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Swimming at Salhouse


Wussername

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Tomorrow Grandad's pension will receive another whack!

It is Grannie's Birthday.

She wishes to take the grandchildren on picnic boat to Salhouse. The boys will want to have a swim. On the beach. They are 5 and 7 years of age. Very good swimmers and will of course be supervised.

But. Is it safe?

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We used to take our kids there in the 70's and 80's

They would go out from the boat in dinghys and canoes, fall in, rescue themselves,

Jump off the boat, swim ashore, probably not elf and safety these days.

I think if you take care, supervise, dont let them go to far and remember the water is always cold so dont leave them in too long they will be OK.

Plenty of warm dry towels and hot drinks when they come back.

Character building stuff, go for it

cheers

Ray

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They are likely primarily to be mucking about and paddling only - Morning Swan should have a quiet word with those types and explain that unless its a sailie, it is verboten!!!

 

I don't know any and if i did would take the appropriate steps although there is quite a lot of water in the rivers you know and no one shoots the geese for doing it!!!!

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People do swim on occasions in all the broads and occasionally rivers but it isn't advised, apart from the obvious current dangers in the rivers there are possible underwater dangers and while the water is a lot cleaner than it used to be there are still a number of craft around that are members of the bucket and chuck it club.

I certainly wouldn't voluntarily swim in any of the waters.

I value your comment Morningswan.

Many children swim in Salhouse Broad, and have done for generations. I am mindfull of Blue Algie, (have I spelt that correctly?) But not aware of pollution from other boats, I would have thought that B and C brigade are very few and far between, but I could be proved wrong.

If you are correct ( I do not doubt your word) it does beg the question as to why it is still allowed.

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My boat is one of those boats on account of her age (1929) and that that there is nowhere to put a tank so she has what many would call a sea toilet. Hence you will often find me on the nice path to the public toilets at Salhouse when I am there possibly walking with some urgency...

I believe that most of us with these boats make use of the on shore facilities...

I would be more concerned about encounters between the kids and large boats helmed by people that may not expect swimmers or even be able to see them. That and what the ducks and geese leave.

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Hi Wusser,

 

I read somewhere when I was down in May, that swimming in the rivers and Broads is NOT recommended. Sorry if that spoils the kids fun, but may be better to be safe, than sorry after the event. Just a thought.

 

 

cheers Iain.

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In life you have to weigh up risk and decide. The Broads have many sewage treatment works that outfall into them.

This treated water has to be of a standard that will support aquatic flora and fauna but that is something like

twenty times the WHA level of solids acceptable for consumption as bathing water.

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I have been sailing on the broads for 40years mostly at Horning down river own from salhouse, we have members of the club who have been sailing for double that. The children of the club are often in the water. As a dinghy sailor in the past i was often in the water, The adults are often wet with river water from ropes (mainsheet etc) falling in. We had lots of children in the water (without boats) on Friday at the end of regatta week as we have done always. In all that time I have never heard of anyone at our or any other club picking up anything nasty from the water.

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I wouldn't drink loads of river water and I wouldn't bathe open wounds in it but I have swum in it on several occasions and never had any adverse reaction.

 

As has been said above watch out for strong currents .... particularly down south and don't get tangled in the reed beds ........ but I guess this sort of advice is a bit like saying the Bl..ding obvious a bit like our illustrious weather forecasters advising us to wrap up warm when it's cold and take a brolly when it's raining ...... bless ..... did I say you should drink plenty of water cos it's hot ...... and wear sun tan oil ...... and wear a hat ...... and don't forget to open the door when you want to go out cos it hurts if you don't!!

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We've seen alot of swimming,i.e Beccles YS there were kids swimming for hours and Salhouse (even Oulton I think).. We did see some lads swimming at how hill and he dived under just in front of us (I was a distance back he was just being stupid)... I air horned them and put it in neutral and they when he appeared he put thumbs up.. I shock my head.. it's not fair on me to do such things certainly through there (Yup we really saw it all on that trip!).

 

But I doubt too much would happen if they was paddling at salhouse (and didn't consume too much water as there could be high levels or algae and possibly duck waste and had a shower after) (and make sure they stay way away from where boats will be as clearly inexperianced crews etc and people not expecting it) I remember a few years back the front cover was kids paddling on "The beach" there.. Obviously the advise  now is not to though..  There are swimming pools at Horning, Beccles (open air lido), Waverney river centre. 

 

cheers

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That broads authority statement includes a lie...

The water on the broads is not always cold. I can assure you that putting you hand into the water on black horse broad on a hot sunny day you will find the water warm.

Well what would you expect with an almost enclosed body of dark water in the sunshine.

Aside from that you would expect the broads authority to say no swimming, because if someone did something stupid and swam in the wrong conditions or weren't a competent swimmer. You can guarrentee someone would try to sue the BA..

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go for paddle, go for a swim, watch them like a hawk as you would if you were on the coast, danger is always present but to remove it all just makes for a soft society and our kids will miss out on so many life experiences.

 

I most certainly do not wrap my kids in cotton wool, they can get wet & muddy they're children and I intend to let them have a childhood.  So far they are still alive and happy. #winning

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Hi Ian,

 

Yes it is the Bard indeed, I found the pic by accident today.Just thought I would use for a short time.

 

I saw his statue every working day till I left working in Ayr. His statue is in appropriately Burns Statue Square.

 

 

cheers Iain

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When our children were in their 8, 9, 10's and early teens we all frequently swam in the broads whilst mud-weighted but not in the rivers.

 

I don't ever recall anyone being sick as a result.   :wave

 

Us too John, and about the same age too when we hired Aston Orion in 1970, which if i recall was when the broads were at their dirtiest. We swam in Barton Broad while mudweighted, the river Bure at Hoveton viaduct, before it was quay headed, (i cut my foot on something on the riverbed, and i did`nt die either), and at Burgh castle marina, where the water had a strong saltiness to it.

 

Now however, the rivers and broads are much cleaner, so i would imagine the water is much safer to swim in.

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I was sat at Acle bridge, in fact on Horizon Craft's front, having the first coffee of the day and watching a family of ducks going extremely fast with the outflowing tide. 

I then was passed by a red plastic bag, I began muttering to myself about selfish people etc. as you do when you see this type of thing. 

I then paid a little more attention and the bag morphed before my very eyes into a swimmer with one of those go faster caps they wear. He was doing a gentle breast stroke and moving along nicely. I began to wonder how he got home was he met somewhere or did he have to walk home. He then appeared coming back up stream working considerably harder for his breakfast than he was earlier.

 

The photo is my brother and I at Irstead shoals in 1955.

post-40-0-18478000-1439189495_thumb.jpg

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go for paddle, go for a swim, watch them like a hawk as you would if you were on the coast, danger is always present but to remove it all just makes for a soft society and our kids will miss out on so many life experiences.

 

I most certainly do not wrap my kids in cotton wool, they can get wet & muddy they're children and I intend to let them have a childhood.  So far they are still alive and happy. #winning

Well said, Mark! :clap

 

(With us it's our Great-Grandchildren now). :shocked

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My son and our dog swimming at Salhouse a few years ago, he's also been swimming at Beccles, Oulton Broad YS and Surlingham recently.  

 

He has never been ill or injured and I would not stop him, great childhood experiences.

 

 

 

154641_476921694682_3021314_n.jpg?oh=edf

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