I almost drowned yesterday

[MayorOfAmerica]

Glad that you are OK. I am in the process of teaching my girlfriend how to swim, still cannot get her to stop freaking out when her feet are not touching the bottom of the shallow end (3').

How tall is your girlfriend?

 

[Schadenfroh]

How tall is your girlfriend?

~5'
(she was raised in a developing country)

When I say freaking out when her feet are not touching the bottom, I mean when I try to lean her back to float instead of standing.

 

[moshquerade]

Growing up we didn't have a pool or know anyone with a pool. We were also poor so paying for access to a pool and swimming lessons was a no-go.

no pool at school?

any way, glad you are ok, and maybe now you can get some help and learn how to swim. it's not that difficult!

 

[Vette73]

How tall is your girlfriend?

Heres a Pic of his girlfriend showing off her tramp stamp. He is to the right of her.

 

[her209]

no pool at school?

IIRC, not until High School. And even then, it was for the water polo team use only. PE had no swim days.

 

[moshquerade]

IIRC, not until High School. And even then, it was for the water polo team use only. PE had no swim days.

that's wrong. in our school we had to PASS swimming class. swim class was like once a week and mixed in with gym classes.

 

[her209]

that's wrong. in our school we had to PASS swimming class. swim class was like once a week and mixed in with gym classes.

Well, I've never had to pass any swimming test ever in school. And its not because of a waiver.

 

[moshquerade]

Well, I've never had to pass any swimming test ever in school. And its not because of a waiver.

hmmm... waiver... yeh, that reminds me. i even had to pass a swim test in college. universal swim tests would be a great idea.

 

[JTsyo]

I was in 8 ft of water in a swimming pool for the first time ever. I was holding onto the side of the pool to keep afloat. Long story short, I tried to to touch the bottom and come back up. On the way down, I panicked and let all my air out. Holy shit that was a scary feeling especially when you see the surface of the water from the other side. I started flailing my arms to come up to the surface faster. It felt like forever but I made it to the surface (choking and all).

The scary thing is that I thought I was flailing and people could see me, but I guess the other people around me either didn't notice and thought I was just splashing about or it was underwater and they didn't see/hear it.

/blog

Guess you didn't hear about the dead lady in the pool for 2 days.

 

[QueBert]

Swimming's a useless skill for most, I wonder why some act so shocked when they meet someone who doesn't know how. I've never once in my life been in a situation where knowing how saved my life. Swimming's fun to me, but it's not important to know how to do at all imho. Hell I have friends who are in their 30's like me, and have never been around more water than a bathtub in their life.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I never learned how to swim properly, and I'm 25 now. When I was young, probably 6ish, a friend's mother took my friend and I down to a local river. My friend and I, plus some other kid that I don't remember, went walking out into what we thought was a shallow part. It dropped off near the middle, and I managed to get my foot caught between several rocks. The other two kids helped me to get out, but I was trapped with my head under water for probably a good 30 seconds.

That was probably the longest 30 seconds of my life. Since then, I've taught myself some swimming skills, but I'm still not confident enough to go in a deep end of a pool. After what happened as a kid, I just don't enjoy the water enough to learn.

 

[Codewiz]

Swimming's a useless skill for most, I wonder why some act so shocked when they meet someone who doesn't know how. I've never once in my life been in a situation where knowing how saved my life. Swimming's fun to me, but it's not important to know how to do at all imho. Hell I have friends who are in their 30's like me, and have never been around more water than a bathtub in their life.

Wow, a whole different world can open up to you if you know how to swim. I would not get on a boat without knowing how to swim.

Just because a skill hasn't saved your life doesn't mean it isn't a valuable skill.

There are so many water activities that are great that you cannot experience without knowing how to swim.

 

[TridenT]

Wow, the whole different world can open up to you if you know how to swim. I would not get on a boat without knowing how to swim.

Just because a skill hasn't saved your life doesn't mean it isn't a valuable skill.

There are so many water activities that are great that you cannot experience without knowing how to swim.

There are so many people who never do those water activities...

 

[Codewiz]

There are so many people who never do those water activities...

And they don't have a concept of what they are missing.

It would be the same as people who would argue that they don't want to eat anything other than hamburgers, steaks, french fries, and bake potatoes. Nothing else is worthwhile to eat.

Their world is so closed from some awesome experiences. I beleive in trying new things because you never know when you might find a new passion.

When it comes to life, I try almost anything once. That includes food, and other life experiences. My wife was disgusted when I ate calf brain. It wasn't my cup of tea but it might have been something I loved.

I can't imagine not raising my son with the experiences of swimming and associated activities. I have never surfed but I plan to get lessons for my son and I. We might hate it but it will be a good experience either way.

 

[jupiter57]

I'll help to learn how to swim, and for free.

Come to Texas, I'll take you out in the boat and find some gators. You can jump in the water close to a gator. We will see which one your afraid of more, the water or the gator.

I am willing to bet that you swim, as opposed to being gator food.

QFT
When I was little, my Daddy used me for alligator bait.:biggrin:
(Jerry Reed: Amos Moses)

 

[Iron Woode]

How old are you and you don't know how to swim?

my GF can't swim and she is in her 40's.

I can swim like a fish.

 

[QueBert]

Wow, a whole different world can open up to you if you know how to swim. I would not get on a boat without knowing how to swim.

Just because a skill hasn't saved your life doesn't mean it isn't a valuable skill.

There are so many water activities that are great that you cannot experience without knowing how to swim.

A whole world can open up to you if you know how to fly a plane too. Using that line of thinking 1 would spend their entire life learning how to do new shit so they can have new experiences.

 

[jupiter57]

Wow, a whole different world can open up to you if you Just leave the basement occasionally. I would not get on a boat without knowing how to swim.

Just because a skill hasn't saved your life doesn't mean it isn't a valuable skill.

There are so many water activities that are great that you cannot experience without knowing how to swim.

FTFY

 

[Brigandier]

A whole world can open up to you if you know how to fly a plane too. Using that line of thinking 1 would spend their entire life learning how to do new shit so they can have new experiences.

One would think that wouldn't be a problem, and may even be the secret to life.

 

[TridenT]

And they don't have a concept of what they are missing.

It would be the same as people who would argue that they don't want to eat anything other than hamburgers, steaks, french fries, and bake potatoes. Nothing else is worthwhile to eat.

Their world is so closed from some awesome experiences. I beleive in trying new things because you never know when you might find a new passion.

When it comes to life, I try almost anything once. That includes food, and other life experiences. My wife was disgusted when I ate calf brain. It wasn't my cup of tea but it might have been something I loved.

I can't imagine not raising my son with the experiences of swimming and associated activities. I have never surfed but I plan to get lessons for my son and I. We might hate it but it will be a good experience either way.

I've done these experiences and I don't find them that enjoyable at all.

 

[Soundmanred]

This reminds me of when I went skydiving.
Nobody told me to take a parachute.
How the hell was I supposed to know what to do?!

I've done these experiences and I don't find them that enjoyable at all.

Anyone surprised by this raise their hand...
Nobody?
Didn't think so.

 

[Imp]

I've had my deep-end incidents before. Once ran into someone, think I grabbed him or he grabbed me. We were like 5-10 ft from the edge. If we didn't panic, it would have been cool. But I was like 10 then...

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I feel for you but have a hard time relating. I grew up around water as my folks were avid boaters and swimmers. I already could tread water but got official swimming lessons when I was 6yo and by the age of 16 had passed the red cross life savers program and was working as a lifeguard at the local pool.

I too would recommend swimming lessons, you are never too old! As far as swimming goes confidence is your friend and fear is your enemy, you want to prepare so that you are never in a position where you are over come by fear.

The most important single thing you want to become comfortable with is treading water in deep water over your head. For part of the red cross training we had to stay in the deep end of a pool without touching the sides for 2 hours, in another test we had to swim 2 miles without touching the sides or the bottom. Being able to do this meant employing techneques like the "dead float" where you learn to rest by hangin just below the surface in a cross position with your arms extented and occasionally surface for a breath with one downward stroke of the arms then return to the cross postition just below the water.

Learning and becoming comfortable with these basic survival skills can mean the difference between life and death if you are ever suddenly thrown from a boat in a boating accident for example.

 

[Codewiz]

A whole world can open up to you if you know how to fly a plane too. Using that line of thinking 1 would spend their entire life learning how to do new shit so they can have new experiences.

Financially, flying a plane is out of the reach of 95% of the population.

Not even close to a fair comparison.

 

[JoeKing]

don't stop trying. Be like water and think fluid motions. Smooth efficient movements is what swimming's about.

One thing you can always do is if you get tired and your in the deep end, you find you can't tread anymore. Inhale a little more air than usual, relax, and lay on your back above the water. You will naturally stay afloat, it's actually a very soothing experience imo. Your ears will submerge but all your breathing bits should stay above the surface. Try it on the shallow end first.