Swimming in the Ocean

[ashland]

Reading these posts made me think of when I took a day sail in Maui. It was one of those big cats and there were probably 20 people on board. On the last leg of the trip, the captain stopped the boat and asked if anyone wanted to go for a swim. We were between Maui and some other island, I can't remember the name of it, but there was ALOT of water between the islands. I was hesitant but as there were 19 others going in I figured my chances of getting eaten were slim. It was the most beautiful crystal clear water I had ever seen. We were there in March and whales were everywhere. I could hear them calling while under water. The light shinning down to the depths like Ocean Girl describes were memerable as well.

I'm new to all of this as you can see by my number of posts but am taking my first sailing classes next week and hope to cruise in the future. Thanks for letting me add my .02.

[markpj23]

Pretty common during my Navy days for them to stop the ship and have swim call whenever the schedule allowed. One thing that surprised me was how much current can be at the surface - so be sure to have a floating tether or someone who stays aboard and can maneuver to retrieve ya.

Wouldn't want to be the story line for another bad "Adrift" movie script now would ya?

Not too worried about the hungry things in the water - shark attacks are still statistically rare.

Enjoy the swim!

[Curmudgeon]

Jack Aubrey used to swim every time Surprise was becalmed.

[jck339]

An offshore swim is great fun though a bit eerie. On passage bring soap that works in salt water. You will be amazed at how quickly a boat is moving that seems parked in the ocean so be sure to leave someone onboard. We always toss a fender overboard on a long line to grab ahold of.

[cptnandy]

Hey Ashland,

I may have been the captain of the boat you swam from... was it Paragon?
I drove that boat for years and we always stopped when the weather permitted and got our guests to hop in for a swim...

On my boat crossing the equator swimming is a given, part of turning from a polywog into a shellback (from a sailor that hasn't crossed to one that has and is blessed by Neptune).

statistically you are three times more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than to be attacked by a shark... now driving down the freeway... that's dangerous!

[ashland]

captnandy:

It was a Paragon boat. It had a big outboard motor instead of an inboard. The group was mostly young people that hung out on the port side. I was the redneck on the starboard bow with the older folks. I must say that day sail was the highlight of my trip to Maui. We snokled for about an hour and then ate lunch on a pretty beach on an island that I can't remember the name of. It was an unusually rainy week and that day was one of the only days we had sunshine. Anyway the ocean swim topped the whole trip off. The water was incredible. I could see forever and hearing the whales was something I'll never forget. Glad I was on your boat captnandy. Thank you.

[clausont]

It has been about 25 years since I was on the water where it was flat calm here in the Pacific Northwest (off the Oregon Coast). Generally not too conducive to jumping overboard here for a swim!

[robw_fl]

I was becalmed 60nm s. of Grand Cayman (water was a sheet of blue glass, and about 12,000' deep) and we were all considering a dip after a late lunch when one of the crew said "Look - a turtle!" As that turtle made its way closer, I realized it was an Oceanic Whitetip shark. Not one you want to go for said dip with. It came up to the boat, and swam around us for about 20 minutes, rubbing up against the rudder and hull, presumably to get parasites off it's body. It was quite a site...and had he showed up 3 minutes later, we would have seen him from a MUCH different perspective! Those are known to be fairly aggressive sharks and I was glad to be on board.

Rob

[Ocean Girl]

Oceanic whitetip is my favorite shark, I have never seen one in real life. Where is a cage when you need one


BEAUTIFUL!!!!

[vegasandre]

The Oceanic White tip is one of the most aggressive sharks . This species is made famous by the USS Indianapolis sinking in 1945. Despite the fact its 3 times more likely to die from a coconut or bee sting or my wife's verbal tirades - I am not going to take a dip in middle of ocean anytime soon.
That video of the girl losing her leg to that 15 ft Great White in the middle of South Pacific with 20 people in the water is enough for me. And what was that great white doing in that 80 deg plus water anyway?

[s/v Beth]

My kids swim every time we go out, but you can bet we have one or two good lookouts. I had my son-in- law get hit in the chest with a jellyfish (he was dragging behind on a line) no harm done, but it sure shook him up some. (he hit the top of it- a big one)

[VERTIGO]

I've been to the Monterey and Atlanta Aquariums, I'll pass.

[Chipg]

Originally Posted by VERTIGO

I've been to the Monterey and Atlanta Aquariums, I'll pass.

Yea, I have seen Discovery Channels Shark Week too many times.

[RoadRacer]

I'm kind of surprised at the number of "don't swim cause I'm afraid of what's in there" responses! I always assumed that those drawn to boats and sailing would also love to swim no matter where or how deep it was!
I know I do!

[Chipg]

I probably need to to liberate myself of the Jaws theme music playing in my head when I think about it, so what the heck, I'll do it. It's the mystery / unknown that's kind of creepy, like a horror movie.