Doncaster, England and old gravel pits

[Davie]

I'm not a killjoy, I've been in rivers, lakes, the sea and dipped in small streams both on my own and with others. If the depth is uncertain as in a quarry its an no no. If the sea looks dodgy I avoid it. With quarries its not just the cold but the depth and the unknown as to what it might contain which may include algae , old industrial bits and bobs and unstable steep sides.

I once had to do CPR which failed on a young man who drowned in a local and seemingly safe pool. Not funny and I guess it made me aware of the dangers. The question is whether a swim in a particular location is worth the risk. Quarries no, other locations perhaps and at others it's worth it for the pleasure of the swim.

The BBC has this article but the sentence that caught my attention is:

RoSPA, a charity that advises on accident prevention, said 381 people drowned in accidents across the UK in 2013, an increase of 10 on the previous year.
It said 173 of these drownings took place in rivers, canals, lakes, quarries and reservoirs.

Davie 

[jbeegoode]

Unfamiliar with the term tarn, I had to look it up. In my morning haze, I just asked instead of going to a dictionary. I found this first:
http://myyorkshiredales.co.uk/water/lakes-and-tarns/

I liked "Guisecliff Tarn." There must be many thousands in such a wet place. I would think that they would be all set with a nice home, or more. Michigan would cluster homes around water as subdivisions. I suppose some would be swamps when you actually get close to them.
Jbee

[eyesup]

There was a post here about a woman that goes swimming in those.
I'll have to see if I can locate it.

Stunning videos.

Duane

[Peter S]

JBee, tarns and their like tend to be in remote spots like woods or moorland. If they existed somewhere there has since been building they’ve usually been built over or rechannelled into concrete. And as most people who visit the countryside never go more than 50feet from their cars, one can have such places pretty much to oneself

[eyesup]

The mention of tarns reminded me of a link Jbee posted way back. Took me a bit to find it.
But it was a stunning video.

See it here: http://tv.thebmc.co.uk/video/blue-hue/embed
The website of the woman is here: http://tashbrooks.com/statement/

Does that qualify as a tarn?

Duane

[nuduke]

I was extremely moved by Tash Brooks and her wild swimming.  She is a truly free spirit in life and in water.  I wanted and continue to want to swim in such isolation and natural circumstances.  I don't because a) I realise I need some training or familiarisation first b) the nearest one is a longggg drive and hike away and needs an overnight stay nearby and whatnot. 


A few of of those tarns in Jbee's Yorkshire dales found website, I have visited in my early youth as my Dad used to drive us out to the Dales at weekends.  No swimming though, we weren't that sort of family.  We did do picnics by splashing rhylls and mysterious tarns though and I remember being captivated by their magic, mystery and sheer purity even at around 10-12 years old.  We have good stuff in the UK too, y'know!
Moorland tarns, being just level with the ground and in my experience clear and cold, do invite one to slip silently and softly into the water and be cold and enveloped by nature.  One day...


John


My naturist bucket list never seems to get any shorter...

[nuduke]

Davie,
One of the features of quarry lakes and other bodies of water is the predatory fish population.  Something I've often wondered is that, if swimming naked in a lake, is one susceptible to attack by pike, being as how a bit of apparently tasty bait is dangling underneath one as one swims?
John

[jbeegoode]

Ever see one of those little fish that swim next to the big whales, or porpoise?

Ya think that they survived since/sense before us by running up and biting the fins of bigger fish?

I don't know how a fish thinks, but schools of parana, barracuda in teh evening waters, predatory things like sharks attack smaller fish, not just nibble. I don't know of any parasitic fish, mosquito-like fish.
Jbee

[eyesup]

Those are called “cleaner fish” and there are many different kinds. They eat the parasites and other ‘stuff’ that gets attached to another marine animal. Sort of the marine version of  those birds that perch on the rhinos and such in Africa and eat pests.

Duane