Less than 24 hours!

[PeterB]

I know quite a few pinays who can't swim. I taught Ruby and, although not very confident yet, I have taken her out of her depth.

[Piamed]

you can't swim and a filipina can't swim

mancs learn to swim b4 they can walk, a quick dunk in the ship canal by your parents and you learn quickly or if that don't teach you, primary school get you then

I know, it's so unusual. Especially for Pia as she lives so close to the beach and was there often before coming here.

My excuse has something to do with having an exceptionally high muscle to fat ratio. Actually, if the truth be known, I can swim a little (breaststroke) but only under water. I can't get my head up far enough to breathe - it's just bad technique.

I don't venture in the sea to often as I am so fearful that a lost shark will get me.

I know quite a few pinays who can't swim. I taught Ruby and, although not very confident yet, I have taken her out of her depth.

OO, me too. Was it hard to teach Ruby?

[aromulus]

I am deeply shocked.

I cannot understand how such a simple thing as swimming can be ignored and dismissed as useless by a lot of people.

Swimming is a fantastic way to keep fit, but apart from that learning to swim may save your life.

I do admit too, that I am not a great swimmer and tire easily, but then again I am 57 years old, and a smoker.
I do like to swim underwater, and I still manage a pool width and half before re-surfacing for air, and never used goggles in my life.
All my kids have learnt to swim through the various school programmes, and are rather proficient at it, so I feel confident about their welfare if they decide to take themselves to the baths.

I was raised in a seaside town in Italy, just south of Rome, and used to spend as much time as possible on the beach, the breakwaters, or the dock.
I failed a couple of high school exams for not turning up, I thought that the fishing was better.....

When I was there with Jet a few weeks ago, on a delayed honeymoon, zillions of memories flooded back into my mind....
So as we went into the clear and clean water, I acted my shoe size and not my age.....

[PeterB]

OO, me too. Was it hard to teach Ruby?

Not really - I just started with simple 'floating on the back', with a little support from below. After a while you find that you can remove your hand and the pupil will continue to float for a few seconds - just repeat and build on this.

I learnt to swim when I was 7 y/o and have swum regularly in many parts of the world.

Back in UK I was going to the local pool once a week and swimming 80 lengths (2kms) in an hour (and walking 1 km each way, there and back). Unfortunately that has stopped here in Phils - I only swim when we visit our beach.