Assuming I've sighted the correct buoy (or other land mark), I seem to have an amazing ability to be 30 degrees+ off target within a small amount of strokes. This doesn't happen in the pool as there's lane barriers and lines on the tiles to follow etc.
My general pace is OK for someone new to swimming but I'm handicapped in the swim leg of a triathlon as I end up swimming further than everyone else!
any top tips?
is it always 30 degrees to one side - if so pick something 30 degrees to the opposite side and aim at that ?
Sonar?
Not my bag swimming with fishes but Mrs S is a dab hand at Tri. No idea how she swims straight now but I remember her first open water tri where she, with 100 other colourful rubber hats, jumped into the water and set off. Only for 30 seconds later me to see a lone bobbing bonce heading off at 45degrees to the rest of the pack and taking the best part of 5 minutes to notice and track back on course.
She's got a lot better since. And rivers are easier too.
You need to learn to swim straight.
I would sight more often to begin with, then try to cut it down as you learn to swim straight.
Start by sighting every couple of stroke cycles.
Once you find that you're still going the right way each time you sight, start to sight every third stroke cycle.
You do breathe both sides don't you? If you only breathe one side, learn to breathe properly on both sides. Make sure you're rolling your body evenly. Basically look at your stroke, if anything isn't symmetrical, then you'll be wasting energy correcting to get yourself in a straight line.
Oh yeah, if possible, find something on the horizon that lines up with whatever you're swimming for and sight on that until you're close, it's much easier to sight on higher up objects.
Swim Smooth website has some really great videos and instructions about all this:
put flippers on your weak leg & arm to even things up?
Are you breathing to one side only? This is quite a common reason for veering off. Depending how often you're breathing this will become more or less exaggerated. Breathe on both sides and you'll zig zag instead of going off in one direction 
(it'll also pay dividends if the water is choppy)
How is your technique generally? If you're constantly correcting yourself in the pool using lane markers/tiles you might not notice too much, perhaps you're naturally pulling to one side when you swim. When you train in the pool try not to steer using markers/tiles but look up every few strokes instead and sight as you would in open water. Sometimes just the action of looking up can take you off course.
As with most things, it's a little technique and then some practice practice practice!
Andrew - mostly to the left and I have thought about aiming off, but it's sometimes to the right as well. Probably not a great technique swimming in an event either.
Perhaps it's just a case of practice practice practice.
Oh and if you're swimming with other people, keep an eye on whether they're going the right way and if they appear to be sighting and getting there, swim in the same direction as them!
Alternate breathing on one side then the other, that way the sideways pull is equalled and it saves you getting a stiff neck. Worked for me
yes to everyone re: breathing. I'm a two sided breather, but when I'm really going for it I sometimes have to drop back to 1 sided for a bit. But it's more when I'm in my nice rhythm that I veer off.
and thanks for all the tips. most helpful. 9 weeks more practice until XTT off road Tri.
What the hell's that?
An underwater porta-potty?
Breast stroke
I can't seem to breath every third stroke to achieve alternate breathing, I breathe every other stroke and then switch sides each length in a pool. could be difficult in open water tho..
I find using the right goggles helps - a bit more peripheral vision can make a lot of difference, I use the Aqua Sphere ones. Otherwise as others have said try breathing both sides and follow the pack - although I have followed someone only to find they're also going way off line. Of course, this doesn't help if you're really fast and at the front...
another option is to try 2 breaths on one side then two on the other when you need a bot more air.
Have you considered seeing a swimming coach? When I was with Manchester Tri there was a great coach Dave who ran the swimming sessions. He would do a video session with you and then talk through where you could improve your stroke.
Maybe try swimming in the pool with a pull buoy so you can focus on your upper body technique and rotation. If you're not having to concentrate on kicking too then you might spot the problem. If you don't already then with the pull buoy try to slow your stroke rate down and increase stroke length, that might help you keep more balanced.
Watch the pro field in a triathlon on TV. Most of them (and especially the guys at the front) will be sighting every stroke or every other stroke.
In 2 weeks I'm doing my first tri in 23 years, I'll sight every few strokes and am more concerned about being swam over and kicked in the head as I'm about to breathe! I'll be treating it as a swim I have to do before a duathlon starts.
look for the bouy (?), buoy (?), and then look for a mark 90 degrees to one side - a hill, a building, whatever.
it's easier to keep an eye on the 90degree marker, than the bouy.
the closer the marker, the more often you need to look for a new one...
I swim right at the edge of the pack so I can follow the (usaully bright orange string) that holds the course buoys together. Means you don't have to sight at all.
I taught in an outdoor centre once, and one lad was fixing his compass on a particular sheep, walking towards it.....
Haven't read this but might there be a current? In lakes rivers and the sea the water moves around at an alarming rate.
Open water swimming is nothing like swimming in a pool. What you could do in the pool mind is shut your eyes when swimming (very odd sensation) and then sight something at the end to try to replicate open water situation however I find that really difficult. I struggle to swim with my eyes shut as it's not natural.
I recently did a 2 hour open water swimming session with VOTWO and it was brilliant. £39 for 2 hours and I learnt bucket loads.
One of the key things we were taught was sighting, you firstly need to figure out which way you naturally head off and how far out you go. I'm luckily in that I without sighting I still swim in a relatively straight line (compared to some). Then you need to start sighting every stroke, just lift your head up and forwards and tiny bit before turning to breath, as you get better you will only need to do it every few occasions. This weekend I did a 2 mile open water race and was sighting every 6-9 strokes (I breath every 3) it's just about practice practice practice like in most things.
Open water swimming is ace and I love it!!!
Thanks everyone, plenty to take on board there. I've loved open water swimming way more than I thought. It's much better than swimming in a pool.
good luck to everyone who's got events coming up.
In lakes rivers and the sea the water moves around at an alarming rate.
In rivers, yes you get currents, but except in proper good moving water, they rarely make you go sideways relative to the river direction.
In the sea, you sometimes do, although I have a feeling triathlon events are typically timed to be at the turning of the tide (and avoid places with rip currents etc.), so very limited currents.
In lakes though? Currents? I've swum in a lot of biggish and small lakes (big ones in the Lake District, in the Alps, smaller local lakes), and I've never experienced a current that was strong enough to make even a slight difference to the way I was heading. I know there are convection currents etc. in lakes, but they are typically very slow, and make no difference to swimming. Obviously in lakes with rivers coming in and out, there are currents where the rivers enter / exit, but other than that, I've never experienced lake currents.
Wind now, that is a different matter, swimming in a strong side wind is a pain, although if the wind is enough to knock you off course, it'd be obvious and you'd know about it before you got in the water.
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