First thing you learn as a surfer is that the most dangerous thing in the water is your own board.  To keep from becoming chum in the water you develop a plan:  Cover up when you get rolled, Protect your head and remember the direction you want to go-up and out.

Just like surfers, the thing that threatens the success of most long distance swims is also something I bring with me into the water...my own head, or more specifically the thoughts inside.

I took my first swim back in Monterey Bay late yesterday at Cowles Beach in Santa Cruz.  Water temperature was 64 degrees.  Sun was shining, and the water was clear enough to see the bottom almost 30' below.  The time was 4:00 PM, PST, roughly the time I plan on hitting the beach in Monterey in exactly one week.  Even in perfect conditions on a short training swim I found I have plenty of demons ready to spoil the mood. 

Standing there on the beach in Cowles I can see Monterey 25 miles in the distance, and I can hear the off-shore buoy sounding off with the rise and fall of the waves.  Of course yesterday I was just swimming along the swim buoys no more that 600 yards off-shore...in perspective, that is 1.36% of next Tuesday's swim.

Swimming in and across Monterey Bay is safe when you take the proper precautions and surround yourself with the experience and support that we have for this upcoming swim.  From Coast Guard Permits to Emergency Action Plans and from experienced captains to veteran ocean rescuers I have created a situation in which I can focus on the swim.  To put this in rock climbing turns - I can focus on the next dynamic move because I have the best support available on belay.

So, how do I deal with the scariest threats in the water? 

I let the expert plans and people check me over and point me to the ocean. 

It is not bravado that gets me over the fear, it is trust.