‘I Thought I Could Swim — Until I Fell Off a Paddleboard’: Why Adults Are Taking Up Swimming

John Warriner, 65, had long assumed that decades of holiday pool time meant he could handle the sea. That confidence evaporated when he fell from a paddleboard off the coast of Carterton, Oxfordshire, found himself farther from shore than intended and had to be rescued.

“I thought I could swim... but when you actually get into the open water it’s completely different,” he says. “I inevitably fell off the board and couldn't get back on. I panicked and had to be rescued. It was embarrassing but it made me realise I need to learn to swim stronger.”

Warriner began adult swimming lessons at Carterton Leisure Centre about a year ago, attending twice weekly. “It's not easy — I'm 65 and it's been quite difficult — but I feel much more confident now,” he says. He stresses that water safety is vital: being offshore or even a little out of your depth can quickly become dangerous if you aren’t prepared.

Ruth Perera, 43, never learnt to swim as a child [BBC]

Learning Later In Life

Not everyone in the area learned to swim as a child. Ruth Perera, 43, from nearby Black Bourton, only started lessons recently. “Today, for the first time, I was swimming by myself and it was amazing,” she says. Ruth hopes to enjoy water activities with her husband and daughter but wants to master proper technique and safety skills first.

Seventy-one-year-old Gillian Muller, another local learner, says adult lessons have given her confidence and motivation to swim with family: “You just need to watch television to see how many people have got into trouble while they've been swimming. It doesn't matter how old you are. If you consider going into open water, you should know how to swim.”

Official Warnings And Safety Advice

National statistics underline the risks around open water. The National Water Safety Forum estimates roughly 600 water-related deaths in the UK each year. Since the record-breaking hot spell began in May, at least 29 open-water deaths have been reported across the country. In Oxfordshire, 14-year-old Baltazar L'Quy died after getting into difficulty in the River Thames in May.

Gillian Muller is hoping to be able to swim with her grandchildren [BBC]

Deb Forder, safety manager for Oxfordshire County Council's Fire and Rescue Service, urges caution: “Don't go into water alone, and use lifeguarded spaces like our open water pools.” She warns that cold-water reflex shock can incapacitate even experienced swimmers: “No matter how good a swimmer you think you are, cold water reflex shock will affect you.”

Jo Jones, an Oxfordshire-based open-water swimming instructor, adds: “There is always an element of risk. The water is always changing. It's unpredictable.” The RNLI recommends following its core advice: Phone, Throw, Float and Float to Live.

Local fire crews in Oxfordshire have launched a water-safety campaign to raise awareness and encourage safer behaviour around rivers, lakes and the sea. Many adults are now signing up for lessons to build competence, confidence and safer habits before returning to open water.