Open water swimming - tips and tricks, please

[IceIceBabyBump]

I'm off open water swimming (lake, not sea) tomorrow. I've never done it before so I'm after any tips or tricks that aficionados would recommend, please.

Sorry that was a reply to @Garman dokt know why it didn’t quote.

All of this and also take a flask so you can have a hot drink while getting dressed. It's the best thing ever

How much can you put in a tow float? Can you store your clothes in there?

Wetsuit. Even in this heat, the water will be much colder than you think.

It really depends on where you are swimming. The lake that i swim at is 24 degrees at the moment, that's not much colder than a public pool. Wetsuits will be banned if the water gets above 24.6.

Ask a mate to lend you a dry robe or similar. I have a cheapie toweling robe from Primark for hot days and have one from Sea Monster for cold days.

Wetsuits will be banned if the water gets above 24.6.
Why? I'd be a shivering wreck at that temp without a wetsuit. I went in a pool at 25 today and spent the first three lengths shivering violently (and everyone was laughing at me!) 🥶

@RomeoOscarXrayIndigoEcho they vary. My everyday one is a doughnut design and only big enough for keys and phone, but I have a larger one which I can get trainers, skort, top, socks and thin towel in

Wetsuit? Really? I don’t think you’ll need a wetsuit. I lake swim all year round and it’s tropical on the water atm, 23 degrees. It’s not cold in the slightest. Might be a bit nippy going in but after about 6 strokes you feel
normal. you won’t need a hot drink/warm clothes after. I put on shorts and t shirt in this weather and it’s fine. In winter it’s an entirely different story and if I don’t look after myself properly afterwards I feel ill for the rest of the day. I swim 2km now in just a suit (ditched the gloves and socks at 18 degrees). In the winter if I want to do distance I do wear a wetsuit. otherwise for just a dip go in skins.

You could condition yourself by having cold showers. I've been doing that for a few months and now cold water feels absolutely wonderful to me. Swam in the sea recently, was 15 degrees, but felt good (would have been lovely but salt water annoys me, and it was extremely windy so the waves were rough, not able to float and relax like in the lake)

(at least I think it was 15, but maybe I heard wrong, might have been warmer!)

Conversely, I’ve never been swimming at a venue that required a tow float and rarely see others using them in lakes/reservoirs. I’m not saying it’s not a good idea (they are fab and DH and I were just talking about ordering some for our sea swims), just that it’s not all that shocking that they aren’t as widely mandated as some others have stated. I did once do a night swim that required balloons filled with glow sticks though!

Which lake?

We swim in the sea mostly but have swum in rivers and lakes, and swan in Wastwater before, I was a bit shocked at how difficult it was to walk over the bolders to get into the lake, they were slippery and massive, thought I was going to break an ankle because there were such big chasms between them. I am really un sure footed and found it really difficult.

so check what is underfoot

It was absolutely baking in a heatwave so no wetsuit required.

The only danger I have ever been in at our local lake water swimming is inadvertently standing between the triathlon chaps and the water after they started their watches. So long as you let them get going first. All is good.

@Natsku 😮that sounds positively torturous!
@ThePenIsBlue I also needed a wetsuit in the tropics. If I don't have something to warm up afterwards (fleece or a warm drink ) I also feel ill for the rest of the day. Everybody is different. I wouldn't last long without a wetsuit at those temperatures so was querying why they would or could ban wetsuits as @Mariposa80 said.

Some good advice here OP.

I have to ask though am I the only one who gets the absolute creeps with the term open water swimming? My worst nightmare is wondering what the F is lurking beneath, the sea I can cope with to an extent but lakes make me feel a bit 🤢

Banning wetsuits sounds odd, glad there's no rules where I swim.

Ah cold water honestly isn't so bad @TrogLaDyte the body does adjust. Though I wouldn't advise swimming in a lake when the winter ice is melting, that's the coldest, the water thermometer said 1 degree, that's colder than swimming in an ice hole (because the solid ice and snow above insulate the water, keeping it a more reasonable temperature).

I live in reservoir country and Yorkshire Water have notices up everywhere telling people not to swim in them, but they still do. Then we get on Look North that yet another person has drowned

Banning wetsuits is for safety because there is a risk of overheating when water temp is warm and air temp is really hot. Triathlons have similar sort of rules.

Get into the water and swim.
It's a hot Summer's day. You don't need a wetsuit or a hot drink unless you'll be in for hours.
If it's a managed lake then follow their rules as you would anywhere else. Probably wear a bright swimhat.
If you were winter swimming I would understand the need for advice, but a lake swim on a summer's day is pretty straightforward. Unless you can't actually swim.