You will bounce back next time. As you said the swim is with the current and that will help. I've been in over a dozen tris and almost pulled out of the swim a couple weeks ago in a sprint. Waves splashing over me, congested start, got boxed in and couldn't get around anyone, goggles kicked off, hyperventilating, floating on back, and breastroke... the whole nine yards. The only reason I got through it is experience from previous tris. Brought me back down to Earth. You should do an open water swim once per week, even if you have to drive. It's a hassle but the confidence from these workouts will payoff big time in your next race. Also, get into your own groove during the swim. Find your pace and use self-talk, like "relax and swim." It's common to be out of breath the first 200 meters or so due to the congestion and excitement, so ease back a bit before you hit redline. All the best and I'm looking forward to hearing your next race report! You'll do fine.

You are not the first person to panic during the swim...Sorry that it happened...and good on you for being open about it and asking for help. A good swim clinic will help or a swim coach....and practice.
Check for a local tri club and find open water practice... Spend a week as a "Pickle Head" and do nothing but swim,twice a day.
A first open water swim IS tough...but that's over now. Hang in there..it WILL happen for you.

Which tri was it? If you're up for another one this year there are plenty in the Philly area with shorter swims to try. But don;t give up, the first open water swim is tough, especially surrounded by a large group.

Hello Athena: I am going to reply to your post with this:

"FAR BETTER IS TO DARE MIGHTY THINGS, TO WIN GLORIOUS TRIUMPH, EVEN THOUGH CHECKERED BY FAILURE, THAN TO TAKE RANK WITH THOSE POOR SPIRITS WHO NEITHER ENJOY NOR SUFFER TO MUCH, BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN THE GRAY TWIGHLIGHT THAT KNOWS NOT VICTORY NOR DEFEAT"

Theodore Roosevelt.
You didn't fail if you learn something from this experience. Don't give up and next time, you will succeed.
Check your local YMCA for Open Water swim lessons. Mine here in Valparaiso, IN. has them every year just before the Triathlon racing season starts. Open water swimming is very tricky, specially because of the movement of the water, the fact there is no line at the bottom to guide you and also you are swimming with a bunch of other people all around you so it can be intimidating.
I am very happy to know you signed up for another race. It shows your strenght and determination to get this right. Good luck and, when you start swimming on race day, just keep repeating this to yourself: "RELAX AND SWIM, RELAX AND SWIM, RELAX AND SWIM"
Let us know how it went.
Maria.

It's never a bust, sure maybe a disappointment, but never a bust. A race, the training, it's all part of the total that makes you a triathlete. You had the courage to tri and now you have the determination to tri again.

Train with friends, race with friends if you can... make some new friends. Work on your swim and schedule in some open water sessions with a group if you can find one.

You can do it. Have some fun!.

cgi racing (who does the other philly women's tri in july) has some open water swim on the NJ side of the delaware. and high road cycles has some open water swims up in bucks county at lake nockanixon.
http://www.highroadcycles.com/pdf/open_water_swim.pdf

there are also so ocean swims down the shore but ocean waves may be a litttle too advance but if you want check lin-mark.com and lmsports.com

don't beat yourself up too much open water swims are a bit scary and it isn't uncommon for newbies to hyperventilate. you just need some confidence boosting practice. good luck and have fun

Don't feel bad. I found out the hard way that this type of experience is fairly common. For me, it occurred last summer in my first season of Tri's. 500m ocean swim, was totally shot by 200m, had to hold on to lifeguard boards twice, finally got pushed to shore by the waves in 13 minutes. I was frustrated, embarrassed, etc. I was also determined to try it again. 3 practice ocean swims, going real slow and steady, got my confidence up. When I entered the next race, I had maybe a 5 second period in the first 100m that I felt a little panicky, and I just got in to the same rythm that I had done while practicing in the ocean. Soon I was actually enjoying the swim and passing people. The pool work WILL transfer over, once you get used to the river, or whatever open water the event is in. As part of that process , make sure you learn to"sight" in the open water, to keep swimming in the desired direction.

Go after it again!

You are not alone my friend. In my first race this year, I had a panic attack in the swim, and I've been doing tri's for 15 years with never a problem, and the swim is my strongest of the 3disciplines. I just don't know what happened, I started hyperventilating and it just came on. And my swim training was going great. I was brought back in the lifeguard's boat. I felt aweful, but I've done 2 more tri's since then, and so far so good. I vented about the incident on this forum, and everyone was so supportive here. Just remember, the fear maybe real, but the danger is not. Keep plugging away, you'll be fine.