While swimming is a mostly solo sport, just the black line or in our case the sand, and your thoughts, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Swimming with a buddy or group, not only makes your ocean swim much more fun but it is also safer and can help you improve your swimming skills and performance.

Here are our top five reasons why you should ocean swim with a buddy or group.

1. Provide motivation

Swimming with a buddy or group can help push yourself to swim faster and try a longer distance.

It can also provide motivation to swim at new locations and challenge you to a new set of open-water skills.

The best part is not only doing your buddy or group provide you with motivation but you are also providing them motivation, sometimes without even knowing it.

2. It’s safer

In open water, we say the more the merrier. Why? You may ask.

Well, when you swim with others, you make yourself more visible in the water, making you easier to spot by other ocean goers and less likely to be hit by watercraft if the waterways are busy.

You will also have someone looking out for you and there to help you if you get a cramp, get into trouble or just need a rest.

3. You’ll be more accountable

Swimming with a friend or group will make you more likely to show up to your scheduled swim.

We’ve all been there where the alarm has gone off and we’ve decided to roll over, hit snooze, and go back to sleep because we are too tired. We get it, it’s easy to do especially after a busy week of work or family commitments.

If you have a scheduled swim with a friend or group, you will be more likely to show up and go for your swim rather than hitting that snooze button.

4. It makes sighting easier

Swimming with others can make sighting easier, meaning you will swim in a straighter line to your chosen destination.

We’ve all been there when we’ve been on an open water swim and are zig zagging all over the place because we can’t sight our end location properly.

Well, if you swim with others, you can share the sighting responsibilities making it easier to stick to your route and you won’t have any unwanted extra kilometres added to your swim.

5. Ocean swimming is always better with friends

Swimming with others, especially your friends is always more enjoyable.

You can stop for mid-swim rest and chat breaks or enjoy a cheeky race to the end.

The best part about swimming with others is the post-swim coffee and chat, where you can debrief on your swim and chat about your upcoming day.

To find a swim buddy or group head to our ‘Swim Directory‘ or put a shout-out on the ‘Ocean Swimming Enthusiasts‘ Facebook page.