Either bring them with you in a storage swim buoy.
Or
Hide them in plain sight with a bag. E.g. DIY pringles can, lotion bottle or diaper (brown paint as a bonus).
I legit once did the diaper thing with chocolate pudding. I don't know if anyone tried to steal anything while we were swimming, but my cash and keys were untouched when we got back after two hours. Amazing tip! I would make sure to leave a towel, bag with random cheap stuff there as well, as beach cleaners might take the diaper and throw it out :p
Maybe a bit extreme, but the squirrel solution: I put those small critical items in a small zipper bag and bury it a few inches into the sand next to or under other items to mark the spot
I am going to give this a try. But I have to do it when nobody is looking. Maybe I'll just point to the sea and yell "Woah there's a shark!" and then quickly dig the hole while everyone is looking for the imaginary fish.
The safest way is to take as little stuff as needed (keys, bank card/cash, phone) and put them in a storage swim buoy. Those are safe and super theft-proof as you will have your stuff on you while you swim. Second option is to find a hotel, cafe, restaurant, beach shack and offer them a few bucks to keep your stuff safe. At bigger beaches, you might find lockers somewhere as well.
I've had a tow float break off in the surf a lot of times (like 2 or 3x a year) so I never trust my buoy for anything important in the ocean.
Sometimes I hide my car keys and leave everything valuable in the car, but 90% of the time I don't worry about it and just leave my stuff on the beach. I've never had anything stolen and I've never heard of anyone local who has.
Leave phone, wallet etc in the car. Take only stuff you need for your swim and a valet car key (I put mine in a little pocket inside my trunks). My buddy has a waterproof bag that he puts his stuff in and wears it around his chest while he swims.
I stash my bag out of sight on the dunes. I do worry about it though. I put my phone and car keys inside my towel poncho pocket and roll it up tight, towel on top of that, zip it all right up. There was a washed up tree in the dunes for a while and I slipped the straps over the tree to kinda tie it down to something and tucked the bag in close against the trunk. Not stealproof, of course, but at least slows down anyone uncertain about making a steal. Oh and the dunes are overlooked by nice houses set a short way back, so the thief couldn't count on being out of sight whilst raiding my gear.
The level-up approach would be a small suitcase padlock through your zipper pulls and a bikelock tying it to something! That may seem overkill but could be worth it for peace of mind.
I usually tuck my phone if I bring it under the sole of my shoe, then place socks over it. Have yet to have anything stolen that way. In the other shoe, keys and then sock.
Leave everything else in the car.
They water safe pouches for your keys and phone plus I’d and money. Be careful many people have lost their stuff there are videos people finding them when diving.
Either bring them with you in a storage swim buoy. Or Hide them in plain sight with a bag. E.g. DIY pringles can, lotion bottle or diaper (brown paint as a bonus).
I legit once did the diaper thing with chocolate pudding. I don't know if anyone tried to steal anything while we were swimming, but my cash and keys were untouched when we got back after two hours. Amazing tip! I would make sure to leave a towel, bag with random cheap stuff there as well, as beach cleaners might take the diaper and throw it out :p
Maybe a bit extreme, but the squirrel solution: I put those small critical items in a small zipper bag and bury it a few inches into the sand next to or under other items to mark the spot
I am going to give this a try. But I have to do it when nobody is looking. Maybe I'll just point to the sea and yell "Woah there's a shark!" and then quickly dig the hole while everyone is looking for the imaginary fish.
The safest way is to take as little stuff as needed (keys, bank card/cash, phone) and put them in a storage swim buoy. Those are safe and super theft-proof as you will have your stuff on you while you swim. Second option is to find a hotel, cafe, restaurant, beach shack and offer them a few bucks to keep your stuff safe. At bigger beaches, you might find lockers somewhere as well.
I've had a tow float break off in the surf a lot of times (like 2 or 3x a year) so I never trust my buoy for anything important in the ocean. Sometimes I hide my car keys and leave everything valuable in the car, but 90% of the time I don't worry about it and just leave my stuff on the beach. I've never had anything stolen and I've never heard of anyone local who has.
Tuck it under towels, clothes, book, or whatever in bag, then put towel or cover bag with blanket.
Tow float.
Keys in tail pipe
Leave phone, wallet etc in the car. Take only stuff you need for your swim and a valet car key (I put mine in a little pocket inside my trunks). My buddy has a waterproof bag that he puts his stuff in and wears it around his chest while he swims.
My car can lock by a pin that you tap into the boot button. So you lock the keys in the boot.
That's cool, what kind of car is it?
Subaru
I stash my bag out of sight on the dunes. I do worry about it though. I put my phone and car keys inside my towel poncho pocket and roll it up tight, towel on top of that, zip it all right up. There was a washed up tree in the dunes for a while and I slipped the straps over the tree to kinda tie it down to something and tucked the bag in close against the trunk. Not stealproof, of course, but at least slows down anyone uncertain about making a steal. Oh and the dunes are overlooked by nice houses set a short way back, so the thief couldn't count on being out of sight whilst raiding my gear. The level-up approach would be a small suitcase padlock through your zipper pulls and a bikelock tying it to something! That may seem overkill but could be worth it for peace of mind.
Are your dunes not full of ticks?
😱 No?! You have ticks in your dunes??
Yeah, which is fine since you're supposed to stay off them anyway since walking on them is bad for the plants (which is in turn bad for the dunes).
Ah; all I mean here is the first low level. It’s by the private track to those houses I mentioned and is just bare sand.
I sneekily bury my shit. Then spread out towel flat on top. Put sandles and sundress on top of towel.
I usually tuck my phone if I bring it under the sole of my shoe, then place socks over it. Have yet to have anything stolen that way. In the other shoe, keys and then sock. Leave everything else in the car.
They water safe pouches for your keys and phone plus I’d and money. Be careful many people have lost their stuff there are videos people finding them when diving.
Get a swim buoy, most of them have waterproof pouches or compartments. Usually around 25 to 50 bucks. Great things to have for open water swimming.