In a pool you never think about direction. In open water, swimming straight is a skill in itself — and getting it wrong adds distance to every session and every race. Sighting is how you stay on line, and done well it costs you almost nothing.
- Lift only your eyes — "crocodile eyes" — not your whole head.
- Sight on the front of your stroke, then breathe to the side on the same arm.
- Aim for a big fixed landmark behind the course, not the small buoys.
- Sight every 6–10 strokes; more in chop, less when it's calm.
Why sighting wrecks most people's stroke
The instinct is to lift your head and look forward like a water-polo player. It works for one stroke and ruins the next three: your hips drop, your legs sink, and you have to fight back to a flat position. Over a long swim that's a lot of wasted energy.
The fix is to separate two movements that feel like one. You sight forward with your eyes, then you breathe sideways — and you blend them into a single, smooth stroke.
The crocodile-eyes technique, step by step
1. Time it to your catch
As your leading hand enters and begins to pull, press down slightly and let that pressure lift your head just enough to clear your eyes above the surface. Only your goggles come out of the water — your mouth stays in.
2. Take one quick glance
One look. Find your landmark, register it, and move on. Don't hold your head up hunting for the buoy — that's where the hips sink.
3. Roll straight into your breath
As your head drops back down, roll to your breathing side and take your normal breath on the same stroke. Sight, then breathe, then back to swimming — one continuous motion.
Sight with your eyes, breathe with your head. If you're lifting your face to do both, you're doing two jobs with one expensive movement.
Pick the right thing to aim at
Buoys sit low and disappear behind every wave. Instead, line up a large fixed landmark behind the course — a building, a tree line, a headland — and use the buoys only for fine adjustment as you get close.
CAIRN
A high-visibility tow buoy keeps you easy to sight too — for boats, spotters and swim partners — and keeps your kit dry while you train.
Fixing the most common fault: veering
If you always drift the same way, the cause is usually an uneven stroke or only ever breathing to one side. Breathe bilaterally in training, and sight a touch more often on your drifting side until the correction becomes automatic.
FAQ
Every 6–10 strokes as a baseline — more often in chop or crowded water, less when conditions are calm and your line is holding.
A sighting technique where only your eyes lift above the surface — like a crocodile — while your mouth stays in the water. You sight forward with your eyes, then roll to the side to breathe on the same stroke.
Usually an uneven stroke or breathing to one side only. Practise bilateral breathing and sight slightly more often on your drifting side until the correction becomes automatic.
Use a large fixed landmark behind the course — a building, tree line or headland — as your main reference. Buoys sit low and vanish between waves; use them only for fine adjustment as you close in.