Can you really swim that far. Are you real sure???

[Old plug]

I know everyone of us preaches water safety and I realize probley 90% of us do not always practice what we preach.

 I was rated a life guard at age 16 by WMCA. One of the things We had to go through in the training was to swim 50 laps in a olympic sized pool. As I remember that was a challenge even for a 16yr old.  But over the past year I have had a couple of revelations. 

 I was bouncing drop shot down a shelved  channel bank about 100 ft off the shore. I was a hot summer day and of course the life jacket was not on. The thought entered my mind. " Do you think you can swim that shore" I had to think about that hard enough that I put my life jacket on. Then recently we started a aquatic Class. I Started to jump in the deep end with the intentions of swimming up to the shallow end where the old folks were gathering for  the class. Kind of showing off like we are not all as old as our years. For some reason i changd my min and decided to walk around to where the rest of the old foggies were. I decided to display my prowess by swimming across the pool in about 4 ft of water . Well I launched out into the pool and promptly sank. It is a scary thing to realize you no longer have any bouncy. I might have drown had I jumped that deep end. Some Angel must have been watching over me in both instances. It is something too think about no matter young or old.   

 

[snagged in outlet 3]

I did the mile swim at Boy Scout Camp.  Of course that was 40 years ago. 

I bought an auto inflate and where it all the time since I fish alone a lot.  Now even wearing it when someone else is with me.  They are so comfortable I don't even notice I have it on. 

[fishinwrench]

If you have a long distance to swim, the thing you DON'T wanna do is to try to hurry up and get there.   Providing that the water isn't so cold that hypothermia is a concern then just take your time.  It's easier to walk 5 miles than it is to run 5 miles.... it just takes longer to get there.  

Bottom line: Don't panic and gas yourself out trying to reach land immediately.   Pace yourself and try to make it a casual swim.  For me I can go all day with a casual side stroke, and eventually I'll get to where I wanna be.  

In cold COLD water, or in heavy current where you have to work real hard to avoid being swept into a bad spot.... all bets are off.  

[Old plug]

That is very true Wrench. It is panic that causes most of the drownings. We were taught how to control someone in panic. They will rally fight you. The instructor sure did. Around here I would wear any inflatable on  the dock Down. I am wondering how ay they are to trip  and inflate.  By me as you know the lake really bounces a lot of the time. The thing I am mostly concerned about myself is not being able to float. I think that might be my age.    

 

 

 

 

 

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, Old plug said:

The thing I am mostly concerned about myself is not being able to float. I think that might be my age. 

Maybe you'd better start holding in your farts.  😄

It will improve your bouyancy.

[MOPanfisher]

Lots of folks can swim a long distance (I am NOT one of them), however instead of psychic yourself up for it can you do it if just suddenly you go into the water, or if you go in hard (boat crash), or if fishing truman if you take a tree stump to the ribs when you fall, or if the water temp is 40 degrees.  I know my swimming ability is roughly that of a fat rock, or maybe an old tire, and even at that I don't always do what I know to be right, I do make sure I wear my PFD when running with the outboard and did buy an inflatable, but should spend the $20 for a recharge kit just to make sure the dang thing works.

Like FW said change some parameters and all bets are off.

[fishinwrench]

I did a hard-fast swim last summer trying to catch a floaty that blew off the boat and was drifting away.  At about 40-45 yards I was getting pretty exhausted. I caught up with it at about 65 yards, and I'd honestly say that was pretty close to my current limit.   If I had not reached the floaty and had to swim back without a rest I would have had a real hard time.

So yeah, the mile that I did as a Webelo scout is totally out of the question now. 😏

[176champion]

Winter time I wear a regular PFD vest which helps retaining some body heat and summer time I wear an inflatable and either one of them are on even kill switch hooked up if im just backing boat off trailer. Sometimes I ferget I have the kill switch hooked up when I get out of drivers seat.

[fishinwrench]

I just take it slow and easy during the Winter.   No long boat rides and keep my speed down.  Having to put on all kinds of safety gear takes the fun out of it.  If I truly felt the need to go through all of that I'd just stay on the bank.

[Harps]

With the convenience of modern inflatable PFDs, there's no reason not to wear one IMO. I wear it on the lake or floating. Only time I don't wear it on the water is if I'm wading.

I get some chit from my buddies for always wearing one, but I don't care. Once I have it on, I forget about it. Once I walked into a restaurant on the way home from the lake and still had it on. Chick behind the counter asked what it was before I realized it was still on.