this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2025
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Extremely proud to announce that I just swimmed (swam? swum? eh..) from the beach of Mazzaro to the Grotta Azzurra, and back. This is the first time I went to the sea deep enough to not touch the ground lol.

I think that swimming on the back is the most tire-less method, while front crawl is the fastest but requires the most energy. But this is just my opinion, any advice on how to swim in the ocean? The salted water in my nose still sends me in a little panick mode, but I managed to calm down and continued. Will do again

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[–] lgsp@feddit.it 20 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

TL;DR when you learn breathing in the right way, crawling is the best

I began swimming regularly 10 years ago or so. Nothing serious, just a couple of times a week, to try to keep my back in shape (spoiler: it wasn't enough for that but it is really good for heart and lungs)

Well, initially I found that backstroke was better for me too, because I wasn't able to breath regularly during crawl and I wasn't comfortable having my head in the water all the time (and water in the nose... Not a good feeling)

In the long run I learnt to breath well, and to gently push air out from the nose while the head was down. So now I feel much better crawling than backstroking. In the sea even more, because while backstroking, a wave can hit my face and send water in the nose easily, and this doesn't happen while crawling.

Then, to each their own, but this was my experience

[–] kSPvhmTOlwvMd7Y7E@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (4 children)

do you keep your head under water in the ocean ? if yes I don't know what to say, the salted water eats my eyes and nose , how you manage it

[–] Donjuanme@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

Back frog is the easiest for breathing, but if you're trying to get anywhere efficiently the crawl is the fastest and easiest to breathe with

Get yourself a pair of goggles, nobody should take the brunt of the ocean directly to their eyes. If you're interested in the ocean get a half mask that covers your eyes and nose, and honestly you can find a cheap snorkel as well and you don't need to worry much about breathing at all.

Please be aware of local beach conditions, if there's a spot that says don't swim it's not worth the risk, even if it looks calm, hell especially if it looks calm.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

As others have said, goggles. But also, people have been swimming in the ocean doing things like diving for pearls or spearfishing for thousands of years. If you do it enough, you'll get used to it.

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 days ago

Like they mentioned, slowly blowing air out of your nose can prevent this. Or, if this isn’t working for you, you can get clips to close your nostrils, but they might not be comfortable with a longer swim.

Personally I like to swim with a mask and snorkel, as it’s much easier and more relaxing.

[–] lgsp@feddit.it 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

As @donjuanme@lemmy.world mentions, I swim with goggles, it's much better. Morever since I was having issues in the pool with clorinated (I'm not sure it's the correct term) water I also use a nose clip. But when swimming in the sea (Mediterranean sea, no ocean, usually) i don't mind the water in the nose, as I told, I usually keep it out by slow expiration, so that air pressure keeps water out. But a good mask covering your nose would be a good solution too, as suggested by @donjuanme@lemmy.world

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Idk, I swam the 500m freestyle for 4 years in high school. I still think I'd prefer the jellyfish or sidestroke for swimming really long distances in open water.