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A perfect example why there is no swimming in Lake Norman off the shore line
Quote:
The two young men ages 11 and 17 were swimming near a boat off Blythe Landing on Lake Norman when the waters got choppy and they went under just around 3:30 Sunday afternoon
Lack of common sense. That area , according to an article , is between 80 and 100 feet deep. Even if I were Greg Louganis , I'd still wear a PFD. There are too many stories where the plot transpires in this exact fashion - someone swimming , skiing , et al. , falls off device , or goes under , and never resurfaces. There may be undertow in parts of that lake.
there is no undertow! what is with the misinformation?!?
there are slight currents that may move something sitting at the bottom of the lake, but these are not currents that will endanger someone who can swim! Lake Norman is not like an ocean or great lake! It is a dammed river!
And your quotes make it sound like like they were swimming from shore at Blythe Landing! Which they weren't. I couldn't find the "quote" you quoted at all in the article...
And your quotes make it sound like like they were swimming from shore at Blythe Landing! Which they weren't. I couldn't find the "quote" you quoted at all in the article...
Agreed. What was omitted from the quote is that the boys had been on the boat, along with 2 other people, when conditions got rough. Tens of millions of people swim, on a daily basis, in lakes like this one. To state that isolated incidents like this are a good reason to disallow lakeside swimming is misinformation at its finest.
Regardless of how good a swimmer you are, swimming in 80-100 feet of water, off of a boat, with no PFD on is bad medicine. Sad truth of the matter is, these boys were not properly supervised. My prayers go out to the family.
I spend every weekend on our area lakes and I am never amazed by the lack of common sense and the overwhelming amount of stupidity on the water. We always have our PFD on if we cannot stand comfortably. I will admit that when we are on the hook the PFD is not on but very near by. Our lakes on the weekends can become so choppy that it almost feels like the ocean. It doesnt help either when you are anchored and someone fly's past you within a stones throw. Tossing the boat and you.
Hoagie you could not be more correct. You hate to see tragedy but it all boils down to supervision with common sense on the water.
We are avid boaters as well and our rule is no body leaves the boat without a PFD. I never had a issue with someone not following the rules. Feel very badly for the families of the victims.....it happens in a second. Last year we were on the docks and someone slipped into the water. It happens so fast.
Our family used to go out on Long Island Sound on the boat during the summer (as did many, many, other people.....)..those waters were rougher and a larger body of water than Lake Norman....if you use common sense, take the right precautions, there's no reason why you can go swimming out off a boat in those waters....
You have foolish people in every walk of life, but to deny people having fun because of 1 or 2 people who didn't take the proper precautions is ludicrous......
I'm not sure where they were, but swimming at Blythe Landing is illegal though I've seen people let their kids do it. Problem is a little head sticking out of the water is almost impossible for a boater to see and boats don't come with brakes. Near Blythe Landing is dangerous because of the boating activity from the landing and there is also lot of current there because CMUD has one of it's 3 intakes for the Charlotte water system located in that cove. It's very cleverly hidden. That cove is also full of shallow rocky shoals so jumping or diving off a boat could really cause a swimmer an issue if they hit one of those rocks. Swimmers off boats really ought to leave that cove and go elsewhere to swim, ski, or be pulled on a tube.
I do agree with the article as there were whitecaps on the lake yesterday. When it is like that, it's time to come in. There have been a number of deaths on the lakes so far this year, and the summer is only 1/2 over.
Last edited by lumbollo; 07-19-2010 at 07:48 AM..
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