PORTSMOUTH — Beth Shumway and Virginia Lowney didn’t want to give away their favorite swimming spot or neighborhood, which is somewhere along the Sakonnet River.

“Just say it’s the Tiverton Basin,” Shumway suggested.

Secret or not, they try their best to come here for a splash every day during the warmer months. That’s an impressive commitment for anyone, but these ladies are both octogenarians. Shumway’s 89, while Lowney said she’s “over 80.”

“I’ve been here for about 60 years and I’ve been swimming ever since,” said Shumway, just before she took a dip with her friend as light rain started falling last Thursday, Aug. 10. 

Lowney’s been in this neighborhood since she was 16, having gone back and forth between Fall River and here during her childhood. When asked when she first started swimming, she said “in utero.”

“My mother swam when she was pregnant with me,” she said.

Both women, who have been swimming together for about 50 years, said they’re mindful of their advanced age and are careful when getting in the water.

“We don’t go far any more,” said Shumway. “We used to take a nice swim, but we don’t anymore. Some time we go along the beach, five or six houses. Sometimes we stay not far from shore. The current is very bad along here — this year worse than ever.”

She pointed to her daughter Donna’s boat, which was about 100 feet offshore. Sometimes she’ll swim around it. “I came here yesterday alone, but I did not go over my head,” Shumway said.

Lowney is even more cautious. “I don’t go out far,” she said before adding, “You don’t see too many people our age doing this.”

Although they take it easy, they still get in a good workout. Shumway said swimming is one of the best forms of exercise because it uses so many different muscles, is good for the cardiovascular system, and is easy on the joints. 

American Senior Communities agrees, saying the swimming “is an ideal workout for the elderly, mainly because it presents little risk of injury and is low impact. Water exercises work out all the muscle groups in the body, presenting a complete workout for seniors.”

For Shumway, swimming is a cure-all for just about anything.

“It makes you feel rejuvenated,” she said. “If you don’t feel good, jump in the river and you’ll feel better again.”