Sighting is the looking up from your stroke to identify your surroundings and guide the direction you are swimming in.
It’s a key skill to develop as an open water swimmer: once you leave pool lines below it’s the only thing that will help you swim straight. It also helps you look out for hazards ahead, such as fallen trees or other water users.
The greater the distance you are covering, the more important sighting is – once you reach 6-10km events, effective sighting will be up there with overall stroke efficiency and fitness as a determinant of how long the swim takes you. ‘A few years ago, I swam Windermere with two men who were 20 years younger than me,’ says Kari Furre, a swim coach and member of The OSS Team, ‘but I came out first, a performance I put down largely to my ability to swim in a straight line.’
There are two approaches to sighting: lifting your eyes above the surface of the water (like a crocodile) or lift your whole head out of the water when looking ahead. Croc eyes is the most popular but both are considered fine to use in your swimming, so experiment with what feels most comfortable and natural to you. Try to maintain a normal rhythm when it comes to breathing.
With both techniques:
Some swimmers find that bringing just their eyes above the water level conserves energy and interferes less with the rhythm of their stroke.
When you first catch the water, reaching forward with one hand, push down on the surface to create stability and lift your eyes just above the water’s surface to sight. The goal is not to bring your head out of the water, but to bring your eyes out (like a crocodile) and then continue your stroke and breathe to the side as normal, repeating if necessary until you have sighted adequately.
Some swimmers prefer to lift their whole head out of the water and find this large movement easier to incorporate as part of their swim. It can give the swimmer a longer amount of time to take in their surroundings. Try not to lift your head too far out of the water as this can waste energy and time.
Using the power from your pull, bring your whole head out of the water to sight and breathe at the same time. The push down as you pull will help you surge forwards and up, giving you time to take in the surroundings and take a breath.
Being able to sight quickly and effectively is a skill, which is worth practising before the big event, so that you can work it seamlessly into your stroke and adapt to different water conditions. Poor sighting technique can lead to a sore neck and cause your hips to drop in the water which affects swim speed and technique.
Choosing the right landmark to sight against is a key part of the skill. Pick something you’re actually attempting to swim towards (or finish at, if it’s a straight swim). Look for an instantly identifiable marker that can be seen for a good distance, like a monument or solitary tree. Ideally pick a landmark that is not going to be obstructed by waves or surface chop, something taller than a person and visible in different light conditions.
A common mistake is lifting your head up and hovering until you find your bearings, which is tiring and inefficient. Instead, take small peeks and compile them in your head to create a ‘big picture’ of what’s ahead. Little lifts allow you to adjust your course without having to make big adjustments to your swimming direction or breaking your stroke or rhythm.
When waves pick up, attempt to sight at the top of the wave so that you’ll have the widest view of what’s ahead – and avoid getting a face full of water! You should also increase the frequency of your sightings as the chop or swell will move you around.
When swimming in a group or race, it’s often possible to just follow the swimmer in front of you or the safety vessels, but it’s still a good idea to learn how to sight in case this option isn’t available. You don’t want to waste time stopping your stroke to see where you are!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kate Rew is the founder of The Outdoor Swimming Society and author of The Outdoor Swimmers’ Handbook – which includes a full chapter on how to ‘swim better’ and adapt your strokes to the outdoors. (Signed copies available from The OSS Shop.)