ODYSSEY Open Water Swimming

If you live in the East Bay and are sick of schlepping to SF’s Aquatic Park, look no further! Odyssey Open Water Swimming is a blast and conveniently located in the Berkeley marina.
First off, these guys are super friendly and welcoming. Warren and his crew have a great energy, so definitely don’t be intimidated. The diversity of swimmers is wide – some are training for swim events/​triathlons and some swim just for fun.
When you first show up, Warren goes through the route of the day and anything that you should know before starting. Let’s be real, for newbies, open water swimming can be terrifying. The water is cold, you can’t see the bottom, and what about the sea creatures?! This is your opportunity to ask questions and put your mind at ease. There are routes as long as 1.5 miles, but you are completely welcome to do as little as you’re comfortable with.
Once everyone is in the water, Warren and his crew watch everyone on kayaks. I’ve been to a few absolutely gorgeous Sunday swims – the sun is out, the water is relatively warm (though I still wear a wet suit), and the water looks like glass.
All in all, whether you’re looking to work out or get in touch with nature, this is your answer! Don’t forget your wet suit (unless you’re brave), your goggles, bright swim cap, ear plugs (helps if you’re prone to sea-​sickness) and towel. Oh, and some anti-​fog for your goggles.

Had a great time with my first experience of open water swimming with Odyssey. I’m training for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon and went from zero open water swimming to completing my first sprint triathlon with just a couple of sessions with Odyssey.
Warren briefs swimmers thoroughly before the swim begins and is always present in a kayak if you run into difficulty. The swims usually last for about an hour and most people tend to swim together, although you can break off if you’re slower or faster. He sets up an easy to navigate course of buoys in the Bay, taking into account the weather and water conditions at the time. Organisation of sessions and communication around them is, in general, excellent.
The sessions are a little expensive at $ 18 if you pre-​book and $ 20 if you don’t, but for an open water novice, they provide an accessible way to start swimming in the Bay with the safety of a group and a support vessel.
P. S. The Tuesday evening sessions are really my favourite way to spend a weekday evening!

This is a great way to learn open water swimming. And a good way to spend 90 minutes whether you’ve had a lot of open water experience or none. I practiced my first open water swims here. The water in the Berkeley marina is calmer and less populated than on the San Francisco side, which made it ideal for a beginner. And Warren, who is the coach, was very friendly and made me feel comfortable and welcomed. It’s a quiet and beautiful setting with the SF skyline in the backdrop. It was also fun to see the pictures that Warren took from his kayak while we were swimming. I’ll definitely be going back. I’d like to try one of the evening swims. I heard it’s beautiful to be here when the sun is setting.

This is about as good as it gets.
This is great for any level from beginner to elite with varying distances as well. I went out last Sunday and the waters were quite calm. You essentially swim from buoy to buoy. If you only want to do a half mile (which is what my husband did) its an easy out and back pattern. I swam one mile. There is a little bit of a current sometimes but I don’t think it is every really that bad (it is nothing like swimming up a river current). It was just something I noticed as I was swimming a little section of swim. It is in a very safe location so you don’t have to worry about boats and such.
Warren was awesome. When it comes to open water I always feel like I am panicking when I swim compared to a pool (which is why I came out to train in the first place). I explained my panic feelings I get to Warren and he basically just explained that all of that was normal and to just go out and do what you can do. Turn around if you need too, stop and rest if you need too, wave him down if you need too. I just felt really safe and it made the entire open water swim experience extremely joyful.
Water temperature varies throughout the year but it is always wetsuit worthy. It is March and the water temperature was 62 degrees. Perfect wetsuit swimming weather for sure.
Awesome location for those on the East Bay — located along the Berkeley Marina so it is really easy to get to and ample parking.

I went out with Warren and the rest of the crew a few times during August & September in preparation for the Keller Cove 1 mile swim up in Richmond, CA.
The location is close to ideal to practice open water swimming. The stretch of the Berkeley Marina where Warren does the swims is mostly calm and very open. It’s also relatively warm. Also, the few times I stopped to just get my bearings and observe the local environment — it’s really kind of beautiful. Calm water, blue skies, hills in the distance.
Warren is also pretty good about setting up swimming courses. What he usually does before the swim starts is set out a bunch of buoys that mark a long course and a short course. So if you can only handle a mile or half mile swim, you can take the short course. If you are stronger and need to prepare for longer event, you can do the long courses he sets up – which are usually at least a mile.
Warren usually hangs around the group in a sea kayak watching and observing, and making sure nothing bad happens. Unlikely given that this section of the bay isn’t subject to much boat traffic, sea mammals, or strong ebb — flood tides.
He also pairs up with some of the local kids swimming teams that have kids trying out open water events to go along with their pool competitions. So you get an interesting mix of kids who make a lot of noise (but swim incredibly fast) and 20 – 30 something triathletes squeezing in their swim time before running off to family obligations.
So if you are in the East Bay, and don’t want to go all the way to Aquatic Park in SF to get your open water swimming time, Warren’s crew is the way to go.