If I Can't Swim...

[TeaBee]

Possibly, or Barry has had kids or his cousin! lol!
They have shark nets at the family lagoon, but small sea life enters and lives there in harmony with the pax as it should work in an ocean environment!
I hope he smiled at you and went on his way and didn't scare you too much!

We were right by the guard tower and asked if we should be worried about the "giant fish with a lot of teeth!" and the guard said "eh, probably not" so we watched him for awhile and then he took off....right towards the Pelican Plunge! We didn't hear anyone screaming about losing a toe to a barracuda so I guess he just kept right on swimming.

 

[JJsmama]

CC family beach is a bay area but it IS THE OCEAN! Not a swimming pool. There are currents and undercurrents and nothing to hold on to. You should be a competent or strong swimmer to swim in the ocean regardless of wearing a life vest

I agree. Plus the lagoon is a lot bigger than it looks. One year we had the best time snorkeling and were way out in the lagoon when we turned back. The weather was lovely, but it was windy, the water got choppy and was blowing out. I thought we would never get back to shore. We were not 'in trouble' but I did let myself have extra dessert because it was a LOT of hard work. An inexperienced swimmer might have been in real trouble.

 

[Starwind]

Haha yeah I should really learn how to swim. I took swimming lessons in elementary school but I couldn't really grasp it. I can float though so I won't die at least

Unfortunately, being able to float, or even swim, is a not a guarantee a person won't drown in the "right" circumstances. And, as others have pointed out, drowning can occur in very shallow water.

My sister is a strong swimmer. We both started taking swimming lessons when we were about 4 and did so for many years, stopping just before the lifeguarding levels in the red cross swim program.

As teens, our house had an inground pool in the backyard. One day, my sister accidentally inhaled a small amount of water while swimming in the deep end and in her reaction to that (I guess in hindsight a panic reaction) she started drowning -- under the water, flailing, etc. I was all of 6 feet from her, but it was like time slowed down to a crawl and it took SOOOOO long to get to her (at least that is what it felt like). I managed to get to her and get her head out of the water, but she then started holding me underwater as she pushed herself to keep her head up**. My mother had seen what was happening and ran over and jumped in and between her and I we got my sister to the ladder and out of the water to safety.


IMO, learning to swim is an important skill to have, and you never know when it may come in handy or even save your life. It also opens up opportunities, like snorkeling.

SW


** as an adult, I took "how to rescue someone who is drowning" training as part of another course, and really wish our kids swimming lessons had taught us even half the information -- because in reality in trying to rescue my sister I did a lot of things "wrong" because I didn't have the right skillset and nearly became a drowning victim myself.