Florida Open Water Swims- any distance

I'm trying to gather all the Florida OW Swims and would love your help and input. Here is what I have so far:
Lido Key 7 miles April 2
Tampa Bay 24 miles April 16
Swim Miami 1-3-6 Miles April 17
Swim Around Key West 12.5 miles June 4
FKCC Key West Swim 12.5 miles June 18
Pompano Beach Swim 1-3 miles Sept (no specific date yet- was the 5th last year)
Alligator Lighthouse 9 miles Sept 17
Swim Miami Beach 1 mile no date yet (hopefully August and 1 &3 mile options)
Fort De Soto 6.5 miles Nov 5

Comments

  • hmm... how can I post that as a list?

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited January 2016

    @SilkyShark, just put a hyphen before each list item to display as a list (per Markdown syntax).

    Have you seen the Dixie Zone race calendar we maintain? It includes Florida swims.

    http://marathonswimmers.org/swim-calendars/dixie/

    Are you interested in helping update it for 2016?

  • Thats better! Thanks! and a great link as well. the dates below are all for 2016. If I find new dates for the swims on your site, I will let you know.

    Lido Key 7 miles April 2
    Tampa Bay 24 miles April 16
    Swim Miami 1-3-6 Miles April 17
    Swim Around Key West 12.5 miles June 4
    FKCC Key West Swim 12.5 miles June 18
    Pompano Beach Swim 1-3 miles Sept (no specific date yet- was the 5th last year)
    Alligator Lighthouse 9 miles Sept 17
    Swim Miami Beach 1 mile no date yet (hopefully August and 1 &3 mile options)
    Fort De Soto 6.5 miles Nov 5

  • looks cool, but they haven't updated since 2013

  • JenAJenA Charter Member

    Mmm. I'd try Jim on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jumpingfish

  • flystormsflystorms Memphis, TNSenior Member

    Jacksonville FL in Aug. I don't see a date for this year yet. The longest one was 2.5 miles, but it's straight down the beach and nice. Lots of Tri peeps so OW swimmers can do well there. :) http://www.active.com/jacksonville-beach-fl/water-sports/swimming-races/hammerhead-ocean-marathon-2015

  • I found three more short races. I always like these "shortys" because they are great practice in calming the race adrenaline.
    1. Lake Worth - 1 mile in May
    2. Juno Beach/Jupiter - 1 mile in July
    3. Jensen Beach - 5K

  • flystormsflystorms Memphis, TNSenior Member

    Cool, thanks for finding that 5k in Jensen Beach (June). Might have to put that on the calendar for a fun run.

  • molly1205molly1205 Lincoln, NebraskaSenior Member

    Hi, all- I'll be in Miami the end of March and would like to get in a long swim - 12ish miles or so. Is it possible to swim the circumference of the beach? Any other suggestions? I'll have a boat and kayaker. Thank you!

    JaimieStLucia_Channel

    Molly Nance, Lincoln, Nebraska

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited February 2018

    All the way around Miami Beach is about 21 miles. Gail Rice and Randy Nutt did it back in 1996, so it's possible, but longer than your target distance.

    @swimmer25k left a very informative comment on swimming near Miami a couple years ago:

    http://marathonswimmers.org/forum/discussion/comment/10721/#Comment_10721

    molly1205
  • molly1205molly1205 Lincoln, NebraskaSenior Member

    Thanks, Evan. After reviewing several posts, I decided to swim around Key Biscayne and have a boat lined up. It's so helpful to have the hive experience of the forum!

    Molly Nance, Lincoln, Nebraska

  • swimmer25kswimmer25k Charter Member

    Hollywood, Deerfield, Boynton, and Boca beaches used to have a swim series around New Years on consecutive weekends (some on back to back days). Each swim is a mile. Water is typically cool, but loaded with manowar.

    The ISHOF usually has a mile and/or 5K around the same time of year. Lots of college kids there to beat up on.

  • drewbirddrewbird ColoradoMember

    Slightly off topic, but genuine question - WHY are there no winter swims in FL? Is there some crazy winter current/bad conditions I am unaware of? Are the Manowar mentioned above absolutley everywhere? Because races in 80+ degree water, in the sun, in summer/fall when when the swim schedule is already saturated with races and people have to skip some for conflicts/recovery time etc. make very little sense to me... while having them in December/Jan/Feb would not only be cooler, but also be a great way to fit in big swims when the race calendar is sparse, and help us to have winter goals to keep on track.

    So what is the reason why winter swims don't happen? Because if there isn't any reason not to (in some areas), I would LOVE it if race organizers would consider some December/Jan/Feb dates! As it is I will never be able to do Alligator Lighthouse, Tampa Bay, or Key West, and I would love to if they were in conditions that wouldn't kill me with heat stroke.

    slknightbluemermaid9
  • swimmer25kswimmer25k Charter Member

    molly1205 said:
    Thanks, Evan. After reviewing several posts, I decided to swim around Key Biscayne and have a boat lined up. It's so helpful to have the hive experience of the forum!

    Gail Rice might have done this swim as well. One swim to consider is Port Everglades to the Port of Miami. I believe that it's been done once before by Duffy Dillon (current ASCA official), but has been essentially lost to time.

    molly1205
  • swimmer25kswimmer25k Charter Member

    drewbird said:
    Slightly off topic, but genuine question - WHY are there no winter swims in FL? Is there some crazy winter current/bad conditions I am unaware of? Are the Manowar mentioned above absolutley everywhere? Because races in 80+ degree water, in the sun, in summer/fall when when the swim schedule is already saturated with races and people have to skip some for conflicts/recovery time etc. make very little sense to me... while having them in December/Jan/Feb would not only be cooler, but also be a great way to fit in big swims when the race calendar is sparse, and help us to have winter goals to keep on track.

    So what is the reason why winter swims don't happen? Because if there isn't any reason not to (in some areas), I would LOVE it if race organizers would consider some December/Jan/Feb dates! As it is I will never be able to do Alligator Lighthouse, Tampa Bay, or Key West, and I would love to if they were in conditions that wouldn't kill me with heat stroke.

    Portugese Man-o-war are everywhere when the water temperature cools off. An on-shore breeze for a training swim or a race means certain doom. If those aren't bad enough for you, we have the lovely pink Cassiopeia jellies that only sting from the bottom side of the Manowar are a 10, these little bastards are only about a 5. However, they continually belch out their little offspring known as "sea lice". When they bloom under your skin, your almost guaranteed to fall asleep at work from the bottle of Benadryl you picked up at CVS on your way in to the office.

    Make sure to check with the beach patrol before you jump in to show off your mighty open water prowess. Don't even get in if the wind is is blowing onshore. The beach patrol won't have any problems locating your screaming body with 20 feet of tentacles wrapped around your head possibly scarring you for the rest of your life. In addition, if your allergic to bee stings, these fu€Kers would love the chance to end your life.

    I've had four very bad Manowar stings in my life. They are more vivid to me than watching my kids being born or getting married. That's how bad they are (or it highlights my lack of spark in being a spouse and/or a parent).

    JSwimSoloevmo
  • bluemermaid9bluemermaid9 Boca Raton, FL, United StatesSenior Member

    Here's proof of man o' war. Taken two days ago in Boca Raton, FL. Water temperature 73F (22.8C) and chock full of these critters. Needless to say, no ocean swimming possible. 20180217_090806-1_1519058031230_resized

  • swimmer25kswimmer25k Charter Member

    Blue Mermaid 9 (I'd like to meet the first 8 if possible

  • swimmer25kswimmer25k Charter Member

    My entire post just disappeared, so I'll keep it short. Blue Mermaid's picture is a good representation of a MOW on the beach. You'll notice that the tentacles seem short. They can often grow in excess of 20 feet. They can break off in the surf or any other reason a a becoming impossible to see. These are the ones that can wrap around you, and can cause lots of problems getting them off. They're hard to get a hold off and are pretty slippery. The only "safe place" to pick them up is by Rippled spine.

    They're bad news and never a good idea to swim with them. I've done a few races under threat of these things and I recall a swimmer swimming with an epi-pen up in his cap or suit.

    Good luck.

  • I was with a group doing a training swim in the Gulf of Mexico prior to a half-iron distance event. One of the group members was arguably the toughest lady I've ever met. We were working on surf entries and exits, and at the end of the time.... she called out, "someone lost their Nerf* ball!" I had already exited the water, but as she started swimming toward it, there was this odd.......... "voice" in my head (I promise I"m not making this up) that just said "NO NO NO NO!" But, she was too far to hear me say anything, and I was stunned.

    Turns out, the "Nerf ball" was a MOW, and she got hit by it.

    I've not heard that type of yelling before, and I swear she swam so fast back to the beach she was nearly walking on water. It drove her to her knees.

    To make a potentially long story short........ she raced the next day............and was top 10 in her age group....still with weals on her arms from her encounter. She is one tough lady!

    (I on the other hand, was so wigged out by her encounter that another member of that same group had to completely lie to me to get me to step foot in the start corral. I started, and finished, and had only a small bike wreck on the bike portion.)

    For the non-US folks who might not have heard of Nerf --
    *Nerf = spongy ball, many times shaped like American football -- floats, and if you get hit in the head with it (esp. at the beach), it doesn't hurt quite so badly. Many kids have a Nerf style ball before a "regular" ball because they're squishy enough to easily grip.

  • SydneDSydneD Senior Member

    I have been stung by a man-o-war, and just saw one on the beach in Miami. Worst pain I have ever had. Never again.

  • I would "like" except I don't want to give the impression that I like that you got stung.....
    there ought to be an "Amen Sistah!!" emoji.....because,............. "Amen Sistah!!!"

    SydneD said:
    I have been stung by a man-o-war, and just saw one on the beach in Miami. Worst pain I have ever had. Never again.

    SydneD
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