Are you a good swimmer?

[Janice]

I read a story today how a teen died when he was fishing and dropped his cellphone in the water, and tried to retrieve it. Calm waters too...the article stated that none of them were good swimmers.

I was a strong swimmer early on. My sisters and I took lessons at the YMCA. I know that cramps, water currents, bad weather and other factors can make a person drown, but I always think it's such a shame when people drown because they can't swim -- when it's avoidable. Here's the article.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1477773/

The question is, what kind of a swimmer are you?

[Already Gone]

I'd say i'm a good enough swimmer. My parents taught me how to swim and I took lessons at the Y when I was a kid.

[Courtnee]

I'm an ok swimmer. I'm not the best, but I can do it.

[Jo_Luvs_Ketchup]

I can't go underwater ever since I got sucked in by the ocean. If my sister wasn't there, I can't imagine!

[PZelda]

I'm not pro, but I'm a pretty decent swimmer.

(15 years of swimming classes will do that for ya.)

[AllIWantIsYourClutch]

I never took actual lessons, but I've had a pool in my backyard my entire life and I'm good with that. And I've made it out of the ocean alive. So. I think I'm okay.

[Shine]

Originally Posted by Jo_Luvs_Ketchup

I can't go underwater ever since I got sucked in by the ocean. If my sister wasn't there, I can't imagine!

That sounds like an awful experience, Kelly.

[Shine]

Originally Posted by PZelda

I'm not pro, but I'm a pretty decent swimmer.

(15 years of swimming classes will do that for ya.)

That is an awful lot of swimming classes.

[Ireneparalegal]

I wish I knew how to swim. I enjoy being in swimming pools, the ocean, etc. but never learned.

[catlover79]

I have a fear of deep water and large bodies of water in general. When I was a kid, my family took a vacation in Canada. I went out too far in the hotel pool in Quebec and almost didn't make it out! My dad still says that was one of the scariest moments of his life - one of his kids in that kind of danger. The lady lifeguard got to me in time. I ended up catching a chill and got a bad cold.

The next summer, my mom signed my sister and I up for swimming lessons at our local community pool. I hated every single second, especially when we had to go off the diving board. I told my mother this just recently. She said if she'd known how deeply I felt about it, she wouldn't have made me go. I guess I was too afraid to say anything!!

[Shine]

I'm a very good swimmer. My uncle, who was a Navy seal in Vietnam, taught me how to swim. Also, like Katie, I had classes at the Y.

[Shine]

Originally Posted by catlover79

I have a fear of deep water and large bodies of water in general. When I was a kid, my family took a vacation in Canada. I went out too far in the hotel pool in Quebec and almost didn't make it out! My dad still says that was one of the scariest moments of his life - one of his kids in that kind of danger. The lady lifeguard got to me in time. I ended up catching a chill and got a bad cold.

The next summer, my mom signed my sister and I up for swimming lessons at our local community pool. I hated every single second, especially when we had to go off the diving board. I told my mother this just recently. She said if she'd known how deeply I felt about it, she wouldn't have made me go. I guess I was too afraid to say anything!!

That is a pretty terrible experience you had in that hotel pool, Monika. I remember the first time I had to use the diving board, I was really scared. After I did it though, I could not get enough of it.

[AB]

I love the water, love to go out in the boat and love to lay on a float in the pool but I can't swim. I almost drowned when we went to Daytona one year, but my husband managed to pull me out. I even took a couple of swimming lessons but just couldn't master it.

[PZelda]

Originally Posted by Blair's Number #1 Fan

That is an awful lot of swimming classes.

Well, really, it was once a week. I don't remember anymore what I did in terms of swimming lessons when I was really young - but I do remember I was at the community center's swimming pool at least 2x or 3x a week up until about second grade ('92). Then I moved and started going to a school that had its own swimming pool, so every Wednesday for PE class, we would go swimming instead of using the gym. Plus on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays that school had open swimming night, where the general public was invited to use the pool... I took advantage of that a lot up until about junior high. I still did so, but not as often. The last year I had PE classes w/ Wednesday swimming was my junior year in HS, and that was only one semester (fall 2001).

So, yeah, I've always been around the water a lot growing up... be that I was in it, near it or around it.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Blair's Number #1 Fan

That is a pretty terrible experience you had in that hotel pool, Monika. I remember the first time I had to use the diving board, I was really scared. After I did it though, I could not get enough of it.

Yes, it was a frightening experience. Then last summer, what began as a simple drive home from the library turned into me being caught in a flash flood!! I was the only one in the car and was just terrified. Thankfully, I wasn't too far away from home, and both the car and I got back safely. I was completely soaked, and had nightmares about it for days afterwards.