I don’t know how to swim. There I said it.
 

My biggest regret is that I don’t know how to swim. I grew up in the islands but never learned. Shameful. This summer, I vow to take lessons. Right now we’re vacationing in Maui and my son wants to go snorkeling. He is a great swimmer and diver in spite of having Down Syndrome. Do you know how embarrassing it is to be the one who needs a float belt? Next year, no more floatation devices. I’m going to learn to swim, dammit!

Never too late to learn.

Best of luck !

Right on.

You go this.

i need clarification.

you cant do formal swim strokes? or you get into deep water and your immediately a rescue recipient?

can you float?

(i grew up in the desert. i suck at swimming, but i survive)

Nothing to be ashamed of, we all came up different and were taught or learned different skills .
I think you will find it pretty easy and quite enjoyable once you do . Go knock down some new doors !

Never too late to learn to swim, good for you!

I prefer being under water than on dry land,

Feel more relaxed underwater looking up from 50ft down than on land looking down from 25ft up

I sink like a rock so I panic. I’m not confident treading water even.

My wife is a swim school manager and folks like yourself are coming in more often now.
The drowning death of anyone is totally preventable.
Learn to swim for you grandkids

I have a true phobia (shaking, hyperventilation, the works) of water so 5 years ago, I took lessons. I'm getting better with the fear and even went snorkeling in the Fl Keys last year. I say go for it! Take the class.

Easier in salt water. If that helps.

There was a post a while back about rescuing swimmers, how it can be dangerous for the rescuer..

My question is, can 'being rescued' be taught? I'm a crappy swimmer, too, this got me thinking it might be something to do to take a few lessons; which made me think maybe a 'get rescued if you are drowning and someone is trying to rescue you' lesson could be taught.
(ie learn to tread water and control the panic)

Just spitballing.

I've been swimming as long as I can remember. Swim Team, Lifeguard, the works. My Grandparents bought a house in Castro Valley with a pool and I swear we would spend all day in there swimming, only getting out to eat tuna sandwiches and Otter Pops. My Grandmother always said buying that house with the pool was the best decision as all of us Grandkids became strong swimmers.

My Wife is a strong swimmer also although she is claustrophobic. After going to Hawaii I found out the $$$$ I spent on a prescription dive mask was a bust. She just couldn't do it.

It was suggested to use a Full Face Snorkeling Mask and that saved the day. It really does make a difference if your swimming skills aren't as strong as you'd like or have claustrophobia issues...

https://www.amazon.com/Easybreath-Snorkeling-Anti-Fog-Microfiber-Turquoise/dp/B07RN1YYSM/?tag=full-face-snorkel-mask05-20

In the Red cross Water Safety course I took you are taught to approach the victim carefully. They will reach out in panic and drag you both under, the instructors really gave you a struggle.

You have to either grab their hair and sidekick/ drag them in or get them around the neck with the crook of your elbow and sidekick back to shore.

I have never been a great swimmer (I sink like a rock too) but I can swim, esp. with fins. I have snorkeled with and without a floatation belt. I vastly prefer wearing the belt even though I don't really need too. There are times when I will just rest stationary above a coral reef and watch the sea life move about. Having the belt removes one more thing I'd have to focus on.

No shame in wearing the belt to snorkel. Do what makes you comfortable and makes the experience enjoyable.

As far as lessons. Absolutely take them. But that is about life safety and a skill you would benefit from having. No one else really cares if you can swim or not.

What, you want some action winning trophies on the local college women's swim team or what? :D

Just learning to relax and tread water is the most important part. The different swim strokes are just 'icing on the cake'.

Once the fear of sinking is over...the rest is easy.

First of all, my hats off...I think it is great you are going to try this!

In person lessons are key. It is like learning how to fly...find an instructor you like and are comfortable with and you'll be fine. Spend the time.

Again, great stuff and best of luck.

Try to keep in mind that your lungs are a life vest, provide positive bouyancy when even partially full of air. Sombody in your area must teach a "drownproof" class. Sign up for one..

Although I'm a water boy, I'm not a very good swimmer. I tend to just sink unless I swimming flat out.

So I did swimming lessons at the town pool. They were really good. Tips like having a full lungful of air and keeping your body flat and correct kicking technique. Plus it was fun.

Have a good time in Maui.

My mother is also a non-swimmer. Just never learned. She is 81 now and I doubt will ever learn.

Didn't even get in water when she came to visit us when we lived on Oahu.

Best of luck. You got this.

My 7 yo just learned this past weekend.
My 5 yo is still a little tentative, but almost there..
So based on their success, I think you can do it!

I was about 12 years old and didn't like the water one bit. My local swimming area had a beginners class on swimming and it broke my fears.

The next years, I joined Boy Scouts and learned canoe capsizing rescue and long distance swimming. Swam a mile for a merit badge.

If you can move your arms and legs...you can swim easily.

Can't swim? Can't drive? What the hell?

^ You folks ^ kick ass! Do it.

I'm from FL and remember being taken to lessons, I must have been ~4.

My mind started thinking as I was reading. "start in a swimming pool. That way you can learn to swim where you can touch bottom which should help with the panic."

If you can find a salt water pool instead of chemical based, definitely go that route. I love to swim, but I don't float either (in a regular pool). My parents had a salt water pool and I could float there no problem (much harder to do in the Ocean or Gulf of Mexico near shore where waves are breaking).

If I try to float in a regular pool, I mostly sink. If you take a big, big, breath, and hold it, you'll float better.

Kudos to those who attempt things like learning to swim later in life and conquering fears.

If you ever see me landing with a parachute on .... just know that I was pushed outta the plane :D

That is fantastic that you want to learn to swim and it will open up a whole new world for you. That's also great that your son loves to swim. I have a Neice who has downs syndrome and she loves to paddle board!!! She can balance on that board and make it looks so easy and I am flopping around and falling off the board!!!

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Interesting! I never knew that an adult human couldn’t instinctively swim. Not break speed records of course, but tread water and do some kind of made up stroke or dog paddle to, say, get across a 20 foot pool.

I was a life guard for years- 6th largest pool in the world. Lots of saves.
When people panic they will grab for anything.
If you ever get in the situation that someone grabs you- just go under.
The last thing in the world a drowning person wants to do is go under water- they are crawling to get out of the water. Just sink and go limp. They will let go.
If you really have to do the save- just do this several times. They will tire out quickly, then you can easily cross carry them back to shore.
gary

But good luck to you! Start in the deep end and film it for us! :)

It's great that you are doing this for your son, great bonding experience underwater, it's a whole other world.

We grew up in the ocean, I'm sure I was swimming at 2 or 3, so completely natural with no fear. I would think learning to swim as an adult is scary on many levels so impressed that you are making it happen. Good luck!

Good for you to take the initiative to learn how to swim. I Not only will it help you, it might help you save someone one day.

In college, I taught adult classes at the YMCA (indoor pool).

Kids: they don't listen but they don't fear the water

Adults: they listen, but they argue and generally fear the water.

The first lesson is getting over the fear of water and getting your head under water. That is a tough class!

I had some fantastic successes. The two I remember were an Asian girl learning to swim at 21. And a guy, also about 21, who's father attended with him. He had a heart defect and never had enough energy to swim. After heart surgery, he wanted to learn to swim.

Both of them did very well.

Typical funniest story: Women on the first day in full make up, horrified they were going to get their hair wet.

Ocean swimming is different from the pool. It's cold, pushes you around, waves crash just when you want to take a breathe. Fear leads to panic which leads to death. Self control and knowing yourself is everything. You can't fight the water. You have to go with it and master it. It's your ocean. Plan ahead for that next gasp but don't let it get to that point. Laying on your back floating and taking deep breathes uses no energy and will keep someone alive for days. Relax and become one.

I am not a good swimmer. When We bought our first boat it was from a couple that kept it at Lake Tahoe. It was on a buoy maybe a quarter mile out in the lake. Going out I got a ride to the boat. At the end of the day we put it back on the buoy and wife three kids and I jump in to swim to shore. I almost didn’t make it. Altitude and crappy swimming skills. From that point on if I have to swim to my boat I wear a life jacket.

Learn it easy, toss yourself in the water. If your son is more than twelve, well lets do a PADI course and get him diving. I've been diving with people with downs, it's entirely possible.

Well, I was a tiny tyke when I learned to swim. My mother had a custom pool built

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1654741321.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1654741321.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1654741321.jpg
When most pools were only 8 foot deep, ours was 11, had a table and bench built in for cocktails, those were the days, when every pool had a diving board.
I learned to swim because my older sister threw me into the pool, literally, sink or swim, fortunately I took right too swimming. I was never scared of the water as a kid. But my sister kept throwing me in so it was a matter of survival. Step up and jump in.
With me, it was a way of life as our family vacations were to Bimini, staying at the Bimini Big Game Club Resort & Marina, where we were members
https://biggameclubbimini.com/
So our days were filled with fishing and snorkeling, so being able to swim was kind of important. I honestly don't see how anyone raised in Florida doesn't know how to swim, when I was a kid, the clubs not only had diving boards, but high dives as well.

Jump right in and talk to a local scuba dive shop and do a "Discover Scuba" class where they'll let you breathe underwater in the shallow end of the pool. It'll change your life and every vacation is at a beach snorkling or diving. I'm a TERRIBLE "swimmer" but an excellent diver.


https://www.padi.com/courses/discover-scuba-diving

Good for you!
I'm a 2 noodle guy or I sink like a rock.

Bravo on facing your fears and getting into swim lessons.

In college I was a Water Safety Instructor and taught adult non-swimmers how to swim. They were mostly foreign born from Asia, South America or Africa where there are a lot of large dangerous reptiles in the water, and also had limited english. All of them left the class fully able to enjoy swimming in a pool or the ocean.

We spent a couple of weeks just getting them to relax and then we could move on to actual stroke mechanics. Like high performance driving on race tracks, training yourself to fully relax is the secret sauce.

Good luck in your quest and happy swimming!

I have never been an especially good swimmer. I did get a bit better. I wore a float vest while snorkelling in the Turks a couple years back. We were in open ocean with no land in sight, thats what gets me. I just felt much more comfortable that way. I couldn't give a rats ass what other people think. I am not going to drown based on public opinion.