On Saturday, first session, we had a swimmer in the lake. He was wearing a wet-suit and a dull orange swimming cap which made it very difficult for us to see him. He swam from the pontoon over towards the far side of the south lake and then was swimming from buoy to buoy. Despite our concerns for his welfare, he consistently ignored our pleas for him to leave the water. Several of the crews spoke to him from their boats and he was quite abusive to them.Lou alerted the Parks Trust to the issue and two Rangers came to the lake yesterday to discuss the incident with me. They have given me the number of the Duty Ranger which is 07871 361175, and I will put this on the contact telephone number list on the club noticeboard. The Duty Ranger is available from 8:00 to 17:00 daily, but if we have a problem before 8:00 we are advised to call Thames Valley Police on 101 if this happens again, advising them that this person’s safety is at risk and that they are swimming illegally in the lake.
We have no way of knowing if this was a one-off or whether he will return, so when coxing and steering please make sure you consider there might be a swimmer in the lake.