I dream a lot. Nearly every morning, I can recall one or more dreams that I experienced during the evening hours.

Most of these dreams have one of these five recurring themes:

• Swimming in the ocean
• Competing in a race
• Fighting criminals or fleeing enemies on boats
• Facing massive ocean waves
• Flying over the ocean

Dreams about Swimming in the Ocean

In these dreams, I am either swimming alone or with a partner. Most times, the swimming partner is someone who I just talked with or swam with. The water is always clear and warm. It is never cold or uncomfortable. But the water is often choppy and the wind is often at my back. The key part of these dreams – and by far the most enjoyable part – is when I start to swim fast. I swim so fast that I literally take off and levitate over the surface of the water. I then begin to fly over the surface of the ocean and simply tilt my body or my head or my hands to swerve to the left or right, upwards or downwards.

I always wake up thoroughly refreshed and ready to take on the day after these dreams – that are most frequent among my dream-filled life.

Dreams about Competing in a Race

In these dreams, I am always swimming in a pack of swimmers, racing shoulder-to-shoulder. I am never in the lead and always worried about getting left behind if the pace starts to pick up. When the pack starts to increase its pace, I also try to swim fast. But magically, I literally take off from the surface of the water, and levitate above the pack. I fly over the rest of the swimmers and keep pace. But often I find myself flying too high before I realize the race is about to end. I head downwards to the finish. I shift my head downwards and aim for the finish touch pad to beat the leading pack of swimmers. I sometimes feel my goggles and swim cap fall off my head as I swoop towards the finish.

But I always wake up before the race is finished.

Similar to the Swimming-in-the-Ocean dreams, I always wake up thoroughly refreshed after these dreams – but I am also frustrated that I never find out the result of these races.

Dreams about Fighting Criminals or Fleeing Enemies on Boats

In these dreams, I am fighting bad guys on a boat in the ocean, usually criminals who are armed with guns or pirates skilled in sword fighting. I am usually leaping from one boat to another as I attempt my escape. I usually trip on the deck of the boat or my jump from one boat to another is not far enough.

I always see myself scrambling in a desperate attempt to flee the criminals or enemies – whose faces I never see, but whose presence is always threatening.

In the cases where I fall into the ocean, I am always fully clothed and it is a mad scramble to swim properly. I always feel that I will be shot or captured…but I always wake up before anything bad happens to me.

Unlike the Swimming-in-the-Ocean or Competing-in-a-Race dreams, I always wake up exhausted after these dreams. I feel lucky to have escaped, but I am also frustrated that I never feel like I had a good night’s sleep after these close encounters with bad guys.

Dreams about Facing Massive Ocean Waves

In these dreams, I am either sitting on a long surfboard in calm seas, waiting for the next wave. Like the Swimming-in-the-Ocean dreams, the water is always clear and warm. It is never cold or uncomfortable – and there is never any wind, in the beginning.

Then, without warning, I see a massive wave out in the distance. I start to paddle furiously out to the wave to either catch it or duck under it. It is always a race for time and I am always worried about making it past the crashing wave.

Suddenly, the wind builds and the surface chop starts to make the conditions difficult for me to paddle fast…as the wave continues to build. The face of the wave at the end of these dreams are massive walls of water, about to crash upon me. But the dreams end before any disaster occurs.

I always wake up exhausted and frustrated after these dreams. I feel lucky to escape any wipeout, but I never feel like I had a good night’s sleep after these close encounters with Mother Nature.

Dreams about Flying over the Ocean

In these dreams, I am always in my swimsuit flying above the ocean on a clear day. The water below is always clear and there is no human in sight. I fly smoothly over a wide expanse of tranquil water, without a care in the world. I swoop upwards and downwards, just enjoying the ability to fly. The most enjoyable part is when I swoop just slightly over the surface of the water, by the subtle tilt on my hands. .

I always wake up thoroughly refreshed and ready to take on the day after these dreams.

© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“