Swim & Dive Summer 2008: Fill & Download for Free

We had a swimming pool put in and told all neighbors that no one could just come in to our backyard to swim without permission- they had to be invited. One of the mothers’ said “Oh, where I grew up, the neighbors let us swim whenever we wanted “ I replied, “ Well, here we have rules, homework and a baby who naps so that’s not how it goes”.Many times, kids would come to the door and ask to play or swim. I had 2 sons that were 10 & 8 who had strict homework rules. If it was done, great- they could swim with my sons. If it was not, “Sorry, no“Pools are great for entertaining, but if you want privacy , you must be firm !

I sat at dinner with several retired SEALs, who worked at the highest levels of leadership, and heard them talk with near-reverence about this woman:Her name is Diana Nyad.She is a mega-long distance swimmer who challenged herself to do some of those most harrowing swims ever completed by a human.One great swim symbolized the completion of her mission and it would shadow her for decades: a swim from Cuba to Florida — without rest.1st- 1978 (Yellow): Her first attempt ended after fast gulf streams pushed her off course and made the mission incompletable.Three decades later, still nagged by her incomplete mission, she began preparations to do this swim again, with many around her thinking she was crazy.2nd - 2011 (Blue): she began her second attempt. Within several hours of beginning, she developed shoulder pain but pushed through that pain for more than 20 hours. And despite a good pace and trajectory - her asthma flared up and the swim needed to be halted again. Swim Duration: 29 hours.3rd - 2011 (Black): A month later, she attempted the swim again. But again, fate would not align as gulf currents dragged thousands of jellyfish and man-o-wars across her path, and in turn, her body, halting the swim due to poisoning. Swim Duration: 41 hours4th - 2012(Green): After an initial current dragged her off course, she corrected and made good time, traveling farther than any prior attempt, but had to stop the swim due to storms and again — her nemesis — jellyfish. Duration: 30 hours5th - 2013 (Orange): This time equipped with a protective mask and suit, to better withstand jellyfish stings, she began her swim from Havana.Through two full cycles of day and night, pausing only to rehydrate and eat, she paddled through the ocean, through waves, with sharks and jellyfish passing her.Her body completely pushed to its limit, her skin drained of all moisture by the salt water, she continued swimming.After 53 hours of consecutive swimming, through 110 miles of treacherous water, she reached the shores of Key West Florida.One can see how she is deeply respected by SEALs — she epitomizes their spirit — persevering through pain, enduring hardship, and never giving up.When she completed this swim, she was 64 years old.

We don’t, either. Newborn babies can swim, and hold their breath instinctively when under water. But unless this is “activated” before we’re about one year old, we “forget” and have to re-learn.This is very odd—but not because we “unlearn”, but because we are the only ape that can swim!How deep does water have to be to keep a chimpanzee trapped? They do that at zoos. Answer: knee-deep. On the chimp. Any deeper and they panic, fall over, and drown.All apes evolved in trees. Not an environment where swimming is a useful skill. Humans only moved close to water later. And apparently, we did so with a vengeance. We are still found mostly close to water—we are one of very few species that can’t even smell water, presumably because we are simply incapable of living very far from it. (We can smell the sea, and we can smell a lake, but that’s not actually the H2O we smell. Other species can do that.)And we can swim. Apparently, we spent so much time around water, at some stage of our evolution, that our bodies simply assume that we will be swimming from the moment we’re born, so there’s no mechanism for just keeping the knowledge around in case it becomes useful later.