Swimming safe at night in open water. Suggestions?
Former Member
Hi guys!
Does anyone swim at night in open water?
Sometimes I swim at night or at dusk in the lake. I don’t care if it’s day or night, I’m not scared of darkness, but I’m sometimes scared of boats that ride preeeeetty fast… I worry that someone might not see me swimming and ride over me…:afraid::toohurt:
Does anyone have tips how to stay safe?
I made a research and found few lights that might help make myself visible for others on the lake :whiteflag:.
First one is safe light by Petzl. I could strap that light to my hands. You can look at it here: www.night-gear.com/.../Detail.bok . It’s waterproof to 3 feet.
Second one is a headlamp by Petzl (Petzl eLite). It’s a waterproof headlamp that can work as a flashlight and as an emergency light. It looks pretty cool. You can look at it here: www.night-gear.com/.../eLite-by-Petzl.htm . It's also waterproof to 3 feet.
And the last one is a scuba strobe, or emergency strobe. I think this one might work really well, but I’m not sure if there any restrictions in using light like that in non-emergency situations. Does anyone know about this????? You can look at that strobe and how it works in youtube here: www.youtube.com/watch - Scuba strobe test
Any suggestions will be appreciated!
P.S. I’m not trying to advertise any products or websites. I’m only looking for answers and maybe my post also will help someone who has the same problem as I do.
Originally Posted by rtodd
dusk......................sharks.
Yeah, LOTS of sharks hang out in Wisconsin! :agree:
:D:D You guys are all funny :D:D
Kidding aside, are there less well-traveled sections of the lake in question or times when traffic is pretty light? I'm with the suggestion to have someone kayak with you. Probably the person kayaking shouldn't be drunk.
I swim along the shore line. And there is not that much traffic there, especially at night. But... you don't need much... one is enough :drown: :afraid::violin:
Kayaker sounds good, but I don’t have anybody who would kayak with me at midnight :badday:. Plus I’m not sure that kayaker will help in case of “drunken yahoos” :).
I just ordered scuba strobe light. Will see how that will work. If it will not be enough, then I will buy something else.
I don't think that activity is safe.
There are not that many safe activities nowadays...
Skydiving is not very safe too, but I've done it :).
Life is short :). I'm just trying not to make it shorter :).
You'll probably have the cops called when some do-gooder sees your strobe
Not my problem :). That's why we have cops, to keep everyone safe :).
Why persist in an activity that is dangerous? Of course, boaters and others will be attracted to a light and want to find out what it is, especially if it is in boating waters. You are much safer, but not safe, at dawn.
I’m not planning to swim much at night, but occasionally I do. In summer I swim mostly during the day, but in autumn days are short and daylight turns to dusk and night quickly.
Is this in one of those twin lakes that surround the town of Madison?
Yes, it's a lake Mendota.
Surely there are no-wake zones where boats are not allowed to roar about at top speed. Maybe you could find quasi-protected areas and confine your swims to these.
Right now I live on a lake, so I swim along the shore from the house that I live in.
Forget lights. Just swim at night. You'll probably be okay.
I don't think that activity is safe.
Why persist in an activity that is dangerous?
You know... it's actually might be even more dangerous swimming during the day than at night... At night there is only occasionally a boat riding nearby. But during the day there are way more boats and they ride during the day much faster.
So… the safest way would be not to swim in open water at all! But that’s the only swimming opportunity that I have. If I will not swim in the lake, I will not swim at all…
en.wikipedia.org/.../Bull_shark
not sure any have made it to wisconsin, but......
Yeah, I know about the Bulls, but I don't think they make it quite that far.:D
