LAKE SAFETY

Ginny Harrison is an American Red Cross-trained swimming instructor of 47 years. She and her husband, Jim, operate Swimming for Life, a Clermont-based ministry that provides swimming scholarships to impoverished and special needs children throughout Lake County, as well as to families who foster and adopt children.

Like most Lake County residents, Ginny is enamored with the county’s picturesque lakes. However, she urges anyone who goes for a swim to do so with caution. Here are a few of her expert tips:

•“Never swim alone. I always tell people, ‘Even when I’m fully grown, I never swim alone.’”

•“Anyone who cannot swim or is an average swimmer at best should wear a life jacket.”

•“Know your boundaries. Tell children they can only swim out to a certain point and cannot go beyond that point. Parents must have full supervision of children at all times because, at most lakes, there are no lifeguards.”

•“If you’re with a group of people, have someone blow a whistle on occasion so all swimmers can grab a partner’s hand. That way, a count can be conducted and everyone can be accounted for.”

•“Toddlers should be within arm’s reach of a parent. It only takes a matter of seconds for a toddler to go underwater, and nobody can see the bottom of a lake.”

•“Be wary of amoeba during the hot summer months when the water temperature is hot and the water level is low. They live in warm freshwater and can enter your body through openings in your nose and mouth. They then go to your brain.”

•“If you’re going to swim in a lake, I’d recommend swimming in public beach areas where there are more people, as opposed to swimming in a secluded lake. First, alligators tend to go away when there is lots of human activity in the water. Second, if anything happens, there will be more people to assist you.”