Scared to swim alone

[Dontwantsummertoendreally]

Is anyone else?

We live near the beach. I’m starting a new job mid September, so I have a couple of weeks to myself at the start of September when Dc are back at school.
Very excited and decided to make the most of it and do some things I really enjoy.
These include going to the cinema alone, coffee at the beach, reading at the beach and morning swims in the sea.
I do this when we all go to a beach as a family. Dh sometimes comes in, but if not, is still there on the sand.
Lifeguards don’t start until 10, there will probably be some people around, but not many.
Would you swim out in the sea alone? Am I being a big baby?!
Did all these things when younger, without even thinking about it.

I love swimming in the sea and in pools, but would never go swimming alone in the sea if there were no lifeguards around, even though I ensure I never go out of my depth. A family of 3 have just drowned swimming off the south coast. Life is too precious to take unnecessary risks and think how your family would feel if they lost you.

Do NOT swim alone. It’s very unsafe.

I could but I've grown up by the sea and my local beach is relatively safe. There are surrounding beaches with more dangerous currents and I've grown up knowing it's more dangerous to swim in those places so information like that is key really.
And I wear water shoes in case of weaver fish.

It's only a fine - fixed rate i think. Those are factored into our costs. The shareholders will still make a profit, the company wont get ahut down or anything. Fines are not really a problem for the rich, only for the poor.

Only if the lifeguard was on, but in general would prefer to have someone with me for safety, even if they are not swimming.

Of course it isn’t !! We have blue flag beaches which are monitored closely. For other beaches you are better to find swimming groups ( even if you don’t swim with them) as they will monitor the water quality. It’s also easy to find online which areas allow sewage dumps and which do not.

This question is to you and the vast majority who say no:

So if you’re on holiday in Greece, Spain etc in a popular swimming resort area you wouldn’t swim unless there was a lifeguard on the beach? Or is this a UK-specific thing?

Shocked at all the ‘never ever’ responses and it’s making me rethink my attitude towards swimming in the sea! We’ve always swum and snorkelled on holiday, but I’m also an experienced diver and wouldn’t go into the sea if I didn’t know the waters there well enough/wasn’t sure. But if I have checked tides, whether it has a drop-off, the weather etc I would just swim 🫣 Am I taking a huge risk?!

I have suddenly been dragged under, swept off my feet in shallow water (ankle deep) - so being able to stand down is not always enough.

The ocean can be very unpredictable, even on familiar beaches.

Not scared of it but good not to be complacent.

YANBU

I'm also really suprised by the responses and do feel I was too blase in the past perhaps!

I do it all the time, but I am trained as an advanced driver (a long time ago) and I feel I know when to be careful. I usually go when it’s calm and don’t go significantly out of my depth. They’ll definitely be a group you can join though and they usually go around 9ish.

Yes I absolutely would and do but only if I know the beach and swimming conditions there (some beaches are safer than others), the tides and when the weather is calm. I don't swim out of my depth alone though (exceptin the Med).

I live very close to the beach and regularly swim alone, I know the waters well and check conditions, tide times, jellyfish etc before going in. Was joined by an inquisitive seal recently which was a bit scary and exited at speed. There are loads of beaches around me with no lifeguards, ever, and people swim there all the time. Obviously not playing down recent very sad events over the summer, though.

Can you not look at social media ? Find a Bluetits group ?
there are groups all over the country !

I take my horses to the beach all year round. In winter there’s always people out swimming alone - no life guards on duty at this beach.

Most are wearing wet suits so I assume they’re like professional wild swimmers or similar. I think they’re not wired up right, but each to their own.

This is one that would depend very much on the individual beach and local conditions for me.

I would want to be very familiar with the beach in question before swimming alone, and also be following safety advice that pp’s have given such as swimming parallel to the shore, staying within your depth and so on.

And also, re water quality, get one of those apps that tells you if there’s been a sewage discharge into the sea locally. I’ve got the Surfers Against Sewage app on my phone.

It’s up to you to weigh the risks. What are the currents like? Will you be swimming within your depth for standing, or out of it?

Personally I would swim alone, with a tow float, within my depth, if I knew there weren’t any concerns about dangerous currents or riptides. But if I didn’t know those things, I wouldn’t.

I swam off the south coast last year and found myself in a current taking me in an easterly direction . I was ok , I went round a rocky outcrop and then swam in and walked back, but it's made me realise that a smooth sea can be deceptive.

There was another chap in the sea but he stayed in the shallower area. Now I check things like where others are in terms of how far out, etc.

I live in the SW & swim alone in the sea most mornings as do hundreds of others down here. It’s fine. Just be sensible.

My mum goes swimming in the sea too far out im always nervous of this.. I dont like the sea i find it intimidating so im not the one to give you confidence.. dont go if no one else is about that would be silly .
Have a coffee a read a walk stay on solid ground x

At a beach I know and within my depth in calm conditions I’m happy to go for a dip and a parallel shore swim alone. Ideally get someone e to buddy you just in case. I generally don’t though as you can swim in waist high water do what can really go wrong.

Yes, exactly my thoughts! Always went swimming in the sea as kids, in all sorts of different places, never experienced a near-drowning or even getting scared, really. I've actually felt neglectful that my kids haven't done it much (pools instead). But now I'm wondering if we were just very, very lucky or my parents knew to only let us swim in very safe seas?! (Doubt that very much, they were quite the opposite of careful parents in general.)

I think it depends enormously on the beach. Some are going to be pretty safe in normal weather and I would swim alone. Others really are not. You need some local knowledge.

Is would nerve swim alone on an unknown beach. I have on my home beach where I grew up and I can spot the weird look of a riptide. I do not go out of my depth in the sea and I’m an experienced sea swimmer.

Can you recognise a rip? If not, educate yourself about the sea where you are planning on swimming. I live in a large surfing area and rips are so dangerous, however the kids who surf and paddle learn young.

This is what I've done on my own a couple of times over the summer in between going with my (adult) daughter.

I know there's no drop off where we go and always go about an hour before high tide so I'm near the beach and the water is coming into the shore.