Outdoor solo swiming - what to do with your stuff?

NorthCascades
NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm wondering what other folks do about this. You can't take all your stuff in the water. What do you do with it while you swim?

I like a beach at a nearby park. I walk to the water in my swim trunks. I need to bring my car key to get home, and overall I think it's irresponsible not to bring my phone. When I get to the beach I leave my things with my shoes under my shirt, and swim. Being a city dweller I know you can't fully trust other people (stranger danger), and phones aren't cheap. I really don't want to leave it behind, if something happened with the car I would need the phone.

Obviously it's better and more fun to go with friends, but that's not usually possibly after work due to different schedules and traffic.

What do you do?
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Replies

  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    I put any valuables like phone, keys and cards in a ziplock bag and then into a second ziplock bag and dig a shallow hole in the ground/sand where I’m gonna leave my stuff. I bury it in the hole and place the beach blanket, towel or my clothes/shoes on top of it and as long as no one is watching you do this they probably wouldn’t ever guess your valuables are underneath your stuff covered with sand/dirt. Just don’t forget to dig em out when you leave! :)
  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,279 Member
    Those buoys are genius.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    How much drag do those add? How does it feel to back float with one? I recover between drills floating on my back. Can you detach for a moment and retrieve it?
    frankwbrown wrote: »
    1. They can help make you more visible to others on the open water, people perhaps on jet skis or in boats.

    I almost got hit by a boat on the 4th of July weekend. 😳 ☹️ I yelled and kicked to make an exaggerated splash. The guy was really sheepish about it and said he was new. So, yeah, this seems like a good idea.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    There are boxes you can buy that are watertight for your phone and keys and a credit card. I use one when I scuba dive and it even holds up under 60+ feet of water. I mean, people have been using waterproof boxes for years for their expensive camera gear.

    Check out Pelican boxes....then just get a lanyard and wear a rash guard shirt and wear the box under it...or in a pants pocket. I use a wetsuit and a BC, so lots of pockets.

    You trust Pelican or Otter Boxes with your phone? Sounds like it's been working for you so maybe I'm just being anxious. I've always bought my phones used and had to buy a new one, I think I still have some sticker shock! Part of the reason I always bought used ones was so that I wouldn't have to worry as much.

    You're in Seattle, right? Summer came fast and furious, seems like it went out early too.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
    Beautiful!
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    How much drag do those add? How does it feel to back float with one? I recover between drills floating on my back. Can you detach for a moment and retrieve it?

    They don't seem to add any/much drag. I can't tell the difference when wearing one. In fact, I have to check occasionally to be sure the belt hasn't slipped off my waist. Regarding floating during recovery, the buoy allows me to float upright, since the buoy is just about the right distance from my waist to be snug when I'm vertical in the water. Kind of like a fishing bobber holds the bait at a specific depth. I can even lean back and use the buoy as a pillow during breaks. If floating on my back, the cord slides around the belt and the buoy floats beside me. So no need to detach it during breaks.

    Two other points: 1) I will NOT swim without one on any body of water that is used by powerboats or jetskiers. Even with a bright colored cap, I'm not visible enough to be comfortable, especially when wearing a wetsuit. The buoy solves that problem. 2) While the buoy is not a true life preserver, it does provide a measure of safety during longer swims in the event that I get a significant leg cramp or have a breathing issue while swimming. I can simply stop swimming, hug the buoy, and relax to catch my breath or work out the cramp without any distress.



  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,939 Member
    I like those buoys - that's what I'd get. As a scuba diver we carry inflatable buoys for when we're on the surface for visibility.

    Where he's swimming probably doesn't have a lot of power boat activity, but you can never be too safe on the surface of open water.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,939 Member
    ..and yeah, I'm in Seattle. Intense couple hot weeks and now it's back to nice cool weather. I bet there are still some hot days left. :)
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    I'm wondering what other folks do about this. You can't take all your stuff in the water. What do you do with it while you swim?

    I like a beach at a nearby park. I walk to the water in my swim trunks. I need to bring my car key to get home, and overall I think it's irresponsible not to bring my phone. When I get to the beach I leave my things with my shoes under my shirt, and swim. Being a city dweller I know you can't fully trust other people (stranger danger), and phones aren't cheap. I really don't want to leave it behind, if something happened with the car I would need the phone.

    Obviously it's better and more fun to go with friends, but that's not usually possibly after work due to different schedules and traffic.

    What do you do?

    When I've cycled to group runs and had to stow stuff (change of clothes, etc), I've put it in a bag that I could lock closed and attached it to some random item with a small accessory cable and mini abus lock. (pipe, grate, restyling, etc) somewhere in public eyeshot (hoping thieves will be leery of using tools in high visibility).
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    I don't outdoor swim any more, but I used to lock EVERYTHING in my car except my car key, which I clipped to a hook I installed inside my bathing suit. But of course, that was back in the day before key fobs and I never had to walk far to my car.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    The thing I love most about swimming is how freeing it feels. Especially as a guy who hikes up mountains, gravity is suddenly not a thing, you can go anywhere you want, or let the water hold you when you want. There are bald eagles nesting in the trees nearby, it can be nice between drills to just float for a moment watching them. And being able to see the city all around, roads I bike on, the mountains in the distance, it's very pleasant. I have this feeling that a tether would diminish that feeling of freedom, but it sounds like people who actually use one don't feel that way.

    Overall it sounds like a swim buoy is the way to go. I'll probably get a Pelican case or something for extra protection for my phone.

    My watch went from recording excellent swim tracks with perfect maps to terrible ones. So it might be nice to let the phone record the map anyway.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,893 Member
    frankwbrown wrote: »
    I recently bought a swim buoy (aka swim float, dry bag) as I am planning to do some open water swimming (at some point).
    These are inflatable bags that you tether to yourself. Their purpose is twofold:
    1. They can help make you more visible to others on the open water, people perhaps on jet skis or in boats.
    2. They can hold a small amount of stuff (depending on bag). Certainly a phone and car keys would be no problem.
    3. They can be pretty water tight, but get a waterproof phone pouch to be on the safe side.

    I plan to leave clothes and towel on the shore and put phone/keys in the bag.


    @Djproulx: and @frankwbrown: what brand of buoys do you use? My partner is uncomfortable with my long swims and this should reassure him. My mother's friend uses a buoy but I hadn't gotten around to looking in to this yet, so thanks for bringing it up :)

    @NorthCascades: let me know what brand you go with as well.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,893 Member
    Here's my swimming tip - waterproof MP3 player! I have an earlier version of this:

    https://smile.amazon.com/Sony-Walkman-Headphone-Integrated-NW-WS413-Black/dp/B01BBWU834/

    2bwesrx9tdjf.png
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    frankwbrown wrote: »
    I recently bought a swim buoy (aka swim float, dry bag) as I am planning to do some open water swimming (at some point).
    These are inflatable bags that you tether to yourself. Their purpose is twofold:
    1. They can help make you more visible to others on the open water, people perhaps on jet skis or in boats.
    2. They can hold a small amount of stuff (depending on bag). Certainly a phone and car keys would be no problem.
    3. They can be pretty water tight, but get a waterproof phone pouch to be on the safe side.

    I plan to leave clothes and towel on the shore and put phone/keys in the bag.


    @Djproulx: and @frankwbrown: what brand of buoys do you use? My partner is uncomfortable with my long swims and this should reassure him. My mother's friend uses a buoy but I hadn't gotten around to looking in to this yet, so thanks for bringing it up :)

    @NorthCascades: let me know what brand you go with as well.

    I'm going to talk to a friend who swims more than I do before I decide, she's visiting family on the east coast so it'll be next week at the earliest. I'll report back after I've had a chance to use it a few times. 🙂
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,177 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    frankwbrown wrote: »
    I recently bought a swim buoy (aka swim float, dry bag) as I am planning to do some open water swimming (at some point).
    These are inflatable bags that you tether to yourself. Their purpose is twofold:
    1. They can help make you more visible to others on the open water, people perhaps on jet skis or in boats.
    2. They can hold a small amount of stuff (depending on bag). Certainly a phone and car keys would be no problem.
    3. They can be pretty water tight, but get a waterproof phone pouch to be on the safe side.

    I plan to leave clothes and towel on the shore and put phone/keys in the bag.


    @Djproulx: and @frankwbrown: what brand of buoys do you use? My partner is uncomfortable with my long swims and this should reassure him. My mother's friend uses a buoy but I hadn't gotten around to looking in to this yet, so thanks for bringing it up :)

    @NorthCascades: let me know what brand you go with as well.

    I bought an ESONE swim buoy, but I haven't used it yet.
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073RDKRP5/

    I too have a waterproof mp3 player. I went with an H2O Audio Stream 2, it's a bit cheaper than the Sony Walkman.
    An mp3 player makes long swims a lot less boring.

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