# Is it safe to swim in the open ocean 1000 miles from the nearest land? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 7, 2006, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728 "2006-09-07T01:10:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/1 "2006-09-07T01:10:49Z")
Let’s say you’re on a big yacht and are 1000 miles from the nearest land, and decide it might be nice to swim in the ocean. Out on the high seas are there (normally) any sea creatures about that would be a danger to human life? IIRC most sea creatures, sharks included, stick fairly close to land. Is there anything that would be trolling for a meal way out there? ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/2 "2006-09-07T01:50:44Z")
[QUOTE=astro] Let’s say you’re on a big yacht and are 1000 miles from the nearest land, and decide it might be nice to swim in the ocean. Out on the high seas are there (normally) any sea creatures about that would be a danger to human life? IIRC most sea creatures, sharks included, stick fairly close to land. Is there anything that would be trolling for a meal way out there? [/QUOTE] On the way back from Europe by troopship, in mid Atlantic a hammerhead shark at least 10 ft. long swam out from under the bow of the ship and turned around to see what this thing was that was going by. We rountinely saw[Portugese Man-o-War](http://www.divedoc.net/diving_medicine/article.asp?article=16), flying fish, porpoise, turtles, sea birds and all sorts of other things. However, since these things are also found near swimming beaches I can’t believe that swimming in the open sea would be any more dangerous that at a beach. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/3 "2006-09-07T02:02:37Z")
Just [remember to put the ladder down](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470055/) before you dive in :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/4 "2006-09-07T02:23:51Z")
[The USS Indianapolis](http://www.ussindianapolis.org/) was pretty much in the middle of nowhere when it sank, and the sharks managed to find it. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/5 "2006-09-07T02:26:50Z")
It probably is no more dangerous than swimming a few hundred yards from shore. Sharks are everywhere, the water is their habitat. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/6 "2006-09-07T02:28:00Z")
According to the Hornblower and Aburey/Maturin books, which are fictional but usually very historically accurate, British ships would make a makeshift swimming pool out in the open ocean out of a sail dipped into the water for the sailors to swim in. This was to make sure the poor swimmers didn’t drown, but also to keep at least a flimsy barrier between them and the sharks. They’d also have lookouts posted watching for sharks. Now, those ships would routinely leave a pretty substantial trail of garbage behind them - I don’t know how much that would have contributed to the danger. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/7 "2006-09-07T02:41:23Z")
[Her’s a 12,000 mile journey by a shark.](http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:ATIKo8ZUNxoJ:www.toppcensus.org/Upload/News_31/CNN%252005_10_07.pdf+track+shark+australia+pacific&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=19) A shark would get vorasiously hungry in the middle of nowhere, when food wasn’t around. Yoou’ld look darn tempting at that point. ---
**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:** [September 7, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/8 "2006-09-07T02:43:33Z")
I was on the USS Ranger in the late 80’s. We saw Sharks and Whales in the middle of nowhere. The sharks actually followed the boat for our wet trash. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/9 "2006-09-07T02:44:22Z")
The biggest danger to your safety could be plan hypothermia – the water’s pretty cold when you’re “1000 miles from the nearest land”, in most locations. For example, the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic in springtime. The water temp was 31ºF, which gives about 40-60 minutes before a swimmer is too disabled by cold to be able to climb back onto the boat. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/10 "2006-09-07T02:54:19Z")
While on a Navy Destroyer in the late 70’s, we had several “swim calls” pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We weren’t 1000 miles from land - generally just 50-100 miles. The ship would stop, nets and ladders were placed over the side, and anyone not on duty could go for a swim off the fantail. It was also the practice that 3 men would be placed in one of the ship’s boats with rifles to serve as a shark guard. They never got a chance to shoot at anything, but the fact that they were there indicates that there was a risk involved. FWIW, swimming in the ocean is pretty damned dull. You have to tread water continuously, there’s nothing to swim towards, there’s nothing to look at under the water, and what look like small swells from the deck are a lot bigger when you’re bobbing up and down in them. It tires you out pretty quickly. Also, EVERY TIME we had a swim call, the announcement for it would include the warning that the nearest land was 2 miles away - straight down. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/11 "2006-09-07T02:56:15Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] The biggest danger to your safety could be plan hypothermia – the water’s pretty cold when you’re “1000 miles from the nearest land”, in most locations. For example, the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic in springtime. The water temp was 31ºF, which gives about 40-60 minutes before a swimmer is too disabled by cold to be able to climb back onto the boat. [/QUOTE] Depends on the ocean you’re in. The Pacific near Hawaii was about 78 °F year round. ---
**Author:** ![PBear42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/12 "2006-09-07T03:02:49Z")
For another take on life in the middle of the ocean, Thor Heyerdahl’s [Kon-Tiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-tiki) is pretty good. Yeah, there were fish. Recommend the book highly, **astro**. Just be aware, as mentioned in _Wiki_, that most of the anthropology on which the voyage was premised has since been disproven. Still, an interesting trip and well told. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/13 "2006-09-07T03:07:31Z")
[QUOTE=PBear42] Yeah, there were fish. [/QUOTE] And a lot of the fish were sharks. I agree that it’s a good book, and also a nice documentary film (which is available on DVD). ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/14 "2006-09-07T03:11:44Z")
One of the scariest videos I’ve ever seen was a couple years ago on _Shark Week_. It was when they did the “shark attacks caught on tape.” Cruise ship in the middle of nowhere stops to let the passengers go for a swim. A lady is out treading water and a great white comes up from below and lops her leg off. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/15 "2006-09-07T04:44:48Z")
There was the woman who fell overboard from a cruise liner and was rescued. A man on the ship approached a crew member and said that he couldn’t find his wife. The ship stopped while a search was conducted but the woman was not found. They turned around and followed their trail of garbage, cans and other trash back along their track and found he swimming, put out a boat and picked her up. Lucky woman. I think this was in the 1960’s some time. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/16 "2006-09-07T06:35:01Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] [The USS Indianapolis](http://www.ussindianapolis.org/) was pretty much in the middle of nowhere when it sank, and the sharks managed to find it. [/QUOTE] I’m trying to figure out what the commander of a Japanese sub was doing testifying at a court martial during WWII. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/17 "2006-09-07T06:54:04Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] I’m trying to figure out what the commander of a Japanese sub was doing testifying at a court martial during WWII. [/QUOTE] He testified in November of '45. Japan surrendered in August. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/18 "2006-09-07T13:50:33Z")
Seems I recall hearing or reading somewhere that there are certain species of aggressive sharks which are found primarily in open water, and that the reason they don’t attack people more often is that people don’t normally go swimming in deep water. Yep. Here we go. The [oceanic white tip shark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_whitetip_shark). From the Wikipedia article: > [@](#): > > **Not to be confused with whitetip reef shark.** > > The oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus, is a large pelagic shark of tropical and warm temperate seas. It is **named after its oceanic habitat (living in deep waters)**, and the white tips of its fins. It is a stocky shark, most notable for its long, rounded fins. > > This aggressive but slow-moving fish dominates feeding frenzies, and **has attacked more humans than all other shark species combined** — it is a **notable danger to survivors of oceanic ship wrecks and downed aircraft**. (Bolding added.) So there you go. I wouldn’t advise swimming in open water in this shark’s range. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/19 "2006-09-07T14:01:28Z")
More from the [Wikipedia article on oceanic white tip sharks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_whitetip_shark): > [@](#): > > …Their instinct to follow is so strongly imprinted, as the result of countless millennia of baitfish migrations, that they will accompany ocean-going ships… > > …The oceanic whitetip poses a minimal threat to bathers or inshore sportsman, but a high risk for humans caught in the open ocean in conditions in which they might be seen as prey. > > Famed oceanographic researcher Jacques Cousteau described the oceanic whitetip as “the most dangerous of all sharks”. Despite the greater notoriety of the great white shark and other sharks habitually found nearer the shore, the oceanic whitetip is considered responsible for more fatal attacks on humans than all other species combined, as a result of predation on those shipwrecked or from aircraft downed in the open ocean. These incidents are not included in common shark-attack indices for the 20th and 21st centuries, but would appear to total in the thousands worldwide, with one incident alone, the torpedoing of the USS Indianapolis on July 30, 1945, giving a minimal figure of 60–80 killed by sharks. Also during World War II, the Nova Scotia, a steamship carrying approximately 1000 people near South Africa was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine. There were only 192 survivors, and many deaths were attributed to the oceanic whitetip shark. (footnotes omitted) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728/20 "2006-09-07T14:29:26Z")
There are dangers, but likely less so that driving on the freeway. Don’t be unduly worried about sharks, but don’t be stupid around them, either. For example, don’t go in with a bleeding wound, or where the water has been chummed. The same level of reasonable precautions you take when crossing a street are all that is nessesary- be aware, don’t take needless risks, don’t be stupid. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-swim-in-the-open-ocean-1000-miles-from-the-nearest-land/371728.md?page=2)