A recent BBC article focuses on a growing trend across the Western world: swimming vacations. While most people swim on a tropical vacation, this type of trip requires endurance and strength as these people swim for long, extended periods of time… all because they enjoy it.
In the piece, contributor Lizzie Enfield shares her experience of swimming the Montenegro fjords.
“The water was crystal clear and almost Caribbean blue; and when my head was not in the water, the landscape was panoramic mountains,” she writes in the article.
Such a description might appeal to those for whom a sedentary two-week vacation sounds like a nightmare. For others, this type of trip opens up a whole new world for them.
A Brave New Aquatic World
Enfield describes a unique experience whereby adherents would swim island to island, stopping off for lunch or exploring a small village. The pod of swimmers had a safety boat following their every move, though they still drew “strange glances” from locals as they emerged from the Adriatic Sea.
To some, it may seem like a brave new world of adventure-based travel. However, vacations like this are the byproduct of a movement that has been quietly growing for the past two decades. For example, the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) was founded in 2005, bringing together kindred aquatic spirits from across the globe.
Since this period, wild swimming has only increased in popularity, and more open-water swimming federations have formed. However, with open-water swimming comes great danger — not all swimmers have a safety vessel following their every move. Swimming vacations are for strong swimmers, but beach holidays inevitably mean amateur swimmers hit the water en masse.
Drownings Are on the Rise
The World Health Rankings ranks countries based on drowning deaths per capita, making some grim reading for certain nations. Unsurprisingly, most of those in the top 10 have some proximity to ocean water, though some of them are puzzlingly landlocked.
Alarmingly, the United States has seen large increases in drowning fatalities of late. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) claims that drowning is the leading cause of death in American children aged one to four years old. Moreover, 55% of U.S. adults have never had swimming lessons.
Staggeringly, the total number of those who drowned in the United States went up by unprecedented numbers between 2020 and 2022. “Over 4,500 people drowned each year in the United States from 2020–2022,” reads the CDC report. “This is about 500 more drowning deaths each year compared to 2019.”
Swimming Locations for Amateurs to Avoid
These statistics might present questions about a swimmer’s ability, the water’s quality, and ocean safety. Put simply, there are many ways open-water swimming can lead to a sticky end. Of course, there is also no shortage of dangerous swimming locations. Some of these include:
- Hanakapiai Beach in Hawaii is renowned for life-threatening rip currents that can sweep anybody miles out to sea.
- Chowpatty Beach, India, presents another danger to water lovers, namely trash and other human pollution.
- West End Beach, Bahamas. Most diving enthusiasts will report seeing tiger sharks while here. Grand Bahama Island has some of the most shark-infested beaches on Earth.
- The Great Blue Hole, Belize, is the world’s deepest underwater sinkhole at 410 feet deep. However, it hides many dangerous vortexes, and any diver trouble at this depth can prove fatal.
- Horseshoe Lake, California, was once the site of an earthquake event. Its subsequent carbon dioxide fallout saw 100 acres of trees destroyed, and levels are monitored because of nearby Mammoth Mountain’s seismic activity.
The leading cause of death for swimmers continues to be drowning, though there are many surrounding factors behind this. Other causes of swimming death might include cardiac arrest due to cold water, hypothermia, or other self-induced accidents such as intoxication.
What Lies Beneath
Naturally, swimming in open seas can have tragic marine wildlife-based consequences. Furthermore, the age of widespread handheld recording technology means some of these scenes have become chilling, viral videos. Such is the case for many recent shark attack victims, not least diving instructor Simon Nellist, who died in 2022.
Nellist, a British Australian expat, was solo swimming in the waters off New South Wales. He was training for a charity event, the Murray Rose Malabar Magic Ocean Swim. His usual route through Little Bay, Eastern Sydney, that morning proved fatal. Bystanders stood by helplessly as a great white repeatedly mauled him in harrowing video footage. In strange circumstances, Nellis’ death was later described as “provoked” due to fishing activity nearby.
Which Beaches Attract Most Sharks?
While global shark attacks have remained mostly stable over the past two decades, the latest annual figure shows a rise. Moreover, of the 59 globally reported shark attacks, at least 10 have been fatal, according to Statista. The three most shark-infested swimming spots across the planet are Byron Bay, Australia; New Smyrna Beach, Florida; and Gansbaai in South Africa.
Nevertheless, it remains pertinent to research any beach or ocean one plans to visit. No part of the world is exempt from sharks or other dangerous marine life. The next cohort of adventure swimmers must keep in mind that wild or open swimming puts them firmly outside their human comfort zone. Perhaps this is why it remains so popular.
