The importance of saying “this is a stupid idea”

[Arry 18,484]

Lost a good mate when I was in my late teens and glad I was not there when it happened. Think it was five mates all drinking in a Steampacket Inn one side of the river decided to borrow a dingy and paddle across the river to the Fairseat a pub with supper licence the other side. So using bit of small planks as paddles from the timber yard the set off. They tipped over one never made it ashore and a mate had to kick another mate off he was grabbing his leg under water and they would have both gone.

RIP Ben.

Was only about half a mile if they had walked and used the bridge.

This was on the river Dart that flows through the town. An old saying around here.

The Dart claims a heart every year.

Arry

[gnasher16 29,571]

My story with swimming/water is so embarrassing i only tell folk i dont really know that well 

Growing up i dont ever remember really even seeing the sea until late teens but once i did i was mesmerised by it i used to drive to Southend and run up to the end of the pier as part of my training ( its about a mile and a half long ) and spend hours just sitting there watching the water knowing i couldnt swim a stroke and was actually terrified of being in water any further than waist high.....then once my daughter was born i remember taking her to the same spot clutching her hand vice like and actually questioning myself " what the f**k would i do if she fell in ".....to the point that i stopped taking her as the thought just upset me too much.....even though i loved being in water.....just not under it !!

Years later i moved into a place that had a nice pool in the garden and having decided " f**k it ive got to break this fear " would spend literally hours walking around in waist high water arguing with myself " supposed to be hard nut and you wont even put your head under water you f****n sissy "....it drove me mad and we ended up getting it filled in and has been a massive fish pond ever since !

Then more recently a mate of mine got bang into scuba diving and would constantly tell me stories of all the different places and adventures he go's on making me even more jealous.....i even saw kids snorkelling on holiday one year and thought f**k it i can do that,bought a soppy little 10 quid snorkel thing to take back to the hotel and practise in the bath,but couldnt even do that the ol woman still takes the piss out of me to this day !

Eventually a few years back along with a few lessons the wife made it her mission to teach me how to swim and be comfortable in the water which i now am....i swim like a demented seal,still dont particularly like being under water,but can spend time comfortably floating about in deep water.....i used to watch people on holiday jumping off boats and suchlike with real envy....but can now step off the ladder like an old woman ( rather than jump ) and just knock about in the water chatting to folk with real pleasure and relaxation....for chaps of my generation i think its just one of those battles you have with yourself that you just have to win,it took me 40 odd years but im loving it now.................and now i spend beautiful times in the water with the grandson and he need never know what a sissy big tough grandad once was  

Like has been said....just get out there and learn however old you are dont be beaten.

Edited July 19, 2021 by gnasher16

[socks 32,253]

You had to learn to swim when I was a youngster or you would miss the salmon run and be skint

[Born Hunter 17,622]

2 hours ago, gnasher16 said:

 

Like has been said....just get out there and learn however old you are dont be beaten.

I must say I found lessons very enjoyable. Hoping in the pool just after a toddler climbs out for my lesson with the instructor required a lot of humility I think and it’s really humbling. I’d love to go again but I’d take some convincing that I’m not just pissing into the wind. I’ve just given up with the idea tbh.

I think my buoyancy suits me to snorkelling. Lol

[sandymere 8,260]

You can't teach youngsters common sense, we all do stupid things when young but you can teach them to swim and so hopefully give them a chance when their stupidity takes over around water. As to CPR, it's just how you maintain a chance of a restart when the defib arrives, then it a jump start and we all know how to jump start a care so why not a person???.??? Just imagine a child needing CPR and you didn't know how yet you know how drive a car, much more complicated or check a dog over for injuries, again much more complicated, even if its just watching videos so you know the basics of chest compressions you give that child a chance.....

 

 

[gnasher16 29,571]

53 minutes ago, Born Hunter said:

I must say I found lessons very enjoyable. Hoping in the pool just after a toddler climbs out for my lesson with the instructor required a lot of humility I think and it’s really humbling. I’d love to go again but I’d take some convincing that I’m not just pissing into the wind. I’ve just given up with the idea tbh.

I think my buoyancy suits me to snorkelling. Lol

Its like anything i suppose,if you have the interest you will find a way......open water always fascinated me,but also frightened the life out of me 

As regards humility/lessons etc im finding learning new shit so much easier later in life when you dont have all that tempestuousness and attitude of youth !....i guess the rest is just down to self determination.

[WILF 44,167]

1 hour ago, gnasher16 said:

Its like anything i suppose,if you have the interest you will find a way......open water always fascinated me,but also frightened the life out of me 

As regards humility/lessons etc im finding learning new shit so much easier later in life when you dont have all that tempestuousness and attitude of youth !....i guess the rest is just down to self determination.

Lads from round your way and the opposite side of the river used to just get aimed in the docks I thought and it was swim or die ! Lol  

Learn to swim, dose of scarlet fever and bobs your uncle. 

Maybe that was just all the old boys pulling my plonker

[THE STIFFMEISTER 14,553]

6 hours ago, gnasher16 said:

My story with swimming/water is so embarrassing i only tell folk i dont really know that well 

Growing up i dont ever remember really even seeing the sea until late teens but once i did i was mesmerised by it i used to drive to Southend and run up to the end of the pier as part of my training ( its about a mile and a half long ) and spend hours just sitting there watching the water knowing i couldnt swim a stroke and was actually terrified of being in water any further than waist high.....then once my daughter was born i remember taking her to the same spot clutching her hand vice like and actually questioning myself " what the f**k would i do if she fell in ".....to the point that i stopped taking her as the thought just upset me too much.....even though i loved being in water.....just not under it !!

Years later i moved into a place that had a nice pool in the garden and having decided " f**k it ive got to break this fear " would spend literally hours walking around in waist high water arguing with myself " supposed to be hard nut and you wont even put your head under water you f****n sissy "....it drove me mad and we ended up getting it filled in and has been a massive fish pond ever since !

Then more recently a mate of mine got bang into scuba diving and would constantly tell me stories of all the different places and adventures he go's on making me even more jealous.....i even saw kids snorkelling on holiday one year and thought f**k it i can do that,bought a soppy little 10 quid snorkel thing to take back to the hotel and practise in the bath,but couldnt even do that the ol woman still takes the piss out of me to this day !

Eventually a few years back along with a few lessons the wife made it her mission to teach me how to swim and be comfortable in the water which i now am....i swim like a demented seal,still dont particularly like being under water,but can spend time comfortably floating about in deep water.....i used to watch people on holiday jumping off boats and suchlike with real envy....but can now step off the ladder like an old woman ( rather than jump ) and just knock about in the water chatting to folk with real pleasure and relaxation....for chaps of my generation i think its just one of those battles you have with yourself that you just have to win,it took me 40 odd years but im loving it now.................and now i spend beautiful times in the water with the grandson and he need never know what a sissy big tough grandad once was  

Like has been said....just get out there and learn however old you are dont be beaten.

Good job you never got hoyed in the sea at wearside mush ! 
 

 

[THE STIFFMEISTER 14,553]

4 hours ago, Born Hunter said:

I must say I found lessons very enjoyable. Hoping in the pool just after a toddler climbs out for my lesson with the instructor required a lot of humility I think and it’s really humbling. I’d love to go again but I’d take some convincing that I’m not just pissing into the wind. I’ve just given up with the idea tbh.

I think my buoyancy suits me to snorkelling. Lol

I find that amazing mate , that you can’t swim and are into the snorkel fishing pal . 

I always get the idea that your quite outdoorsy fit if that makes sense so stick at it , no one would take the piss pal as you see a lot more adults taking swimming properly these days for sporting reasons , triathlon , distance events etc 

 

 

[Daniel cain 42,789]

Just spent a few days at the coast before I start my new job tomorrow,loads of young kids unsupervised while mum and dad are supping on the beach or sat in the caravan Fortunately my Oldman taught us all to swim around 4/5 yr old..my youngest brother was born with only 1 arm..everyone would stare when we were on holiday..he would tell folks he lost it in a trolley accident in Safeway's/crocodile in Bristol zoo ..dad used to tell people his lessons was half price because he swam round in circles ..he got his 500 m badge to be fair...mine all had lessons a few yrs ago...still need eyes in your arse mind 

Fair play to those of you who have  overcome your fear..never to old to learn

[Born Hunter 17,622]

42 minutes ago, THE STIFFMEISTER said:

I find that amazing mate , that you can’t swim and are into the snorkel fishing pal . 

I always get the idea that your quite outdoorsy fit if that makes sense so stick at it , no one would take the piss pal as you see a lot more adults taking swimming properly these days for sporting reasons , triathlon , distance events etc 

 

 

I’ve been able to swim since a kid, I’m just shit at it. I could manage two lengths maybe before I’m about to drown. Ha! I could go into detail about what technical problems I had and put right through lessons but for whatever reason I couldn’t get to the point where it was effortless, it always feels like I have to put 95% effort into it to keep some sort of semblance of technique and that is just not sustainable. I honestly think my biggest problem is that my buoyancy is just so low. My instructor literally had to scratch her head on how to get me to float on my back and be able to breath at the same time! And other drills were just impossible because I couldn’t take a breath if I kept my head where it was supposed to be. As you’ll know the more you have to lift your head the more your legs want to drop (mine sink anyway) and so the more resistance you encounter and so the harder you ‘pull’ to stop it.

In the sea I’ve got fins on and a snorkel so it’s all just much more manageable.

But yeah I’d honestly love to be able to swim as effortlessly as I see everyone else do it. And this is all freestyle/front crawl whatever it’s called, we’ll not even talk about the diabolical mess my breaststroke is!

[Born Hunter 17,622]

4 hours ago, gnasher16 said:

Its like anything i suppose,if you have the interest you will find a way......open water always fascinated me,but also frightened the life out of me 

As regards humility/lessons etc im finding learning new shit so much easier later in life when you dont have all that tempestuousness and attitude of youth !....i guess the rest is just down to self determination.

Totally agree mate but there comes a point when I just had to wonder why I was wasting money. Ultimately the lessons were to gain confidence in the sea which it did but I’d liked to have actually succeeded in becoming a good swimmer too to add another aspect to my fitness.

[Rickshaw swami 3,885]

This is a very important  topic in my opinion.Growing up in Alabama you're surrounded by creeks and rivers.It seems every summer  a couple drown.20 kayakers had to be rescued in a flood last week.I was kayak fishing  10 miles from there at the same exact time.

I have stomped the rivers swimming ,hunting and fishing  most of my life.Still alive but I dont mix rivers and alcohol.

This past February me and a buddy went lamping from his jon boat.It has a motor thats been tinkered with and can go faster than it should.Roughly 40 mph.Which is too fast at night in the swamp. We have done this since we were children  with my old man.30 years me and him been doing  this with no problems other than hitting a few logs that throwed us down.On this night he was driving  and I was running  the lamp.All of a sudden the motor kicked sideways tossed my buddy into the middle of a cold river at night.He wasn't wearing his killswitch.So the boat was full throttle doing circles.I was trying to hold my terriers and kill the motor while the boat did circles at 40mph.I got the boat stopped.Drug my cold wet friend into the boat with me and rushed him to the truck.Everything worked out ok but we were shook up for a few weeks.Water is dangerous enough without ego's or alcohol in my opinion.

 

As far as learning  to swim I will never forget the loving advice my father gave me as a child learning to swim.He said son,sugar melts in water but turds will float so hold your breath and you'll  be just fine

[jigsaw 11,809]

8 hours ago, gnasher16 said:

My story with swimming/water is so embarrassing i only tell folk i dont really know that well 

Growing up i dont ever remember really even seeing the sea until late teens but once i did i was mesmerised by it i used to drive to Southend and run up to the end of the pier as part of my training ( its about a mile and a half long ) and spend hours just sitting there watching the water knowing i couldnt swim a stroke and was actually terrified of being in water any further than waist high.....then once my daughter was born i remember taking her to the same spot clutching her hand vice like and actually questioning myself " what the f**k would i do if she fell in ".....to the point that i stopped taking her as the thought just upset me too much.....even though i loved being in water.....just not under it !!

Years later i moved into a place that had a nice pool in the garden and having decided " f**k it ive got to break this fear " would spend literally hours walking around in waist high water arguing with myself " supposed to be hard nut and you wont even put your head under water you f****n sissy "....it drove me mad and we ended up getting it filled in and has been a massive fish pond ever since !

Then more recently a mate of mine got bang into scuba diving and would constantly tell me stories of all the different places and adventures he go's on making me even more jealous.....i even saw kids snorkelling on holiday one year and thought f**k it i can do that,bought a soppy little 10 quid snorkel thing to take back to the hotel and practise in the bath,but couldnt even do that the ol woman still takes the piss out of me to this day !

Eventually a few years back along with a few lessons the wife made it her mission to teach me how to swim and be comfortable in the water which i now am....i swim like a demented seal,still dont particularly like being under water,but can spend time comfortably floating about in deep water.....i used to watch people on holiday jumping off boats and suchlike with real envy....but can now step off the ladder like an old woman ( rather than jump ) and just knock about in the water chatting to folk with real pleasure and relaxation....for chaps of my generation i think its just one of those battles you have with yourself that you just have to win,it took me 40 odd years but im loving it now.................and now i spend beautiful times in the water with the grandson and he need never know what a sissy big tough grandad once was  

Like has been said....just get out there and learn however old you are dont be beaten.

thats me right there without the happy ending lol

[gnasher16 29,571]

17 hours ago, jigsaw said:

thats me right there without the happy ending lol

Stick at it mate,conquer your fears etc

A well known old Texan dogman once told me something that stuck with me forever and ive been guilty of repeating it as if it were my own saying over the years.....he said " Son,the toughest matches you're ever gonna have in this life will be when you are matched into yourself "

Edited July 20, 2021 by gnasher16