It was the 2017 Bintan 70.3, Indonesia. The swim started at just about 7am, right before sunrise. I’ve always struggled with the swim, especially with sighting and generally not swimming into the rope or totally off course.

But standing there, on that long beach, admiring the sunrise, it occurred to me that the sun would be the perfect navigational tool. It was squarely on my right (which meant that must have been East). And based on the swim route, it appeared that we were going to be doing about 800m easterly. So that meant that my final long stretch would be into the sun.

Later, I heard others complaining about this, and I understand. With foggy googles and a glaring sun, it’s hard to see where you’re going. But as long as you’re pointed right at the sun, you really don’t need to see where you’re going.

So if you can orient yourself vis-à-vis the sun, you may be well set-up for at least one stretch of the swim. Use any natural landmarks to your advantage; the sun is the ultimate.