Ocean Swimming Tips

Before anyone dives into ocean swimming there are a couple of skills which will help you get out through the surf break quickly and efficiently. Getting these skills right will leave you with more energy for swimming and coming back in.

WADING
Wading is the fastest way to enter the water. This should be done in ankle to knee-depth water where it is too deep to run and too shallow to porpoise. Run through the water, lifting your legs up high to side and above the water level. Use your arms to counterbalance and be careful of holes under the surface of the water.

PORPOISING
When the water is too deep to wade, dive forward underwater with hands first, dig hands into the sand and bring your feet forward to where your hands are and then drive forward pushing your legs to come up again and repeat. Do this until it is deep enough to swim if the water then becomes shallow again transition back into porpoising until you can restart swimming.

DUCK-DIVE
As a wave approaches, dive under the water deep and early and stay under either by holding onto the sand or by swimming underwater with breaststroke, butterfly or freestyle kicks and breaststroke arm pulls until the wave has passed. This will prevent you from being dragged back with the wave. Once the wave has passed, your body will naturally pull up to the surface and come up with hands first ready to start swimming.

We hope this tips has helped anyone interested in starting their children with ocean swimming, if you have any questions feel free to get in touch or enrol your kids in one of our ocean programs,contact us here.