"How far out do you swim?"

This is a frequent question that pops up.

My answer? "Until I find a spot where I feel safe."

Now I know that's an unsatisfying answer, but it is the truth. On different days, my appetite for swimming offshore varies according to the conditions, whether it's an event with a set course and who I'm swimming with.

Yesterday the water was choppy and the sets irregular.

Gerrard, Jo, Chris and I swam roughly 40m offshore, in the gutter between the outer (3rd) bank and 2nd bank at low tide, trying to pick our line to avoid the larger rumbling waves that came through every now and then.

2 weeks ago, the big rollers were in (the kind that produce rainbow waves).

We tried to swim in this same gutter but found ourselves being swished and swashed between the banks. As a group we braved crossing the outer bank to find gloriously smooth water out the back. On that day we were over 100m offshore in sections.

Contrast both of those swims to 3 weeks ago with the thunderous surf.

Gerrard and I only went as deep as my waist. We made sure we could keep our feet on the ground and a good proportion of our body clear of the water, to prevent us from being washed out to sea!

The Mudjimba Charity swim course requires swimmers to be 2km off shore, (coming up June 11).

I don't have much appetite toswim further offshore than that.

The bottom line is, I swim where I feel safe.

If other people are going 'out the back' and I’m not feeling it, I know that it's totally fine to find my own offshore position closer to the beach. The odds are your offshore distance will change with each swim too, so I hope you enjoy going with the flow.