Another advantage for wing design :))

[selytch]

Last week I had to do a shore dive, which involved surface swim about half mile long to get to the site. Normally I would put the BC on (I have BP&W), inflate it, roll on my back and swim. This time however I was helping a buddy to put his gear on, so the BC was floating in the water.

Instead of putting my rig on I just held on to it, pushing it in front of me.

The BC floated horizontally so water resistance was minimal, my body was so comfortable and relaxed in the water, I could see where I was going and my speed was much faster, that my buddy's. If I wanted a break (waiting for the buddy) I just put my head on the BC like on a pillow. This was one the most comfortable surface swim ever for me - despite the ocean was little rough and the swim was quite long!

Has anybody tried swimming this way, any downsides I did not mention, any other techniques for surface swimming (non motorized )?

 

[fnfalman]

Sounds like a good technique. Thanks for sharing that with us. I'll give it a whirl the next time I'm out and see how it would work for me. I'm not in the best of shape (trying to change that right now) and usually had the devil of a time exiting on a shore dive. Maybe by floating the rig in like this would be better for me. I can doff the fins and not having to worry about balancing the rig on my body while fighting against the waves. After I get the fins off, I can always resling the BC and walk out of the surf.