marco.
gallon milk jug + loop of rope.
I would never OW swim alone in the sea, no way, but sasamat (being small, calm, with people on the beaches and no boats) inspires a reasonable amount of trust in me.
I have done the mon/thu OW swims @ kits last year, I’ll definitely give it another go this summer. Being a slow swimmer ‘hanging with whomever’ is rarely my concern, I usually worry more about not going off course and finding myself in Stanley Park 
And no way I’d trust a milk jug with my life.
That’s Sammy the Seal. He likes toe rings. I’ve had Sammy bump up against me a few times, first time it scared the crap outta me, but now I expect to see him…
AP
Not sure if you are interested but there is a swim camp for open water swimming being put on by some ex UVIC swimmers and coaches. If interested I can send you the details
A swim today off kits should be fun, the surf will be up enough to cause major sighting problems for the less experienced! The good news is the buoys are up so the group should be starting soon.
Must be the same one who bumped my sister repeatedly during the swim across the bay, but left all the other swimmers on her team alone. We figured that Sammy was looking for a mate and my sister in her wet suit fit the bill!
VOWSA (www.voWsa.bc.ca) swima @ kits beacH start Monday (6th)
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After all this talk about wildlife - almost ran into a black bear descending from Cypress last night, stopped about 50m or so from it and waited till it decided to leave the road! Then almost ran over a racoon in Stanley Park on the way home!
I guess it works in a bettlejuice kind of way!