When the ocean wins

[crazycanuck]

I entered an event http://www.busseltonjettyswim.org.au/index.html and prepared by swimming in the pool & ocean *. I wanted a challenge & thought I could do it. I'd only ever done a few 1.6km OWS's and had no idea how i'd complete it

It's been quite windy the past few days & thought nothing of it . Wind dies down all the time, right?! Urm..no..

I showed up at the start this morning & thought "ok,it's windy but i'll give this a shot". I saw the white caps & tried to ignore them.

Our wave sets off and I immediately think..go away waves..go away...Swim swim swim..wave..swallow water..wave..swallow water. Breastroke for some reason & try to calm down.. Ok, past first silver bouy..Swim swim..swallow water..
This is crazy..what am i doing trying to battle waves & wind when i have no clue how. Will i even make it to the end of the jetty? Should i? We're swimming into the ocean and back, not along it..I swam for a little bit more but then realized i'm not a strong ocean swimmer esp in the conditions that we had.

I put my hand up & waited for one of the volunteer paddlers to come and speak to me. I pulled out. I felt like such a failure. Then again, it's not cool to drown on a Sunday . I can assure you I wasn't the only one keeping the Surf Lifesavers on thier toes!

I would love to try it again but i think i might do it as part of a team. I think i'll beg & plead anyone(that's a good swimmer) with a kayak to teach me how to handle these types of conditions. I need to spend time treading water about 1km from shore somehow...ANy other ideas?

Perhaps I just need to toughen up even more. I mean i'm a tough chick but when it comes to natural elements, I feel I fight a losing battle.

I just hope when I do it again, the weather is much better than it was today.

[OakLeaf]

You've got my respect for getting in at all. I'm terrified of the ocean.

If there aren't any ocean swimming lessons in your area, are there surfing lessons? Even if you're not particularly interested in surfing, the first thing they teach you is how to read the water and what to do if you need to swim for shore.

[bmccasland]

Yay to you for trying! And you're right, it's not good to drown, on any day. Besides, we, your ever-lov'in friends, wouldn't forgive you!

[hebe]

You're not a failure at all! You're a star for trying, for doing some preparation, and for being wise enough to pull out when conditions were against you. Respect from me too.

[spokewench]

I have more respect for you than you can imagine. I hate, hate, hate water and when it's rough, I'm running the other way! Good on you for trying. I took surf lessons for a week and learned to surf. That was my big adventure with the ocean. It was scary, uncomfortable and nerve racking for me.

I'm really proud of you for trying and don't give up. If you want to do this, you can do this!

[channlluv]

Bravo for trying! I'm with the rest of the people whom the ocean makes nervous. I got caught in a riptide as a kid and barely made it back in. And I saw JAWS at an impressionable age. damnstevenspielberg

I love the ocean, but swimming in it makes me really, really nervous, even under beautiful conditions. Good on'ya for getting out there at all.

Roxy