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Swimming in the canal

heyjude999

By heyjude999
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heyjude999 Community Regular

heyjude999

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Near where we are moored there are some signs saying no swimming, but no actual signs where most of the boats are moored.

 

Some people at the weekend by choice chose to swim in the canal, what is the general rule of thumb....if there is one on swimming in the canal??? They were in and out all day again by choice and on Sunday were still alive, might I add.

 

Out of personal choice I would no more swim in there than I could fly to the moon and back!

 

The lock keeper seems to think it's acceptable so should I just forget it?

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Bones Veteran

Bones

Posted
Posted
Near where we are moored there are some signs saying no swimming, but no actual signs where most of the boats are moored.

 

Some people at the weekend by choice chose to swim in the canal, what is the general rule of thumb....if there is one on swimming in the canal??? They were in and out all day again by choice and on Sunday were still alive, might I add.

 

Out of personal choice I would no more swim in there than I could fly to the moon and back!

 

The lock keeper seems to think it's acceptable so should I just forget it?

 

We tend not to swim in the canal where we are as there is Weils disease around where we are (someone died of it last year). I suppose it depends why some of the signs say 'no swimming' as it may be something other than water quality/being hit by a boat.

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RLWP Veteran II

RLWP

Posted
Posted

Bw Byelaws:

 

Prohibition of

bathing, taking

water etc.

 

41. No person unless authorised by the Board in that behalf or

otherwise legally entitled so to do shall:

(a) Bathe in any canal

 

Richard

 

I'm looking forward to Mayalld coming back to do this kind of heavy lifting

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Lady Muck Veteran

Lady Muck

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Posted (edited)

My partner says his grandpa used to ebncourage them to swim at Tring (in the 70's and 80's) as it's the summit level of the GU and quite clear.

Also on the Thames at Lechlade - he says he used to always swim.

There were lots of people swimming up here on Sunday (a classic 'Argos dinghy in a heatwave' type of day for those of you that remember the boaters hierarchy thread).

At least I haven't seen the skinny dipper this year (i.e. flasher - spends too much time parading himself about on the bankside rather than swimming).

One of the lakes near Feildes Weir further up the Lee is a popular place for a dip (think it's Glen Faba)

Edited by Lady Muck
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Gibbo Veteran II

Gibbo

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I've been in a couple of times, albeit to remove stuff from the raw water intake, and yet I'm still living and breathing.

 

I think.

 

Last time I went in the canal I had a small cut on my arm. The following day my arm had swelled to twice its normal size and it was oozing puss and snot. I popped into the chemist who insisted I went to hospital. They filled me with intravenous antibiotics and said it was a typical response to a small cut in a canal.

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Lady Muck Veteran

Lady Muck

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We tend not to swim in the canal where we are as there is Weils disease around where we are (someone died of it last year). I suppose it depends why some of the signs say 'no swimming' as it may be something other than water quality/being hit by a boat.

 

You don't even have to be swimming - one of the community boat scheme managers that we know told me about someone who was really into showing off by doing loads of eskimo rolls in the kayak and warned him to stop. He didn't. He contracted Weils.

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bag 'o' bones Rising Star

bag 'o' bones

Posted
Posted
Near where we are moored there are some signs saying no swimming, but no actual signs where most of the boats are moored.

 

Some people at the weekend by choice chose to swim in the canal, what is the general rule of thumb....if there is one on swimming in the canal??? They were in and out all day again by choice and on Sunday were still alive, might I add.

 

Out of personal choice I would no more swim in there than I could fly to the moon and back!

 

The lock keeper seems to think it's acceptable so should I just forget it?

 

Forget it . Its not directly affecting you so let them get on with it. :lol:

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magpie patrick Veteran II

magpie patrickDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

As a kid when on boat holidays we swam (with parental approval) in many canals and I remember seeing a toddler being taught to swim in the canal near Bingley (toddler will now be late 30's!). I don't know whetherv Weil's disease has got more prevalent or whether we have just got more aware of it, but I wouldn't now, despite the fact that many canals are cleaner than they were in the 70's!

 

In Ireland though I've seen the lock keeper refilling a two rise staircase to give the kids their swimming pool back, but then you could see the bottom of the lock when full.

 

The only thing I would say is, no matter how impatient you are, never operate a lock if kids are swimming in or near it, even if they refuse to budge, call the navigation authority or the police, but death is too high a price for a pig-headed kid to pay for not listening.

 

On that note, I recall reading (when I was about ten) of some teenagers in Dublin who'd been swimming in the canal (probably the ringsend branch) and had swum through an open paddle for a laugh (the water level was the same on both sides). It was only when one kid asked where his mate was so he could borrow a towel that they realised one of them had had the paddle drop on him, and was stuck. They got him out, but guardian angels shouldn't be pushed to hard!

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bargemast Influencer

bargemast

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In Ireland though I've seen the lock keeper refilling a two rise staircase to give the kids their swimming pool back, but then you could see the bottom of the lock when full.

 

 

That the water is so clear that you can see the bottom of the lock, doesn't necessary mean that the water is healthy, I wouldn't take the risk "better safe then sorry", I would only swim if I fall in and would try to get out as quick as possible (or even quicker) and have a good shower straight away.

 

Peter.

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bag 'o' bones Rising Star

bag 'o' bones

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Posted (edited)
What exactly can you do anyway?

 

Exactly :lol:

 

No swimming signs are only a 'get out' clause just in case someone gets into difficulty, mud, boat collision impaled on something below the surface, that type of thing.

 

Thing is without the signs an injured swimmer could claim that they were not made aware of the risks (isn't funny how folk suddely turn into half wits when there is a potential claim on the table? :lol: )

Edited by bag 'o' bones
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magpie patrick Veteran II

magpie patrickDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)
That the water is so clear that you can see the bottom of the lock, doesn't necessary mean that the water is healthy, I wouldn't take the risk "better safe then sorry", I would only swim if I fall in and would try to get out as quick as possible (or even quicker) and have a good shower straight away.

 

Peter.

:lol:

 

I wouldn't either, but it shows a different attitude to safety. I remember discussing trying to restore the Ulster Canal and being amazed by how lax the rules were in the republic compared to the north. This made a difference in scheme design as we could build (for example) a lift bridge at a road junction in the republic but not in the north, even though the two junctions might be 100 yards apart.

 

Safety culture is a funny things, some societies seem to say " do what you want, but don't come to us when it ends in tears". When I spent a lot of time in Thailand it was routine to cool trains by leaving the doors open between stations...

Edited by magpie patrick
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