WeRtheOcean
Contributor
- Messages
- 394
- Reaction score
- 225
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Had a bit of trouble today. I was swimming across the Tar River. I have done this crossing many times before -- both shores are City Parks property and swimming is a convenient shortcut rather than going all the way around via the roads. Visually, it looks like an easy crossing, and according to Google Maps, it is only 250 feet (75 m). Previously, I always did this with fins; but because fins are large and inconvenient to carry in a day pack, today I tried it without fins.
Mistake.
Halfway across, I was struggling. I find it interesting that there is a current thread on ROPE, in which one of the replies says,
But only a few moments. After one scream, I fought (mentally) to regain control; that is, to turn off panic mode and turn on do-what-you-have-to-do mode. It occurred to me that the snorkel was the problem. Next it occurred to me that, as I was already doing the side stroke anyway, I should forget the snorkel and just turn a bit further to the side so that I could breathe without the snorkel. That was all it took. Able to get enough air, and my efforts no longer divided between swimming and trying to breathe, I made it the rest of the way across without further incident.
Presence of mind is your most valuable survival skill. None of your other skills will do you a whit of good if you don't develop presence of mind. Without presence of mind, I could easily have remained in panic mode and devolved into ineffective thrashing and hypoxia. I would be very surprised if anyone succeeded in saving themself while in panic mode. To save oneself, panic mode must be turned off and do-what-you-have-to-do mode turned on, and this requires the presence of mind to fight off the impulse to panic.
Lessons learned:
1. Use fins every time
2. Only use the snorkel when necessary
Mistake.
Halfway across, I was struggling. I find it interesting that there is a current thread on ROPE, in which one of the replies says,
Thankfully, I know better than to wear a full-face mask; but the reason I was struggling was just as it says: the limited amount of air available through the snorkel. I felt like I was going to suffocate. For a few moments, I panicked.
But only a few moments. After one scream, I fought (mentally) to regain control; that is, to turn off panic mode and turn on do-what-you-have-to-do mode. It occurred to me that the snorkel was the problem. Next it occurred to me that, as I was already doing the side stroke anyway, I should forget the snorkel and just turn a bit further to the side so that I could breathe without the snorkel. That was all it took. Able to get enough air, and my efforts no longer divided between swimming and trying to breathe, I made it the rest of the way across without further incident.
Presence of mind is your most valuable survival skill. None of your other skills will do you a whit of good if you don't develop presence of mind. Without presence of mind, I could easily have remained in panic mode and devolved into ineffective thrashing and hypoxia. I would be very surprised if anyone succeeded in saving themself while in panic mode. To save oneself, panic mode must be turned off and do-what-you-have-to-do mode turned on, and this requires the presence of mind to fight off the impulse to panic.
Lessons learned:
1. Use fins every time
2. Only use the snorkel when necessary
