Do you OWS alone?

Here is my 2 cents.  NEVER NEVER swim Open Water alone.  Unless you are at a depth that you could stand up in and be ok. 

Always wear a bright colored swim cap. 

If I can't find someone to swim with you, then at least have them walk the shoreline as you swim.  My wife has done this several times.  In regards to what do you do in the middle of a lake even if you are swimming with someone and they are not right next to you.

When I swim with others, I constantly check to see that they are ok.  No, I'm not right next to them, but if something bad happens, I could get to them fairly quickly.  And if you're in good enough shape to be doing an OWS, you can probably tread water for a minute or two. 

Nothing prevents the catostraphic (sp), but don't be stupid and set yourself up either.

Ill do it in places that I can stand up.  I would not risk it in water deeper than I can stand. 

I'm very fortunate to have a lake nearby that has a marked off area to keep boats away and is still deep enough where one can touch bottom.  You can swim a good mile in one lap this way.

X2, even if you think you are a confident/competent swimmer.  I have been swimming a long time and had an unexpected and unanticipated medical emergency during the swim leg of a race. 

Just don't ever think "it'll never happen to me"

I agree that swimming alone is not a good idea where boats and especially jetskis might also operate.   I, however, really enjoy swimming the length of the cove at the lake house.   Twice I have persuaded Janicewhokeepsmehumble to accompany me for safety.  The first time, she drove the ski boat.  I swam down and turned around and expected to see her somewhere in the middle of the cove behind me.  I didn't see her at first.  Then, I saw her at a neighbor's dock and she was waving.  I swim to the dock and find that she has run over a mooring line and it is wrapped around the propellor.  It is amazing how hard it is to hold your breath long enough to untangle a rope after swimming a mile or so.  It was several years before I got her to accompany me again.  This time, I wanted her to paddle the canoe alongside me.  I jumped in and headed out.  No J in sight.  I swam the length of the cove and come back still no J.  I finally got back to the dock.  The canoe was tied up and she was gone.  Apparently the wind was blowing a bit.  With her paddling skills she had just gone in circles in the middle of the lake.  She said when she got back to the dock she was through.

I swim alone now.

TW

Nope.  And technically, I don't ever swim alone in a pool either.  There is always at least one lifeguard on duty.  You just never know, and it's a risk that you might not be able to eliminate, but you can certainly mitigate.

For example, a very experienced triathlete was in the middle of a long workout in the pool the other day.  Then I notice she is holding onto the lane rope, pulling herself along toward the wall.  She hops out and her calves are knots.  She could barely get out of the pool.  If that would have happened alone in a lake...

Hilarious.  Janicewhomademespitonmykeyboard at least tried.  I told my wife I wanted her to paddle a canoe while I swam across a local lake.  She looked and me and said, "Across that thing?  You're an idiot".   

x2.  I still get the benefits of practicing sighting, by swimming from buoy to buoy trying to maintain the straightest line possible.  Also gives you the feel of swimming in a wetsuit...

Same for me. On a Saturday morning in the summer there are usually ~20 people down there. Not just from my club but a couple of other local ones too. I usually find someone who swims at about my pace to go round with. If not there are usually enough swimmers that someone would be close by if I got into trouble.

I have but bring a person along usually my husband who watches me from shore. Honestly what can he do if I have an issue?

Funny husband stories....once while swimming even with the beach in Fl, my husband saw two fins following me..turns out they were dolphins..so glad I didn't see them it would have totally freaked me out. I had a pink swim cap on and other tourists were commenting on the three dolphins out there playing with a pink ball then I stand up and walk to shore and they were really embarrassed.

Last summer we went to a place I swim a lot which has a tri in August. Normally I go with friends but this time I went alone. He really had no idea where we were so before I swam he kept asking me questions..what town are we in? What is the name of the park? Name of the pond? Finally it dawned on me he was being prepared if he had to call 911 to tell them where I was in case of emergency.

This year I invested in a rescue can which is hard yellow plastic thing I can put it over my shoulder and pull behind me swimming. In the next month I'll do 2x a week ows and some will be 1.75 hours long getting ready for my IM swim. None of my tri friends are interested in going that long, so I will swim at a State Forest that has lifeguards and just go back and forth along the buoys. Honestly it makes me feel safest as there is someone there just in case. My kids can play in the water and afterwards we often have a family bbq there so it makes for fun training and family time.

I'd hesitate to swim alone because I know I'm not the strongest swimmer around.  That said, if I were going to, I'd probably invest in something like this:  http://www.triaids.com/SwimSafe.htm