To mention some water safety issues we all need to know?

[Northernlurker]

Having read of some awful tragedies over the weekend with open water I thought I would start a thread with a few points and others can add. Because not everybody has had the same exposure to open water risks so what is common sense to one person is utterly unknown to others.

Open water in the UK is cold. Really cold. Even on sunny days. The deeper you go, the colder. This can take even fit and well people by surprise.

Don't jump in to unknown water ever. We are a rocky country populated by messy people. Water hides rocks, logs, metal and all manner of hazards.

Piers and jetty lead out from the shore to deep water so boats can be accessed. Don't regard them as an extension of the shore. The water will be both deep and cold.

Swim parallel to the shore, not out to sea.

No inflatables in the sea ever.

Tides move faster than you can walk, know what your exit route is.

If you can't swim, don't go out of your depth. Don't try and help people in trouble. You help just as much by fetching help or fetching items people in the water can hold on to.

Make sure your teenagers know these principles.

And remember 'float to live'

The poster that put the stats up about black adults swimming got it wrong. From the website the statistics actually are in England:

95% of black adults cannot swim
80% of black children cannot swim

"People of African, Caribbean and Asian heritage have historically been precluded from the world of aquatics. The barriers that these communities face is often entrenched and complex, which has resulted in a lack of education in water safety and drowning prevention. The BSA aims to challenge the negative stigmas, narratives and relationships that ethnic minorities have with the water. According to the WHO, the risk of drowning is higher amongst minority ethnic communities."

Can I also add as haven't seen it yet - if you have a paddle board and you're using it on rivers or lakes, please please use a quick release waist leash not just an ankle one. If you come off your board and your legs or board get stuck against or tangled in a tree/bridge/underwater trolley or other crap and you can't reach your ankle to release yourself, you could lose a limb or drown before anyone can reach you. It's happened recently and the story is doing the rounds as the popularity of SUP explodes.

I'm a kayaker, a professional mermaid, free dived in a tail pre-covid (although my breath hold has not been improved by 18 months at a computer!) and am just taking my first steps into open water swimming with experienced groups, in water I know well. I have been swimming since I was 5 months old, grew up in and out of a boat until my teens, am a strong swimmer and I love the water - and I am constantly amazed by how casual people are as a whole about water safety in this country. We shouldn't be terrified, we should be enjoying our coast and lakes and rivers, but with appropriate caution, education and with safety in mind first.

The poster has corrected their mistake @DaphneDeloresMoorhead

[quote Hotelhelp]@Happylittlethoughts stupid question perhaps but is the danger in that particular photo that you’d go to put your feet down and panic because there’s nothing there or is it the fact that the water is colder where it’s much deeper and then you get the shock?

We’ve had a fantastic week swimming outside this week and actually looking back now I’m worried that I’ve made some silly mistakes and perhaps been very lucky at times however I am an over anxious parent so am constantly keeping track of my children so maybe not, I don’t know. We would like to start SUP as a family but honestly after this last weekend or so I think is it worth it?[/quote]
My view is that you're bobbing around in depth then suddenly nothing. You go vertical and stretch your legs out thinking it must be there but then you're in a sinking position. That is when you have to know how to orientate yourself quickly and get back to swimming.

If you can't swim or panic and keep searching for the bottom with your feet you will be in trouble very quickly. That's why if you can float yourself, get that couple of seconds to understand what's happened then swim towards the shore you should be fine.

This reminds me of all the things I've had to teach my DH about the sea/ocean. He grew up in a land-locked Midwestern state, he's totally clued up on water safety in lakes and rivers but when we first met he was a total liability about the ocean.

He had no clue about the speed at which tides can come in. Swimming paralell to the shore... nope! He wanted to jump from rocks into the sea into unknown water. He also wanted to just jump into the Atlantic in May in the UK- he'd only ever been in the Gulf of Mexico before that.

He's really cautious now because, before every visit to Cornwall, I would deluge him with all the horrible news stories I could find.

@SwanShaped don't worry about what your legs are going whilst trying to float, it's where your head is that counts.
You can still 'float' (i.e. keep your head out of the water) with your legs hanging almost vertical. Stay calm, keep your head tipped back, very very slowly sway your hands back and forth to give you some stability so you don't roll.

When were in Westward Ho! we saw the air ambulance land on the beach, we don't what exactly happened but we heard it was about lad who had had a surfing accident.

A paddle boarder in the Mersey was able to rescue a couple of men in the tragedy that has already been mentioned by pp’s

I know people posting mean well but just to say...there are no currents in Loch Lomond.

People have these weird ideas of strong currents pulling people under the water when they hear that people drowned in lakes but this doesn't actually happen.

Lakes don't have currents.

What happens is usually a combination of:

• Alcohol and swimming

• People really over estimating their capabilities in terms of strength and swimming too far out, then getting too tired to swim back or getting cramps and panicking rather than floating/treading/swimming on their back until they have energy back

• People getting out of their depth due to a shelf or not paying attention and then panicking rather than floating

• People jumping in without acclimatising and getting cold water shock

I don't think it's helpful to spread misinformation about mysterious strong underwater currents.

Currents only happen in moving bodies of water - rivers, the sea, around a small part of reservoirs where the overflow/pipes are although the thought of that creeps me out so much I wouldn't go in a reservoir even though most of it is safe

Actually a caveat to the above - massive lakes that are tidal have currents like the Great Lakes in Canada which should be treated with the same caution as the sea

I don't have anything helpful to add, just placemarking as there is a lot of very useful information on this thread. Thanks OP and everyone who has contributed. 👍

there are no currents in Loch Lomond.

Loch Lomond is 36 km long. There are
22 islands (including Inchtavannach)and 27 islets in it. I have no idea how much water flows into the loch from the numerous streams but there are fresh water springs in the loch. The loch lies on the fault line that divides the highlands from the lowlands. There are no tides but there are currents.

I grew up in a seaside town and float to live was really pushed at school. Don't fight the sea if you get pulled out float. We were also taught to swim parallel to the shore once you are dumped, if you are not tired. Always to wear a brightly coloured costume like red, yellow, pink, orange, not blue. Tell someone you are going for a sea swim. I always swim in the sea in a red costume, even now.

Thank you for this informative thread. I had no idea about float to live and I’m a confident swimmer who did the the life saving swimming lessons (including in clothes) as a child. We were just taught to tread water back then.

I have just spoken to my DD and she says she has been given no information on this or water safety in general by her swimming instructors, and she has been going to swimming lessons for four years (they seem to focus on technique)!

I swim all year round in the sea and rivers with no wetsuit, float or organised cover. I'll continue and feel very confident I'm safe to do so.

I do have concerns about the massive exposure open water swimming has had. It's very Instagramable and that becomes competitive in how remote, wild, exciting you can make it. It encourages everyone it's safe.

It's dangerous if you're copying others rather than a gradual increase in exposture to either temperature, locations, depth, current etc. I've seen numerous posts from people either asking or offering to take someone swimming in the sea....no way would I be responsible for another person! It breeds over confidence by the weak swimmer not natural caution.

It's dangerous if you can't swim or have drunk alcohol.

To the parents who stand on the shore whilst their primary school children paddle or blame schools for not teaching their children to swim...lead by example. Swim with them. Sort lessons privately. Yes expensive but essential. Campaign for free lessons but not from school teachers who have enough issues teaching fronted adverbial. That is not the right place to learn and develop swimming confidence.

I had lessons as an adult. I swam extensively as a child but knew as an adult I needed to be more competent for what I planned. I still stay close to shore and don't take part in competitive 'exciting' water pictures on social media.

Water safety should be taught. Parents should take responsibility for arranging that. As someone has said chat to the RNLI....ask them if they'd run a free session or for donations for a group like Brownies or just friends

People will always impulsively swim in hot weather. The group who died were not swimming. Getting into water happens without planning.

Plan to swim! Plan and prepare rather than tell everyone to stay out of the water.

@SourMilkGhyll that’s useful to know too! I guess I don’t breathe through my feet.

[quote Hotelhelp]@Happylittlethoughts stupid question perhaps but is the danger in that particular photo that you’d go to put your feet down and panic because there’s nothing there or is it the fact that the water is colder where it’s much deeper and then you get the shock?

We’ve had a fantastic week swimming outside this week and actually looking back now I’m worried that I’ve made some silly mistakes and perhaps been very lucky at times however I am an over anxious parent so am constantly keeping track of my children so maybe not, I don’t know. We would like to start SUP as a family but honestly after this last weekend or so I think is it worth it?[/quote]
SUP is a great family activity. Personally I think, as already mentioned, that avoiding water just in case can be more dangerous.

Lessons are a must though, there's a scary amount of people who buy a cheap board on a whim and head straight out onto open water, no wetsuits or buoyancy aids.

@hilariousnamehere @SwanShaped I think I've misled you slightly. The buoyancy aid was done up underneath her and we were in a swimming pool. When I said 'it came straight off', I meant that we took it off her straight away when we realised the problem and used armbands instead. Still very frightening though, because there's that little moment when you can see something is wrong but haven't processed what the problem is.

@Lougle no I mean the tipping forwards in the water! My kid used to do that with arm bands. His legs would float up and push him face down in the water.

I grew up in a Mediterranean country, I'm a confident swimmer in the Mediterranean (I've been swimming unaided since I was 4 and floating was the first thing I was taught) but am yet to dare try the UK sea/ocean/any water really. It seems there are a lot more hidden dangers to keep in mind.

2 years ago I had to be rescued, I was paddleboarding on a piece or water that i thought I knew well but I stupidly misread the warnings (change in weather, change in tide), I wasn’t wearing a life jacket because I didn’t plan on going far out and the water was shallow (again I was stupid), luckily I did have my mobile phone with me in a waterproof pouch and that saved me that day. I called my eldest dd who was on land and she alerted someone who called the coast guard. The conditions changed so fast and the tide pulled me out further and further, the tide was so strong the coast guards boat couldn’t get to me and I was eventually picked up by a small speed boat that had picked up the call though his radio. By the time I got back to land the conditions had changed again (the suns came out and the water was flat). It just shows how quickly conditions can change even when your not expecting it.

I now don’t go out on my own, tend to paddle near other paddle boarders or in groups and I stick to safer waters. I have hardly been out on my board this year. I see so many inexperienced people out on boards and inflatable kayaks without life jackets, mainly people on holiday that don’t know the water. Most deaths here are caused by young lads tomb bombing off rocks and cliffs rather than from water sports or swimming.

My DD’s can’t swim, both have SN’s, both have had swimming lessons but with no success, dd2 can swim a width and that’s about it, school stopped swimming lessons as parents refused to pay for the bus fair to the pool 😡. She was swimming a couple times a week at a local pool but it has been closed for a year due to covid.

Can I please add that Weston super Mare, Burnham on Sea, Brean et al are NOT the seaside! They may have a beach and water (occasionally) but that is where the similarities end. There is mud! It isn't known as Weston on the Mud for nothing! It is an estuary. If you try to walk to the water you WILL get stuck, you may very well drown as the tide races back in.

Every year, without fail, people get rescued. Many people have died. There are signs. WHY DONT PEOPLE LEARN?

please please use a quick release waist leash not just an ankle one
I once went out on a board with an ankle leash. Fell off the board and my wrist got tangled in the leash. So I was attached to the floating board and my wrist was tied to my ankle. You can’t swim with your wrist tied to your ankle! Luckily I managed to get free after a brief but terrifying struggle - but I was still in the water, disoriented and choking, and had a further struggle to get myself to the shore. A waist leash is much safer because it leaves your arms and legs free.

I love pool swimming, it’s one of my favourite ways to exercise, but I learnt to swim as an adult and would not describe myself as a strong swimmer. We go to Scotland a lot and no way would I swim in a loch or waterfall. Even in a pool I won’t go out of my depth. The pool I swim in doesn’t have a deep end - I don’t see the need for leisure pools to have one.

I was going to raise the issue of swimming for sn children too, like the post above. Dh and our neurotypical Ds can swim well and Ds has done lifesaving classes. I am an ok swimmer too but our 7 year old has Asd and dyspraxia and although we have taken him to pools since he was a baby and paid for loads of lessons he just can't get it and still hates jumping and going underwater. We aren't giving up on the lessons and wouldn't let him in open water unattended but please don't always assume it's the parents fault when Dcs can't/won't swim.