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'

This weekend in Scotland has really made me think although you always think you are aware of the dangers of water. It’s should never be underestimated and it’s absolutely heartbreaking what has happened.

I believe it’s 30 people in two weeks that have drowned in the uk. Shocking.

I watched a video last week of 6 month old baby who had bees taught to save herself by turning on her back and floating. Her elder sibling had drowned and her mum had set up a child life saving course. It was so interesting to watch and made complete sense (although easier said than done, I imagine)

That’s right @FatPatsCat. So shocking

@Sprig1

The floating thing is great but relies on not panicking. I think that raises a wider point about resilience in children (or anyone really). It is an important life skill to learn that things go wrong and you need to be able to come up with coping strategies. Too many children are babied through life and never get in to a difficult situation. When it's a life/death one the leap is too great for them to cope.

On the water safety one specifically it's amazing how many of the reported fatalities couldn't swim. It seems to be a cultural thing and common amongst the Asian population, can anyone tell me if that's the case really re: lower swimming rates? Maybe a targeted campaign is needed. If not to get people swimming at least to keep those who can't away from the water.

This is worded in such a horribly distasteful way

Good thread.

I’ll never forget what happened to Naya Rivera. Just heartbreaking.

Don't forget to swim between the red and yellow flags where possible! That's where lifeguards are watching.

And be aware of where the riptides are and what they look like. I've been caught out by one before and kept trying to move but no matter how hard I walked I stayed in the same place. Luckily I had a bodyboard and could wait for the next wave.

We had a drowning in a lake in a park in Sheffield, and one in a lake in Wakefield in the last week. Apart from the tragedy to the families and loved ones, these two tragedies were attended by several emergency vehicles. I counted 15 emergency vehicles at Pugneys on the image from the BBC. Seven other people drowned over that weekend in other parts of the country.

There are warning signs everywhere but people ignore them

I've asked for this to be made a sticky.

The float to live definitely needs promoting much more.

Every year people die because they have jumped into water or been overcome after swimming. Every year people die from avoidable accidents because they think it won't happen to them. More could be done but it will never irradiate those who don't think.

I was going to make the point too about lockdown and kids having been swimming less and a whole batch of children that should have started lessons haven’t at all.

I’m in Scotland and was at Loch Lomond in passing today and actually felt sick watching people jump of the pier at Luss today after what’s happened.

I’m actually watching my daughters swim in the pool on holiday as we speak and it’s become very apparent that my youngest can’t swim anymore. She was never brilliant but the difference between now and early 2020 is stark. I’m growling at my husband every time he takes her eyes off of her and we will be doing some serious floating practice as well as getting back to swimming lessons ASAP.

Float to live is really good and I would add that if you cannot float (my DP can’t, because he is underweight so too dense), then you need to stay out of cold water and wear a life vest when doing water activities.

Totally agree with the points made here!

I met a ranger in a national park who was telling us she had jumped into one of the waterfalls the day before and went into cold water shock. She was lucky to make it out of the water.

I got caught out snorkeling, I was busy watching the fish and didn't realise the tide came in and I was suddenly in very deep water. I'm thankful I'm a strong swimmer or it could have been really scary.

Oh I’m so glad someone started this thread.

Can I add- specifically on the point of canals- please please please don’t let kids climb on or play with lock gates or paddle in the weirs/overflows around canals. I know it looks shallow and calm, but the canal unbelievably dangerous. It’s cold, it’s often full of rat piss and motorbikes/old trolleys and locks just beyond dangerous- if the lower paddles are open and the lock is set to fill, you will be sucked through.

I’m a boater and some of the accidents I’ve seen sober, experienced adults have would make your stomach turn. And we’ve lost friends in awful boating accidents.

Kids shouldn’t be around canals without an adult or good awareness that it’s not only water; it’s water + industrial engineering.

If only they had lifeguards at every beach.

Also don't forget the obvious... make sure buoyancy aids are the correct size and fastened properly. If its got a strap between the legs... do it up.
Otherwise its a useless accessory.

On a slightly different topic can I mention hose pipes?
I read an article recently where someone had a hose pipe wrapped round an outside tap and used it to spray a child, but due to the hose being in the sun all day it heated the water which burnt the child. The advice was to always run some water through first to cool the hose down. Not something I would have thought to do.

I recently read that when a reservoir freezes over. they still draw water...this leaves an air gap. if you fall through the ice, you could have several feet or air and no chance of escape.

I checked recently and I think there’s only something like 7 beaches with lifeguards in Scotland - even though most beaches become absolutely packed on a nice day with people from the city.

RNLI run free Swim Safe sessions rnli.org/safety/swim-safe
My top three are tides, drink & temperatures.
I swim all year round but still find the colder sea on a hot day a bit of a shock.

Remember the RNLI is a charity not a funded organisation. Although I believe they pay the beach lifeguards?

@Badgerforbreakfast I’m also in Scotland and I was wondering/hoping people would be staying away from the Loch out of fear and/or respect but I think people must think it never happens to them.

The swim school my 7 year old went to has closed and I can’t get her in anywhere else. It worries me that she’s not as confident in the water as she should be now.

Another thing to remember is that even lakes and rivers you know extremely well are completely different after heavy rain.

My aunt owns a crib (little holiday cottage) near a river in NZ. They spent every Summer holidays there, and even though they knew the river really well my cousins still got into trouble one time after heavy rain. The volume of water had changed the sides of the river and they nearly drowned in water that was a lot deeper than it had been the day before.

The lifeguards go off duty at 6pm at Crosby. The chap who died got into trouble after 7. The beach was still very busy then. We get a lovely sunset so in this weather it stays busy till late

I don’t know about other posters, but I have noticed a definite craze, for want of a better term, for people I know doing cold water swimming. More and more people entering water and being caught unawares.

Remember the RNLI is a charity not a funded organisation. They’re an emergency service, it’s so wrong they’re not funded isn’t it

@Snookie00

My DF used to warn us about strong currents in Loch Lomond. He said there are fresh water springs in the loch and there are lots of burns flowing into the loch. It's also very cold so cramp is an issue.

Generally, a brightly coloured swim cap is a good idea.

Good thread op. Often swim in the sea. Last week overheard group of 20 somethings climbing up off a beach saying ‘that sandbank has gone I don’t know why’. Internally thought because it only
Appears on this beach at low tide (and a low low). I never go anywhere without tide timetable. It struck me they actually didn’t I ow what tides were in even the most basic way ! They had just spent time on remote no lifeguard rip tide wild atlantic beach ffs !