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Open-water swimming at Clearwater Beach

By TERRY TOMALIN, Times Outdoors Writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 5, 2000

Everybody needs a good place to swim. This beach, with its well-marked, 2-mile-long "safe bathing area," is a great place for a workout.

Lifeguards (full-time, year-round professionals) watch the water from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., seven days a week. But the best time for a long swim is the morning or evening when there are no crowds.

You can swim by yourself or join one of two organized groups that meet each week on the beach. Steve Strange, founder of the "Strange Man Biathlon," leads a group that meets every Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Pier 60. Ron Collins, the first man to swim the length of Tampa Bay, leads another group that meets at the same place on Sundays at 8 a.m. All are welcome.

For more information on open-water swiming opportunities in Tampa Bay, log on to DistanceMatters.com.

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Outdoors

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  • The Center for Marine Conservation Beach Cleanup
  • Sand Key Park
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  • Shelling
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