Pool Time vs Open Water Time- Your time comparisons

I'm slow regardless, but the fastest I could swim 800 yards last season in the pool was 22-23 minutes. In my target triathlon, I swam the distance in 19:30. Thought the distance may have been short, but some of the seasoned veterans of this race felt it may even have been long. I don't do flip turns in the pool, maybe that makes the difference?

Think it depends a lot on the situation. Wetsuit and drafting will make you faster in OW. Not getting a full breath of air every 25 yds will slow you down. Plus getting the crap beat out of you.

Similar to bear, last year I would average around 20 min in the pool for 800 yds. My second tri ever, I swam 12:30 for 1/2 mile. That included a fair amount of wading and rough chop. Bottom line, I think many OW courses are undermeasured. 800 yds is 800 yds in any pool (duh), but it might be anywhere from 600-1000 in OW, depending on how accurate the measurement is.

Salt water would improve your time due to the buoyancy. When I swim in the pool I don't do flip turns or push hard off the wall. I think that really slows me down time wise.

Hrm. My pool times and open water race times actually map pretty closely. Maybe I'm doing something wrong??