sailing and swimming

solent clown

solent clown

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Karen is an avid swimmer, not an expert, but keen, yesterday she hopped out of the dinghy to have a swim under the Itchen bridge while we were briefly becalmed. She wants to do a lot more "wild" swimming so we are looking for likely locations where she can still be safe. Newtown creek seems a good location for starters, she has done most of the tiver up to the Itchen bridge so we need to get her further afield. Obviously I will be keeping an eye on her and have the flubber at the ready in unfaminiar places. The water was the warmest I have ever felt it yesterday, so much so I didnt bother with a wetsuit at all and just wore shorts. Karen wore hers though, slipping through the water like some manic little seal
 
solent clown said:
Karen is an avid swimmer, not an expert, but keen, yesterday she hopped out of the dinghy to have a swim under the Itchen bridge while we were briefly becalmed. She wants to do a lot more "wild" swimming so we are looking for likely locations where she can still be safe. Newtown creek seems a good location for starters, she has done most of the tiver up to the Itchen bridge so we need to get her further afield. Obviously I will be keeping an eye on her and have the flubber at the ready in unfaminiar places. The water was the warmest I have ever felt it yesterday, so much so I didnt bother with a wetsuit at all and just wore shorts. Karen wore hers though, slipping through the water like some manic little seal
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Id steer clear of busy rivers and anchorages where pollution was likely ! Eg the Itchen and Newtown Creek!

Peaceful coastal bays are ( were :( ) my preference. We did once contemplate taking a dip while becalmed in mid channel, but resisted the temptation. Instead we started the engine and carried on our way.

Beware of strong tides. Check the depth....... its annoying to dive or jump over the side only to discover you are anchored in only 3 ft of water!
 
We were doing this only a few weeks ago. We couldn't be arsed to head to the land and anchor so we found a patch of deep water (off the scale of the sounder) and in we went: lovely.

Mind you, the Greek islands are a great place with deep, clean and warm water; not sure if I'd want to do the same in the Itchen or anywhere in the Solent. Too many yachts (or, more specifically, yachts with toilets).
 
langstonelayabout said:
We were doing this only a few weeks ago. We couldn't be arsed to head to the land and anchor so we found a patch of deep water (off the scale of the sounder) and in we went: lovely.

Mind you, the Greek islands are a great place with deep, clean and warm water; not sure if I'd want to do the same in the Itchen or anywhere in the Solent. Too many yachts (or, more specifically, yachts with toilets).
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Oh, now the penny drops, yacht toilets... Makes sense near busy anchorages not to go for a dip then. As for the Itchen, I think we must be immune by now!
 
VicS said:
Id steer clear of busy rivers and anchorages where pollution was likely ! Eg the Itchen and Newtown Creek!

Peaceful coastal bays are ( were :( ) my preference. We did once contemplate taking a dip while becalmed in mid channel, but resisted the temptation. Instead we started the engine and carried on our way.

Beware of strong tides. Check the depth....... its annoying to dive or jump over the side only to discover you are anchored in only 3 ft of water!
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she is only 4 ft odd, so very slighty less of an issue, lol
 
solent clown said:
Oh, now the penny drops, yacht toilets... Makes sense near busy anchorages not to go for a dip then. As for the Itchen, I think we must be immune by now!
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Yacht loos, other drains, other pollution like oil, rats...

Anchor somewhere cleaner and have a go at cleaning the antifoul.

Swimming in slightly murky water probably won't kill you. but I'd rather not do it when I'm more than 24 hours from a proper shower.
 
capnsensible said:
You dont swim in rivers, you just go through the motions.
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clever!

I have been in and on this river for 5 decades. There have been times it has been bad, but right now it seems cleaner than ever - though that is of course a relative term. Not killed us yet, for dips, beer and prosecco cooler, or mucking about in rafts and small boats. Maybe we are just lucky, or have some local immunity! The mud on the other hand... Nasty stuff, especially this year with the bloom of green atop that stinks in the baking sun.
 
We (not all of us at once, of course) went for a swim while becalmed in mid-Atlantic. About 1000 miles from dry land but only about 3 miles from solid ground, at a rough guess. Kept a look-out for dorsal fins, but none seen.

On Newtown, and yacht toilets: my theory, untested, is that you would be OK on a rising tide with all that (relatively) clean Solent water flooding in.
 
blackbeard said:
We (not all of us at once, of course) went for a swim while becalmed in mid-Atlantic. About 1000 miles from dry land but only about 3 miles from solid ground, at a rough guess.
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Great feeling, isnt it! Bit of a problem on a west to east though because you have to share with about 10 billion jellyfish.

Swam across the equator last year and discovered why they have seals in the Galapagos Islands......
 
Are there any sharks in the med? I swam back to the boat one night,just the moon on the water. Frightens the life out of me if there could have been.
 
some more stories there to encourage us on to bigger boat and longer voyages. Thanks guys, the idea of a dip in the middle of the ocean, wow, that must be both terrifying and exhilarating.
As an aside, do any of you guys carry any sub aqua gear? I did a bit many years ago, and it is something else we are talking about trying again
 
Sandown bay on the Isle of Wight is nice, especially towards the northern end of the beach. Water is very clear at the moment.

We run an old 40m halyard off the stern with a fender on the end, as a grab line for safety reasons.

We have two sets of scuba gear on board, as sometimes we visit wreck sites which are great to dive like the U-1195 south east of Sandown.
 
solent clown said:
some more stories there to encourage us on to bigger boat and longer voyages. Thanks guys, the idea of a dip in the middle of the ocean, wow, that must be both terrifying and exhilarating.
As an aside, do any of you guys carry any sub aqua gear? I did a bit many years ago, and it is something else we are talking about trying again
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We’ve got two sets of dive gear aboard, doesn’t get used much as the diving where it’s good to anchor is usually pretty poor...
 
Dawnrazor said:
Sandown bay on the Isle of Wight is nice, especially towards the northern end of the beach. Water is very clear at the moment.

We run an old 40m halyard off the stern with a fender on the end, as a grab line for safety reasons.
Click to expand...

I like the safety line idea. thanks for that
 
I swim regularly from my mooring in Chichester harbour. The water is warm and lovely and clear this summer - no wet suits needed. There is only one tidal marina at the top of the creek, so if you avoid high water there are very few boats moving about. On the flood is best, because the tidal flow is less.
 
Just about anywhere is a place you can swim. I have a pal who has joined a wild swimming club.

I am wondering if there should be a signal for nude swimmers on this boat, just to warn prudish boaters that I am about to show them my bum as I climb up the swim ladder.

Perhaps flags A and N should do it?
 
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