Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning

http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

 

That's a most useful article Zig, and its a good idea to raise awareness.

I once got into serious difficulty. I couldn't call out because I could barely breath, and I couldn't wave my arms because I didn't have the strength left to lift them out the water, and I'd have sunk anyway if I'd tried. I can also relate to the 'climbing an invisible ladder' part. I didn't get as far as the actual drowning bit, but with physical exhaustion well and truly kicked in before I got anywhere near the beach, I remember being physically unable to fully extend my arms or legs to swim properly.

 

it's a bad feeling

I used to do white water kayaking .... entered a 40km race once on a fast flowing river with lots of white water

after approx 20km, I could see the 1st bunch who were leading the race .... they were porting at a wier that was approx 3m high (i.e. they were getting out of their canoes/kayaks and walking around a wier ... a wier is a concrete wall where the water flows over)

I decided that if I canoed over the wier, I would be much closer to the leaders .... I shot over the wier .... landed perfect, and had a big grin on my face .... the next thing, it felt like a hand pulled the kayak backwards and I went under with the kayak

it was like being in a washing machine .... going around and around ... but never to the top to take a breath ... even though I had a lifejacket on

I eventually managed to break free of the current and surfaced ...

I lost the kayak (even though it had polystrene chunks in the nose and tail ...(it was an expensive kayak)

I had to wait there with the marshals till after the race before I could get a lift back to the finish line (those were the days before mobile phones, so my girlfriend was also in a panic waiting at the finish)

thats the closest that I have ever come to drowning ... it's a bad feeling and everything feels like its in slow motion

and to make matters worse, a few weeks later, I canoed over the Vaal dam barrage dam wall with a mate .... we were locked up for the weekend by the police as it was illegal to be in that area .... we had to go to court ... I got off with a stern warning, as I was a part time student ... my friend got a heafty fine as he was full time in employment

I don't think anyone else has ever been in a canoe through the sluice gates of the Vaal river:



I done a lot of stupid things when I was young

 

You are very lucky to have gotten away with it Dim. I think that humility is good for the soul and helps you appreciate your good fortune even more. I still always light a candle whenever I visit a church in France for everyone I know. That is what I like about France - the fact that you can still do this. I will always look for the village church to perform this little act in.
No longer permitted in England sadly.

 

Dim.

RESPECT !

I envy you. Your signature by T S Eliot says it all.

A boring life is not worth living.

 

Blimey Dim, you went over THAT !

I used to practice rolling the kayak in the wierpool, it is like being in a washing machine you're right.

I hope the article spreads awareness. Had to pull a fair few people out of the sea but not at the point of drowning yet.

I was just on the way out when i posted this earlier. There's a video attached to the page in case anyone missed it.

http://mariovittone.com/2011/07/video-of-instinctive-drowning-response/

 

the closest I went to drowning is trying to grasp on the piers stones somewhere in Italy but they were to slippery with algae and the seaside waves were continuously pulling me back. Eventually i managed to surface but i really dont know how!

 

I saw a daft tourist once in Staithes village (a tiny fishing village), wanting a closer look at the sea. He had a baby in a pushchair with him. He decided to walk down the slipway, onto the wet green stuff. Lucky the sea was flat calm, as he slid in slow motion into the water. Luckily nobody was harmed, and the worse that happened was said tourist had to endure a combination of being wet, and the embarrassment of being lectured by the group of elderly fishermen that had helped him climb out.

 

A friend has just posted a link to an article about training young kids to not drown if they fall into deep water. It reminded me of this extremely eye opening thread, so here I am shamelessly resurrecting it.

I'm trying to find a non-Bookface link to the video my friend posted. If I find it I'll pop it on.