Pool Nets for Your Protection

This article is about the fear of water, swimming pool safety, and pool nets which are vital for pool protection.

When I was in high school in Cape Town, I used to spend some time riding my bicycle in our neighbourhood once my homework was done. It was the first time in my life that I owned a bicycle.

During one of those times, I came across a pretty girl not too far from my home. I decided I would like to try and get to know her. Whenever I rode after that I went past her house but never saw her again.

Sometime after that my friend Brian told me the sad news. Apparently, she had drowned in a public swimming pool full of people.

Having grown up I got to know someone who has a fear for water. The reason was that her parents had put that fear in her from a very young age. As a result, she developed a tremendous mental blockage about water. To this day she can’t swim. There are people of all ages that unable to swim and can’t go near a swimming pool on their own and the fear of water is very real and serious to them.

A man whom I know quite well was on holiday in KZN one December with his family when he had to go somewhere with his wife and left his daughter with the maid who accompanied them. The daughter and the maid walked to the beach and the young girl went into the sea. She got into difficulties and got swept away.

A very distraught maid informed the father when he returned, and they all went looking for his daughter. After searching for a long time, her remains were discovered. It wasn’t a pretty sight because sharks had torn off limbs and things. What an awful experience. I was asked to attend her funeral.

I need to talk more about dealing with water. I was invited to a pool in Pretoria where people were trained for Scuba diving. I participated with all the gear on in the pool. We practised a lot.

Once we had been drilled in using the diving gear, I was taken 5 metres to the bottom of the special pool accompanied by two experienced divers. I know that sounds very exciting and adventurous, and it was. That's when I felt completely vulnerable in the deep water weighed down with all the diving gear. I felt claustrophobic. One more problem. 

Going down that deep down in the water for the first-time sucking air through my mouth to breath, a sudden wave of panic hit me, and I could do nothing but depend on the equipment strapped to my body. My instincts tried to get the upper hand and I immediately wanted to swim as fast as I could to the surface but I had to force myself to stay calm until the panic attack subsided.

Being a lover of body surfing waves at the seaside I enjoyed being carried to the shore in them. Once I caught a huge wave and was thrown beneath it instead of riding along with the wave. I was tossed head over heels for a distance and couldn’t surface. I must admit I panicked a lot there as well and just managed to get out of that dangerous situation without drowning. Now I have a huge respect for water and understand how people can easily panic when bad things happen suddenly in water.

As a homeowner with a swimming pool, it is a requirement that you make your pool safe for anyone entering your premises. The answer to that problem is a pool net. You could say, “I don’t have sharks swimming around in my pool and I always make sure that people don’t go near my pool.” Many people argued like that and then something unforeseen happened that could have been avoided.

Rather be on the safe side and have a pool safety net installed by a recognised contractor who will ensure that the net fits and is installed properly. If you do that you are letting people know that you respect lives and care for their safety.

I know of just such a person who makes strong custom pool nets that fit exactly on any shape of pool. He is very good at his trade and has built up a good reputation because of awesome customer service.

I am leaving his details at the end of this article because I can personally recommend his services. If you need a pool net and want to act while nothing bad has happened yet in your pool so far, then now is a good time to phone him.

SA Pool Nets and Covers