Open water swimming is to pool swimming what trail running is to track running and can be a wonderful activity. It is a chance to get out and simply enjoy your surroundings. You can stretch out your stroke and get into a rhythm that you can't achieve when there are walls every 25 or 50 meters.

Be visible: Wear bright coloured clothes so you can be seen by fast moving traffic.

Recommended clothing: T-shirt, sweatshirt, trousers or jeans, windproof rainsuit or anorak and bottoms. Rainwear is a most practical outfit as it dries quickly, doesn't weigh much and protect you from windchill. Depending on it's design it holds more or less water when swimming.

Emergency Crossing

This training simulates an emergency crossing over a river or lake. Sometimes it may be necessary to swim in your clothing and without a buoyancy aid or lifejacket. You may be on a sinking boat, or you are cut off by a rising flood or tide, or you simply want to cross a stretch of open water that is in your way. Whatever may happen, you should practise and prepare for it.
1. Shoes Protect Your Feet.
   Robust shoes and socks should be worn when you train outdoors to avoid injury. Remove heavy boots before swimming which can impair your ability to swim unless you have trained for this.

2. Reduce Initial Waterflow.
   Before you enter the water tighten neck openings and cuffs (arms). This traps air for buoyancy and slows the water soaking your upper body. Eventually the water will find its way in, but you can delay that. How long the water takes to fully saturate your clothing depends on your movement in the water and how watertight your oversuit is at neck, cuffs, waist and leg. On short crossings that can make a difference.

3. Let Water Flow Out.
   Once your clothing is fully saturated, loosen it a bit to allow the water to flow out so it doesn't collect anywhere. The action of swimming tends to cause water to collect within your outer clothing, in sealed cuffs, sealed ankles or boots. This somewhat restricts movement and slows you down.

4. Keep Warm Clothes Dry.
   Cold water will rapidly cause fatigue. Hypothermia will be a major factor to consider prior entering the water. It may be worth removing relatively dry warm under suits prior to the swim and placing them inside a waterproof bag for the duration of the swim. If a fibre pile or fleece suit gets saturated it provides little or no thermal insulation. Take it off and wring it out to expel as much water as possible before you put it back on. This reduces the risk of subsequent hypothermia.

Experience Windchill

For this lesson pick a windy day to experience what windchill is all about and how different clothing layers can protect you.
1. Get dressed in base layer (T-shirt, shorts or running tights). Put on some lightweight sports shoes with socks for comfort. Now go for a swim and notice the extra drag of the shoes that slows your swimming somewhat. Get used to it, many water sports require shoes. When you come out you'll feel the windchill.

2. Quickly add some mid layer clothes, like jeans and a long sleeve sweatshirt or a jogging suit, and jump back into the water. Now you'll be a bit warmer but it also takes somewhat more effort to move. Out of the water, you'll still feel the wind chill, but not as much.

3. Now add the outer layer of windproof or waterproof clothes, like an anorak and matching pants, and hop back into the water. This cuts out the windchill and turns your swimming into heavy training. You'll soon get warmer from the exercise, while you enjoy the rest of your swim. Wrap up in a poncho afterwards.

Equipment Float

Remove any harness, rucksack or webbing belt and put it in a float build from your poncho. If you have flexible tent poles use them as shown on the photo. Close the hood tight and turn it upside down, toss your equipment in it and use it as a mini canoe for river crossings. Push your equipment across the water while you swim.

Equipment carried must not be attached to you. It must be easily discardable if you get into difficulty. Use dry bags, drink bottles or bivi bags to make improvised floatation devices. Extreme caution must be exercised, as loss of this emergency buoyancy in a critical situation may be fatal.

Summer Camp

I have helped run the swim programs at a youth camp for several summers. Very often, the students showed up in their regular clothes for our survival training class. Some even mentioned they didn't know they actually had to swim, (yeah ok!) and asked if they could still participate. Of course they could, that is why we are all there. On most summers, half way through the week everyone came down wearing regular clothes every day.

We showed them how the weight of the clothes would help build up their strength. One test we also do is the survival clothes inflation. Aside from all that, not only the instructors but the students as well noticed how much easier it was to swim in their swimsuits, but a lot more fun in clothes.

Michael from Montana, USA