Hamble Swimming

[Offshore57]

We keep our boat at Eastlands Boatyard just above the M27 bridge over the Hamble River, and I must say it's a pretty idyllic place being both on the water and in the middle of the countryside. On saturday last we had to go and run below 5 knots for a period of time to bed in our props which had just been re-bushed. What better than a trip right down the river to Southamton Water, and back up, past our yard and right up the Hamble at high tide....we were coming back up and had just passed the refuelling pontoon at Swanwick and were about 50 yards from the first bridge carrying the A27 when we saw 4 swimmers, complete with orange flotation bags behind them, swimming straight under the centre span of the bridge, slap bang in the middle.....

Now I realise they were fairly easy to see, although the third one had no float attached and a dark cap on, but surely 4 people swimming line astern, about 10 metres apart......in a bottleneck of one of the busiest rivers on the south coast...on a warm saturday in August....would have the sense to maybe chose a quieter stretch or somewhere completely different to train. As it was we saw them in good time so drifted quietly in neutral about 20 yards from the bridge to allow them to keep going and well behind us before dropping into gear once more and we passed under the bridge with no incident.....fortunately there was no other boat coming down river at the time or it might have got tricky.

Its always busy on the river at a weekend, and with paddleboarders, canoeists, inflatables and sailing dinghies all taking advantage of the weather, I certainly didnt need swimmers adding to the mix right at that point. Am I the only one who thinks they are putting themselves at enormous risk ?

 

[stranded]

Lots of things we choose to do are risky - that is a personal choice. In this case I suppose there is a slight risk, but that isn't your main concern is it. Do I think swimmers should go elsewhere to avoid inconveniencimg boaters? No.

 

[benjenbav]

Tbh, apart from the risk of being chopped into little pieces, the prospect of weil's disease and/or ingesting diesel mixed with human waste would be enough to put me off.

 

[l'escargot]

Sounds like they were behaving sensibly and mitigating the risks as far as possible. No water users have exclusive use of public waters and I would see it little different to boats exercising their right to anchor in swimming areas...

 

[AIDY]

We keep our boat at Eastlands Boatyard just above the M27 bridge over the Hamble River, and I must say it's a pretty idyllic place being both on the water and in the middle of the countryside. On saturday last we had to go and run below 5 knots for a period of time to bed in our props which had just been re-bushed. What better than a trip right down the river to Southamton Water, and back up, past our yard and right up the Hamble at high tide....we were coming back up and had just passed the refuelling pontoon at Swanwick and were about 50 yards from the first bridge carrying the A27 when we saw 4 swimmers, complete with orange flotation bags behind them, swimming straight under the centre span of the bridge, slap bang in the middle.....

Now I realise they were fairly easy to see, although the third one had no float attached and a dark cap on, but surely 4 people swimming line astern, about 10 metres apart......in a bottleneck of one of the busiest rivers on the south coast...on a warm saturday in August....would have the sense to maybe chose a quieter stretch or somewhere completely different to train. As it was we saw them in good time so drifted quietly in neutral about 20 yards from the bridge to allow them to keep going and well behind us before dropping into gear once more and we passed under the bridge with no incident.....fortunately there was no other boat coming down river at the time or it might have got tricky.

Its always busy on the river at a weekend, and with paddleboarders, canoeists, inflatables and sailing dinghies all taking advantage of the weather, I certainly didnt need swimmers adding to the mix right at that point. Am I the only one who thinks they are putting themselves at enormous risk ?

boats don't just own the solent. wild swimming as they call it, is becoming very popular. similar thing happened to me a few weeks ago. was watching tv in our Dartmouth house which overlooks the river just down from the lower ferry and some bloke came swimming past the window. straight for the lower ferry, no buoyancy device but did have an orange cap on.

 

[Firefly625]

Tbh, apart from the risk of being chopped into little pieces, the prospect of weil's disease and/or ingesting diesel mixed with human waste would be enough to put me off.

+1

a few weeks ago there were 6 people (all adults) swimming around in Yarmouth harbour in the middle of the fairway, begs belief.

 

[Firefly625]

Hamble river bye-laws

10. Swimming

a. The River Hamble Harbour Authority is concerned that some swimmers expose themselves to unnecessary risk. Parents of young swimmers, and swimmers themselves, are reminded of the following basic precautions:-

i. Never dive or jump into water of an unknown depth.
ii. Never dive or jump from any bridge or structure.
iii. Never swim near moving boats, boats running their engines or boats which may depart their moorings.
iv. Never swim in the fairway or access channels.
v. Never swim in strong currents and/or tides.
vi. Never swim after consuming alcohol or after a meal.
vii. Beware of the cold; hypothermia can kill.
viii. It is not advisable to swim alone.
ix. Always swim within your limitations.
x. Always tell someone on the shore where you are swimming and when you expect to return to the shore.

b. Any river user that has concerns about a swimmer should telephone the Harbour Master on 01489 576387 or call “Hamble Harbour Radio” on VHF Channel 68. Note that swimming is not permitted from the Hamble Jetty.

 

[CLB]

It's madness I tell you. Just the other day I was zippy around a med anchorage in my RIB when some loony off a big gin palace nearly dented the bottom of my hull with his head. He even had the cheek to swear at me! Some people eh!

 

[Blue Sunray]

It's not just wild swimming that is causing this increase IMHO, the rise in mass participation triathlons and related adventure/endurance races means that there are more and more people looking to get hours in in the open water as swimming pools are pretty useless in preparing for significant open water swimming. It looks like these people were actually petty well prepared and set up with the hi-vis flotation bags. This is the sort of thing some of my colleagues do for fun:

 

[Gentlemanracer]

It's madness I tell you. Just the other day I was zippy around a med anchorage in my RIB when some loony off a big gin palace nearly dented the bottom of my hull with his head. He even had the cheek to swear at me! Some people eh!

 

[RIN]

It's madness I tell you. Just the other day I was zippy around a med anchorage in my RIB when some loony off a big gin palace nearly dented the bottom of my hull with his head. He even had the cheek to swear at me! Some people eh!

And you an instructor too!

 

[Vitesse]

Personally I don't get the idea of putting your safety in some stranger's hands in the hope that he might see you in time.

I think there's an element of testosterone in some folks which can be worse when in groups.

At some point the notion of enjoyment must be balanced by the possibility being chopped up, mustn't it? Do it often enough and it's a game of roulette.

 

[Aardee]

Personally I don't get the idea of putting your safety in some stranger's hands in the hope that he might see you in time.

You mean a bit like crossing a shipping lane in a small vessel?

 

[l'escargot]

Hamble river bye-laws...

That's the Harbour bye laws isn't it? They aren't very forthcoming on their website where the harbour limits are, it could even be at the bridge...

 

[matt1]

We keep our boat at Eastlands Boatyard just above the M27 bridge over the Hamble River, and I must say it's a pretty idyllic place being both on the water and in the middle of the countryside. On saturday last we had to go and run below 5 knots for a period of time to bed in our props which had just been re-bushed. What better than a trip right down the river to Southamton Water, and back up, past our yard and right up the Hamble at high tide....we were coming back up and had just passed the refuelling pontoon at Swanwick and were about 50 yards from the first bridge carrying the A27 when we saw 4 swimmers, complete with orange flotation bags behind them, swimming straight under the centre span of the bridge, slap bang in the middle.....

Now I realise they were fairly easy to see, although the third one had no float attached and a dark cap on, but surely 4 people swimming line astern, about 10 metres apart......in a bottleneck of one of the busiest rivers on the south coast...on a warm saturday in August....would have the sense to maybe chose a quieter stretch or somewhere completely different to train. As it was we saw them in good time so drifted quietly in neutral about 20 yards from the bridge to allow them to keep going and well behind us before dropping into gear once more and we passed under the bridge with no incident.....fortunately there was no other boat coming down river at the time or it might have got tricky.

Its always busy on the river at a weekend, and with paddleboarders, canoeists, inflatables and sailing dinghies all taking advantage of the weather, I certainly didnt need swimmers adding to the mix right at that point. Am I the only one who thinks they are putting themselves at enormous risk ?

I'm with you on this! They jump off the bridge and I often wonder whether one day they will land on a boat coming underneath. Others may not know the area; the bridge itself is pretty narrow (I'm guessing 60 feet), leaving very little room to manoeuvre or get out of the way of barely visible swimmers. Add in some strange, unpredictable and strong tidal eddies and its an accident waiting to happen. The authorities have tried to put a stop to it.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with others that the river is there to be used by all.....but not right by / underneath a very restricted bridge in a strong tidal stream. There is a lovely area to swim up by the landing stage less than half a mile away

 

[AIDY]

Agree about the brats jumping of the bridge... We used to berth at decons and they ran up and down the pontoon jumping on and off boats.

 

[Vitesse]

You mean a bit like crossing a shipping lane in a small vessel?

More on the lines of jogging the wrong way along a narrow road while wearing earphones and dark clothing!:encouragement:

 

[paul salliss]

boats don't just own the solent. wild swimming as they call it, is becoming very popular. similar thing happened to me a few weeks ago. was watching tv in our Dartmouth house which overlooks the river just down from the lower ferry and some bloke came swimming past the window. straight for the lower ferry, no buoyancy device but did have an orange cap on.

yes, just spent a day " Coasteering" it was sold out, and is popular, involved jumping off cliffs culminating in a 15m jump, the trick was it was in to gorgeous Cornish sea, not a dirty patch of river, that it in close proximity to a fuel berth, full of boats a % of which will be using that area to pump out the " black tank"

yuk, unless I urgently needed to dive in to get something back ( I have done this) you would not get me swimming in that place

 

[Steruth1]

On the swimming theme, where is a good place to drop anchor for a swim in the Solent?