Survival Swim or Fashion Show?

On the first morning we were asked to show up in the pool hall for survival training, dressed in basic swimwear only, meaning T-shirt and shorts.

We should also bring a wide variety of our own clothes for later use. We did as told and headed to the pool with a big bag of extra kit.

Introduction

Alex, the lifeguard, explained what this session was all about. We should learn how to survive in the water, no matter what clothes we wore.

In this session we were to try on a lot of different kit, some of our own, some from the drying room. This sounded like a lot of fun, and it sure was. It looked more like a wet fashion show than swim training.

Basic Swimwear

First we swam a several warm-up lengths just in T-shirts and shorts. That was easy and good fun. The pool looked very colourful, with swimmers pacing up and down in their different T-shirts.

Swimming in Jeans

Next we were told to put on jeans or similar trousers. I fetched my tight swimming jeans and put them on over my thin wet nylon shorts. Looked a bit weird when the shorts soaked the jeans a bit.

Swimming in jeans and T-shirt was also quite easy and felt great, one of my favourite swimming outfits. Many said that jeans were somewhat harder to swim in. Yes, that is where the training benefit comes in.

Swimming Fully Clothed

Now was the time to get fully clothed with socks and shoes, and a long sleeve top. Some of us wore a sports jersey for this part. I put on a sweat shirt to complete my outfit.

Swimming fully clothed requires a fair amount of effort, but it feels just amazing. Now I understand why Felix is so keen on it.

This part of the training involved some lap swimming, then some endurance swimming skills.

Adventure Swimming

"Now we come to the hardest bit," Alex told us, "where you will put on the robust waterproof clothes we use during any adventures."

We went to the drying room where Alex handed out cagoules of different length, with and without zips, matching trousers and ponchos.

Our task was to roll the waterproof clothes into a poncho bundle, tie it down with ropes and tow it for two laps in the pool.

Easy, I thought and packed my bundle, hopped in and towed it for 2 laps. As I got out I realised that the bundle had gotten heavier and the clothes inside were rather wet. Hmm, may be I did something wrong.

Alex came by and told me that it works better to tie up the hood tighly and position it so that it is above water. For that we would not unbutton the poncho, but keep it folded once, like for wearing it in the rain. Then we would just pack a smaller, tighter bundle.

Now it was time to get dressed in the adventure kit and swim a bit. The adventure clothes came in two parts, a cagoule and bib-type pants with shoulder straps. The advantage of that design is that the pants have no waist band which could trap air when you get into the water.

As I hopped into the water, the air just flushed up and I was free to move, no awkward air pockets. I put on the cagoule and joined the rest of the team for messing about with boats.

After a while I swappend the cagoule and pants for a one piece overall suit. This too was a bit loose around the waist and when I jumped into the pool the air blew out quickly, unless the neck opening was closed too tight. It was comfy when messing about with boats again.