re: Anyone on here not know how to swim?

I am mostly a swimmin son of gun, but have never learned to go under without holding my nose.

I used to look pretty silly cliff diving.

"

quote:

---

I think the reason people drown is because the fear of their face/mouth/nose going underwater causes them to panic, flail about, wear out, and swallow water.

---

That is the Hollywood/Baywatch misconception of what a drowning person does. A lot of people that drown could have easily been rescued by someone nearby, but they did not know the signs of a person about to drown.





"When people find themselves on the cusp of drowning, they enter a state of preservation called the “Instinctive Drowning Response.” Voluntarily movement becomes impossible; the person tends to bob listlessly, head thrown back, mouth level with the water. The eyes may be glassy or altogether closed. The legs do not kick, and the arms are held laterally against the body. The body is held vertically.

The Instinctive Drowning Response is so undramatic that people often succumb even with lifeguards and other swimmers around. Experts recommend keeping a close eye on swimmers, and if someone becomes still to question them and make sure they remain cognizant. A drowning person will not be able to answer, or even reach for rescue equipment, and they have precious few seconds before they submerge."

I can swim, but i cannot float on my back. Everyone that I've ever been swimming with finds it odd. It pisses me off that I cant too.

I can tread water for a long time in still conditions, but I don't think I'd last long if there was even wave action.

quote:

---

I still don't call what I do "swimming" It is more like "not drowning"

---

This is me as well.
I can get as far as one breath will take me. Then I’d drown.
Can’t tread water to save my life (literally). I sink like a rock.