Lynne Cox was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Los Alamitos, California, where she presently lives. She has held open-water swimming records all over the world, for among others, the fastest crossing of the English Channel (at age 15), the Santa Catalina Channel, the twelve-mile Oresund between Denmark and Sweden, and the Kattegut between Norway to Sweden. Cox was the first woman to swim across the Cook Strait in New Zealand, the first to swim across the Strait of Magellan, the Beagle Channel between Argentina and Chile, Lake Baikal in Russia, and around the Cape of Good Hope. In 1987, Cox crossed the Bering Strait to the Soviet Union, and in 2002 swam more than a mile in the 31°F waters off Antarctica. Cox has been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. She is the author of Swimming to Antarctica, Grayson, South with the Sun. Her articles have appeared in many publications, among them The New Yorker and the Los Angeles Times Magazine.

"The greatest open water swimmer." —Sports Illustrated

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part One: How to Begin

Chapter 1: Beginnings
Allure of the Open Water
Expert Sources & Credentials

Chapter 2: Equipment
The Swimsuit
Swimsuit Care
Chafing
Skin Lubricant Products
Treatment for Chafing
Sunscreen Products
Sunburn Prevention
Sunburn Treatment
Goggles
Swim Caps
Wet Suits
Swim Skins

Chapter 3: Finding an Open Water Swimming Coach and Group
Finding Specific Coaches and Groups

Chapter 4: Technical Skills for Open Water Swimming
Swimming Skills Required
Breathing Drills
Head Position in the Water
Feeling the Water to Swim Faster

Chapter 5: Research
Selecting a Training Area
Scouting/Walking the Workout Course
Tidal Charts
Water Temperature
Water Quality
Food and Hydration

Chapter 6: Into the Open Water
The Stingray Shuffle
Water Entry
Bodysurfing
Waves
Surf
Role of the Tides
Swell Prediction
Moving through the Surf
Over Our Heads: Distress Signals
Riptides
Water Exit

Chapter 7: Effects of Heat and Cold
Cold Acclimatization
Hyperthermia and Hypothermia
Heat Acclimatization
Hypothermia
Ice Swimming
After-drop

Chapter 8: Sinuses and Ears
Prevention of Infections

Chapter 9: Ocean Hazards
Fog
Ships, Boats, Jet Skis, Sailor Boats, Wind Surfers, Kite Surfers, and Surfers

Part Two: Beginning and Intermediate Swimmers

Chapter 10: Training Swims
Training Safely
Training for a Short Open Water Swim
Training for a Moderate or Long Open Water Swim

Chapter 11: Selection For Support & Swim
Skills Required for Kayaker
Kayaker Selection
Kayaker Competency
Swimming Route

Part Three: Intermediate & Advanced Swimmers

Chapter 12: Open Water Swims Outside the Buoys with Boat Support
Information Gathering/Research
Selecting Support Crew
One Person on the Surface in Charge
Plan for Swim/Mission
Briefing: Explaining the Plan
SEAL Mission Planning
Strategy
Backup Plans
Safety/Operational Risk Management
Emergency Action Plan
Completion of Swim and Rewarming
Debriefing
Further SEAL Advice When Planning a Swim
Recommendations for Long Training Swims and Documentation

Chapter 13: Dangerous Marine Organisms
Research Semitropical and Tropical Waters before Swimming
Bristle Worms
Coral Reefs
Fire Coral
Jellyfish
Box Jellyfish
Leptospirosis
Seabather’s Eruption
Sea Cucumbers
Sea Urchin
Seaweed Dermatitis
Scorpion Fish
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish
Stonefish
Stingrays
Country Medicine
Swimmer's Itch
SEALs Recommend U.S. Navy Diving Manual

Chapter 14: Sharks
Swimming with Sharks and Rays
Minds In the Water
U.S. Navy Diving Manual on Sharks
First Aid for Shark Bites

Part Four: Advanced Swimmers

Chapter 15: Into the Dark
Swimming in the Dark
Dark Swims and Illumination
Finding Better Illumination

Chapter 16: Sea Sickness
Taking Medications During a Swim

Chapter 17: Preparation
Physical Training
Mental Preparation

Chapter 18: Going In and out of Consciousness
Deep Mind “Thing”
Sleep

Chapter 19: Motivations
Success
Success in Unsuccessful Swims

Chapter 20: The English Channel Charts, Contacts, and Pilots
Tidal Charts
You Want to Swim the English Channel?
How Do You Make Contact?
Selecting a Pilot

Chapter 21: Catalina and Other Channel Swims
The Catalina Channel Swim
The Santa Barbara Channel Swim
Finding Pilots For the Catalina Channel and Other Swims
Meeting With Pilots Before Hiring Them
Inspect the Boat Before You Swim
Before You Begin Any Channel Swim
Contact the U.S. Coast Guard
Staying Healthy
Boating Safety
Selecting Boat Support for an Organized Swim
Organized Swim Considerations

Chapter 22: Swimmer’s Utopia

Chapter 23: Stewardship of the Waters

Sources for Additional Information
Acknowledgments
Index