History
In 2002 I got the domain name “OpenWater Swimmer.com”, originally as a way to sell videos about open water swimming. It soon struck me that “OpenWater Swimmer.com” should not have been available. I would have thought that “someone” would have made a site dedicated to open water swimming using that domain name. It somehow seemed wrong to to use it just to peddle videos.
I was suddenly filled with a sense of obligation to do something more meaningful with the name and this site is the result. I remember when I first started swimming in open water I had lots of questions. Open water information was lost in a vast sea of pool swimming sites. Oceanswims.com was the closest thing I found at that time but it was all about racing and events. What about just swimming for fun? I felt I should bring together as much info as possible and separate it into categories to make it easier to find stuff.
The Goal
The hardest thing to find on the net are those small groups of people that get together to swim as an informal club. I know there are places where people just kind of show up within an hour of high tide, or on certain days of the week. I want each of these groups to have a page on this website so others can find them. I also want to include paddlers who are interested in escorting swimmers on more adventurous swims. As more people get involved, the more boaters may be cautious, recreation departments provide facilities and small groups can find pilots .
Dormant Period
OpenWaterSwimmer.com was a dormant project of mine for many years. Here it is 2013 and time for a resurrection (just in time for Easter).