Be Water Wise

[Music] [Music] summertime. Time is action [Music] time. A season filled with golden afternoons splashed with sun. Lakeside evenings so quiet you can hear a fish jump a 100 yards away. In summer, water is our element. We sail on it, swim in it, and at night gather beside it to remember the pleasures of the day. Some of us may not be quite the Olympic champs we thought we were, and some are just learning the importance of being able to swim. two good reasons why we should ask ourselves not once but every summer. What's the best policy for safety in the water? Looking at a film on water safety is not the complete answer, but it can show you some of the important safety skills and if you apply its principles, it could save a life. Real safety in the water is seldom a matter of heroism and sudden daring. It is the result of care, training, and common sense. And sometimes we have to learn that fact the hard way through actual experience. Jimmy and Joe aren't new to this picture. Matter of fact, they're in it. Not stars exactly, but part of a class learning to swim at boys camp last year. The first thing the boys learned is that most men stay afloat by the buoyancy of their bodies. Jimmy found this out when he did what the instructor called the jellyfish float. A deep breath, head down, arms clasped around the knees or ankles. If any part of your back stays out of the water, you can float. Joe is a floater, too. As this vertical float shows, he keeps his lungs full of air by breathing out and in quickly between intervals of breath holding doesn't look very difficult at all, does it? In the balanced float, Joe holds his arms straight out from his shoulders. Floating is largely a question of balance and it is the position of the arms that determines the angle of the body in the water. If you have sufficient buoyancy, the most relaxing float of all is the horizontal float. The boys place their arms over their heads to distribute their weight so that their legs come to the surface. Easy once you've mastered it. So easy, in fact, you could lie there all day. Come on, Joe. Time to wake up. Nine out of 10 people can float. But what about those who can't, like Brian? Although it won't impede his swimming progress, he doesn't have the natural ability to float, which means that he needs the movement of his arms and legs to keep him above the surface. This modified flutter kick is just like walking in a horizontal position. The leg motion may be enough in itself, but if not, the arms will have to be used too. Skulling with the arms is one of the basic swimming strokes. And like the kick, it exhausts very little of the swimmer's energy. One of the most useful of all swimming techniques is treading water. It's a safety skill that should be learned by the beginner as soon as he can. It's just like pedaling a bicycle underwater while the hands skull in the figure 8 movement. Treading water allows you to observe your surroundings and at the same time conserve your energy if you don't go at it too hard. Take it easy there, Joe. Now that he can sit back and look at himself on the screen, Joe is probably wondering what all the hurry was about. Another useful self-s survival float the boys learned is this combination of a bobbing jellyfish float and treading water. Hold your breath with your face in the water, raising your head to breathe when you have to, and wait for rescue to come. But what if you're too tired even to tread water? Hold on to the nearest object that floats. A paddle will do. Remember, all you have to keep above surface is your face. Use any object you can trap air in, like an inverted bailing pail. The important thing is to take advantage of whatever happens to be at hand. If you overturn in a boat or canoe, hold on to it. Even a gas tank will hold you up. Using your head and knowing the basic floats are the secrets of self-s survival in the water. Let's see now what the boys learned about another important part of water safety, the rescue of others. Here again, basic rules apply. If someone is in difficulty, don't enter the water to make the rescue if you can reach him with something. An outstretched towel will do. And lie down if you can so you won't be pulled off balance. If you haven't got a towel handy, there are usually plenty of branches along the shore. But organized swimming areas will have rescue apparatus. It may be a pole or a ball at the end of a heaving line. If he is too far for a heaving line, go to him by boat if there is one available. An experienced person might use a surfboard as a rescue vehicle. Use any means of aiding the victim which reduces the hazard to the rescuer. Think before you act. A swimmer who is panicky is in real danger and needs something to grasp. In such cases, a log may get there faster than you could and be of better service, too. The important thing to remember in all rescue work is don't enter the water unless you have to, and even then you should proceed with care. If there is no other course but to enter the water, don't go empty-handed. You may be able to wade to him with an extension or wade close enough to give him a board or any other object that floats. or you may have to swim out with something he can hold while you tow him to shore. A board, a stick, a towel, even your own bathing suit held in your hand will provide the safety margin you need. Direct contact with the victim should only be risked by the expert with a thorough knowledge of water rescue techniques, for even a strong swimmer can be endangered by a panic-stricken victim. Joe seems to be a very cooperative victim. After having proved their proficiency in swimming skills and rescue techniques, the boys were ready to tackle the more specialized water sports such as skin diving under the guidance of a trained instructor. After a thorough medical examination, skin diving demands good equipment. Before buying any, you should consult your instructor and then get it from a knowledgeable dealer. The purpose of the fin is to make your kick more efficient, permitting slower and more relaxed movements. The instructor chooses Jimmy, who has had some experience as the demonstrator. There are many kinds of fins available, but the most important consideration is that they fit properly. If they are too loose, the extra effort to control them will waste energy, and if they're too tight, they may cause foot cramps. Jimmy shows the rest of the boys how the flutter kick should go, slow and rhythmic for maximum efficiency and minimum leg fatigue. Even more important than the fit of the fins is the fit of the mask. Here you must rely on a trained instructor to tell you if the mask fits properly on your face. It's foolish to experiment and try it by yourself. The mask may sometimes accidentally fill up with water. You must know how to empty it, and only a good instructor can show you how it's done safely. The breathing tube or snorkel doesn't need to be too long, but it should have a wide barrel with an unobstructed passage and a mouthpiece that fits comfortably. It is held in place by the mask strap. Now, while the instructor watches, let's see how everything works. Breathe in. Go down. Blow out to clear the tube. Get the rhythm. Get the feel of the snorkel and the mask before you try them all together. It looks exciting when the experts do it, and it is. But reading a booklet and practicing on your own is not enough. The keynote is instruction and training by qualified teachers. Real safety in the water is seldom a matter of heroism and sudden daring. It is the result of care, training, and common sense. Water safety is for everyone, old and young, active or inactive, and qualified instruction is available if you will take advantage of it. Know what to do before the trouble starts. For in an emergency, there's no time to learn. Whether it's your own life or the lives of others that are in danger, there is something you can do, and you must know the right thing to do if your action is to be effective. A film on water safety can only show you the rules. It's up to you to learn them. When you need your water safety training, you may need it in a hurry. Jimmy and Joe's instruction at camp taught them many valuable lessons, and they had fun acting in the movie, too. But it took a little incident down by the river one day to show them that practice drill is one thing, and a real emergency is another. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] It was lucky that the only real damage was to Joe's feelings. He knew what to do, but he rushed into it. And his haste might have resulted in tragedy if it hadn't been for Jimmy's cool thinking. For safety in the water, think before you act. Tomorrow may be your turn. Make sure you're ready. [Music] [Music]