Learned to swim when I was 8 in the Boy Scouts. My old man threw me in the deep end of the pool at the Wansket Boys Club one night on an outing.
Learned better survival skills in SF training in the Service.
I knew I could save my own a$$ but wasn't sure about saving others until I saved 2 kids in Florida about 20 years ago in the cut between Sanibel and Captive Islands.

Swimming takes on a new meaning when you have those bulky style korkers on, along with waders, a loose belt and an $800 reel.

I think a better question is ...when the time comes to decide to lessen the load, will you do it in time?

When you get swept off that rock and can't find solid footing, will you be quick enough to kick off your korkers, will you give up your possessions before it's too late?

I'd have to guess NO, as most will think they will find that necessary footing in time to get back up...as the pull of the next wave takes them further away from the rock-pile possibly lifting them up...only to drop them violently against it.

It's one thing to think about what you'd do from behind your keyboard...it's another to actually live through it, and believe you did the right thing by giving up your gear.

I for one, will have a hard time giving up the gear...so when you read about me in the Obituaries....it was because I wouldn't give up my gear to King Neptune.


...but back to your question, YES....I can swim, and truly feel comfortable when in the water in the right attire. Have to say though, I never tried swimming in waders with heavy boots on, while holding my gear. :confused:.....although swimming neked scares me the most....

I was allowed to join the Boyscouts 30 days before my eleventh birthday. Two weeks later I earned the mile swim badge , 14 days before my eleventh birthday. I took all the red cross courses right up to and including Water Safety Instructor.

So I know how to swim. being somewaht fatter than I was , I have no idea how my stamina is but its a fact that the more comfortable you are in the water , the slower you burn energy and the less work you have to do to stay afloat and move along.


For one swimming course I took I had to tread water for 2 hours!. After a while you learn that if you are perfectly relaxed and do not worry about keeping your head up , you can float almost indefinitely without moving a muscle.

I'll get you some water wings Johnny D

Back in the day I could swim for an hour straight doing the sidestroke and back then I had almost no "bouyancy compensation".

I started swimming very early ... one of my best friends' father said the day he met me, his son and I were both four ... I was swimming on my own and his son wouldn't let go of the side of the pool ...

... well that guy wound up swimming and playing water polo in college, I did not ...

... but still swam quite regularly, almost daily in a local pool ... up to about a year ago when i got a condition called frozen shoulder which I cannot lift my arms above my head ... doctor said it was not likely that I would swim again ... although I could with severe pain ...

... hopefully stretching will help break the frozen shoulder so I could swim again ... that said, I guess my answer at the moment is "No."

... but hoping to change that ...

The difference between how far i can swim for fun, and how far I can swim to save my life and see my wife and son again is a huge difference... you'd be surprised what adrenaline can do for you... bottom line, I'm gonna make it one way or another... I simply have to

Use to be pretty good, but with health and age i have told all if I go in wave good bye :wave:

Almost like a fish, but have never had to save anyone's life.

Situational awareness has a huge impact on how well you actually apply your swimming skills though. First time in wet suit swimming to a distant rock I was hyperventilating once I reached the rock as there were many factors beyond just swimming involved which I hadn't considered.

I swim often. Both with a wetsuit and just for fun.
I always get a urge to head out to float around on warm bright days, usually not far from the places I frequent at night.

take away the daylight and add gear along with other elements and its definitely no comparison.

Love the water. Got caught in a rip at Lucy Vincent MV w/my best friend while I was college. Very scary. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to be fine, but the look in my buddy's eyes was pure terror. We were swept straight away from the beach and could not swim against the flow. We swam parallel to beach and finally got out of the rip. By the time we made it back to the breaking waves and I could touch the bottom he was like a rag doll, could barely walk. Scared the hell out of me.

The worst of it was I was worried about getting too close to him because the look in his eyes told me he was near panic and I felt he could drown us both. Didn't like my options that sunny afternoon, possibly watching my best friend drown, or trying to save him and risk both of us. Fortunately I was able to encourage him to swim with me.

He was right on the edge. It was a bad day.

Keeping your head is probably more important than being a webbed-toed submariner. A cool head is often your greatest asset when things get dicey.
ab

Larry has been known to swim the distance of a snapped off plug, just like a retriever.:rotf2:

In the day i was very good,even dove for bombs off bass river's bombing rock and swam them back to shore to sell.
Today i flunked the bathtub,have to shower

I've done the hundred yards out, hundred yards back to retrieve a plug, but I had time to stash my gear, remove my waders, shirt et.c. before I went in. In full gear with a rod and plugbag I'd do a lot worse. In the back of my mind I'm scared of some of the monsters that swim under the waves. I'm happier knee deep.:eek5:

this one is still fresh from last year's HABS,,,,,,,,
 

went in when a RoughPt rogue caught me being casual
on a sketchy perch around there,,,,,,,,,my dry-top was
open slightly at the top, korkers firmly attached, rod still
in hand, at the end of a baby chasm, flying solo, and dark.

the smartest thing i did was FIRST:
SLOW DOWN my thinking/breathing and kept my neck above the surf,

the next smartest thing i did was to:
let go of my rod and remember how much i LOVE the ocean,

the final thing i did to save me arse was:
let the wave do the swimming for me and i grabbed the rock
that had just banged my backside on the way in, so i could climb back up
and onto terra firma. thankfully, my korkers were still attached and the rest
of the story can be found within "What Are the Odds" in the S-B archives, if interested.

i swim like a fish anyways, i've been in LOVE with the salt/sweet/anywater for as long as i can remember, have been saved and have saved peoples from the water since childhood, youth swim team w/ ribbons, no certs, am one of those "crazies" that you see swimming back and forth parallel to the beach in the summer, i've invented my own resting stroke that i use between the conventional ones, and just taught my daughter how to swim last summer~~ my greatest water related achievement,YET.

the closest i ever came to sleeping with the fishes was one summer in LA in my late twenties, when my roomate and i decided it would be"cool" to body surf the remnant waves of a 4.7 earthquake at The Point, Malibu Beach. only, we "had to" get smahsed on vodka and codeine on the way to the beach, while his gf drove us down Sunset Blvd. when we got there, we were greeted with 10' - 12' swells and perfect water and sun temps. i rode a couple of 8 footers, then saw my shot at a sweeet 12 that proceeded to SLAM me and my shoulder into the cement-hard bottom tearing my shoulder muscle worse than a separation ~i would find out an ER visit later. only after the tumble cycle finished with me, this beeotch held me down longer than i've EVER been held down by a wave.

with my left shoulder hanging like 'al limpe' linguine and me battling the undertow and steep bottom of the conditons at hand, it took me several attempts and many dunkings later to one arm my way back onto the beach. and once there, i basically collapsed on the shore like a washed-up pile of seaweed *until some local beachcombers started nudging me with their feet, to see if i was, in fact, that pile of seaweed or still breathing*

okay, ok >> *........* << that part didn't happen, but i did lose my keys in the sand somewheres between the road and the surf, my roomies bailed on me to grab the bus back to WHollywood, and i ended up meeting this hot, blondie, Beach-Barbie babe that took me to the ER, took care of me for two days, helped me p/up my paycheck at the Hard Rock, and brought me back to the beach to get my vehicle before MLBU PD had it towed. hey, i was much younger and dumber back then, but oh how the way we rolled~~~ only thing i can chock it up to is this,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that God wasn't done with me yet, and i never panicked.

relax, be at one with the water, know a good resting position, know your limitations, and breathe,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,very slowly and you will survive, you will float, you will tread water, and if in waders and drytop ~~a tight surf belt is a must and keeping the neck cuff fastened may just save your life one night; THAT and a pfd and a sharp dive knife where you can grab it to cut yerself outta yer waders should the absolute worst case scenariorize itself. also have an exit strategy/path of survival in mind at ALL times when hoppin' the rocks. thanks be to God, too, that i'm even able to relate this winter's end tale,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,by my count, it's 23 days til Spring and prolly 37 days until the Striped Ones sea CT!!!

thanks for letting me share, GREAT poll question, sorry for the bramble to those who'll likely complain.
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