Things you want to share with P&B

[effeffsee_the2nd]

15 minutes ago, throbber said:

Oh Christ. It’s  such a grim way to go.

yes it is, although pretty quick to be fair,  

Always remember, when it comes to attempting a rescue, self preservation is king - you can't save anyone if your pan breed

[Ross.]

Not a strong swimmer so tend not to go beyond any depth where I can’t stand up. Been in a few of the lakes over here that are fed by glaciers. 35c+ outside and the lakes are still only 16/17c when you go in. First one I jumped into near fucking killed me and that was despite me standing with the water at chest height. Took a minute to get my breathing right and the dizziness to pass. Absolute fucking fear when my son is older, that he will do the sort of stupid things teenagers do in these places.

[DiegoDiego]

Used to occasionally drink with a guy who was a volunteer in the Loch Lomond rescue - apparently only the top 6-9 inches of the loch ever changes temperature, no matter the weather, so the bit that the bulk of your body is in is pretty cold, no matter the air temperature.  I presume the rest of the lochs in Scotland are the same.

Loch Lomond is huge so will take an eternity to warm/cool (I'm sure a physics bod can calculate it). When I'm swimming I go for smaller, shallower lochs, which will tend to be a bit warmer in the summer months (and have less folk around).

Where I swam the other day:

[throbber]

16 minutes ago, effeffsee_the2nd said:

yes it is, although pretty quick to be fair,  

Always remember, when it comes to attempting a rescue, self preservation is king - you can't save anyone if your pan breed

Yeah but as we have said these are inexperienced swimmers so will no doubt follow their instincts and jump right in to save their loved ones. Hopefully more people think twice about these things in future so these deaths haven’t been completely pointless but I’m not sure what more could have been done falling short of entering a nanny state.

[Bairnardo]

The key is not to panic. If you hit water that you didnt expect to, you lie back, float and breathe for as ling as neccessary before even attempting to swim. Its the attempting to swim too soon that gets folk I believe.

That, and a complete lack of respect for the challenges of open water swimming. Folk just think hot day = batter in

[AsimButtHitsASix]

Worth bearing in mind as well these deaths are still very rare. Millions of folk went swimming this week so the numbers of deaths compared that is miniscule. I think most of the deaths were in rivers and in the sea where currents and tides cause issues. Even with cold water shock lakes and reservoirs are generally safe.

[jimbaxters]

Beyond me why anyone would want to swim in a lake or river tbh. Any water deep enough to swim in never looks clean or appealing.

See DiegoDiego's pic above by way of illustration.

Edited July 26, 2021 by jimbaxters

[The Moonster]

6 minutes ago, jimbaxters said:

Beyond me why anyone would want to swim in a lake or river tbh. Any water deep enough to swim in never looks clean or appealing.

See DiegoDiego's pic above by way of illustration.

I think Diego's picture looks rare for a wee dip. 

[effeffsee_the2nd]

28 minutes ago, throbber said:

Yeah but as we have said these are inexperienced swimmers so will no doubt follow their instincts and jump right in to save their loved ones. Hopefully more people think twice about these things in future so these deaths haven’t been completely pointless but I’m not sure what more could have been done falling short of entering a nanny state.

You're right, the government ought to have a lockdown during hot weather to avoid 6 plus deaths a DAY in open water, they just don't care tho  #eviltoryscum   inflatable armbands should be mandatory to protect yourself and others both in and OUT  of the water  and no more than 6 people should ever be allowed in a pool at a time,  all lochs to close at 10 pm 

8 minutes ago, jimbaxters said:

Beyond me why anyone would want to swim in a lake or river tbh. Any water deep enough to swim in never looks clean or appealing.

See DiegoDiego's pic above by way of illustration.

it's probably cleaner with less pish than a typical council swimming pool

[Boghead ranter]

9 minutes ago, effeffsee_the2nd said:

 inflatable armbands should be mandatory to protect yourself and others both in and OUT  of the water  and no more than 6 people should ever be allowed in a pool at a time,  all lochs to close at 10 pm 

And no running, bombing or petting. 

[DiegoDiego]

Beyond me why anyone would want to swim in a lake or river tbh. Any water deep enough to swim in never looks clean or appealing.
See DiegoDiego's pic above by way of illustration.

How much clearer do you want that water to be? I could easily see my feet while waist deep.

[GordonD]

49 minutes ago, throbber said:

Yeah but as we have said these are inexperienced swimmers so will no doubt follow their instincts and jump right in to save their loved ones. Hopefully more people think twice about these things in future so these deaths haven’t been completely pointless but I’m not sure what more could have been done falling short of entering a nanny state.

It's the same when folk go hillwalking in T-shirt, jeans and trainers then get into difficulties and have to be rescued. Every time it happens people say that it should be regulated but how the hell do you enforce that? Fences round every hill in the land with turnstiles and bouncers checking you're properly dressed? (Though that's one situation where wearing trainers would be a valid reason for getting turned away.)

[heedthebaa]

1 hour ago, Ross. said:

Not a strong swimmer so tend not to go beyond any depth where I can’t stand up. Been in a few of the lakes over here that are fed by glaciers. 35c+ outside and the lakes are still only 16/17c when you go in. First one I jumped into near fucking killed me and that was despite me standing with the water at chest height. Took a minute to get my breathing right and the dizziness to pass. Absolute fucking fear when my son is older, that he will do the sort of stupid things teenagers do in these places.

Get your kid a wetsuit, it helps. My grandkids haven’t been off the beach/rivers this summer, all have them. Also they help with swimmers itch 

[Melanius Mullarkey]

I once went floating down the River Lossie in a tractor tyre inner tube and Johnny Mole cut his foot open on a rusty shopping trolley.

Proper danger, trying to dodge floating dog shit as well. 

[jimbaxters]

1 hour ago, effeffsee_the2nd said:

it's probably cleaner with less pish than a typical council swimming pool

Haha. Suppose pools aren't perfectly clean either but at least you can shower immediately afterwards.

 

1 hour ago, DiegoDiego said:

How much clearer do you want that water to be? I could easily see my feet while waist deep.

Call me mad but  I'd prefer to see my feet however deep I go. Of course it's personal preference but your picture shows a loch with muddy rocks on the bottom and a fair degree of algae on the top. When you throw the potential of unseen undercurrents into that mix, it's not for me.

[GordonD]

1 hour ago, Melanius Mullarkey said:

I once went floating down the River Lossie in a tractor tyre inner tube and Johnny Mole cut his foot open on a rusty shopping trolley.

Proper danger, trying to dodge floating dog shit as well. 

That's not proper swimming, it's just going through the motions.

[throbber]

1 hour ago, GordonD said:

It's the same when folk go hillwalking in T-shirt, jeans and trainers then get into difficulties and have to be rescued. Every time it happens people say that it should be regulated but how the hell do you enforce that? Fences round every hill in the land with turnstiles and bouncers checking you're properly dressed? (Though that's one situation where wearing trainers would be a valid reason for getting turned away.)

Yeah it’s mental - some people are just programmed to believe that if something goes wrong then someone else has to be held responsible so they don’t take Mother Nature as seriously as they should until it’s too late. 

[Ross.]

2 hours ago, heedthebaa said:

Get your kid a wetsuit, it helps. My grandkids haven’t been off the beach/rivers this summer, all have them. Also they help with swimmers itch 

I’m hopeful that national service will still be a thing here and the army will teach him the tricks he will need to survive in these situations, as well as whatever he will require to know about getting his dad out the pub and up the road after a 12 hour session.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

1 hour ago, Ross. said:

I’m hopeful that national service will still be a thing here and the army will teach him the tricks he will need to survive in these situations, as well as whatever he will require to know about getting his dad out the pub and up the road after a 12 hour session.

Hopefully he throws you in a river to sober you up. 

[effeffsee_the2nd]

1 hour ago, throbber said:

Yeah it’s mental - some people are just programmed to believe that if something goes wrong then someone else has to be held responsible so they don’t take Mother Nature as seriously as they should until it’s too late. 

some people don't think much beyond the surface level, i can walk, walking is easy, we have hills round about where we live, i usualy where jeans and trainers to walk = walking up ben nevis only requires jeans and trainers, they won't give anymore thought to it than that,  

it's easy to point at laugh at "thickos neds and scheemies"  but unless someone has actually taught you ( usually your dad or an organised group like the boy scouts)  hill paths are slidey and tough- you need strong footwear, hills get cold and windy & the weather can change very quickly  - you need to bring a jacket even if it's a braw day at the bottom,  this is a workout - you need food and water , you'll get tired and this takes longer than you think ,  if you hurt yourself it's difficult to get yourself or your friend down to get help,   if your wearing jeans and it rains, they stay wet for hours and youl get cold and they will be heavy on you = go put something else on 

 

Same goes for swimming = i can swim in a pool, i could swim in the sea in spain = i can jump in loch lomond when it's a sunny summers day ...