She was aiming to be the first person to make the 103-mile journey without a shark cage, long rest breaks, or any physical contact from another person. It was her fourth attempt.She's 62.
Meanwhile, in other swimming news:
A married couple in their 60s drowned while apparently trying to rescue their dog from a pond in Westfield Monday evening....
State Police said preliminary reports indicate the man entered the water to retrieve the couple’s small dog after it jumped off the boat.
Then, State Police said, the man became distressed while trying to reach the dog, and the woman entered the water to assist him, before she, too, became distressed....
The dog survived, Manos said.
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34 comments:
I'm not a dog owner but aren't they natural swimmers by instinct?
Darwin's Law.
Silly man going in after a dog. Dogs can swim fine.
But she was justified going in to save another human after he got in trouble. Too bad it ended this way for them.
I'm sorry. I laughed out loud. I suck, and I know it, but they had a boat right? We're they drinking, or maybe a little medicinal MJ?
RIP, faithful owners
I know it is tasteless to speak ill of the dead, but
dumb, dumber, and dumbest
spring to mind
leaving the boat :(
Manos: The Hands of Fate.
"Never get out of the boat." Absolutely goddamn right! Unless you were goin' all the way...
-- Apocalypse Now
Diana Nyad fails — again — to swim from Cuba to Florida.
That lady still deserves a lot of props:
She gave it her all, showed a lot of guts, and took a beating.
Other than failing to make it, she did women proud,...
Kevin, you magnificent bastard.
Colonel Angus said...
I'm not a dog owner but aren't they natural swimmers by instinct?
I have an 8 year old boxer. He couldn't swim if his life depended on it. I know, I've tried to teach him. He dog paddles no problem, but he can't stay afloat. It's their body type. He's more muscular than fat, plus his coat is isn't conducive to buoyancy. I had another boxer, but she passed away last year and she could swim either, but she loved the water. They both do.
I feel bad for that couple though, but that story makes me think that this was meant to happen for them. At least they were together.
Those photos of Nyad reminded me of
someone else who had a lot of exposure to certain elements.
The 4 commandments of water rescue:
Reach,
Throw,
Row,
Go.
On her first night, she had to break after being stung by a jellyfish.
She failed the first night! I despise these endurance stunts where the person is allowed rest periods and breaks. (Like someone who goes on a hunger strike, except for that small daily meal and/or an IV.)
Of course, this doesn't touch on the pointlessness of it all.
From what I have read, women are better at the ultra-long swims than men. I assume that's because the greater body fat makes them more buoyant and also provides more insulation?
Less social security to pay out I guess.
"It's their body type. He's more muscular than fat, plus his coat is isn't conducive to buoyancy."
No. He just hasn't figured out how to swim.
We have an old pound pit bull that's pretty lanky and very muscular. She was a competitive dock jumper, some years back. Naturally, she'd go down like a rock, but she knows how to muscle it and swim.
We also have an English Pointer with no visible body fat at all, solid muscle, little fur, big-chested and very lanky, a working gundog that goes 20+ miles per day at a run. I taught her to swim. It took time, and gentle patience, but despite the breed's distaste for water, now she swims around for fun. If she gets hot, she'll find a pond and go for a swim.
Boxers are just goofy dogs. Gotta love 'em. But they can learn to swim, if it's important (e.g. if their owners are avid sailors).
Boxers can even learn to free-dive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPsOwtMqYcM&feature=related
I used to surf as a kid. I confess it's a little mysterious to me how two people drown in a pond with a boat nearby during the summer in the daytime.
But I guess maybe they couldn't swim or swim well, maybe they were both in terrible cardio shape, maybe their clothes weighed them down, maybe one of them had a health problem kick in, maybe they exhausted themselves trying to get the dog, and very probably one or both panicked.
It also seems odd that they apparently didn't have life preservers in the boat or use them.
55 miles with a break. I'm still impressed. 63 years old, I'm amazed.
For the couple with the dog: P90X
Fools For Fido
Two true schmucks doggedly took a dive
That their dog-God might live and thrive.
Now we're doing comparisons of body fat in dogs.
The obsession with fat reaches a new level.
Suddenly, I remember the old TV commercials: "My dog's better than your dog..."
Update the lyrics: My dog's lower body fat than your dog..."
Swimming in shark-infested waters is a Darwin Award.
Colonel Angus said...
I'm not a dog owner but aren't they natural swimmers by instinct?
My brother-in-law's Scots terrier has so much muscle and so little body fat, he sinks like a stone.
So, no.
Dogs with short noses like boxers and pugs are supposed to be not good swimmers. However, I have a Boston Terrier who loves the water. He will chase ducks into the lake, and will jump out of a boat in a minute. He once jumped in a hot tub and swam over to me from the other side. When in the boat we have a doggy life jacket for him.
How are labradors when it comes to swimming?
creeley23 wrote:
But I guess maybe they couldn't swim or swim well, maybe they were both in terrible cardio shape, maybe their clothes weighed them down,
I used to be a really good swimmer, and took water safety classes and was required jump in the water clothed and then tread water. And it is tough. If they were fully clothed and dived in I could see that being an issue, especially if they arent' great swimmers.
Rarely do dogs drown. Rarely do we find cat skeletons in trees.
Labradors swim like otters. All dogs know how ro swim, including boxers. They are inelegant but they will splash themselves to safety.
Re: the marathon swimmer. WHY? I see no purpose unless you are trying to escape from someplace (Cuba) to swim there.
Re:dogs swimming. My daughter has an English Bull dog. Sinks like a rock. So they bought him a swim vest. This way they can take him to the beach or to a family swimming pool and not worry that he will sink like a stone. Works great and he just loves it.
Diana Nyad is an attention hound. She knows what she does is foolish. We know what she does is foolish. She knows that we know. But she does it anyway.
She does this, time and again, whenever she is desperate for some publicity. And the media obliges. She deserves pity, not sympathy.
People swimming for their lives--like after a boating accident--take breaks. I see no problem unless they get out of the water onto a boat or something like that.
Re: Dog vests, why weren't the owners wearing vests? They obviously weren't strong swimmers if they drowned in a pond of all places. Doing so may have saved their lives.
They also ought to have known whether their dog was a capable swimmer before bring it out on a boat. They were putting their beloved animal at risk, after all.
People! Know your strengths and weaknesses.
"Rarely do we find cat skeletons in trees."
because once they die, they fall out.
:-)
Why does nobody suspect foul play? The dog jumped in. His masters drowned, he walked away. He better start talking, and have a better story than this one. Is he gonna make out in the will?
" Well, this is not a boat accident! And it wasn't any propeller; and it wasn't any coral reef; and it wasn't Jack the Ripper!" It was a Schnauzer!
Does anyone else think "swimming from Cuba to the US" is a stunningly crass stunt? Yeah, sure, the Cuban government will let you swim out of Cuba and not shoot you full of holes as long as you're a famous swimmer. If you're a Cuban prisoner -- er, "citizen," not so much.
Certainly I would go in for a dog. Why, if it was warm, I might go in for a lawprof! Ha, ha, ha.
...sorry PoB
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