Worst thing ever seen at a pool

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

I agree with D67. Why should any of us judge anyone for what they choose to wear. Bede is right in his conclusion... Best thing at the pool is whatever you feel good in. Life is short, enjoy it.

[Torchwatch]

If the rather portly man at the pool had been wearing black shin length baggy shorts your first reaction would still have been "Yuk". Unless he is so much the norm in your area that he was invisible to you.

[knikon]

Someone a while back showed me a stat that part of the reason men are more likely to drown is simply the baggy swim shorts. I wish i could find the stat. Lol I'd probably drowned last sat if I was wearing baggies. (I should know better than to swim in a riptide while dehydrated)

[Bede735]

Well I had to pass my swimming survival certificate swimming in pyjamas, so would it be surprising?

[Byron]

Sounds like a very scary swim experience - what caused the dehydration which (presumably) made you weak and feeling inadequate against the strength of the tide ?

PS: I know that the RNLI publishes water safety advice but not sure whether they actually position themselves in favour of wearing speedos.

[knikon]

I didnt drink water all day. I proceeded to go out swimming. I was having a good time and then as if it came out of nowhere all my energy just got sucked out of me (when you are swimming you sometimes dont realize how much exercise you are getting). I tried to first gradually swim parallel to the shore but I was getting fatigued and the waves were getting bigger. I wasnt too far out and luckily got close enough to touch the sand. When I got to the point I had a good grip on the ground under me I ended up fighting the tide and just about blaked out walking back into the shore. Even the water on my ankles seemed to weigh 40lbs... I stayed at my towel until I had the energy (very little) to walk back to the car and go get some hydration. Not having the extra weight or movement constriction of baggies was part of the reason I was even able to fight the tide.... The problem with riptide is that you cant just float and wait it out is you run out of energy. You have to swim with it. Ive swam at college dehydrated and the same thing happened but in the college pool it is a controlled environment.

It is like running when your body is out of water but continuing to do it because your body doesn't recognize that its temputure and heart rate isn't being elevated the way it would do in an activity on shore.

[Bede735]

Originally Posted by knikon

Someone a while back showed me a stat that part of the reason men are more likely to drown is simply the baggy swim shorts. I wish i could find the stat. Lol I'd probably drowned last sat if I was wearing baggies. (I should know better than to swim in a riptide while dehydrated)

Actually, if you were wearing baggies in that situation wouldn't you try to remove them? Better to be naked than dead!

[knikon]

Absolutely... It is harder to remove a swimsuit floating in a riptide than you'd think lol.

[Byron]

Might also be a panic factor in this and even gold medallist runner Mo Farah had a brief collapse at the end of his Marathon a couple of weeks back.
Ever had a tilt-test with cardiac monitoring at a clinic ?

[Torchwatch]

I was walking from Cap Ferret to Point de Grave in the Gironde.
I only had a 1 litre (1.75 pint) water bottle with me and was suffering from blisters on my feet.
It got hotter and hotter and I limped slower and slower, at first I took drinks of water, then slurps, then sips and eventually the bottle ran out before I could reach the next ville and campsite.
At the ville I refilled and immediately emptied my bottle at the tennis club, at the beach bar a had a ice slush drink. Reaching the campsite I put up the tent and broke a tent pole through incoherent fumbling, luckily I was able to repair it. I didn't cook dinner as I couldn't face eating anything.
Lying in my tent I heard English voices in the tents around me, I wouldn't need to get help immediately as English speakers would understand when I really needed aid. In the night I needed to go to the toilet block, and wandered around the campsite in the dark trying to find my tent again. The next morning I discovered there were no English speakers in the tents around me, although there were a couple of English boys, brothers, in blue speedos in the toilet block when I went for a shower.
Dehydration and sunstroke can occur very easily even if you are experienced and careful. Always take more water than you need to the beach and try to cool off and find some shade if things start to go wrong.