Swimmers

Time Out

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Another Sunday another one pulled out. This time a girl no older than 8 trying to swim to Small Boat Club at Kingston.

Life ring deployed so she could swim safely back.

That’s two people this summer I have assisted in difficulty.

I have never known the river to be so full of swimmers. On weirs, locks, bridges and swimming across. I had to ask two to move out the way in the middle of the river in Sunbury.

Do get me wrong we also went in to our waist from the beach at Hampton Court but never across.

I’m truly astonished we have not seen more deaths as yet.
 

Outinthedinghy

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Loads of kids on the Hurley lock upper footbridge. I went under there in the floating electric beer drinking platform and exclaimed "if you are going to jump on me make sure it's one of the girls who does it". This seemed to divert there attention enough while they discussed what I had said and whether it was funny

Quite a few on the lower weir adjacent to the footbridge as well. And they had annexed the water point enclosure at least 4 of them sitting on top of it.

I heard from elsewhere that Hurley had been really badly trashed but I don't really understand why as it seems to be miles from anywhere...

I don't think there is even a beer shop there.

These kids did seem to be quite young probably late teens.


Is this a social media issue? I suspect it is.
 

shades

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Loads of kids on the Hurley lock upper footbridge. I went under there in the floating electric beer drinking platform and exclaimed "if you are going to jump on me make sure it's one of the girls who does it". This seemed to divert there attention enough while they discussed what I had said and whether it was funny

Quite a few on the lower weir adjacent to the footbridge as well. And they had annexed the water point enclosure at least 4 of them sitting on top of it.

I heard from elsewhere that Hurley had been really badly trashed but I don't really understand why as it seems to be miles from anywhere...

I don't think there is even a beer shop there.

These kids did seem to be quite young probably late teens.


Is this a social media issue? I suspect it is.
Hurley has always been a magnet for teenagers bridge jumping and swimming for decades. Social media has been used to spread the word even more. They travel from Marlow High Wycombe etc.
 

Time Out

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Hurley has always been a magnet for teenagers bridge jumping and swimming for decades. Social media has been used to spread the word even more. They travel from Marlow High Wycombe etc.

They were still jumping in Tedd lock (end of barge lock) and both bridges when I left at 2000 tonight. Same thing. Kids coming from miles around.
 

Old Crusty

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They were still jumping in Tedd lock (end of barge lock) and both bridges when I left at 2000 tonight. Same thing. Kids coming from miles around.

A so called senior manager with a pea sized intellect at the EA, now retired fortunately, told me to put up a sign at the end of the barge lock stating 'NO JUMPING' to stop the kids using the bull nose as a tomb stoning platform. I told him it would be a waste of resource. Only a regular visit by EA lock staff telling the young to clear off worked successfully but now there seems to be a policy of non-intervention.

It's been happening for decades and, doubtless, will continue.
 

Time Out

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A so called senior manager with a pea sized intellect at the EA, now retired fortunately, told me to put up a sign at the end of the barge lock stating 'NO JUMPING' to stop the kids using the bull nose as a tomb stoning platform. I told him it would be a waste of resource. Only a regular visit by EA lock staff telling the young to clear off worked successfully but now there seems to be a policy of non-intervention.

It's been happening for decades and, doubtless, will continue.

Yup for as long as I can remember too however not to the level we are seeing during lockdown (unsurprisingly) the only advantage of doing it there is they can climb out on a ladder.

The 8-year-old we assisted in Kingston by throwing a ring was greeted by her MOTHER on the other side completely oblivious her daughter had already completed the two dunks (which I had seen from the boat) and was about to go for the third (and likely last) dunk before we stepped in. The second person this summer, it's getting to the point where I cant go out as I am seeing every swimmer as a potential drowner more so on my home stretch when the tide starts to come in / out.

I am astonished we have not seen more drownings to date this summer.
 

Old Crusty

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Yup for as long as I can remember too however not to the level we are seeing during lockdown (unsurprisingly) the only advantage of doing it there is they can climb out on a ladder.

The 8-year-old we assisted in Kingston by throwing a ring was greeted by her MOTHER on the other side completely oblivious her daughter had already completed the two dunks (which I had seen from the boat) and was about to go for the third (and likely last) dunk before we stepped in. The second person this summer, it's getting to the point where I cant go out as I am seeing every swimmer as a potential drowner more so on my home stretch when the tide starts to come in / out.

I am astonished we have not seen more drownings to date this summer.

The drownings are starting to mount up - all preventable, one on the west coast of Scotland and three in Norfolk over the weekend, seemingly all from cold water fatigue. When an adult drowns, the reaction is often, they knew the risks. When a child drowns, it's someone else's fault and the clamour starts for fences, life rings every 50 metres, more signs. Parents have a clear duty to educate their children about the dangers of swimming in cold water if they know or care about these risks.

The coastguard and RNLI have attended hundreds of incidents since the end of lock down on 4 July - I'm thinking that some idiots believe they can do as they please and if they get into trouble, others will come to their rescue.
 

Outinthedinghy

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It's interesting looking at old maps of the River. Certain areas were designated as swimming areas. for example the one in Henley was, rather oddly, just above the rowing club opposite Rod Ait, by the wargrave road. Some years ago the site was redeveloped.

The Bourne end one was the beach area opposite the sailing club upstream of the bounty.

Sensible approach really to have a local authority recommended zone for it.

Loads of them around Gatehampton railway bridge today. Not yobboes just the swimmers. Trouble is they are always noisy. Talking loudly. Every single one. And because they are so slow you hear it for ages until the next ones come. Most annoying.

Why come to a lovely quiet part of the River just to make noise??
 

ianc1200

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Andy, I could be wrong, but I did used to swim in the river pool at Henley late 1960's or early 70's, but I remember it as being either where Henley RC is now, or slightly downstream.
 

Lower Limit 1909

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Collisions are probably as much a risk as avoidable random drownings.

Very recently three jumpers off the upstream side of the central arch on Kingston Bridge missed my boat by 30 metres / 15 seconds (jumped before I arrived). I was travelling upstream and they clearly had no visibility of anybody coming upstream. Perhaps selfishly I was only concerned for the consequences to my family if they had jumped 15 seconds later.

I suspect the woeful lack of resources thrown at this are based on the fact these people are are assumed to only be putting themselves at risk. Ths is not the case however as they are directly and indirectly endangering others.

In the 'stupid not reckless' category (hard to distinguish I know) I saw a 'competitive' single sculler (perfectly legitimately) doing 12-15 KPH perform the most astonishing emergency stop at the weekend to narrowly avoid a child swimming out to a an inflatable ring thrown by a parent. When you consider an intermediate sculler may be doing 4+ metres per second and a glance over the shoulder every 5th stroke means 40 metres travelled in 10 seconds between lookouts the potential for some serious random scull on swimmer incident looks high. Especially down here on the narrow upper tidal reaches with heavy 'fine boat' traffic and lots of beaches hidden by overhanging trees and scullers hugging the bends.

The scullers trajectory and speed are very predictable. Predictable = safe and avoidable. The completely random incursions into the river by swimmers are not remoteley predictable

The case for some sort of zoning looks strong (but it isn't going to happen until after an 'incident') and the casual swimmers will ignore it anyway.

I should say a large numbers of 'wild swimming' enthusiasts are mostly very diligent about their orange visibility floats and exercise common sense to keep out of the channel and present very little risk to themselves or others.

There are plenty of ways of sharing the water safely, but the very simple precautions needed to ensure this are not happening.
 

oldgit

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Changes in the use of the Thames might just ensure its future ?

Judging by the unhappiness of some users and their threats to "boat elsewhere" ** in protest about lack of service and ruinous licencing fees, with this impending mass exodus, are the days of the motorboat supremacy over. ?

**Yea right :)
 
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Time Out

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I think the issue re swimmers is those looking for a quick dip or kids jumping bridges. that has clearly increased due to lockdown. They are the ones at risk.

Don't get me wrong my wife and friends swim from their house opposite the middle Thames yacht club Sunbury, it as a clear flow from the weir and they wear buoyancy aids or floats. open water swimmers are easy to spot and generally stick to the sides.

The two snorkelers I nearly ran over at the back of Desborough Island were literally below the surface, had I not been on a flybridge they would have been chopped fish food. What the hell did they think they were going to see???

I like the idea of designated swimming areas once more.

I think this has shown us the river is for all but you have to be sensible enough to use it!
 

Outinthedinghy

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Andy, I could be wrong, but I did used to swim in the river pool at Henley late 1960's or early 70's, but I remember it as being either where Henley RC is now, or slightly downstream.
That's interesting. On my Stanford's map from 1948 it looks like it was just up from the rowing club.

I've not got my map on this boat. Local knowledge such as yours is likely to be more accurate !!
 

Outinthedinghy

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Swimming is not allowed if it causes a nuisance or potential danger, under the EA byelaws.

Swimming in non tidal rivers from public access land is also specifically prohibited in the 2000 act.

I wonder how many people are accessing the water from public access land blissfully unaware that their "right to roam" does not include a right to swim.
 

Chris_d

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That's interesting. On my Stanford's map from 1948 it looks like it was just up from the rowing club.

I've not got my map on this boat. Local knowledge such as yours is likely to be more accurate !!
It was immediately upstream of the rowing club, Grey house now built on the site, if you look on google maps non-satelite view you can see bit if bank with a recess where the swimming area was.
 

oldgit

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Swimming is not allowed if it causes a nuisance or potential danger, under the EA byelaws.

Swimming in non tidal rivers from public access land is also specifically prohibited in the 2000 act.

I wonder how many people are accessing the water from public access land blissfully unaware that their "right to roam" does not include a right to swim.

more holes than swiss cheese ?
To whom is the potential danger ,hardly the boat owner and simply start your swim from private land to avoid the second restriction >
 

Outinthedinghy

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Nuisance covers it but I agree awkward to enforce.

I suspect the only way anything would happen is if some wealthy riparian owner decided to use the nuisance card.

Years ago there was a story about a TC person living behind an island near Reading (St Mary's island) and he had a large Thames Conservancy sign put in specifically to discourage people from loitering in the backwater, and presumably necking, because it caused him as the riparian owner a nuisance.

The sign was one of those ones with wooden lettering screwed to a board. There is a similar type of sign warning of the Weir just above the Sandford Lasher.

Not sure if the no loitering one is still there it may have fallen down.
 
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