The La Jolla Cove offers swimmers a unique open-water venue, but safety should be a swimmer’s first concern, especially when just breaking into the sport. “Pool swimming and ocean swimming are different,” said Nikee Pomper, open water swim director for the San Diego Triathlon Club. Pomper has also served as a pool swim coach, preparing athletes for open water swimming. In open waters there are no flip turns and no black lines, which are typically found at the bottom of a pool and used as a guide for swimmers to maintain a straight line. “Some people go right from the pool to rough, open-water swimming,” Pomper said. Rough open-water swimming refers to choppy ocean water that can push a swimmer off course. Open-water swimming refers to smoother water with fewer ocean swells. It is generally available in places like Mission Bay and Glorietta Bay, which is accessible from Coronado. Swimmers first leaving the pool for open-water swimming should try these areas first, Pomper advised. Mission Bay and Glorietta Bay are calmer and allow swimmers who are comfortable swimming in a pool to become more confident in a less contained environment. The La Jolla Cove is generally a little bit smoother than other rough water swim locations, Pomper said. “Take that baby step of going a quarter of a mile,” Pomper said of settling into a new open-water swim routine. She emphasized working up to longer distances such as a half-mile or mile-long swim over time. “Always swim with someone, never swim by yourself,” Pomper said. Swimmers can spend all winter in the pool, increasing endurance, learning proper breathing techniques for ocean water swimming, but once in the open water they forget everything they learn, Pomper said. Some swimmers panic during their initial open-water swims, causing their bodies to naturally speed up. The panic feels like having a tight rubber band around the chest, Pomper explained. “The best thing to do is slow your breathing down,” Pomper said. “You want to focus on full, strong, but slow strokes — and relaxing.” The La Jolla Cove Swim Club (LJCSC) offers open-water swimmers the opportunity to socialize and network with other swimmers. “The best thing for people is to connect with other experienced swimmers,” said Paula Selby, a board member with the LJCSC who has been swimming in the Cove for 20 years. The club caters to a variety of swimming abilities, from people who want to swim a quarter-mile to marathon swimmers. Learning water conditions and possible hazards of open-water swimming is a good reason to match up with a more experienced swimmer. The wave, surf and current conditions are just a few examples to take into consideration when open-water swimming. A major concern in cold water is hypothermia, Selby said. When the body reacts to the cold water, swimmers can lose muscle control, lose the ability to think logically and become incoherent. Selby mentioned that a marathon swimmer from the club recently experienced hypothermia. “If she hadn’t been swimming with a buddy, she could’ve drowned,” Selby said. The swimmer’s buddy was the one to recognize the signs of hypothermia. Many swimmers cannot recognize the signs of hypothermia in themselves. The body will eventually acclimate to the colder water with more experience, Selby said. Informing the lifeguard on duty that one is new to open-water swimming is a good idea, Selby and Pomper agreed. For more resources on local open-water swimming visit www.triclubsandiego.org or www.lajollacoveswimclub.com.