Preface:
I hate pools. I also am not much of a swimmer… but like my biking and running, I will suffer through as necessary until it starts feeling good.
That said, does anyone know of a non-ocean spot where I can safely practice open water swimming within an hour’s drive of NYC? Thinking of trying to head out of the sauna, er city, on Saturday…
It’s the ocean, but it’s calm. Brighton Beach, in Brooklyn.
The BTC has a group that goes about just about weekly over the summer, we usually meet at 10am at Brighon 4th street on the beach, typically on Sundays. The CIBBOWS (Google it) are usually out there at this time as well.
There’s quite a few of us that swim in the Navesink River which is <1hr train ride from Penn Station (NJ Transit North Jersey Coast Line has a direct from NYC w/ no changes to the Red Bank, NJ station). The river is ~1/2 mile from the train station. With that, the only reason we’ve been in there now is the ocean was still a little cold so we’ve opted for the river. Once we can depend on the ocean being 60F+, the motive to get in the river is less.
If you end up coming this way, shoot me a PM or an e-mail as we may have a few to join you.