How often do i sight in an open water free style swim?

Question

is there a stroke count that works best? for example, should i look for land marks every 6 strokes or every 10 strokes or every 15. Whats the general rule of thumb?

Answer 1

i don't understand your question  

Answer 2

Excellent question.

Answer?  Well that depends.

If you're leading the pack then you have to 'sight' on your own. This usually means 6-10 strokes to begin with and once you're out in open water you can increase this to 15 or so. This is only a suggestion as some swimmers swim straighter than others.

If you're not the leader then it's a good strategy to 'draft' off someone who is slightly faster than you and let them take care of the 'sighting' duties. The problem here is locating a reliable person to draft off of. This usually takes care of itself in the first 400 meters or so as competitors fall into little 'packs'. There's a second issue in drafting though. It's called trust. If you're letting someone else do the work of 'sighting' then you have to trust they don't lead you astray. You might want to pop your head up, in this situation, once in a while (every minute) to make sure you're still swimming straight.

I hope this helps in your next race.

Answer 3

while training do 3 to 5  strokes

if sprinting hold  your breath as much as you can

Answer 4

It depends on the swim. For me, if the swim is crowded and I'm getting jostled around, I tend to sight every 4 strokes. If I'm really in a good groove and drafting someone, I might go as many as 20 strokes without sighting.

The real answer is: not so much that you sacrifice stroke efficiency but not so little that you swim off course.

p.s. I swam a 1500 meter open water race tonight, and for much of the race I sighted every 8 strokes. I think another factor to consider is how close together the bouys are spaced. On the course I was on, the bouys are as much as 300 meters apart. When the bouys are far apart like that, you can go well off course if you don't sight (and make needed course corrections) often.

Answer 5

Do you mean lift your head and look around if  many Jaws are around?

In that case, you must conserve your energy and swim slow and easy breast-stroke. Remember to wear an un-tinted pair of goggles. You use your front-crawl to swim to safety when you confront sharky dangers. And keep close to shore, pref in waist to chest-high water. A large swimming crowd gives one a higher chance of any form of survival, too!.

Hope the tips help you to return and swim another day.... :-p