[Jacqueline Broner]

Post any community related inquiries here – maybe you’re looking for swim buddies, perhaps you need help with a training plan. Please be respectful and helpful – and happy swimming!

[Jacob Manalac]

Hi,

When will the open water swims start this year? Will it be Saturday/Sunday May 26th and 27th? Will this be the first weekend where the swims will be hosted?

Thanks in advance.

Jacob

[FIODHNA O GRADY]

Hi, looking forward to swimming. Need tech help to join the group swim. How do I sign up as I can’t find the “book here” type button on the weekly group swim pages? Not sure why. I see some are already booked up. Thank you!!! 🙂

[Jacqueline Broner]

If you are a member, you need to be logged into the site to sign up for the group swim. There will be a ticket choice at the bottom of each swim page (if it’s not already booked up). If you aren’t a member, you’ll need to join first before you can sign up.

[Karyn Mullin]

looks to me like June 2nd will be the first CLINIC, however, there is a fee attached to these this year? I don’t remember paying last year.

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Karyn! You are correct in that clinics were included with membership fee last year. However, we have added a small admin fee to reserve a spot – mainly because we pay our clinic instructors and in the past there have been a lot of no-shows or repeat attendees. We feel that this nominal fee is still a great bargain compared to the hundreds of dollars other clubs charge for their clinics, and it allows us to keep top-notch instructors. Hope that explains it and we hope to see you at a clinic.

[Jacqueline Broner]

Jacob – I believe we corresponded in email – my apologies for missing this post – YES, it’s Saturday May 26. Hope to see you then!

[Jacob Manalac]

Thanks Jacqueline! I’m gonna try my luck this Sunday, hoping to meet other swimmers there. I registered for a sprint distance tri event on June 3rd and I have not practiced on open water! As you said, I’ll start with a short swim, I won’t stay in too long. I want to at least have a feel of how it is to swim with my wetsuit on.

[This Saturday may 26]

Will there be swimming this Saturday or sun or Monday ? If so, what time should we be at Grimaldos chair? There will be bag watching, right? Thank you. Maggie mschwarzny@aol.com

[Jacqueline Broner]

Yes Maggie – the season starts on Saturday! We’ll be at Grimaldo’s Chair starting around 10am all three days.

[Klara]

Hi! I know there’s a clinic for memebers next weekend, but I’m totally new to open water swimming and looking to get some practice in before a scheduled tri mid-June. I’m not adverse to joining as a member, but have to budget and probably can’t for another 2-3 weeks.

Two questions: first, can I come to the swims THIS weekend as a total newbie and non memeber? Second, can non-members pay the $40 to attend the beginner clinics?

Thanks.

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Klara – Unfortunately we can only offer clinics to members right now – it’s due to insurance – but you are more than welcome to come, hang out, meet other swimmers, and swim with us in an informal capacity. If you talk to folks and find someone roughly your speed, I’m sure people would welcome you to swim with them. Our weekend hangouts are pretty loose. Just come by and join us! And if you end up joining as a member in another week or 2, you can probably get a clinic or two in before your Tri.

[David Wallman]

Hi,
I am hoping to do my 4 hour qualifying swim for Ederle-Burke on Monday (Labor Day) and will need an observer. If anyone is already planning going to Coney Island that day, I could use some help.
Thanks,

-David

[Louise Darlington]

Hi all: let my membership lapse , so happy to be back! cheers

[Maddie]

Hello! I would love to join up for the weekend swims, are the lockers on the boardwalk available during these times? Or is there another way to secure metro cards and keys? Thank you

[Richard Realmuto]

Hi, I am the blind swimmer and a new member and have signed up for the Jetty clinic on July 8. Need to get in contact with Pat for the Jetty drill on this Sunday to make an arrangement for a buddy or buddies to assist me. Please contact me to let me know if this can be worked out.
Thanks so much. Hope to hear from you soon.
Rich Realmuto

[Pierre Santos]

Hi!

I have severe deep water anxiety, and I had to defer my 2018 NYC triathlon because after 5 open water swim training I felt I was not mentally ready. One of the volunteers of NYC tri told me about CIBBOWS and advised me to look into your program. I don’t know if this is the right group for me to help me conquer my anxiety in deep water, but I am hoping you could be of help to me.

Thanks and all the best,
Pierre
6462016771

[Richard Realmuto]

Pierre,

[Constance Sasso]

Hello Pierre!
Have you connected with any of the CIBBOWS people yet?
I’ve also got open water swim “issues” and have participated in several triathlons (including NYC).

CIBBOWS has been an amazing resource for me!
If you’d like to discuss further please feel free to email me!

Constance

[Marit Boots]

Hi,

I will be visiting New York on October 23rd and would love to have a short swim alongside Manhattan in the morning. Is this possible somewhere and maybe a swimbuddy who wants to meet up and have a fun swim?

Thanks,
Marit

[Elana]

Is anyone swimming tomorrow morning? If so, what time?

Thanks

[Martine Hasenauer]

Hi,
I’m new here and wondering about Cibbows. I swim in pool bi weekly but fascinated by ocean. Questions: do Cibbows groups also swim during the week, or is it only week ends? (I work most WE). Do you need to be a member to swim with the groups? Can you pay only when you swim? Looking forward, Martine

[Marie D]

Hi, I assume most people use wetsuits through June, is that correct? And, I would like to swim t/o the summer. Does anyone have any recommendations on the best thickness for a wetsuit? Thanks in advance, Marie

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Marie – no, not everyone wears one. It’s a very personal choice. If you’re sensitive to the cold or do triathlons you might want to wear one, but most of us don’t, really. If you do get one I’d go for the lighter weights as the water is going to warm up each weekend.

[Jacqueline Broner]

Martine – we meet only on weekends as a formal group – but as you meet people, you may find some that have flexible schedules and would be willing to meet informally on the weekdays.

[Shana Wertheimer]

I am looking forward to logging some open water swim time as a new member this summer (just joined) only to discover the intro swim this Saturday is full! Is the 12 person capacity strict? Unfortunately I can’t make another meet up until late June so would love to log some swim time Saturday if possible.

Thanks so much!

[Jacqueline Broner]

Shana – we need to keep the group small as it is difficult for the coaches to keep everyone together when they are different speeds. However, we sometimes have no shows. I have opened up a waitlist – you can sign up for that and if someone lets us know that they can’t make it – we can let you know. We might not know till right before it starts so you can still come out to the beach just in case – you can swim on your own or find a partner till the next clinic you can make.

[Jessica Beecher]

Hi!

I moved to Manhattan a few months ago, but originally from Long Island. I’m swimming in the Maggie Fischer Cross Bay swim (5.5 miles across the Great South Bay) in July and have been missing out on my open water swims. I’m thinking of joining the Cibbows membership so that I can still get some training in on the weekends. How can I go about doing this and come possibly this Saturday?

Thanks!
Jessica

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Jessica! Head to our site cibbows.org and click on the Membership tab. Once you’ve joined you can sign up for our clinics and group swims. Saturday is our beginner clinic – we have only one spot open if you’d like to join it – sign up quickly. If you aren’t a beginner to open water – we do have group swims on Sundays. You can also just come out and hang out and find a buddy to swim with.

EDIT – Our clinic this Sat. 6/22 just sold out. We can start a waitlist in case of cancellations. But we have more clinics upcoming.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 5 months ago by Jacqueline Broner.

[Nicholas Burnham]

Yeah. welcome back

[Nicholas Burnham]

Members are given swim buoys which can hold stuff while you swim. We recommend an extra waterproof container to put into the buoy, but I’ve never had any problems.

[Nicholas Burnham]

Lucky for to get into the Great South Bay Swim. Show up this Saturday and if there’s room in the clinic you can join in with a contribution; if there’s no room there will be plenty of people swimming and everyone want some company.

[Elizabeth Wolff]

Hi, I’ll be joining the swim clinic this Saturday and looking forward! My husband wants to meet me after, do we end at Grimaldo’s Chair as well as start there? If not, any idea where he can meet me? Thanks!

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Elizabeth – yes, Grimaldo’s Chair (the lifeguard chair on our bay of the beach) is home base – he can meet you right there. We hang out there most of the day.

[Michael Cassidy]

Hi
Where do we meet for the Breezy Point Swim? I am coming from Long Island and I am curious where I need to be and at what time.
Sorry. Newbie to CIBBOWS.

Thanks!

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Michael – we will send out a swimmer memo soon but the staging area for the swim will the Education Hall building of the NY Aquarium which is located on the boardwalk between the Aquarium and the amusement park.

[George Dawson]

Hi.
I see the date of september 21 has been changed for the triple dip event. As such, will you all reschedule the whale watching excursion that was to be held on the date of the 21st?

Regards,
Dr. Dawson

[Martine]

Hi!
Anyone up for a swim tomorrow morning? I am a pretty slow swimmer and thinking of swimming about 45/50 minutes. Martine

[Maddie]

Hello! When out in the water, are there lockers to put personal items (keys, metro swipe, etc)?

Thank you!

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Maddie – we don’t have any locker facilities in Brighton Beach. However there are always some people on the beach and we keep and eye out for each other’s things.

[Maddie]

Thank you, most appreciate the answer! Looking forward to the season!

[Henri Ewaskio]

I’m new to swim chat. Would like to be in the loop about the current Covid related swimming restrictions.

[Brian Tsau]

Hi,

Are there any good times to go for open water swims (non-group) where there will be people around to watch belongings? I would like to be able to go before work most days around 6:30-7 ish.

Thanks – Brian

[David McNeeley]

Hi all – I am a new member and had the same question as Brian. I would like to swim during the week in addition to the weekend meetups and was wondering if it’s safe to assume that there almost always be a group on the beach to watch bags?

Thanks!

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Brian and David – people do go during the week and there are usually folks there around 7-7:30 am. However we cannot guarantee that someone will be on the beach at all times although since people arrive at different times and end their swims at different times, there usually are at least a couple of people chatting on the beach. However I suggest taking your valuables like phone, keys etc. into a swim buoy (double bagged if need be) and don’t trust that there will absolutely be someone guarding things. Most likely, but not assured.

[Alexandra Diczok]

Hi! I am interested in becoming a member and joining for group swims, but while I’m very comfortable in the ocean, swam competitively into my early teens, and lap swim casually in the summers, I’ve never done a proper open water training swim. I’m also a little out of shape this year 🙂

I see that the beginner swim clinics are cancelled during the pandemic, and wondered if I should just wait til they’re back up, come out to a group swim even if I might tire fast, or perhaps find some people to link up with for a more casual swim to “test the waters”.

Thank you so much!!

[David Ospina]

Hi, will this club resume this year. I would be interested in informal swims before Memorial day.

[Jeremy Whelchel]

Yes, David, we’ll be back this year. However our first day is indeed Memorial Day. If you’re a member or signed up for our mailing list, you should be hearing about it soon.

In the meantime, I can tell you there are often people swimming at the beach on the weekends. Moreso as it gets warmer. CIBBOWS just won’t be operating until the beach officially opens on Memorial Day weekend

[Babs]

Hi, I did an open water clinic last week and had a great time and am looking forward to swimming again this weekend. The 6/5 group swim was full, so I’m on the waiting list, but if that doesn’t pan out, will I still be able to join some folks if I show up on the beach around 10am? Or should I arrange to meet with specific people via this forum ahead of time?

Thanks!

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hey Babs – just come to the beach! Lots of people will be heading out for swims either alone or with friends and I’m sure you can find someone your speed to join. We are starting a forum for members only to find swim buddies (you can find it by going to the first Forums link at the top of this page in the breadcrumbs) but we don’t have many subscribers yet – we should be announcing this soon. In the meanwhile, just come out and meet people.

[Nargus Harounzadeh]

Hi! New member here- I’d love to join the group swims but it looks like they are all sold out for the foreseeable future. Is it OK if I still come out and trail the group? I’m a former collegiate swimmer but weirdly a little nervous about deep open water. I’d love to get over that fear with CIBBOWS — I’m signed up for Grimaldo’s mile, so would like to go out with some folks before that. Thanks so much!

[Tristan O’Shea]

Hey! I’m a new member and I’m looking to swim a couple of times a week. Are there any preliminary sessions I should be aware of to know routes better? Where do people normally take off from? Thanks! Can’t wait to hit the water.

[Marta Millar]

Hello! I wasn’t able to attend any of the race training clinics in June, and I am wondering if any more will be offered before Grimaldo’s Mile. Thanks in advance!

[Harry Neuhaus]

Hi there, I just joined and am looking forward to meeting some of you tomorrow, July 17th.
To whomever is in charge of the forum and member profile section, the Members-Swim Buddies page does not load and give an error message. I’ve tried to add my photo when editing my profile and it won’t upload it even though the file is less than the maximum allowed.
Thanks and see you tomorrow.
Harry

[Jacqueline Broner]

Thanks for the heads up. There seems to be a bug adding new members but we will look into that and in the meanwhile, it should work for you now. Sorry about that!

[Dan Rosenthal]

Do I have to be a member before joining on weekends? Or are some meetings open to non-members? I’m already member of US Masters Swimming – does that apply to this group?

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Dan! You do not need to be a member to come meet up at the beach. You do need to be a member to join the coached group activities – but you are welcome to hang out, meet people, and if people are headed out for swims in informal groups you are welcome to ask folks if you can join them. USMS membership is not applicable for coached group activities at this time. Hope to see you on the beach!

[Tim Nemceff]

I loved the Intro to Open Water Swimming Clinic today! It was such a fun group and it felt great to get back in the ocean again. I’m looking forward to a group swim next weekend!

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Tim! I’m so very glad to read this! We love when our clinic participants are happy.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Jacqueline Broner.

[Finn]

Hi there! I’m new to NYC but am an avid outdoor swimmer from the U.K. looking for swimming buddies to go for a dip in the coming months. Please drop me an email finndarrell@outlook.com if you’re up for joining me!
Take care and happy new year!

[Noah Dwora]

Hi all!

I am a first-time Half-Ironmaner, racing on May 14th (Harryman State Park) and July 10th (Geneva New York, Musselman).

I live in Brooklyn, NY and have been steadily training in the pool at my local gym, but have never really trained in open water.

Do you have any recommendations on where I could practice open water swimming before May? I have my wetsuit ready for the cold weather but/and am also happy to travel..

Thank you so much in advance!
Noah

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Noah. Although there’s no place to legally swim off season in NYC – plenty of people swim year round at Brighton Beach. Please note there are no lifeguards and people use a “swim at your own risk” policy even though it’s technically not allowed. You’ll find people at Brighton 4th St. on weekend mornings around 10:00 am and later. Usually a good crowd shows up around 10:30ish especially on Sunday.

[Noah Dwora]

amazing – very helpful, thank you Jacqueline!!

[Spence Ford]

I want to join the members if CIBBOWS at 10am at Grimaldo’s Chair on Monday May 30, 2022. This will be my 1st swim in open water but I swim a slow mile regularly at Riverbank State Park pool. What do I need to know or bring?

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Spence! We don’t have any organized activities on Monday but people will certainly be at the beach. Just come by with whatever swim gear you need (bright cap and goggles, towel, sunscreen, etc.) and meet people and go out for a swim. Small informal groups of people usually head out together and if you’re uneasy about swimming alone I’m sure you can join someone or two.

[Spence Ford]

Thank you, Jacque! I would like to meet others to swim with for sure!

[Andres Montalvo]

Do you swim with wetsuit or neoprane pants? I am a newbie to the area.

[Jacqueline Broner]

That’s a very personal preference. Some do wear wetsuits and some neoprene shirts – most of our long time swimmers do not. Water is in the low 60s now.

[Andres Montalvo]

Thanks a lot for the swift replay. I am glad I found this chance to try open waters again.

[Kaity]

Howdy! I just moved to Greenpoint and am excited to find some OWS friends- are there any people here that swim during the week? Weekends are a bit hard for me to get down to Brighton. Thanks in advance!

[Grace Robinson]

How long do y’all wait post a severe storm like yesterday’s to get back out there? Thinking about bacteria levels…

[Mal Ward]

Hi! I wanted to join the group for open water swimming tomorrow but can see it’s sold out. Is there a way to be on a waitlist? In my experience there are always no shows day of so thought I’d try? I’d be with the slower paced group! Thanks for any help!

[Christopher Chen]

Hello – I’m a new CIBBOWS members and signed up for the coming group swim this weekend on 7/30. Is there any way for me to invite a non-CIBBOWs member to join the swim as well? I recall seeing in previous group swims a non-member’s section of sign ups, but I couldn’t find any information on how I might be able to invite another friend along. I’d love to know if that’s possible!

• This reply was modified 4 months, 2 weeks ago by Christopher Chen.

[Jacqueline Broner]

Hi Christopher – our groups are members only except we generally allow a one time drop in for $25. Have your friend email us at info@cibbows.org and we can set up a special ticket for them to register – they must register in advance.