Fruitless fishing efforts and a very fruitful swimming lesson in a quiet New Hampshire pond

Early this evening, Ian and I went a pond not far from our house.  I swam while he hunted for fish, wading in the water with the net over his shoulder.  He had no intention of keeping any of his catch.  If he were looking to take any home, it would have been as pets rather than as supper, but he realized that they don't do well in captivity, so he had really just been trying to catch them for a brief spell and then let them go, and all this just because he likes fish.  We thought that maybe my swimming was scaring away his fish, so I took a break from swimming and went looking for somewhat "fishier" banks for him to search.   He tried a few locations, but to no avail, so he decided he'd just swim with me

There was also a modicum of instruction.  We went over a few pointers:

1.  You should take a breath every three strokes; you can do four from time to time, but then you need to compensate by breathing at 2-stroke intervals as well.

2.  You should try to keep your head as low in the water as possible when you turn to breathe.

3.  You do need to breathe out while your swimming, since there really isn't enough time to exhale and inhale on a single turn out of the water.

4. When you're breathing,you can take a longer stroke - almost with a touch of a pause - and you can treat the stretched arm almost like a pillow against which you rest your head as you turn to breathe.

Much of this was gleaned from formal, paid swimming lessons, eagerly sought out by a mother determined to make sure all her children knew how to swim.  But this lesson was free, because it was a father-and-son project.

Nevertheless, it would have been worth a good deal of money.  I had several swimming teachers, back in the early-to-mid 70's, but I must say, Ian is the most thoughtful and effective swimming instructor I've ever had.

(July 3, 2016)