salt water. Stalling. Your buddies dive in, and you follow. As your head dips below the water, you hyperventilate. Another reflex; don’t panic. Your breathing quickly normalizes. You start swimming. The cold feels like little knives all over your skin. After thirty strokes, your skin is the same temperature as the water.
The pain is gone, replaced by a deep calm.
A flounder’s eyes protrude from its sand burrow. Dungeness crabs scuttle. A lion’s mane jellyfish bobs with the current. You swim a wide arc around the long tentacles. Your turnaround is the marina wall, tiled with barnacles and crawling with kelp crabs. The water is thick with fish seeking haven in its shadows. On the way back, you swim with the current and it feels like flying.
Stepping out of the water, it’s windy, so you move fast. It’s important to get into dry clothes before you get too cold. You change under a towel. Then it hits – full body shivering, teeth chattering as the sea-cold blood from your extremities circulates through your core.
It will only last a few minutes. Then… a deeper calm.
Lauren with swim buoy and snorkel. Photo by Gabriel Esparza-Romero.
What is open water swimming?
Open water swimming is swimming in any body of water outside of lifeguarded areas. Washington offers several great places to open water swim, including the Salish Sea (also known as Puget Sound), Lake Washington, Green Lake, Lake Ballinger, and more.
The benefits of open water swimming are numerous. For one, swimming is great exercise and gentle on the body. Alternating swimming with mountaineering can reduce wear and tear, especially on the knees. Additionally, you can modify your stroke to accommodate various conditions. For example, when I tore my elbow cartilage, I rested my arms and only kicked. When I tore my ACL, I used a pull buoy to rest my legs and only paddled with my arms.
I originally started swimming as exercise when I broke my foot. I began in a pool. Lap swimming was convenient, but it wasn’t exciting, and swimming back and forth felt akin to being locked in a cage. I didn’t enjoy the crowds, the occasional kick to the stomach, the fear of foot fungus, nor the reek of chlorine. Sea swimming is much more invigorating, and if you’re already injured – like I was – cold water offers pleasant pain relief.
Cold water scares many people away from open water swimming but should be one of the biggest draws. Aside from pain relief, cold water elicits what’s called “the mammalian dive reflex,” a slowing of the heart rate which helps the body conserve oxygen. A mere twenty minutes of swimming in cold water offers equivalent endorphins to a runner’s high, without the high impact.
Once I embraced the cold, I found a warm and welcoming open water swimming community. Open water swimmers look out for each other and enjoy one another’s company, often going out for coffee after swims. There’s a shared, celebratory feeling when we move together in nature – similar to Mountaineers climbs.
Egg yolk jellyfish pack an unpleasant sting. Photo by Mary Sue Balazic.
Mary Sue demonstrates the harmless beauty of moon jellyfish. Photo by Mary Sue Balazic.
How to swim safely in the open water
Like any outdoor pursuit, there are serious risks to open water swimming, such as drowning, boat collisions, and hyperthermia. Be prepared, so that you can navigate the sea mindfully and stay safe.
Consider lessons
You want to be a strong pool swimmer before you brave the open water. Once you know the basics, lessons can improve your technique, speed, and help avoid injuries. You don’t have to be a beginner to take lessons and advance your skills.
Find a group
Never swim alone. Find Mountaineers friends to accompany you on your swims by swimming with you, kayaking beside you, or watching you from the shore. Facebook and meetup.com are also great places to find open water swim groups such as Seattle Open Water Swimmers and North Sound Swimmers.
Start slow
Cold water requires an adjustment period. Start by simply standing in the Sound. When you are ready to try swimming, spend time acclimating to the water. Walk out and stand for a couple minutes. Then dunk your head. Hyperventilation is a common reflex to full submersion in cold water. Wait until your breathing normalizes before you start swimming. Swim for short periods of time and slowly add more minutes. Be sure to get out of the water before you feel like you need to.
Respect wildlife
The same rules of Leave No Trace apply underwater. Keep fifty yards away from marine mammals. Curious seals or sea lions may swim up to you. Don’t touch them. White and clear jellyfish (such as moon and crystal jellies) are harmless to humans. Avoid all colored jellyfish. Egg yolk and lion’s mane jellies pack painful stings. These jellies are usually yellow, orange, or red. If you get stung, rinse the affected area with vinegar at the beach, then take a hot bath at home. Many folks prefer to wear wetsuits in the summer for protection against jellyfish.
Do your research
Bacteria occasionally makes beaches unsafe. Monitor current water quality for lakes and beaches by looking up bacteria levels on King County and Department of Ecology webpages. Check the weather and don’t swim if there is forecasted lightning or high wind. NOAA has regular tide and current predictions on their website. If you are not sure how to interpret tide charts, swim with an experienced buddy who can teach you. As for location, it’s best to swim at a shallow beach like Alki or Golden Gardens where you can get out of the water easily in case of an emergency.
Warm layers and hot drinks are essential post-swim, especially in the winter. Photo by Gabriel Esparza-Romero.
Moon snails are often larger than footballs. Photo by Mary Sue Balazic.
Equipment
In addition to a towel and bathing suit, you’ll need the following:
A brightly colored swim buoy. The bright color will increase your visibility for boats. If you buy a buoy with a pocket, you can swim with your car keys, wallet, and phone. Some buoys have compartments for hydration or a snack. While buoys are not life-saving devices, you can take a break from swimming by floating on your buoy.
A whistle. Essential in case of emergency, whistles are built into many swim buoys, or you can buy them separately.
A watch. Watches are useful in helping you turn around before you get too cold.
Goggles or a mask. Wildlife spotting is a big part of why I open water swim, so I like to use a snorkel and mask. I often spot wildlife that goggle-wearing swimmers miss. Whichever you choose, make sure the lenses come with UV protection.
A brightly colored swim cap. Like the buoy, the bright color will make you more visible. The cap will keep you warmer and keep hair off your face.
Earplugs. Repeated exposure to cold water can cause hearing loss, a condition known as “surfer’s ear.” Earplugs help prevent this and reduce risk of ear infections. If water does get into your ear canal, dry it up with products such as Swim-Ear.
Optional gear
Wetsuit. In addition to warmth and jellyfish protection, wetsuits increase your buoyancy, which makes swimming easier. Make sure to buy a wetsuit designed for swimming, as surfing and kayaking wetsuits restrict movement. Use a non-greasy product such as Body Glide to prevent chafing.
Neoprene gloves, booties, and hood. Along with added warmth, wearing gloves while putting on your wetsuit will prevent accidental tears in the neoprene. Booties help protect your feet from rocks and other sharp objects.
A changing garment. Getting out of your suit and into dry clothes right away will minimize hypothermia. Often this means changing in public. Lots of folks will change under a towel, but I find my coordination isn’t great after a cold swim. I pull a long skirt up to my armpits and change under it. There are also changing robes on the market for this purpose.
A warm drink. Enjoying a warm beverage – like a thermos of hot cocoa – after swimming will warm your body quicker and give you something to look forward to in the cold.
The online article was updated to revise notes on anti-chafing products.
This article originally appeared in our fall 2024 issue of Mountaineer magazine. To view the original article in magazine form and read more stories from our publication, visit our magazine archive.
