Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Quint (a battle-toughened grizzled shark hunter played by Robert Shaw), Hooper (an experienced oceanographer played by Richard Dreyfuss), and Brody (a mild-mannered police chief played by Roy Scheider) had a famous scene in the movie Jaws where they discussed their different accidents and injuries in the ocean.

Their joy in discussing their accidents, and their knowledge of the reasons for these injuries reminds us of when open water swimmers get together.

“…I swam a mile in 8ºC (46ºF) water last year; it was really rough…” is a catalyst of such a discussion. It often follows with a response that includes an escalation of distance and a decrease in temperature. “…Yeah, I remember the Ice Mile we did in January…”

In the same way, swimmers and coaches often recall their past open water swims. As time passes, memories about the conditions, winds, currents often get rougher and stronger…and the marine life gets more numerous, more venomous, and larger.

Ah, yes, memories – actual, perceived or exaggerated – are a great thing in the open water swimming world.

Copyright © 2013 by World Open Water Swimming Association