We we were blessed with one of the best days I have ever experienced in Langebaan. It is the middle of May, normally associated with single digit temperatures and pouring rain in the Western Cape of South Africa, however, yesterday we had 30°C air temperatures and a fresh 13°C water temperature for the annual Around The Island Swim 2013.
Over the last few months I have had numerous requests to host an Open Water Swimming Skills session for both Open Water Swimmers and Triathletes. I have been privelaged enough to have attended a host of Open Water clinics myself and I feel it is time for me to share a couple of the tips and secrets I have learned over the last few years.
The plan is to cover a few crucial areas of Open Water Swimming, providing tips that will hopefully save you time and energy whilst you are out there in the water.
Open Water Swimming Tips
Feel free to contact me on the details above in order to book your place.
Where: Silvermine Dam (at the top of Ou Kaapse Weg)
When: Saturday 16 March 2013
Time: 14h00 Start
This past weekend I was back at Ashanti Wine Farm, this time for the Winelands Mile 2012. I have done this race a few times over the years and was going back this year as the defending champion. After having spent the week ill and not having swum once since the Bridge House Mile the previous weekend, I left the decision to swim until the last minute.
I woke up on Saturday feeling much better after finishing the course of anti-biotics on Friday. I was still feeling a bit week but it was a stunning day in Cape Town, so decided to head out to Paarl and use the event as a training swim.
Ashanti Dam
The start of the Open Water swimming season is the first Western Province (WP) Open Water Swimming Series event. Most events are held at Ashanti Wine Farm in Paarl. This years series will see two events at Ashanti Wine Farm, one in Worcester and one at Theewaterskloof. The events take place once a month from November to February every year, with the January event incorporating Western Province Open Water Swimming Championships.
The first event of the day was the 5km swim. This event was set to start at 08h00 but due to low lying cloud cover, the organisers struggled to get exact GPS coordinates whilst measuring the course. The conditions were chilly with very little wind to speak of. The water temperature was sitting at around 17DegC.
I headed into the water wearing my Arena Powerskin Revo Jammer ready to set off on our five lap course, one kilometer per loop. Danie Marais and Rudolf Visser set a very fast pace from the gun, I was feeling slightly out of sorts and settled into my own comfortable rhythm holding onto a distant third place.
