And if you have hair long enough to cover your face in the water, a swim cap will also ensure your line of vision remains clear and “that you’re not coming up gasping for air and having a chunk of hair in your mouth,” McLarty says. Pro tip: Put your goggles on first and then your cap to minimize the chance that the goggles fly off from the force of a big wave.
McLarty also recommends a SaferSwimmer buoy, a small neon inflatable pouch that you can wear with a waist belt so that it floats above your thighs while you’re swimming (belly down). Not only does the bright color allow you to be easily seen by people watching from the shoreline, but also, if you get tired while you’re out in the open water or get swept up in waves or a current, you can grab onto it as a floatation aid.
Navigate under—not over—breaking waves as you swim out.
The waves that crash and spray near the shoreline can be deceiving. What you see from the beach is just the tops of those waves; what you don’t see is that, if water at the surface is coming into shore, the water that already hit the sand is also flowing back out to sea beneath, McLarty says. So as you get into waist-deep water, you want to use the force of the undertow—which is rushing in the direction you want to go—to move forward, versus fighting against the tops of breaking waves by trying to push through or swim over them.
In practice, this is called “dolphin diving”: When you see a breaking wave pummeling toward you, you’ll dive below it and ride the outgoing current until the wave crashes, and then you can pop up on the other side. While you’re bobbing down and up through consecutive waves, it’s easiest to use a breaststroke, McLarty says, so you can get your head fully out of the water for visibility during each pause in the action.
Once you’re past the breaking waves, let yourself flow over the rolling ones.
After you dolphin-dive your way through all the foam, assuming the conditions are calm (again, green flag!), you can start swimming how you might in any other body of water—freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, you name it. Keep going for about 10 yards (there might be a rogue wave that breaks earlier) and then turn parallel to the shore, McLarty says.
The waves at this point will be bigger and slower rolling ones that you want to rise and fall with, McLarty says. If you’re doing a freestyle stroke, it’s also smart to swim in the direction that allows you to breathe and look at the coast (for instance, right-side breathers should keep the sand to their right), so you have an easier time maintaining a consistent distance—and avoid drifting off into the horizon, she adds.
But if you ever pop up to breathe and all you can see is water in every direction, don’t panic; chances are, you’re just in the trough (or the low point) between the waves, McLarty says. Before long, you’ll start cruising up the next wave and cresting over the top, where you’ll have a better view of everything around you (including the coast).
If you get caught in a rip current, your priority is to stay calm.
It’s tough to spot a rip current—a fast-moving channel of water heading away from shore—until you’re stuck in one. Before you wade into the water (and while you’re swimming!) keep an eye out for a column of churning or choppy water, a line of seaweed or debris moving toward the horizon, or an area that is noticeably different in color (including a swath that’s either darker or lighter than its surroundings), Fisher says.
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