Linda Hall: Treat water with respect

The older I get the "wussier" I get.

Once upon a time I'd run into the sea no matter how big the breakers, swim out until I couldn't touch the bottom and stay in for hours never caring if I was the only one in the water.

Now the sea has to be calm as glass before I venture past my knees or I have to be with someone.

The terrible tragedies at the weekend have just added to my awe and respect for the water.

My eyes welled up with tears when I read about the brothers taken by the sea at Makorori Beach on Saturday.

One has been recovered and the other is feared drowned.

Later the same day another young man went missing while trying to cross the Waikato River in Hamilton.

I can't begin to imagine how the family and friends of these young men must feel.

Much closer to home two people had to be helped from the sea at Waimarama on Saturday.

I'm not saying that any of these people did anything stupid, far from it. Part of Kiwi summer culture is to head for the water every chance we get.

I promised myself that this summer I would spend more time outside and more time in the water.

Last summer seemed to fly by and before I knew it we were lighting the fire again and I had only managed a couple of paddles in the sea.

Already this year I have swum at Waimarama and Clifton Beaches and in the Tukituki River.

Actually I didn't really swim in the river. I sat in it while a couple of little people climbed all over me.

I made sure I was close to the shore because I could see the river had quite a strong current.

We were joined by a mother and her two children, one of whom went straight into the fast flowing current and lay down, but mum was right there and it wasn't deep.

Then another group arrived, two men and several children. I couldn't see how deep it was in the middle of the river but I could see that the current was flowing fast.

One of the children, who was probably about 9 or 10, just started walking out by himself.

I said, "The current's quite strong." But on he went without anyone alongside him.

Maybe they knew the river well but I have to say my heart was in my mouth until he got to the other side.

It wasn't deep but if he had lost his footing and couldn't swim who knows what could have happened?

Water, whether it's the sea or the river, is unforgiving, unpredictable and should always be treated with caution and respect.

We have rules about fencing off swimming pools for a reason.

While we certainly can't - and wouldn't want to - fence off the sea and rivers, common sense must be used at all times. Even then accidents happen, conditions change in seconds.

You only have to watch Piha Rescue to know that.

Even strong swimmers get into trouble.

We don't have to be paranoid around water.

But, we do have to be vigilant with children and careful of ourselves.

However, sometimes no matter what you do or how many precautions you take, bad things just happen.

-Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today.