Diving into… open water safely

In this special instalment of his Diving Into… series for The European, ultra-endurance swimmer Ben Hooper sets aside the romance of wild waters to confront their risks. With 150 years since Captain Webb’s first Channel crossing, he asks why safety still lags behind endurance and what must change to prevent needless deaths at home and abroad

In previous journeys I have taken readers from Berlin’s lakes to the tidal pools of the Isle of Wight and the rivers and lidos of the West Country. This one is different.

The year 2025 marks 150 years since Captain Matthew Webb became the first person to swim the English Channel unaided. His crossing proved what determination and endurance could achieve.

Yet a century and a half later, drowning remains one of the leading causes of accidental death: hundreds of lives lost each year in Britain, and hundreds of thousands worldwide. Too many of those deaths occur in ordinary settings – like canals, rivers, lakes – where basic education, awareness and rescue provision could have made the difference.

If Webb showed the world what was possible in water, our task today is to stop people dying in it.

According to the UK’s National Water Safety Forum, 2023 saw approximately 226 accidental water-related deaths across the country. Of those, 60% occurred in inland waters such as rivers, lakes, and canals — places where many assume safety risks are lower than the sea. The demographic most at risk remains men between the ages of 20 and 49, often caught out while walking, swimming, or engaging in water sports.

Globally, the picture is even more sobering. The World Health Organization estimates that around 236,000 people die each year from drowning — a figure that does not account for the unreported or misclassified cases. Drowning ranks among the top ten causes of death for children and young people worldwide. In England, the statistics also reveal stark inequalities. Just three per cent of Black adults and 18 per cent of Black children swim regularly. Among Asian communities, meanwhile, the figures are only marginally higher, at four per cent of adults and 21 per cent of children. These low participation rates translate directly into greater vulnerability, and they underline the urgent need for targeted education, access and community programmes if drowning prevention is to be more than an abstract ambition.

Sadly, tragedies strike even in organised, high-profile settings. In June 2025, a competitor died during the swim leg of a triathlon at Sunderland Lake in the UK, prompting questions about medical readiness and rescue protocols. Just two months later, during the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim in Istanbul, a Russian Olympian was reported missing at sea and later confirmed dead — a haunting reminder that even elite athletes are not immune when safety infrastructure falters. These join a long list of incidents, including last year’s loss of Olympian Burcu Eryildiz at the same Istanbul race, and the death of Scottish triathlete Alastair Jack during the Loch Lomond Triathlon.

Nor are the tragedies confined to competition. In September 2024, Sarah Sherwood, a 32-year-old teacher, died while wild swimming with friends in Derwentwater in the Lake District. In August 2025, a young man in his 20s drowned in the Manchester Ship Canal after entering the water for a recreational swim. Elsewhere, triathletes such as Spain’s José Carlos López and Portugal’s Maria Santos died during race swim sections, while a female swimmer in Lake Geneva succumbed to difficulty while training for a long-distance crossing. This sombre roll call — stretching from Scottish lochs to Swiss lakes and Turkish straits — underlines that open water does not discriminate between amateur and professional, competitor and casual bather and this is not an exhaustive list for 2025; media reports ahead of official figures, pushing deaths to hundreds already in the UK.

“Too many lives are being lost in wholly preventable circumstances,” said Judith Cummins MP, UK Parliament, in a recent interview. Yet when politicians are asked for solutions or support, their responses are too often watered down at best.

It is my opinion that there is room here to push for swimming lessons to be once again compulsory and part of the UK school’s national curriculum and that this should be a European and global priority supported by UNICEF and the likes. In the UK, such a move would surely be a good start to risk reduction, death and injury prevention, improved lifesaving skills, water safety education and improving physical health and wellbeing in our younger populations, which could also ease the strain on NHS mental health and physical health services across the UK.

Hazards in UK Waters

Part of the challenge for reducing water related fatalities lies in the particular dangers of UK waters. Cold shock is perhaps the most underestimated: the sudden gasp reflex triggered when entering cold water can cause panic, inhalation of water, and cardiac stress. Underwater obstacles such as weeds, branches, or hidden debris pose entanglement risks, while unknown depths can deceive even confident swimmers who underestimate how quickly conditions change.

Underlying health conditions also play a role. Many drownings occur when a swimmer suffers a heart attack, seizure, or exhaustion mid-swim, with cold temperatures amplifying the strain on the body. 

“Understanding your body’s reaction in the first seconds of cold-water immersion is the difference between survival and tragedy,” says Professor Mike Tipton of Portsmouth university, Extreme Environment Labs. “It is the cold-water shock (cold shock) response which probably accounts for the majority of near-drowning incidents and drowning deaths, following accidental immersion, in open waters below 15 °C,” he says. “And it is still possible to suffer a degree of cold-water shock in water temperatures up to 25 °C.” One way the Professor suggests you can better prepare, is to “always get a health check before embarking on cold and wild

swimming,” he advises, and that “five, two-minute dips, spread over days, halve the cold shock response.” Therefore, preparation is key to survival and may well reduce fatalities nationally if we can all support this message.

Balancing the Benefits of Cold and Wild Swimming

This reality, however, must be balanced against the genuine benefits of wild and cold-water swimming. Limited research does highlight improvements in mental health, reductions in stress and anxiety, and even positive effects on the immune system. For many, open water offers freedom and community, reconnecting people with nature and offering a healthier lifestyle.

But those benefits only make sense if they are pursued with safety at the core. Enthusiasm should not come at the cost of vigilance. Safety is not about discouragement; it is about empowerment — ensuring more people can enjoy wild swimming without tragedy.

World Drowning Prevention Day 2025 – A Moment for Change

These statistics make World Drowning Prevention Day, marked annually on 25 July, more vital than ever. This year, the global campaign is spotlighting “Find Your Float,” a simple but profound message with the potential to save thousands of lives.

“Find Your Float” is not just a slogan but a practical intervention: the act of floating calmly on your back when in difficulty. Research demonstrates that resisting panic and conserving energy dramatically improves survival chances. In the UK, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has expanded on this principle with its “Know Your Float” campaign, encouraging everyone — from schoolchildren to seasoned swimmers — to learn, practise, and normalise floating as a lifesaving technique.

Mike Tipton told me, “The hyperventilation of cold shock makes it very difficult to co-ordinate swimming stroke with breathing. The best thing to do at this stage is fight

your instinct to swim and thrash about, and ‘float to live’.” For more information, have a look at the ROSPA campaign Know your Float – a simple technique that does save lives.

For me, the issue is not abstract. At the age of five, while in Belgium, I drowned in a swimming pool and was resuscitated only after precious minutes had passed. Decades later, in 2016, I attempted to swim the Atlantic — a project born partly out of a determination to turn trauma into advocacy. Both experiences sharpen my perspective on how fragile and precious life is in water, and why every step towards prevention matters.

Campaigns such as “Respect the Water” — run by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and supported by organisations across Europe — highlight not only awareness but practical tools for communities and policymakers (respectthewater.com). But campaigns alone cannot stem the tide.

Political Will and Public Safety

The political conversation around drowning prevention is beginning to take shape but requires far greater urgency. In the UK Parliament, MPs such as Judith Cummins have repeatedly called for a national drowning prevention strategy. Similarly, Baroness Anelay of St Johns has raised the international dimension, reminding policymakers that drowning is a silent epidemic disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries.

Water safety, moreover, cannot be divorced from water quality. Cleaner rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are not only environmental goals but safety imperatives. Polluted or debris-laden water increases risks of entrapment, illness, and reduced visibility for rescuers. Politicians advocating for improved water standards are, knowingly or not, advocating for drowning prevention too.

“Clean, safe waters should be a shared right — not a roll of the dice,” Baroness Anelay of St Johns, House of Lords, is reported to have remarked in recent media interviews.

Towards Safer Open Water Swimming

Open water and wild swimming have surged in popularity, particularly since the pandemic. For many, cold-water dips offer physical and mental health benefits, but too often, enthusiasm outpaces awareness. Safety, rather than acting as a barrier, must be seen as the enabler for enjoying these experiences fully.

From my swim adventures, experience, own work and writing for The European, I have distilled a set of practical tips that any swimmer — novice or experienced — should consider when entering open water:

• Never swim alone. A companion doubles not only enjoyment but survival chances and make sure someone knows where you are.

• Check conditions. Weather, tides, currents, and water temperature can shift rapidly.

• Acclimatise gradually. Cold shock is a major cause of sudden drowning, ease in slowly and head/face last.

• Know your exit points. Entering water is easy; climbing out is often far harder. Understand your waters and seek local opinion on risk of debris etc.

• Use visibility aids. Tow floats and brightly coloured swim caps make you easier to spot.

• Respect your limits. Heroics belong to history books, not leisure swims.

• Practise floating. The simplest, most overlooked technique: flip onto your back, spread your arms, and wait until you can breathe calmly before attempting to move.

These may sound like common sense, but as statistics show, common sense is too often left on the shoreline.

A Call to Dive in Differently

As we reflect on the century and a half since Webb’s crossing, the paradox becomes clear: human endurance has advanced, but human safety has not kept pace. Adventure should inspire, not endanger. Campaigns like “Find Your Float” and “Respect the Water” shine a light on what needs to be done, but they need amplification — by media, by politicians, and by communities.

The challenge is not to stop people swimming, but to ensure they can continue doing so with confidence, joy, and above all, safety. We cannot celebrate the romance of wild waters without also confronting their risks. Nor can we honour history without acting on its lessons.

Dive into… should always mean dive into the water safely

Ben’s Wild Water Swimming Tips for Beginners

1. Know Your Limits – Start with shorter swims in calmer waters before tackling deep or choppy waters.
2. Check Water Conditions –Always check water temperature and currents.
3. Wear a Bright Swim Cap – This helps with visibility and safety.
4. Acclimatize Gradually – If the water is cold, enter slowly to avoid cold-shock response.
5. Be Aware of Boats and Wildlife – Some shorelines, are shared with kayakers, rowers and sailing yachts, speedboats too. Stay within designated swim areas and never swim alone.
6. Swim with a Friend – Wild swimming is safest when done with others, especially in unfamiliar waters. Always make sure people know where you are. Be CPR trained, too and maybe have a shore watch or swim with an organised event.
7. Be aware of local conditions, currents and never take unnecessary risks.
   
   

Ben Hooper hit the international headlines after revealing what has been described as one of the world’s most ambitious expeditions: to swim “every single mile” of the Atlantic Ocean – according to Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE, the last great bastion to be conquered. Ben’s intended journey, across two thousand miles of open ocean between Senegal and Brazil, would take four months and would enter the record books. The expedition, called ‘Swim the Big Blue’, following Ben’s death from swimming into thousands of left-over Portuguese Man O’War tentacles and his incredible restart, mid-Atlantic, was eventually thwarted by adverse weather conditions damaging his support vessel. It was a devastating blow following years of painstaking dedication and training. Today, Ben holds the only WOWSA verified attempt to swim the full extent of The Atlantic Ocean.

Follow Ben on Insta and X @TheBenHooper or at www.thebenhooper.com

Main image: Laura Lumimaa/Pexels