Swimming the Deschutes

I was hoping to swim in the Wickiup Reservoir while up in Sunriver just to get a sense of it because it is where the Pacific Crest Triathlon is held. But, it was further than the rest of the pack wanted to go, and there isn't an option to rent boats at the reservoir. So, we decided to bike down to the Marina and give the Deschutes a try. At the marina we learned that the boats are rented for a 6 mile down river trip, at the end of which a van is waiting to bring you and the boats back to the Marina. Sounded like fun to us, so we rented two canoes (one for each family) and I jumped in and swam for about 40 minutes at the start of our trip. I was swimming with the current, which runs about 3 mph so I felt like I was flying! And, I had the opportunity to practice swimming in groves of seaweed which grew along the shore for much of the way down. It wasn't Kelp that's for sure, but it was getting tangled in my arms and hands so I got messed up in it for a while. I had a lot of fun on this swim, and I've decided that sighting would be whole lot more fun if I had a canoe full of family and friends right in front of me the whole way! I stayed right on course this time....go figure.