Can you swim?

[joeten]

Yes, learned at school and did it near every day until banned by my mother, because I got pink eyes.

[Bob]

I'm one of those 1 in 5, when I was about three I fell into a boating lake and nearly drowned (went under 3 times) so was always scared of the sea, pools etc. When I was in Grammar they tried to teach me by shouting at me while I clung on to the bar at the edge of the pool - I finally managed to sort of learn when I was about 18 and managed to do a width, breast stroke, that was about my limit, but since then, I have never been back in a pool so have put myself down as a non-swimmer.

PS most of my school life was on the North Wales Coast - loads of water

[car147]

Lean't as a child while living in Portsmouth, we used to spend every summer hols on the beach at Southsea. It seems strange but i am sure the summers were warmer then and it seemed like every day was sunny and warm, great times.

[taz96]

Swimming in a pool is one thing. Swimming in the open sea is definitely another,. Sadly I think some of these terrible things may well have been avoided with a bit of common sense an perhaps local knowledge.
I'm no longer a strong swimmer, and I wouldn't think of swimming in the sea in an area I didn't know really well and had lifeguards.

[striker42]

In some circumstances, being able to swim would still not have saved some of the victims. The power of water is far greater than anyone will ever be able to understand. Two major reasons people loose their life at sea is alcohol and being irresponsible. And I am not suggesting that this was the case in any of the events of the past week. I agree that everybody should try and learn to swim but, for various reasons that is not always possible. Yep, i can swim and hold the older version of what is now called NPLQ. Remember, folks if you are going swimming, don't drink alcohol and be responsible, that might just save your life too.

[Bob]

Aug 25, 2016 19:12:31 GMT car147 said:

Lean't as a child while living in Portsmouth, we used to spend every summer hols on the beach at Southsea. It seems strange but i am sure the summers were warmer then and it seemed like every day was sunny and warm, great times.

They may well have seemed that way, think they were really just more defined, we didn't get so many 28+ days more like 24-25 but more sustained during the summer, and the seasons used to be more defined as well - nowadays the weather just seems to go all over the place.

[pipeman01]

where i and the kids grew up we had our own pool... kids were taught to swim at 18 months... just in case the gate to the pool didn't close properly or we wern't watching properly.

my wife did syncro swimming as a girl and was able to teach them easily... I just chucked them in and waited for them to surface...

[Get Off My Cloud]

Yeah learned to swim as a kid but i only ever swam in the sea or lakes as a kid, the chemicals in swimming pools used to f**k me up as a kid.

[Chrissie]

I also learned to swim as a child.

[thebishman]

I can swim.

On top of the water im very average.

Diving on the other hand...im like a fish

[charliehorse]

Learned as a child but not very good - can do a length of the pool if I stop half way for a breather

I also struggle to just float in the water - must have negative buoyancy

[toots]

Yep, I can swim and have a fantastic large swimming pool right outside my terrace gate

You shoud see the tiny weeney Spanish kids in the pool, they're like little eels. It's amazing to watch them jumping in & swimming around in such a large pool they most definitely cannot stand up in. The Spanish teach their kids from babies to love the water, they're not afraid at all. They do tend to have an advantage though, they have a swimming pool on their doorstep, well most of them over here do anyway.

[phtumshk]

If I was on a boat and it started to sink Im pretty confident I could keep me head above water.
As for swimming for leisure its a definite no, with out me glasses Im splashing round like Mr.Magoo.
Remember this on the TV as a kid tho.

[BrenD]

I've spent the last 30 odd years living within walking distance of a beach or water of some sort, so I can swim and was taught from a bloody early age to respect the sea and what to do should I find myself in trouble.

It feels like a lifetime ago, but I did enough bodyboarding (often in conditions that scared the life out of mum ), scuba diving, sailing, canoeing etc. as a young'un to still feel confident in the water now.

Had my body not decided it hated itself, I'd probably still be doing that kind of thing.

[Perpetua]

I can swim . . . . like many other others learnt as a child and in those days swimming/diving lessons were part of the curriculum so weekly trips to the local baths were normal.

Did I swim in the sea as a child? No - because I didn't ( and still don't ) like the thought of any beasties that might be swooshing around me and I know that despite being able to swim that my ability isn't really on a level to get me out of any serious difficulties.

Would I jump into the water in an attempt to save a dog or person in trouble . . . . I'm not so sure that knowledge would prevail. 

It's a situation I hope to never encounter.