I am new to open water swimming and have a question for all you experienced swimmers.
I am thinking about swimming in a local fresh water lake at a state park. My plan is to swim about 50 -75 yards off the beach and swim parallel to the shore. I am thing about towing a lifeguard rescue tube behind me for safety and for visability.
Am I crazy for thinking this way?
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Former Member
Most of the time I don't swim alone, but I have done it on a few occasions. I wear a dive knife when I swim in the ocean, which I should probably also do in lakes since they too have the potential for discarded fishing line or other debris.
The thing about swimming with buddies is that 90% of the time you end up strung out too far from the nearest person to even know where they are without stopping constantly. I sort of prefer swimming alone, with pack or side-by-side swimming being a close second. Swimming alone has that little extra tinge of fear/adrenaline with a side of guilt (husband, parent).
What I'm curious about is what the statistics are for incident survival while swimming alone vs. with buddies. It certainly didn't help the triathlete in San Diego that got killed by the great white. Sure, they were able to bring him ashore, but he still died. Obviously that's an extreme case, but how many other cases are there, really? We always hear about the dangers of swimming without a buddy but I don't think I've ever read about an incident in which swimming with a buddy actually saved a swimmer's life. Notice I said swimmer, not random non-athlete who fell in the water.
Most of the time I don't swim alone, but I have done it on a few occasions. I wear a dive knife when I swim in the ocean, which I should probably also do in lakes since they too have the potential for discarded fishing line or other debris.
The thing about swimming with buddies is that 90% of the time you end up strung out too far from the nearest person to even know where they are without stopping constantly. I sort of prefer swimming alone, with pack or side-by-side swimming being a close second. Swimming alone has that little extra tinge of fear/adrenaline with a side of guilt (husband, parent).
What I'm curious about is what the statistics are for incident survival while swimming alone vs. with buddies. It certainly didn't help the triathlete in San Diego that got killed by the great white. Sure, they were able to bring him ashore, but he still died. Obviously that's an extreme case, but how many other cases are there, really? We always hear about the dangers of swimming without a buddy but I don't think I've ever read about an incident in which swimming with a buddy actually saved a swimmer's life. Notice I said swimmer, not random non-athlete who fell in the water.
