Growing up on the west coast swimming was part of my culture and if you couldn't swim, you missed a lot. I had my choices of lakes, rivers, oceans and ponds formed when the river overflowed it's dykes.
When I was about 9 or 10 at a YMCA camp I earned what was called a master mariner certificate. This involved swimming a long distance, paddling a canoe and life saving by jumping in and swimming back with a drowning person plus reviving a drowning victim.
|