Do you swim in the ocean?

[RiffRandell]

The picture thread by n2doc got me thinking. I grew up in New England, and spent many summers the beach. I was a great swimmer and would go quite far out with parental consent.

Jaws was popular, but I was too young to see it so it didn't faze me.

As a teenager, my friends and I would hit the beach almost everyday and swim when there were warnings (rough/big waves) and the lifeguards wouldn't allow young kids in the water--it was basically adults could swim at your own risk. They would have a red flag up.

I remember the rush of being caught in an undertow after a big wave---it was scary but fun at the same time. We would end up with a ton of sand in our suits. We would go far out where we couldn't touch the bottom and hang out talking treading water.

I would never do that now! We've gone back to the beach and I'll go out in the water where I can't touch for a split second and swim back. I'm so over-protective of my kids (which you really can't be around water) but I'm like don't go beyond your waist!

The ocean freaks me out now--what happened? I miss living near it but would never swim in it like I used to.

[Scuba]

1. Yes.

[RiffRandell]

4. You don't count.

Kidding!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. Sure.

As my sworn duty as a Floridian.

[RiffRandell]

3. You know what we call Panama City here in GA, right?

Hell, you might call it that down there.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

5. Other part of the state, so I don't know.

Enlighten me.

[RiffRandell]

6. Well, I don't want to offend anyone

but The Redneck Riviera. It's the southern Jersey Shore.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. Oh, yeah I've heard that term.

With Spring Break and all that asssociated craziness, it probably earns that reputation.

Although I've heard Destin on the same coast is quite lovely. Haven't yet been there myself, though.

[RiffRandell]

9. That's where most of my friends go in GA.

We've been---still touristy, but nice. I heard Amelia Island is really nice--never been.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

11. Amelia Island is really nice.

Northeast Florida is vastly underrated. Which may be for the best.

[RiffRandell]

31. I'm going to tell everyone to start going there.

So it turns into Gatlinburg, TN. Long story, but we met our friends from KY there and rented a cabin in the mountains, which was beautiful. Downtown, not so much.

Did you watch the season finale of Girls? I haven't yet, but will so I can rank on it.

[trof]

46. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach (AL) also lay claim to that term.

Although the Alabama gulf coast is more family/kid friendly.
Not as many drunken/near naked spring breakers as PC.


We also refer to our location ans L.A.
Lower Alabama.

[Lex]

8. Yes, but I am *very* cautious when I do.

I love swimming in the ocean. Nothing like the salty ocean water.

[RiffRandell]

10. Salt water is the best cure for poison ivy!

I always got it as a kid and as soon as I went in, the next day it was almost entirely gone.

[Lex]

13. And when I was a teenager, it worked magic

on teenage acne too. A little sun and some time in the ocean. Still love it.

I love Isak Dineson's quote: "The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea."

[Aristus]

12. Depends on location and conditions.

In the Pacific Northwest, the water is almost always too cold for swimming, even in summer. In a place like San Diego, the undertow can be deadly if you're not careful. I enjoy wave-jumping in Cancun, and the Gulf Coast is nice for swimming. The trade-off being that you're in, you know, the Gulf Coast...

[mnhtnbb]

49. I got caught in an undertow at Moonlight State Beach (Encinitas) when I was about 16

I thought that was the end of me.

Guard didn't hear me yelling for help. Friend on the beach
didn't recognize I was in trouble.

I was a GREAT swimmer--used to swim competitively--and
had my senior lifesaving designation from Red Cross. I KNEW I was
in trouble and realized nobody was going to help me.

Eventually, got out--swimming parallel to the shore--but
I was truly exhausted when I hit the beach.

I have NEVER felt the same about the ocean since, although
I did go on and get PADI certified for open water diving
in my early 30's. Don't dive any more due to asthma--
but do love to snorkel in warm tropical water.

[Aristus]

51. Well! Glad you got out of that all right.

Must have been terrifying...

[Bertha Venation]

14. HELL YES I SWIM IN THE OCEAN

Sorry, you got me excited. I grew up in Huntington Beach, California. I miss it desperately. Last month we went to Hollywood Beach, Florida. Because a wave busted my knee, I didn't get to swim as much as I wanted to. But I did some. Oh, my god, it was so wonderful that words can't describe it.

I'm sorry to hear that it freaks you out now. It did me once -- the first time I wiped out in the Atlantic. Having heard it was a "pussy ocean" compared to the Pacific, I underestimated it and deservedly got my ass kicked. So I understand why it freaks you out. I hope that someday (if you have the desire) you can overcome and go back in.

[OriginalGeek]

15. I remember as a kid going all the time

Like Tommy, I'm a native Floridian but we only lived here until I was about 5 and then moved to Texas. But we visited here every summer until I was in my teens and my brothers and I swam all the time - mostly in the gulf near Venice/Nokomis.

I moved back to Orlando, FL in the early 80s and have lived in my current house for almost 27 years and my wife is a native Orlandoan and I think we have been to the beach maybe 4 times. it's only a 30 minute drive to Cocoa and we still never go. I have no idea why other than we have grown accustomed to air conditioning.

I remember as a very young kid visiting some people my parents knew in the panhandle. When my mom was a young girl her parents ran a lunch truck thing that followed the circus around and fed carnies and so they knew a lot of circus people. They knew this lady that owned much (or some? or all? I was a kid - I don't remember for sure lol) of a boardwalk area on the coast - I want to say in Panama City but it could easily have been any number of cities along the coast I imagine. All I remember was it was such a rip-off because the boardwalk was closed for the season so I didn't get to go on any rides or anything. Here we were in this old mansion type waterfront house attached to a boardwalk with ferris wheels and bumper cars and we were friends with the lady who OWNED them and we couldn't go on any rides.

So we went to the beach and I got sunburned. Haaaarumph.

[In_The_Wind]

16. I do. I prefer the Gulf to the Atlantic. For me warm water is better than cold.

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

I don't care for swimming in lakes.

[sheshe2]

63. Now that looks like fun!

Spent summers on cape cod, age 0-21! It was beautiful!

ITW...........

[In_The_Wind]

66. Cape Cod is truly beautiful but it is too cold!

Those photos were in Marathon Key. Fl.

[sheshe2]

68. Aaaah, I would say,

Invigorating!

It never bothered us as kids, we wouldn't come out until our lips turned blue!

[In_The_Wind]

69. Kids don't care about cold water.

Lake Lanier in Georgia turned me into a prune.
Little sunny's (fish) used to nibble on my toes.

[sheshe2]

71. Aaaah come on it's not that cold....

Even after my parents sold our cottage, I would go visit other relatives.

Ha, we would go to a little local bar and drink, then go back and skinny dip. It was great!

[In_The_Wind]

72. then go back and skinny dip

[img][/img]

she ~ we are going to get into so much trouble this summer! [img][/img]

I hope you don't mind getting helmet hair.

[Flashmann]

17. Do you swim in the ocean?

Living,these days in Illinois,I don't have the opportunity to,but I have,and would again...I've swam off beaches in Ft.Lauderdale and swam and snorkeled in the Bahamas and would happily do either again...

If the Gulf of Mexico counts,I've also been in the water off Surfside,Tx...Not really swimming though......Mostly wading around,waist deep....

[One_Life_To_Give]

18. Makes waterskiing interesting

Lobster-pot slalom
Need to be careful if the waves are high enough to catch the rope though. But if you time it right the boat takes off faster than a Mastercraft.

[a la izquierda]

19. Heck yeah I do.

I grew up in NJ ten minutes from the beach. I learned to surf at 14. I miss the ocean everyday. Lakes and rivers don't cut it. I've swum in the Atlantic, Pacific, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. The Mediterranean is next and I hope to dip my toes in the North Sea someday soon.

[RiffRandell]

24. You're quite the adventurer!

Braver than me, although I like traveling.

[a la izquierda]

28. I've lived all over...

California, Mexico...now I'm landlocked, which is just tragic Actually, as long as I can drive to the beach in a day, I'm happy. When I move in May, I'll only be four hours from the ocean. Thank the dog.

[RebelOne]

20. Not any more. I used to when I lived in Miami.

I was about 6 years old when my parents and I moved to South Florida. We lived on Miami Beach for a few years and the ocean was almost at my door. All I had to do was walk out the door and across the street and I was on the beach.

I now live in North Georgia and there aren't any beaches nearby.

[talkingmime]

21. Rarely. The last time I had to shoo my daughters out because a shark brushed my leg.

It was only about four feet long, but it freaked me out - get the kids out was all I was thinking.
A day later, the water was a pool of jello from jelly fish. I pulled one the size of a softball out of my trunks (yes, right by the unit) and tossed it back out. I didn't know it at the time, but the clear ones don't sting. I got lucky.

[hunter]

22. Stark naked, if I can...

... to avoid that sand-in-swimsuit problem.

[Jersey Devil]

23. Spent every summer as a kid in the ocean at the Jersey Shore

Seaside Heights, Lavallette, Pt Pleasant, Ortley Beach, Long Beach Island, and for a few years Rockaway, Queens, wherever my parents could find a reasonable summer rental.

It's great fun but you cannot be reckless about it. I was never afraid of sharks but every summer there would be a few days where you couldn't swim at all due to jellyfish or a fish kill where chunks of dead fish would fill the ocean (of unknown origins but probably from feeding bluefish or tuna). Riptides can be very dangerous and carry you out before you even realize it. The trick is never to panic and to swim sideways up or down the beach. The worst thing to do is panic.

The most fun I ever had was one summer day when I was in the water and suddenly was surrounded by about a dozen dolphins that kept looking at me and even came within a few feet of me before clicking and then swimming swiftly away, leaping over the wooden beach jetties with ease as they travelled up the beach.

[RiffRandell]

25. I remember a few years ago reading about kids that got caught in a riptide there and drowned.

I think it was 4 or 5--I always knew to swim sideways, but was never caught in one. Most people panic, which is not surprising. Sad--they banned swimming for a few days.

[a la izquierda]

29. We have a house in Lavallette.

I was just there a few weeks ago.

[Jersey Devil]

34. Hopefully not damaged by Sandy

After seeing some of the pictures of the mess from Sandy anyone with a home down there that wasn't damaged is indeed lucky.

[a la izquierda]

36. Very minor damage. We'll be back this summer.

But holy smokes, Ortley, Mantoloking and Brick are disasters.

[Jersey Devil]

41. Ortley was always my favorite

It is very sad to see the devastation there.

[Patiod]

33. My family told a story about jelly fish stinging me in Lavallette

I don't really remember - I was probably 3-4. So I don't remember the trauma (evidently there were doctors involved), but do remember my cousin and his two friends singing tunes from "Jacques Brel" around the piano at night - both friends have gone on to Broadway, so it this was no ordinary hoe-down.

[Jersey Devil]

35. Jellyfish do not sting like bees

Most of the time you do not even know you encountered a jellyfish until you are on the blanket in the sand after swimming and feel a tingling, itching sensation that seems to get worse by the second. They don't "sting". You get exposed to their toxins as their tentacles sweep by you in the water.

[Patiod]

39. Sorry, I was only 3-4

when I got stung.

The doctors assumed that the full-body rash was jelly-fish related.

[Jersey Devil]

40. Likely it was indeed a jellyfish

Even the relatively small ones have very long tentacles and it could be several feet from you when you brush by them. They do indeed cause a very nasty rash in addition to the itching, pain and tingling.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

57. I thought they shot little barbs in to you that release the poison?

Like bees? Lots of little bees.

[opiate69]

64. they do.. I believe they`re called nematocysts...

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_jellyfish#section_4

[fizzgig]

26. no oceans in colorado

i went to jones beach in ny once with my grandparents probably 25 years ago, but didn't do much more than wade.

last time i was in the ocean was cannon beach in oregon, it was august and i didn't even go out up to my knees the water was so cold.

[RiffRandell]

27. Really?

Haha--but great skiing---my best friend lived in Denver and Steamboat for awhile.

[Spike89]

30. yeah, but not safely

I've lived almost all my life in the Pacific Northwest where "going in the ocean" meant wading maybe knee deep in the frigid waves. In my 30s, I was transferred to S. Cal and lived right on the beach (Balboa Penisula). I knew nothing about safe swimming/body surfing, but I literall dove right in. Almost broke my neck discovering why everyone put one or two arms out like Superman (to break your fall) when the wave plants you in the sand.

Later I got caught in a riptide and heavy surf...one of those "baywatch" guys came out with a float and rope/harness thing and saved me. On my back in the harness, I kicked (had fins on) for my life. The dude was swimming with everthing he had to tow me. Every few seconds, a massive wave would break over me and I'd be trumbled like a sock in the laundry. It seemed to take forever to get into shore. When we did, the lifegaurd was put on oxygen, and I was literally too exhausted to crawl beyond the surf line for a few minutes. My step kids were on the beach and they went back to our house and told my wife that I'd died. Fortunately, I managed to get myself up to the house before she could totally freak out.

Last time I went swimming in the ocean. Since I've moved back to Oregon, I haven't been tempted.

[RiffRandell]

32. Holy shit!

That is scary! I give a lot of credit to lifeguards. Glad you survived.

[Spike89]

42. Lifeguards are great! nt

[Patiod]

37. Off the Jersey shore, and it's a miracle I'm alive

I spent so much time in the waves as a kid that I'd fall asleep still feeling like I was bobbing in the waves. The adults would finally make us come in when we turned blue.

But in my late teens, early twenties, I was a drunken idiot, and would go skinny dipping on hot nights after the bars let out. Inebriated skinny dipping in the ocean - what could go wrong? I rationalized that since I usually went in with a lifeguard (who had also been drinking at Fred's) I'd be safe.

Once there was a hurricane coming, and the waves were running almost parallel to the beach. Amazing we didn't drown - all that happened is that we thought we lost our clothes since we were carried pretty far down the beach and the wind had partially covered up with sand.

I still swim in the ocean, but sober, during daylight, and between the buoys!

[bluesbassman]

38. Sure, and for a little added adventure I usually wear a pork chop necklace.

Gives the sharks a false sense of hope.

[one_voice]

43. Yep, I live an hour or a little better...

from the beaches, much of my misspent youth was spent at the beach. I don't go as much as I used to,since I have a pool, but when I do go, nothing better than jumping into the waves and riding them in.

[petronius]

44. Absolutely! Swim, surf, dive, snorkel - growing up in Souther California the

beach was just a bike ride away (but who am I kidding? Of course we drove. ) I spent most of my free time in/around the water, and still do.

I don't have kids, but I have a different protective instinct from those days: after a touch of melanoma, I never miss a chance to mention sun protection to anyone who will listen...

[LeftofObama]

45. Yep.

I've swam in the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Gulf of Mexico. I'm basically an ocean or pool person, not so much rivers, ponds or lakes although I did go tubing down the Salt river in Arizona.

[olddots]

47. Around 40 I wanted warm water and no creepy fishys

used to go watch the Polar Bear club swim in Boston harbor on Christmas day they were seriously nuttso .
The ocean around L.A. is fowl now people create traffic going to it but very few go in and its much colder than its hyped to be.

[Populist_Prole]

48. Yes, when the opportunity arises. I love the salt water and body surfing in the waves

I don't get to an ocean beach but a few times per year ( sometimes "zero" times per year ) but the way I look at it, going to the beach isn't really "going to the beach" if you don't get some swim time in. Plus, coming out of the usually cool-ish water makes laying in the sun feel bloody wonderful.

[mnhtnbb]

50. Yes. See #49.

[trof]

52. Used to, but not since I saw Jaws.

And I was a lifeguard in Myrtle Beach in my early 20s.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

53. every chance I get.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

54. I grew up in Brooklyn,

lived in NJ and now live a mile from the beach here in south FL....If I want to swim, I swim in the ocean...I don't go in when the rip current warnings are up...

My children learned to surf in Hawaii and though the surfing is not so great here, had I tried to keep them out of the ocean, I would have had a mutiny on my hands. The youngest was about 6, also a 7-1/2 year-old and 9...

[ManiacJoe]

55. No, the water is too cold.

Grew up in Maine, now reside in Washington state. Lakes and ponds are good.

As to warm oceans like those off Florida and Hawaii, no problem. For various definitions of "swim".

[XRubicon]

56. Its accross the street and I hardly go over...

When I moved here I thought I'll be on the beach every night.

When I do make it over, I do swim.

[sakabatou]

58. Nope. Too fucking cold.

[MiddleFingerMom]

59. As a pre-school child on a rocky beach in Connecticut, but then not until I was...

.
.
.
... in my late-twenties and went to a beach somewhere in New Jersey (Atlantic City???) with
friends who were "beach-jaded" -- they had been there OFTEN.
.
They dipped in for about 5-10 minutes and then spent most of the day on the beach, tanning
and playing Frisbee and having non-aquatic fun.
.
.
.
When it was time to go (about 5-6 hours later), they had to come DRAG me out of the water --
I had spent almost the entire time body-surfing (low waves, to be sure).
.
That evening and for the next coupla days, I was bone-tired and bone-sore.
.
.
.
Worth it. DEFINITELY worth it.
.
.
.

[alphafemale]

60. Got nailed by a jelly fish.

Stung like hell for hours. Hurt on and off for a few weeks.

[opiate69]

61. Hell no...

Now, I too grew up in New England, and would swim in Long Island Sound a lot.. also we had family in Florida and So. Cal and used to go visit at least one of them every summer, so I`ve body surfed in the Pacific too.. but.. when I was about 9 or 10, we were at the beach in South Carolina, and my parents, sister and I were all out in the surf playing and stuff and out of nowhere, my mother starts screaming like a banshee.. my dad grabbed her and my sister and ran to shore where they determined she had been stung by a jelly.. meanwhile; I`m still out in the water not knowing what the fuck is going on and freaking out.. so... TL R, fuck jellyfish and anywhere they live lol. I do love being by the ocean though, and harvesting some of her amazing bounty.. clams, mussels, oysters, crab.. been getting big-time into harvesting those lately.

[Jack Sprat]

62. Be especially careful near sunset.

I have seen bull sharks in shallow water around feeding time. Not good. I just like walking along the surf and don't ever go beyond the shallows anymore.

[GoCubsGo]

65. Not as often as I would like to.

Nothing like having the Coast Guard fly over when you and your friends are all buck nekkid.

[treestar]

67. I might do so now more often

Now that you can buy those swimming shoes.

I was creeped out when I'd step on a shell or something.

[elleng]

70. DID, long time ago,

Jones Beach, Long Beach growing up, Barbados, Jamaica, later Hawaii (high school graduation gift!,) Maryland beaches, Bermuda, returned to Ocean City, MD, recently, and don't like SAND!!!

[Iggo]

73. Used to, when I was a kid...

...up until my early 20's.

No way I'm strong enough for it anymore.

[applegrove]

74. I think age makes us better at assesing

risk. When I was in my 20s I would ride alone without a helmet. I had never taken a lesson so I really didn't know what I was doing. I'd go off the trails and try to find a field that I could gallop in. That was incredibly stupid. Now I don't even like walking across intersections. I've been traumatized in one way and another so I am extra cautious. I too would not venture out very far in the ocean. I'm glad to be wiser.

[csziggy]

75. Love swimming anywhere!

Used to be, we'd drive to the coast, swim in the Gulf or maybe go crabbing, then on the way back to Tallahassee and swim in one of the sinkholes to cool off and to rinse the salt water off.

Now the sinks are either closed off and supervised parts of the National Forest or they are privately owned and closed off. It's too bad, sinkhole swimming is a completely different experience than freshwater lake swimming. The water is colder and clearer.

I haven't been swimming for years - my knees always hurt so bad I wasn't doing much. Maybe this summer we'll go do to the coast for the day and do some swimming.