Swimming question

sidestroke might be an option, or maybe even a modified breaststroke.

My favorite option to use myself would be a water polo style stroke where your whole head is out of water and it's basically a front crawl.  It's much more realistic over short distances as there isn't as much rolling of your body and unfortunately your upper body is much more tensed to keep your head out of the water the entire stroke.

I actually use this method to sight buoy's in a OWS but it only works for a few strokes... any more and you'd be gassed.

See this video.

Edited by jtaddei 2009-07-19 9:11 PM

Get rid of the noseplug. I've never seen someone use them where they didn't just make things worse.

Stand on the side of the pool in around 3'-ish of water. Put your hands on the deck, bent at the waist, so you are in front-crawl position. Before putting your head head in the water, start blowing air slowly but strongly through your mouth. Lower your face into the water, still blowing. Before you get close to running out of breath, slowly pull your face straight back out of the water. Try it with your nose as well, some people tend to prefer one or the other. Remember to do all of the movements slowly and deliberately; it will help kill the feelings of panic.

Once you can go straight up and down, try putting your face in while blowing, then turning your face all the way to the side so just your ear is in the water, finish blowing, and take a slow breath in. Start blowing out again, then rotate back so your face is in the water. Try both sides, you'll likely prefer one of them. That's okay for now, bilateral breathing comes WAY down the road.

By standing and holding on to the edge of the pool, you can given yourself a good stable base. That will help you just focus on feeling the air and the water and the bubbles and all that. I would try it without googles as well, but you can do it either/both ways.

Good luck! Remember, it is completely unnatural to put our faces in the water, so approach it as a totally new skill, stay calm and relaxed, and hopefully you'll be a pro in no time!