It hit her the moment she dove into English Bay. Even though she’d spent so much of her life in the water, Billi Behm had just entered a very foreign world.
Behm was competing in the Jericho Oceanman race. The one-kilometre swim, six-kilometre paddle and eight-kilometre run were challenging, but as a long-time swim instructor and member of a Masters swim club, she thought the ocean leg of the race was the least of her worries.
Then she started swimming.
First there was the impact of the cold water. Our instinct is to gasp. But gasping when you’re surrounded by water triggers an equally primordial reaction — fear of drowning. Fear transforms itself into anxiety which makes our heart beat faster. That is not what you want your heart to be doing when you need each breath to provide as much oxygen as possible.
Compounding all of this were the weather conditions. A small craft warning had been issued for the Strait of Georgia because of high winds. The waves kept hammering her with every stroke, the whitecaps a visual reminder that this was not the swimming pool where she did her training.
“The water was murky, I couldn’t see the bottom and I felt completely out of my element,” she says. “It was such a challenge but I had to overcome it.”
Today, Behm’s face breaks into a broad grin when she steps off September Morn beach on Bowen Island and into Howe Sound. These waters are now familiar territory, not simply because she lives on Bowen. As well as being a swim instructor for North Vancouver’s recreation department, she’s a coach with Sea Hiker, a company founded almost a decade ago by , a former Canadian freediving champion whose goal is to make people feel at home in the ocean.
“A lot of it has to do with confidence and feeling like you’re in control,” Scott says, sitting on the beach with its view of Vancouver’s skyscape. “A lot of people have strong unconscious fears of what’s under the water. If you’re afraid, it’s really hard to learn anything.”
His years as a freediver — diving to depths of 200 metres holding his breath — have given him an almost seal-like swimming style. Growing up in Ontario and Nova Scotia, he was a tentative swimmer until he decided to join a university swim program. Hooked on freediving — he competed for Canada at world championships in Spain — he says, “I was so comfortable under the water that being on top of the water was easy.”
Sea Hiker hosts various training programs and is about to launch its 2015 summer schedule at Jericho Beach and Bowen Island. Beginner courses start today (July 13). Intermediate and advanced courses on Jericho Beach start July 14 and 15. Go to for details.
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Sea Hikers’ tips for ocean swimming
Baby, it’s cold in there
A wetsuit helps you warm which is especially important for beginners because, as Scott says, “If you’re really cold, it’s hard to learn or listen to anything.”
You can also wear socks and gloves but they tend to make you more clumsy. He recommends a silicon cap.
Take a deep breath and...
The only problem with a wetsuit is that “it compresses your chest a bit so it’s not as instinctive to inhale or exhale,” Scott says. When you’re wearing a wetsuit, “breathing has to be a conscious effort. If you just breathe naturally, your carbon dioxide won’t get out. It would be like walking up a hill and holding your breath. Our instinct in water is not to let the water in so we naturally tend to hold our breath.”
Do like the fish — swim in schools
By taking classes you forge friendships with people who won’t think you’re crazy if you say “Do you want to go for a swim?” when the ocean temperature off Jericho Beach is 14-degress Celcius in May.
In the summer ocean temperatures are usually between 17 and 21 degrees though last year it was warmer.
Don’t force it
While many athletes take ocean swimming lessons because they’re training for a triathlon, the course also appeals to people who are just beginning to get their feet wet in aquatic sports. Open water swimming is also an Wummer Olympic and Pan American Games event.
It’s recommended that you’re able to swim 100 metres. “If you have no interest in it, don’t force it,” Scott says. However, he encourages people to consider taking the plunge. “The freedom of movement is just awesome.”
