Starting swimming, any advice?

jpaul said:
Looe looks like a nice venue, overnight stay ?

you don't have any nearby sea venues with some degree of lifeguard supervision for summer time temp swims ?
I keep eyeing up sherringham in norfolk where you could swim about 100m in a supervised groin section, swimming in the sea in UK always feels more risky than (millpond) Med say,
not to mention pollution issues.
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Sorry I missed this post. Yes gf and I are making a weekend of it, and as it's a 3:30pm start I can have a big meal the night before :)

I'm in Bristol and sod swimming in the Channel, I'd be genuinely worried about getting swept out to sea.

I'm lucky because West Country Water Park is half a mile from home and though it is freshwater, it's a fairly large lake with a lifeguard keeping watch.
 
jpaul said:
Looe looks like a nice venue, overnight stay ?

you don't have any nearby sea venues with some degree of lifeguard supervision for summer time temp swims ?
I keep eyeing up sherringham in norfolk where you could swim about 100m in a supervised groin section, swimming in the sea in UK always feels more risky than (millpond) Med say,
not to mention pollution issues.
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I go swimming from Wells in North Norfolk now and then, not far from Sherringham at all.

Technically I go about midway between Wells beach and Holkam beach.

You can swim out about half a mile and still touch the bottom most of the time although you obviously don't want to be relying on that, but personally I think that's the best place to swim in the sea.

I swam the English Channel a bit earlier in the year and not so much of a fan, but it is noticeably warmer.

Obviously in life there are no guarantees and it depends how confident you are but I used to be a lifeguard and did the open water/sea qualification as well, so I'm not concerned about going swimming in the sea on my own.

Edit; just to clarify I swam in the English Channel, no I didn't swim to France lol
 
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There's quite a parallel tide in Sherringham whenever I've been eyeing it up, so would need to do some homework, also may need a wet-suit.

no lack of experience from regular sunday morning swim along 150m boat line in Med, nothing better than an endless pool, jellyfish excepted, but, not enough insulation for the North sea I suspect.
(some may call the Med a bath though)
 
bainbridge said:
Sorry I missed this post. Yes gf and I are making a weekend of it, and as it's a 3:30pm start I can have a big meal the night before :)

I'm in Bristol and sod swimming in the Channel, I'd be genuinely worried about getting swept out to sea.

I'm lucky because West Country Water Park is half a mile from home and though it is freshwater, it's a fairly large lake with a lifeguard keeping watch.
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It's the wrong side of Bristol for you, but there's the Marine Lake in Clevedon you could try. It's clearly a lot smaller than a lake, but might make a nice change one time.
 
Lane gate ..... a poll ? big argument in the pool at the weekend.
One corded lane has people swimming anti-clockwise - that's the way it's always been.
Several people think adjacent lanes should swim in clock-sense (so alternating for lanes) such that you are always going the same direction as the person in that adjacent lane,
claiming that less chance of arm collision ? (personally I never had one)
personally prefer everything anti-clockwise I'm familiar with it, I breathe on right and accustomed to checking on left for anyone overtaking,
you can also see people coming towards you on adjacent lanes to make sure you don't foul them.
+ you change lanes, you just continue the same thing, too.
 
I agree with you, ours does what you describe, anti clockwise. I think we have 6 lans, 2 lanes for fast, 4 lanes for slower people
 
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Ours does ACW, CW, ACW. 2 Lanes each for slow, medium, fast. The signs for pace dont really get respected and you'll often find 2:30+/100m breast strokers in the fast lane. I generally jump in the least populated lane and swim up and down the middle. I'm not a fast swimmer but unles there are some squad swimmers doing a session it usually works out just fine.
 
My pool has two lanes, fast is anti clockwise and medium is clockwise, pre lockdown it was both lanes clockwise and I still haven't got used to the change lol, I prefer swimming opposite directions, less likely to get kicked by breaststrokers who seem to think as long as their head is in their lane their legs will be as well and I still cant turn as well anti clockwise lol. Has to be said though they are horribly narrow lanes.
 
Well that's a first... a young lady was in the pool on Friday and had her phone with her, she left it on the side of the pool with a little hand towel lol, not sure how long she was in for but when I left she was sat in the hot tub doom scrolling lol... not sure I like the idea of people having photography/video equipment in the pool when I'm in there in all my glorious speedo beauty (disclaimer, I wear proper shorts and am definitely not beautiful lmao).

I guess she might have been awaiting an important call or something but darn it was weird, 3 decades of fairly consistent swimming and I don't think I've ever seen it before.
 
Silicone ear plugs are what I see recommended a lot, goggles... whatever fits you the best. Ignore anything about antifog coatings, no goggle I've ever used from cheap to expensive has ever maintained the ability for more than a few sessions and I always resort to just wiping a little saliva on the lenses to deal with it. Personally I've been using these for years now: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/swedi...rored-lenses-single-size-black-red/_/R-p-2995 cheap enough that I don't care about replacing them when I've worn a pair out and they work far better than many more expensive ones I've tried.
 
Never used plugs, but after never getting on great with goggles, when I last bought I decided to splash out on https://themagic5.com I have to say they have been much better than anything I’ve tried before. It might be I have a weird shaped face so the custom fit made big difference.
 
interesting - I need prescription lenses though and like translucent skirts to get more light in inside, so are using View brand
they don't usually leak, I'm a bit more diligent now about lifting skin above eyes to make sure they are well bedded;
have now stopped breathing through nose on FC - too many sinus type problems with runny nose for a day or more after session.
changed lanes to a three carriageway lane which has central bi-overtaking lane which you can take if it is clear - inbuilt fartlek
 
Same boat here – desk job, lunchtime swims, zero desire to look like an idiot in the lane

Honestly: don’t overthink the etiquette. Pick the lane that matches how fast you think you are, wait for a gap, push off, keep vaguely to one side, let quicker folks through at the wall. You’ll mess it up once or twice, everyone does, nobody cares as long as you’re not doing breaststroke down the middle of the “fast” lane.

Goggles/earplugs: whatever fits. Try a couple of cheap pairs before you go mad on tech. I bounced between Speedo and Swedix for years, now using a Mad Wave training pair because they don’t chew up my eye sockets – pure personal fit, nothing magic.

Couple of 30–40 min swims a week will absolutely do something if you stick with it. Just show up, don’t sprint the first 4 lengths, and give it a few weeks before judging.
 
I had a bad experience.

I'm no water baby but while I was on a contract down in Haven't, I joined a gym at the Langstone Hotel and it had a pool.

Anyway, I went down there one evening and started swimming up and down, in the slow lane, and was joined by a rather obnoxious little man with ginger hair.

I had no idea he was obnoxious at this point but after a while he started coming up behind me in the pool and slapping me on the foot.

Apparently, this is the polite way in swimming to let somebody know that you want to get past. I pointed out that it didn't sound very polite to me and he launched into a huge tirade during which I was called some rather unprintable things.

Put me right off....

I never liked swimming when I was at school either. There was always a teacher who liked to peak behind the curtain to see how quickly you were getting dressed.

I should have trusted my instincts.
 
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First up here's the official lane swimming etiquette from my local centre which oddly enough is not at all far from Langstone:

Just like on the roads, there are a few rules that you need to follow in order to keep everything flowing smoothly in each lane and stop you crashing in to other swimmers!

Swim in the Right Direction​

This might sound pretty simple and, we’ll be honest, it is. Each lane will usually have a board at each end indicating whether or not you should be swimming in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. Make sure you stick to this, even if the lane’s quiet as it just makes it easier for everyone, including you, other swimmers and the lifeguards.

Let Faster Swimmers Past​

If there’s a faster swimmer behind you, then it’s really important you let them past. Not only is it less than polite to keep faster swimmers behind you, but it can cause a tailback behind you, clogging up the lane for other swimmers. If you want to let swimmers past, wait until you reach the end of the line, pull to the side and let all the faster swimmers behind past before continuing to swim.

It’s also really important you also don’t start swimming in front of faster swimmers, let them all past before you begin. If you are being regularly passed, then you might want to consider moving into a slower lane.

How to let Slower Swimmers Know you want to Pass​

If you’re being held up by a slightly slower swimmer in front of you, then the commonly accepted thing to do is to give their feet a little tap. Remember, not all swimmers will be able to sense your presence, and may not even feel a tap, so be patient. If they’re following this guide, they’ll pull aside at the end of the lane and let you past.

Stay out of the way if you’re Resting​

If you need to take a rest after swimming a few lengths, we completely understand. Swimming is hard work and it’s important you don’t push yourself too hard, especially if you’re just starting on your exercise journey. When you do rest, however, it’s important you stay out of the way of those swimmers that are continuing. So stop at the end of the lane and move as far to the side of the lane as possible to make sure you don’t get in the way

Now it's entirely possible he was the obnoxious one and was either in the wrong lane or just out to be a dick about it, but in my decades of experience it's usually the result of somebody getting in a lane with no idea of the etiquette and then proceeding to get in everybody's way with absolutely no idea or any awareness of the nuisance they are causing, it's at this point when somebody should have a polite word and explain how things work before things get out of hand, however it's also entirely usual in my experience that this doesn't happen and/or the person getting in the way simply ignores it and continues to swim without any regard given to faster swimmers when it is abundantly clear that they are in fact being a nuisance and getting in the way and that only ever ends up with somebody having a go at them in frustration.

From what you've posted it sounds to me like you were the problem and when he tried to tell you what the situation was you decided he was in the wrong and thus ended up getting the brunt of his frustration, perhaps given the admission that you are no water baby you should have listened to somebody who was attempting to instruct you instead of simply telling him he was incorrect.
 
That Jekka Gal said:
I had a bad experience.

I'm no water baby but while I was on a contract down in Haven't, I joined a gym at the Langstone Hotel and it had a pool.

Anyway, I went down there one evening and started swimming up and down, in the slow lane, and was joined by a rather obnoxious little man with ginger hair.

I had no idea he was obnoxious at this point but after a while he started coming up behind me in the pool and slapping me on the foot.

Apparently, this is the polite way in swimming to let somebody know that you want to get past. I pointed out that it didn't sound very polite to me and he launched into a huge tirade during which I was called some rather unprintable things.

Put me right off....

I never liked swimming when I was at school either. There was always a teacher who liked to peak behind the curtain to see how quickly you were getting dressed.

I should have trusted my instincts.
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Ok so just report them to the manager / supervisor or whatever staff are there.

Same in any place like that, you always tell the staff and dont get involved in a verbal abuse exchange with them.
 
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