Do rules of the wet road exist?

Open water swimming in the Portland area is an evolving sport and has grown even more popular in recent years, with swim groups around town growing quickly. 

We swimmers gravitate toward familiar reaches along the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, to Vancouver, Fallen Leaf and Hagg Lakes, and out to the ocean and bays. While we’re all trying to figure out our own individual comfort levels, we’re also trying to figure out the swimmer’s “rules of the wet road.” 

I don’t know whether a formal set of rules for the wet road exist or whether anyone will tell me I’m “doing it all wrong.” Until rules are formally established, I’ll share a few general guidelines that work for me personally and align with the WaterStrong mission to save lives and heal the planet, destroying barriers along the way.

• I do my best to be safe out there for myself and for others. I want to make it easy for someone else to help me if, god forbid, I get in trouble.

• I swim with an evenly-paced buddy, and I let people at home know my plan, like where I’m going and what time I’ll be home.

• I try to know the conditions before starting: weather, air and water temps, currents, tides, water quality, natural and human caused hazards

• I want to be visible: I wear a bright cap and carry a swim buoy with a safety whistle; I write my name and emergency contact info on my buoy.

• I swim parallel to shore (unless it’s an organized cross channel swim event), ideally within about 50 yards of shore to be able exit the water quickly or to be within easy reach of someone else trying to help me get to safety

• I avoid swimming mid-channel, especially in shipping lanes. I want to avoid collisions with commercial vessels, large boats, or inattentive water users. Sure, the faster current in mid-channel is fun and swift, but it’s not safe for me or others.

• I swim to swim another day.

• I have fun and I fall in love with the water. Any day in the water is pretty much as good as it gets.