# Can you REALLY swim? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 25, 2015, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781 "2015-05-25T10:36:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/21 "2015-05-25T13:41:23Z")
If it can be replaced by the phrase “you are” it needs an apostrophe. 100 metres, easily. I don’t think I even swim a proper stroke, just a mismash of actions that propel me forward, and I could easily make that distance. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/22 "2015-05-25T13:48:50Z")
I swim at least 500m approx. three times a week. I’m used to be a very strong swimmer and was a trained life saver. I let myself go over the years and am now trying to get back in a bit of shape. Haven’t swam outside a pool in years but if it’s not too cold I’d do it easily. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/23 "2015-05-25T14:14:02Z")
I grew up in a time and place where swimming lessons were mandatory (we had swimming class in Jr. High and High school), so yes. Kids today are lucky if they get an hour of any sort of phys ed a week. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/24 "2015-05-25T14:22:37Z")
I agree with most of the previous posts that 100 yards is easily doable, and not a test of “can you REALLY swim” for most people who think they know how to swim. That is, if you’re wearing a swimsuit, and you’re prepared to swim at that moment, neither of which is the case in the OP. In the OP, you’re wearing a few layers of clothes—it’s a “cool, crisp May morning”—shoes, and you were prepared to go boating, not swimming. Anyone here had any practice swimming 100 yds while wearing clothes? I vaguely remember doing it in Boy Scouts, and I remember it being a big pain in the ass then. I was certainly in much better shape then than now. Turning my pants into a life preserver helped. It’s doable, I think, but I think the presence of clothes, especially if you don’t have any warning you’re going for a swim, is going to really complicate things. I remember falling out of my kayak while doing something stupid, and I was really grateful for my lifejacket. Looking at the OP, and thinking about my swim, I’m even more grateful that it was a warm Austin summer evening, and I was basically dressed in a swimsuit already. I think I’d have been fine if I had to abandon the kayak and swim to shore, but I wouldn’t have wanted to find out. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/25 "2015-05-25T14:21:51Z")
It would take me a while but I float well and can swim 300’ on a lake well enough. I would have to shuck my shoes and use the old navy trick of turning my shirt into a floatation device but on a lake I would be OK. In the ocean I would be dead if I had to fight the tide but if the tide is favorable I should be OK. Easier to float in the ocean also. Rough waves might finish me off though even with a favorable tide. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/26 "2015-05-25T14:27:13Z")
I learned to swim in the sea when I was about 5. As an adult, I used to go swimming one night a week and swim a mile at each session (alternating lengths breast stroke and backstroke). It’s been a while since I did that, but I’m pretty sure I’d be fine. Clothing is a big hindrance (and you can’t easily take it off in the water), but I’d be ok for 100m fully clothed ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/27 "2015-05-25T14:32:52Z")
I could make 300 meters easily ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/28 "2015-05-25T14:35:16Z")
300 feet? Sure. Half a mile? Maybe. Maybe not. More than that? I’m a goner. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/29 "2015-05-25T14:35:54Z")
Not a problem. I’m not a fast swimmer but I can keep swimming for a long time and making headway so long as I"m not working against currant, waves, or extreme wind. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/30 "2015-05-25T14:37:37Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Yeah, I don’t think the scenario of the OP really rises to the skill level of the Thread title. > > I’m not a strong swimmer at all. Can’t do the whole “turn face to side to breathe” thing (I always end up taking in water) so I keep my face out of the water completely in very bad form. I can, however, go fairly good distances if I just hold my breath and swim underwater. > > Even so, I am fully confident that I could cross the distance of a football field- especially if it were that my life depended upon it. In the ocean, with ocean currents, possibly not. I definitely believe I could do it in a lake. > > So, I completely pass the test laid out in the OP but I think I’d more accurately have to answer “no” to the question in the Thread Title “Can you REALLY swim?”. Yes to almost all of this. Despite having passed beginner’s swim certification, I find it much easier to just paddle freeform than to try to keep my head below water and stroke in a rhythm. Not quite a doggie paddle but not “REALLY” swimming either. But 100 meters is 2 laps on an Olympic swimming pool. Easy peasy. I’m sure I’ve done it before. In fact, I think that even though I haven’t swam a distance in years, I could swim further than I ever was able to before since I go for long runs and walks. ETA: and long runs teach you to pace yourself to not tire out too soon, which is important in the water. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/31 "2015-05-25T14:41:05Z")
Like most of the others, I’m not a ‘strong swimmer’ but I can certainly get myself 100m across the water without an issue. Even if I needed to stop and rest once or twice. Doggy Paddle, backstroke, front crawl (without proper breathing technique). Something. I’m not going to drown if I can see land 300 feet away. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/32 "2015-05-25T14:47:21Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > In the OP, you’re wearing a few layers of clothes—it’s a “cool, crisp May morning”—shoes, and you were prepared to go boating, not swimming. Anyone here had any practice swimming 100 yds while wearing clothes? I vaguely remember doing it in Boy Scouts, and I remember it being a big pain in the ass then. I was certainly in much better shape then than now. Turning my pants into a life preserver helped. We never did that in Scouts but we did it in High School. We had a ‘jump into the pool with your clothes on’ day. First you’d try to swim around a bit, then you’d take your clothes off under water (swim suit on under them). Meant both to teach us how to strip down if something like that happens and to teach us that you do, in fact, have to do it since you really can’t swim with clothes on. Actually, more importantly, you can’t swim with shoes on. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/33 "2015-05-25T14:49:48Z")
I definitely could. I’d take my clothes off if they were restrictive, obviously. I’m SCUBA certified, the test for that was much more rigorous than 100m. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/34 "2015-05-25T14:56:22Z")
I’ve swum farther than that in the ocean, while towing a kayak. It was neither fast nor in good form, but I did it, and I don’t consider myself a particularly good swimmer. (I suppose extra buoyancy was something of an advantage in that incident.) ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/35 "2015-05-25T15:17:05Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > I agree with most of the previous posts that 100 yards is easily doable, and not a test of “can you REALLY swim” for most people who think they know how to swim. That is, if you’re wearing a swimsuit, and you’re prepared to swim at that moment, neither of which is the case in the OP. > > In the OP, you’re wearing a few layers of clothes—it’s a “cool, crisp May morning”—shoes, and you were prepared to go boating, not swimming. Anyone here had any practice swimming 100 yds while wearing clothes? I vaguely remember doing it in Boy Scouts, and I remember it being a big pain in the ass then. I was certainly in much better shape then than now. Turning my pants into a life preserver helped. > > It’s doable, I think, but I think the presence of clothes, especially if you don’t have any warning you’re going for a swim, is going to really complicate things. I remember falling out of my kayak while doing something stupid, and I was really grateful for my lifejacket. Looking at the OP, and thinking about my swim, I’m even more grateful that it was a warm Austin summer evening, and I was basically dressed in a swimsuit already. I think I’d have been fine if I had to abandon the kayak and swim to shore, but I wouldn’t have wanted to find out. Thanks, I tried to make the scenario just difficult enough without being too hard. I think your right that suddenly having to swim is different than going into a situation prepared to swim. Like you said being clothed vs. in a swimsuit. I think just getting over the panic of having to suddenly be in cold water with all those clothes on including boots would be a major obstacle. You all who are strong swimmers, would you consider trying it out? Jumping into the water with all your clothes on including boots and a coat? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/36 "2015-05-25T15:36:52Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Thanks, I tried to make the scenario just difficult enough without being too hard. I think your right that suddenly having to swim is different than going into a situation prepared to swim. Like you said being clothed vs. in a swimsuit. > > I think just getting over the panic of having to suddenly be in cold water with all those clothes on including boots would be a major obstacle. > > You all who are strong swimmers, would you consider trying it out? Jumping into the water with all your clothes on including boots and a coat? A crisp May morning for me would not include boots and a coat, which were not included in your original scenario. Having never jumped into the water with boots and a coat, I would not be willing to try it 100 meters from shore. ETA: I don’t even wear boots while hiking, so boots definitely didn’t cross my mind. If there were some sort of prize involved and I had what I would consider crisp may weather clothing on, a sweater and shoes, then I would do it, since swimming 100 meters takes less time than running 1 mile, which I can do several times over. I would probably not even have to ditch my clothes, except for my shoes, although I could be wrong about that having read some of the other responses. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/37 "2015-05-25T15:37:04Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > …I think just getting over the panic of having to suddenly be in cold water with all those clothes on including boots would be a major obstacle. > > You all who are strong swimmers, would you consider trying it out? Jumping into the water with all your clothes on including boots and a coat? I think it’s doable, but a lot tougher than I think many of the posters are implying. Take some water in your lungs from the shock of (a) being in the water in the first place and not still on the boat, and (b) because the water is friggin Cold!, and I think the task gets really tough, really fast. I agree with **Joey P** that getting your clothes off is going to be essential for most (though I don’t know about the shoes; I don’t remember my running shoes being that much of a problem). As I wrote before, the ‘tie the bottom of your pants together, then trap air in them’ trick made life a lot easier. [EDIT: And as I write that, I am wondering how I’m getting my pants off with my shoes still on. So off they go. (We must not have been wearing shoes after all.) The impulse to not shed stuff, because it’s going to be gone when you do, is going to be a tough one to overcome personally.] I’d have a problem swimming 100 yds in a dunking, wearing a light coat, shoes, pants, a sweater. But I’m not a strong swimmer and I didn’t go anywhere near the water as a boater or fisher without my lifejacket. They make great ones these days: form fitting, [semi-stylish](http://www.evo.com/wakeboard-vests/oneill-superlite-uscg-vest.aspx#image=53347/272009/o-neill-superlite-uscg-wakeboard-vest-2014-black-metal-black.jpg), and they won’t get in the way of whatever thing that brought you out onto the water in the first place. They aren’t like the [bulky orange things](http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/kent-adults-type-ii-personal-flotation-device/pid-12432) that we had to wear when we were kids. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/38 "2015-05-25T15:38:25Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I think your right For Fucks sake… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/39 "2015-05-25T15:52:13Z")
I may be an old fart, but at one time I had Life Guard certification, so my guess is I could make it to shore without too much effort. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781/40 "2015-05-25T16:01:23Z")
I can’t float in a warm saltwater pool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-swim/720781.md?page=3)