I just got my copy of BSDME and I am already marking prospective sites for my first trip there in August.

Some sites are marked as long swim and this is the only shortcoming of the book, in my opinion. It would be nice if it had some actual information, e.g,. swim 100 feet, leaving the reader to decide if this is a long or short swim.

Could anyone please provide actual length estimates for the following sites, marked as "long swim" in BSDME? Meters or feet fine. I'll even take yards, Angstroms, or even smoots.

Playa Funchi (p.12)
Bise Morto (p.13)
Boka Wayaka (p.14)
Wayaka III (p.15)
Boka Slagbaai (p. 16)
Nukove (p. 17)
Aquarius (p. 51)
Lary's Lair (p. 52)
Jeannie's Glory (p. 53)
Salt City (p. 55)
Invisibles (p. 56)
The Rock (p. 57)
Tori's Reef (p. 59)
Vista Blue (p 70)
Sweet Dreama (p. 71)

The only one I kept track of was The Rock on our last trip (Apr 10-20). It's 300 feet from shore to the edge of the first reef.

I never understand the concern about how far the swim out to the reef once I'm in 15' or so of water I start my dive. By doing this it gives me time to get any adjustments made but more importantly I start looking for little things in the sand. For example yellowheaded jawfish, sailfin blennies, tile fish building it's house or like I saw on one dive a conger eel coming out of the sand to steal dinner away from a flounder, it was like a cartoon you could almost tell the flounder was wondering what just happened. I see people swim out to the reef's edge on their back or come up at the end of a dive at the reef when you can start and end your dive so close to the shore. You'll be surprised at what you may find.
Enjoy!!

I agree with Mike. I swim out along the bottom, swim back in along the bottom. Out is just a few minutes and a good "get into it" time. Back is the safety stop, and fun looking at stuff. Your compass is your friend.

To answer the OP's actual question, I'd say 100 ft is a typical "nearby" reef break, with many much closer, and 300 ft is a "distant" reef break, usually with pretty good stuff in between. Most folks if they are just swimming will go 100 ft in just a minute or so, not a big deal. And it is easier and faster than a surface swim!

I agree with the others, there is a lot to see on the way out, and on the way back in. You can also tell the distance when looking at the dive site, the water gets a darker blue at the reefs edge.

Well I'm somewhat in the minority. For some of the "long swim outs" we go out on our back to where we want to descend but we are the same as the rest on the way back in. Sometimes we'll snorkel on the way out but always come back in via the bottom. It's a pretty leisurely kick on the way out and a chance to chit chat and laugh before the drop.

And I think I'd go with the 300 feet thing - many of the long swims are that distance...but it's really not that big of a deal. The majority of the time the water is pretty flat.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

My interest in quantifying short v. long has to do with planning. I'd rather do the long swim dives first when I'd be more energetic, then do the short swim dives.

Short and long are highly subjective. My wife swims a mile a day, so 300 feet is a short one for her. Me, on the other hand... taking a shower qualifies as a very long swim!

(Message edited by lgreco on May 7, 2008)

I think that Nukove was the only place that we felt like the swim was "long" and it really wasn't that long. I think the bumpy drive plus awkward entry followed by the longer swim made it feel longer. We usually kick on our backs for about half of the way, descend, and then swim out to the reef along the bottom. We also stay on the bottom on the way back and everyone is right, there is so much to see on some of the sites this way. None of the swims have ever really seemed "long."

Leo,
Yvette is right...none of the swims to dropoffs are long. I wouldn't recommend choosing dive sites based on long or short swims. Choose them because they are interesting to you. BSDME is an excellent guide for planning, finding, and selecting sites. All the dives you picked are world class.