Life-saving gesture on anniversary of Richard’s river death (From York Press)

Well done all those involved. I hope it does well.

However, 'THINK DON'T SWIM' ???? doesn't this just show the lack of creativity & thought that journalists now have?

The problem who have lost their lives in the river, haven't, they have drowned!

The problem isn't swimming, it's jumping in in the first place. 'Think Don't Jump In' would be better surely?

Typical of York Press, jump on the bandwagon without thinking it through completely first!

...I await deletion because someone can't take the criticism!

To "dodgydavereturns"

The family of Richard Horrocks helped come up with the campaign name.

It was thought appropriate because of the number of people who don't "jump in" but who get in the river from various points and attempt to swim across it, on a sunny day for example.

The aim of the campaign is to stop people from thinking they can swim across the river.

The problem IS the swimming as the river has such a strong undercurrent.

If you "await deletion" for a comment then maybe it's a wise idea to not comment in the first place.

Thats not strictly true jelly legs. I live on the river and love a good swim across it. I would usually just do widths and ok there is a tiny bit more 'pull' in the middle it is by no means overpowering. Also lots of dogs swim right out to the middle fetching sticks.... and you don't read too many stories of them getting swept away.

Majority of the youngsters who try to swim the river do so after drinking.... That is the problem.
The message needs to be don't go in the river if you have been drinking, or have a medical condition, and strongly discourage others from doing so.

TheTruthHurts wrote:
Thats not strictly true jelly legs. I live on the river and love a good swim across it. I would usually just do widths and ok there is a tiny bit more 'pull' in the middle it is by no means overpowering. Also lots of dogs swim right out to the middle fetching sticks.... and you don't read too many stories of them getting swept away.

Its not so much the undercurrent. it's a combination of temperature, under lying rubbish and marine traffic such as the public hire "red boats" and the big river cruisers.

Swimmers are not very visible from a distance and present a danger not only to themselves but the aforementioned river traffic who may have to do sudden manoeuvres to avoid hitting a swimmer. on a particularly hot day there is a significant increase in river traffic.

I am not not against wild swimming as a whole. However I feel it should be prohibited between clifton bridge and the millennium bridge or even the creation of a wild swimming area which is signposted for marine traffic to be wary.

i have pointed out several times to local teenagers who dip in the river the dangers of jumping in specifically on one occasion pulling out a discarded bicycle submerged only 30cm from the very spot they just jumped in. had they landed on it they would have suffered significant injuries.

another concern is the misuse of life rings on two occasions i have witnessed two males playing with several life rings which they must have gathered from various locations around the river.

as a trained fast water rescue technician i am more than aware of the dangers of 'sudden immersion shock' having suffered it my self while paddling a kayak. some people with certain body types or mental conditioning may not suffer as much the average person who fancies a cooling dip in the river on a hot day is unprepared for doing so.

also whilst the top layers of the river are warmed by the sun. the same is not true for the under layers if you stop to tread the water in a vertical position your calves become susceptible to cramp which can cause you to get in to trouble and need rescue. I know of three strong swimmers who succumbed to this. Two teen boys had gone to rescue their friend who had cramp having gone in to deeper water where the sun hadn't heated and they died in this rescue attempt of the same difficulties.

I have also witnessed it happen here in York last summer. He was lucky to be dragged out by the life ring before his condition worsened.

however i have no doubt that seasoned open water swimmers and triathletes are capable swimmers to do widths of the Ouse as they please but they should do it safely and responsibly for their own sake and that of the other users of the river. The city centre section of the Ouse is not an appropriate place to 'wild swim'.

jellylegs wrote:
To "dodgydaveretur
ns"

The family of Richard Horrocks helped come up with the campaign name.

It was thought appropriate because of the number of people who don't "jump in" but who get in the river from various points and attempt to swim across it, on a sunny day for example.

The aim of the campaign is to stop people from thinking they can swim across the river.

The problem IS the swimming as the river has such a strong undercurrent.

If you "await deletion" for a comment then maybe it's a wise idea to not comment in the first place.

It isn't the swimming that is the issue, it is the inability to swim that is the problem, if they were swimming they wouldn't be drowning. It is a sad but true fact, as painful for all those involved as it may be.
The campaign should not be 'think don't swim!' as this is perhaps the wrong message to send out.

Richard Horrocks' death was an utter tragedy and I feel for the family and those that knew and loved the man. However you are really saying to people "don't be so stupid" and that is a message that never goes down well. Mostly because many people have been doing stupid things their whole life and it has never killed them. It is the sudden change in body temperature that is the worst thing about open water swimming. Totally disorientates people. Even good swimmers. Before swimming baths everybody in York learned to swim in the Ouse and nobody ever died.

Pedro wrote:
Richard Horrocks' death was an utter tragedy and I feel for the family and those that knew and loved the man. However you are really saying to people "don't be so stupid" and that is a message that never goes down well. Mostly because many people have been doing stupid things their whole life and it has never killed them. It is the sudden change in body temperature that is the worst thing about open water swimming. Totally disorientates people. Even good swimmers. Before swimming baths everybody in York learned to swim in the Ouse and nobody ever died.

you are correct in about the sudden change in temperature. lets not forget that the recent deaths have been alcohol related and also at night as well.

we should also consider that while people used to learn in the Ouse that the river now was not the same as it was then with less marine traffic passing by as well as a few other factors.

Yorkphotographer wrote:

Pedro wrote:
Richard Horrocks' death was an utter tragedy and I feel for the family and those that knew and loved the man. However you are really saying to people "don't be so stupid" and that is a message that never goes down well. Mostly because many people have been doing stupid things their whole life and it has never killed them. It is the sudden change in body temperature that is the worst thing about open water swimming. Totally disorientates people. Even good swimmers. Before swimming baths everybody in York learned to swim in the Ouse and nobody ever died.

you are correct in about the sudden change in temperature. lets not forget that the recent deaths have been alcohol related and also at night as well.

we should also consider that while people used to learn in the Ouse that the river now was not the same as it was then with less marine traffic passing by as well as a few other factors.

Less marine traffic? Really? So all the barges bringing supplies to & from rowntrees etc were never there ?