When and Where:
If you’re new: we swim all year round. We do not have swims during the Pacific Airshow. This is usually late September/ early October.
If there is rain within 72 hours of a swim, we will cancel the swim. We have also cancelled due to oil spills (not kidding). If you’ve any doubt, you can check the events calendar here. The only other conditions that might cancel a swim are fog. Even with medium fog, it should be safe enough to swim. That way, we’re within 150 yards of the shore at all times. If it looks like visibility is less than 200 yards, we won’t swim.
There are some Saturdays we don’t meet. When in doubt, check the events calendar.
Signal Group Chat
Once you’ve attended a swim, you can access our group chat on Signal. There we discuss conditions, plan swims, chat about different swim & triathlon events. We even have a chat for Other Than Saturday Swims (OTSS). There are more chats, but those are the main 2.
Minimum Standards for Safe Open Water Swimming
Be sure to meet our minimum standards: you must be able to swim 300 yards without stopping, swim ~1,000 yards during one session, and pay attention to verbal directions. You’ll probably want to exceed the minimums. The stronger swimmer you are, the easier ocean swimming will be for you.
*Some have asked me about these standards. To swim beyond the breakers can take up to 250+ yards. This is how it is. Unless you have some sort of deal with Poseidon, you will have to be prepared. If you step foot in the ocean and want to swim with us, you’ll have to be able to swim beyond the breakers. Additionally, our shorter swims are at least ~900 yards. So, you’ll need to keep up. Thus, the minimum standards.
Fins
We are fin-friendly. Many of our swimmers wear fins. Also, we are tow-float / swim buoy friendly as well. Just listen to instructions on the beach about how to manage your swim buoy in bigger waves.
The average HB conditions at City Tower 9 include 2-3′ waves. That’s fine for a beginner. If you want more details, you can check Surfline. They not only have a decently accurate forecast, but they also have a camera live-streaming 24/7 on our location. It’s from a camera atop the Pasea Hotel. Sometimes it can be a little foggy. If you can see the outline of the top of a palm tree in the lower left corner of the frame of the camera, visibility should be fine.
Absolutely be sure to do your due diligence in reading what you can on the site. Almost guaranteed 98% of your questions are answered within a 5-10 minute read of the site.
Where do we swim?
Tower 9 in HB is our start/end location. If we have swims elsewhere, we’ll be sure to post the location.
What is your swim season?
All year long. There are specific dates we won’t swim, such as the Pacific Airshow and within 3 days of a rain. You can check the future events calendar for details. Once you’ve attended a swim, you can have a link to our Signal chat. We go into more detail about upcoming swims, swimming conditions, and other swimming events there.
What kind of swims do you do?
Glad you asked. Click here.
What about the waves?
We duck-dive to avoid the impact of the waves. If you’re a surfer, you already know about this. If not, let me explain: the impact of a wave can be quite strong. If you’re struck directly by a wave, it’ll not only push you back toward shore, but it can tumble you. If this happens and you’re not accustomed to it, you can become disoriented or at least hold you underwater for what might seem too long. To avoid such unpleasantness, you’ll want to duck dive. Other than the mechanics of a duck-dive itself, the timing is of utmost importance.
Timing your duck dive
If there’s a wave forming, you should be fine unless you start to see some foam. It usually forms first on the top of a wave. If you see any foam in any part of an oncoming wave, you’ll want to start your dive, usually about 3-5 yards in front of the foam of the wave. Be sure to get some forward momentum before diving.
As you dive, you’ll want to dive about 30-40 degrees below the surface. Basically, you want to keep going forward, but moving down as well. Without getting into too much detail here, you just want to be 2-3 feet below most waves to avoid the impact force. You do that, and you should be fine.
Some details on duck dive technique
Keep your hands in front of you, almost in a superman cruising position. That way, if you hit the bottom, your hands will hit first and you can slow yourself down before hitting your head on the bottom of the ocean. I neglected to mention this to a swimmer and he got a gash on his head. So, please keep this point in mind.
When you are duck-diving, be sure to make 1,2, or even 3 pulls underwater. Think an underwater breaststroke or butterfly pull underwater. If you need a visual, look at experienced swimmers pushing off the wall in the Olympics. I think they call these underwaters. You can move quite quickly doing this. Just keep in mind that you want to be 2-3 feet below the surface of the water while duck diving to avoid the full force of the waves.
Don’t pull underwater for so long that you are gasping for air when you break the surface of the water. Another wave could be there to greet you when you reach the surface. This will be unpleasant. A lot of the basics of open water swimming at first can be summarized as anxiety management. Being out of breath just as another wave appears can cause you anxiety.
TOM’s METHOD
Reach your hands forward as you dive down and grab the sand. Then, use your hands to grip the bottom to pull you forward. If you’re old enough, you might remember this method employed by Batman in the TV series with Burt Ward when he’s climbing the side of buildings. This method seems cool and fast. My only concern is if you happen upon a stingray on the bottom of the ocean. But, Tom has been 100% with his method, so I cannot argue with his success. And, he’s a lifeguard who bodysurfed at the Wedge growing up. I’m assuming he has logged thousands of hours doing his thing.
Advanced Notes on Duck Dives
Read this part only if you have some experience duck diving. If not, feel free to skip it
If it’s a big wave, the foam zone you emerge into can be highly aerated, meaning it is less dense, making it harder for you to get your head up enough to take a breath. This usually only happens when the waves are 5’+. It’s just a side note as if you’re a beginner, you’ll want to build your skills, experience and confidence before tackling 5’+ waves.
This aerated/foamy water phenomenon is something you have to experience to understand. But, in the beginning, stick to waves 1-4 feet and you needn’t concern yourself with this detail.
What Stroke Should You Use?
Keep in mind there is no law against butterfly, breaststroke, or sidestroke when swimming beyond the breakers. All of these strokes naturally afford a greater range of vision, particularly oncoming waves, when you’re swimming out. You might be swimming more slowly, but you will be swimming more safely if you’re new to the experience.
If you’re a triathlete or competitive swimmer, you’ll probably opt for freestyle. That’s fine. Just remember to sight every 4-10 strokes and, when entering the foam zone, keep it to every 4th stroke or so. You’ll want to use a water polo, heads-up freestyle. Or, if you’re old enough, you’ll know it as Tarzan freestyle.
One last note about this: when it is colder, the heads up part is not just about seeing and preparing for the waves. It’s also to help keep your head warmer until your body has adjusted to the water. Again, anxiety management.
What about waves on the way back?
On your way back in from the rendezvous point you can swim backstroke. If you do swim freestyle, be safe and look back under your arm when breathing. Just knowing a wave is coming can help you time it.
There are 3 schools of thought about what to do about waves. It really depends on water depth and your level of experience.
Option 1: To be safe, you can dive (back) into it. That way you can avoid the major force of impact. You’ll be moving in the opposite direction of the shore, but avoiding impact can help.
Option 2: If the water is deep enough – at least 3 feet – you can continue your forward motion in the direction of the wave and just bob. This works so long as the water is at least 2 feet deep.
I’ve preferred option 2 until about spring 2024. There was a large wave in shallow water. The sandbar near Tower 9 has changed so I switch to Option 1 if I’m in doubt about water depth.
Option 3: Bodysurf the wave. If done correctly, you can save a lot of time and energy on your way back in.
How far out do we swim?
For Tower Swims, we usually swim about 20-30 yards beyond the breakers. Surfers, if they’re out in numbers, will usually congregate about 15 yards beyond the breakers. We call this our RENDEZVOUS POINT. We regroup here to let everyone catch up at the beginning of our swims. Depending on tide, current, and wave strength, it usually takes 4-7 minutes to make it to the rendezvous point. That is the hardest part of your swim, especially if you’re a beginner.
The reasons we swim beyond the surf lineup:
First, we don’t want to catch rogue waves. Swimming parallel to the shore, we can usually avoid rogue waves. When there is a bigger swell coming, the larger waves tend to break beyond the usual outer break. This is exaggerated near Towers 11, 13, and 15. The waves there tend to break beyond where they break in front of Tower 9. Not always, but often enough that I’ve learned the hard way that it’s safer to swim well beyond the break of Tower 9.
Next, we don’t want to appear as a threat to surfers. Surfers are territorial and HB surfers are definitely no exception. Letting them know we’re not a threat to their surf enjoyment goes a long way to goodwill.
Lastly, swimming beyond the surfers, we now have extra pairs of eyes on us should there be any emergency. They are almost always looking out to see the next swell. This puts us directly in their line of sight. They have a better vantage point than we do and their boards allow them greater speed should they need to come to our aid. It’s a win-win.
What is the RENDEZVOUS POINT?
We usually congregate at a point about 15 yards beyond the surfers. Normally, we are moving at a nice, slow pace to get beyond the breakers. We’ll allow time for every swimmer to catch up to us.
The first swimmer(s) to arrive will turn around to look at Tower 9. This is so they can gauge the current. Sometimes it’s easy to tell which way the current is heading, other days it isn’t. Also, there have been times when the inner current, between the breakers and shore, has been in the opposite direction of the outer current. And sometimes the outer current is far stronger than the inner current. However, most of the time, the inner current is stronger and is usually flowing south to north.
Types of Swims: TOWER SWIMS & BUOY SWIMS
You can just watch this video.
Tower Swims
If we swim a tower swim, we swim against the current at first so that the latter portion of our swim is easier. These first swimmers to tread water beyond the break can give us an idea of which direction the current is headed and how strong it is.
In case there is no current, we’ll usually head south, toward Newport, at first. This will also happen often during the summer when there are surf and other contests near the south side of the pier. When you see red buoys out from Tower 3, that is a no swim zone. Due to this, we’ll often swim south at first.
Swimming Parallel to Shore
We’ll decide how many towers we’ll swim at the congregation point. For those who like equations, the distance we swim can be roughly estimated in yards as:
S = 2B + 400T
Where B is the distance we have to swim from shore to beyond the breakers (usually 80 to 150 yards) and T is the number of lifeguard towers we’re set to swim. My guess is that the lifeguard towers are ~200 yards apart. And, as we have to swim there and back for both the towers and the break, that’s why it’s 400T and 2B.
Don’t want to stress you out with math. Just the basics will suffice.
For a Tower Swim, we swim to rendezvous point, swim parallel to shore the set number of towers. Then, we might take a breather and head back whence we came.
Buoy Swims
For buoy swims, it’s far simpler. We’ll still swim out to the rendezvous point. From there, we swim to the buoy and back home. It’s pretty simple. Yet, it could be a bit daunting to the uninitiated. For that reason, we’ll usually opt for Tower Swims for new swimmers.
What To Bring:
A hot beverage in a thermos all the way to Tower 9
Earplugs
A healthy dose of common sense
Swimsuit
Wetsuit
Goggles
Sun Protection
Towel
Bright Swim Cap
Possibly a neoprene headband
Tow Float or Swim Buoy, if you want
Fins, if you want