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Swimming

rosieposie

By rosieposie
in Broads Chat

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grendel

grendel

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When the weather is warm it can be very tempting to go for a swim in the Broads. This is potentially very dangerous without the benefit of support from an open water swimming organisation. The Broads Authority strongly advises against entering the water unless part of an organised event.

 

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JanetAnne

JanetAnne

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Posted
13 hours ago, JennyMorgan said:

Well, I personally went swimming on Oulton Broad this morning, and very nice it was too!

Rosie, just use your common sense. Lots of boats or swirling tides are a no-no but apart from that there is room for all. 

I'm very much with JM on this. 

We regularly swim in the Waveney and have done for over 40 years now. We usually swim off the back of the boat on a wild mooring and stay close to the boat while remaining alert. Evenings are best when everyone is moored for the night. My only advice apart from being aware is don't swim alone.

 

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marshman

marshman

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The water in the rivers the cleanest it has been for a very large number of years, despite what many would have you believe, and like PW and JM I see no real issues if you are with someone and you take care picking where and when - the BA are not likely to encourage it as they would leave themselves open to issues if anything happened!! 

As has been pointed out in many texts we have totally lost the ability to assess what is dangerous and whats not - its not without risk of course but if you are experienced and aware of these relatively minimal  risks, just go ahead and enjoy yourself!

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JennyMorgan

JennyMorgan

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I first swam in the Broads as a child, back in the 1950's. It was drilled into me not to put my mouth under the water, that advice has stayed with me to this day and I have passed it on to my children and their children.  Mind you, the Broads, thanks to the Environment Agency, is much cleaner than it was back in my young time. As one who also swims in the sea off Lowestoft I often wonder whether the sea is actually much cleaner than the Broads?

Regarding the BA I agree with Marshman:

11 minutes ago, marshman said:

the BA are not likely to encourage it as they would leave themselves open to issues if anything happened!! 

I wonder how many swimming tragedies there have actually been on the Broads proper, at least in more recent times? I know of the youngsters that tragically lost their lives at Whitlingham but by and large I would suggest that the Broads is reasonably safe, with the assistance of common sense. 

As Arthur Ransome famously wrote: “BETTER DROWNED THAN DUFFERS IF NOT DUFFERS WONT DROWN”
 

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MauriceMynah

MauriceMynah

Posted
Posted

I don't think this one is down to 'risk assessment ability' more a case of getting the info needed to assess the risks. Personally I wouldn't swim anywhere near active boats as there are too many novices, quite a few "impaired by alcohol" plus a minority of the "recklessly selfish" brigade.

There are things that have not been mentioned but might be wise to consider. Discarded or lost fish hooks don't last very long under water, but they are there. I wonder how much broken glass is there too.

Getting out of the water needs to be remembered as well. In areas where there are ladders, there will be a higher risk of "sharps" on the bottom. areas without ladders (wild moorings) might prove difficult to get out.

Finally the water quality itself. It certainly is cleaner  than it used to be, and the amount of raw sewerage is far less, but that's probably why we have the blue green algae issues.

I am not risk averse, but if I'm wondering if something I want to do has risks, I like to know what those risks are and how likely I am to suffer from them.

If I want exercise, I go for a walk. If I want to cool down I drink beer. If it's really hot I might drink lager. Both hold risks, but not as many as swimming across the river in Wroxham.

 

 

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dnks34

dnks34

Posted
Posted

The week before last we saw a group of youths jumping in at Oulton Dyke where the matting is installed against the bank just before the properties begin when travelling in to the Broad.  

A few times recently I have seen swimmers in the Broad itself and they are quite difficult to spot from a small boat but they were keeping to the margins.  
 

If i were swimming I would make myself as visible as possible, bright coloured hat and suit, tow a bright float and preferably have someone in a kayak with me.  I think a swimmer being struck by a boat could happen very easily if the right circumstances came together.  I dont think I could cope with accidentally running someone over because I genuinely didnt see they were there. 

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