Water Safety Guidelines

Water Safety in Pools, Lakes, Rivers and the Sea

Swimming Pools:

All pools have rules designed for your safety. Always take time to learn them, they will include;
• No running- pool decks are slippery!
• No diving or jumping in shallow water. Some pools don’t allow diving at all!
• No bombing or ducking. Ducking someone under water without their knowledge is a good way to scare them for life!
• No swimming in diving area.
• Weak swimmers must stay within their depth.
• Always do what the Lifeguards tell you, they are there for your protection!
The list goes on, but the message is, be safe, be careful.

The Sea:

There are a great many wonderful beaches around our coast and a day by the seaside is a fantastic way for people to enjoy themselves. However there are some simple precautions we should observe to ensure that we all come home safe and sound.
Before going to the beach and when first arriving:
• Check the weather forecast; be aware of wind direction and strength.
• Stay within designated bathing areas, marked by yellow over red flags. This area is patrolled by lifeguards in the summer season.
• Don’t swim when no lifeguards are on duty.
• Never go into the sea if there is a red flag flying!
• Stay within your depth, swim parallel to the shore, even strong swimmers may get into trouble out of their depth due to currents, waves and wind.
• Be aware of the tide, and the dangers associated with them such as fast flowing spring tides, tidal cut-off, where the sea flows around and behind rocks and sandbars leaving the unwary stranded.
• When visiting beaches unknown to you always check with local people about the safest places to go and what dangers to watch out for.
• Never go swimming alone and always ensure that someone knows where you are and when to expect you back. This also applies when going boating.
In addition to the above look out for local hazards such as;
• Rocks
• Steeply shelving beaches, sudden changes in depth.
• Rip currents. Also known as rip tides these are bodies of fast flowing water that always flow out to sea and occur on many beaches. Usually about 50 m wide they rarely extend out more than 200m. Surfers use them as a way of paddling their boards back out beyond the surf. They can be very dangerous for the unwary and weak swimmers as the underlying sand is often scoured out leaving a deep channel. Never attempt to swim against the current but swim diagonally out of the way.
• Dumping or plunging waves.
• Weeds, caves, deep mud (inlets at low tide), power boats, surf boards etc.

Boats:

Going out in boats can be great fun and a wonderful way to enjoy the water, but always respect the power of the weather and take nothing for granted. Always ensure that;
• Everyone wears a lifejacket.
• Check that the boat has all the equipment needed, such as spare fuel, rope, anchor, radio/telephone, food, water, first aid kit, lifejackets, ringbouys etc.
• Always check the weather forecast before leaving and make sure that someone knows where you are and when you will be back.
• Know your limitations! Every year people get into trouble on the water because they are ill prepared and lack basic boat safety training. Make sure someone on board has sufficient experience and knowledge both of the boat and the area you are in.

Rivers and Lakes:

Inland waterways are also a great place for relaxing and enjoying the water. All the above points apply here as well except for tides, but rivers and lakes carry their own individual hazards as well, such as;
• Currents. After periods of heavy rain most rivers become torrents of very fast flowing water and should be avoided until they have returned to normal. Even then the larger rivers can still be very powerful and the unwary quickly swept away!
• Depth. River bottoms are notoriously prone to changes in profile where previously “safe” sections change dramatically. Sections that were deep before may now have silted up or rocks and trees have filled the bottom up. Similarly sections that were shallow enough for wading or swimming may have been scoured out by winter storms and are suddenly far deeper than before. For this reason always double check the river’s profile before entering, and never dive head first into unknown water!!
• Lakes often have soft weedy bottoms and these areas should be avoided. Stick to gravel or sandy areas that are clear of weed. Large lakes are quite capable of large waves in windy weather and so it is just as important to check weather forecasts here as well as the sea.