Cold water swimmers including sea, lakes and rivers

[TriSkiRun99]

After sea swimming regularly since May I’m hoping to carry on. Is anyone else hoping to carry on open water or sea swimming through the winter? If you fancy supporting each other and sharing hints n tips come join me. I’ve just bought some socks and neoprene hat, I’m hoping to to stay in my cossie as long as possible but I do have a wet suit if I cave.

I’m not sure about inland waters but last year it was coldest in April swimming in the sea. We had a particular cold April air temperatures and it wasn’t much fun trying to swim in it. But if air temperatures are milder you may find it stabilises… wishful thinking February always seems grim.
I missed my chance to swim today it was lovely over lunchtime but had work meeting then hoped to go at 4pm with perfect tides but weather turned very grey and it felt so cold I decided not too go. Hope to do the weekly Sunday social swim on a super high tide, but should be calm conditions. I’ve stopped putting my face in weeks ago it’s just too murky and cold now. We stop getting bathing water updates in the winter and the water quality hasn’t looked greatly recently.

Yes March/April is usually the coldest then it starts to warm up again, we haven’t had any iced over lakes yet.

I've not been brave enough, but my lake's down to 3⁰C with ice on top the last few mornings.

I'm back after a month, last dip was Christmas eve before I got the plague covid. I feel like a bit of a wuss with you all in at close to freezing when it was 8c here . I managed 10 mins but my hands weren't happy at all. I really need to get myself thicker gloves. Any recommendations? The ones I have are 3mm but don't seem to be as good as the 2mm ones I lost over the summer.

@Barmbraic

I'm back after a month, last dip was Christmas eve before I got the plague covid. I feel like a bit of a wuss with you all in at close to freezing when it was 8c here . I managed 10 mins but my hands weren't happy at all. I really need to get myself thicker gloves. Any recommendations? The ones I have are 3mm but don't seem to be as good as the 2mm ones I lost over the summer.

10 mins is good, it’s cold so it’s more about the Immersion and fun than time and distance

Welcome back @Barmbraic I too found it so so cold lasted only 8mins my first post covid dip, it was quite a cold water shock. I’ve been lucky we’ve had lovely winter swimming weather & calm seas last week so getting in several days in a row I was soon less arrhhh getting in but I’m sticking to 10mins or I struggle to warm up afterwards.

3.5 degrees today. Brrrrrr

@Barmbraic Zone 3 heat tech gloves have been a game changer for me. I did my coldest swim last week (1.6) and hands were fine for over 10 minutes.

I've taken advantage of the warmer temperatures and managed 20+ minutes in a 5⁰C lake. With a load of neoprene

The guys there reckon that we are about the lowest unless we get a burst of colder weather again. It's been fluctuating around 3-5⁰C over the past month, and the sun's got a bit more glow on a warmer day now.

@BogRollBOGOF that’s amazing. Our lake has warmed up to over 6 now!

It had better feel good as the water warms up

The lake/ watersports centre is gradually developing and as a result the swimming area is currently reduced prior to a move to a different zone, so there's a small triangle of bouys marking out a lap. I'm finding I can do 3. Lap 1, the water seeps in and the hard bit is my face adjusting. Lap 2 is the sweet spot. Lap 3 and the extremities feel it and that's enough for now.

At least I've got the gear I need now and have been able to go all year (I started last June). It shouldn't get harder now, and hopefully I'll be more used to it next autumn/ winter.

I remember how we moaned when it dropped to 15 and now we’re doing 3.

Hi! Newbie to this thread and hoping someone can help please. I’ve recently been unwell with a chest infection and am booked into an open water swim this weekend. Just a dip prob maximum 8-10 minutes in these temperatures. Skins. I’m missing my cold lake fix but don’t want to get ill again by going in too soon. So how soon is too soon?! Can anyone help advise please?

Has the chest infection cleared? I always go by the above the neck ok below not ok rule. But having said that my friend took ages to recover from covid and the only thing that helped was cold swims, I had a cold the other week and my swim cleared it.

So I don’t think you’re likely to get ill again but be sensible, if you feel rubbish don’t do it and I think your time aspirations might be a little ambitious if you’ve been away a while and not well.

And stay close to the exit point.

Hi. Thank you for your reply. No my chest is still a bit crackly (finished antibiotics yesterday). I run also and am just so keen to get back to normal but agree with ‘neck up’ philosophy (thanks for the reminder!) and think I’d better rest up a bit longer. Happy swimming Billy

I had a cold in October and found that swim harder than the one before/ after. My chest felt a bit more tired than usual while in.

Made the most of 13⁰C air today and lasted a few minutes longer than last week. I think I swam quicker too... although 2 out of the 3 bouys had gone walkies in the recent high winds!

I stayed in long enough that the astroturf around the edges was ripped up as part of the site upgrade process

Talking of winds,

Wind is my least favourite weather to swim in, but I get very annoyed by my tow float blowing all over the place, I’ve just got a cheap blow up one, does anyone have bigger or heavier ones that are better that they can recommend?

@billybagpuss I got a dry bag tow float from PlanetX so you can put things inside it. Even empty it’s heavier than my other tow float. I have done a one way swim with it and put my phone, flip flops, sunglasses & bottle of water and didn’t notice it once I was swimming. (We walked back to avoid tide issues), So maybe worth a try but not sure if it’s too windy it will just become heavier to bash you

Just looked on their website and the one I had has two air chambers so the ‘bag’ bit is in between them. I’ve actually used it far more paddle boarding instead of swimming. I’ve just gone and bought another tow float with a phone compartment 🙈as I lost a valve on the beach recently and normally have a spare float when my kids join me in the summer. I’ve had several things from them over the last year and been happy with the quality.

Thank you I’m off to do some googling.

I do have ambitions to try a long distance this year so think I can justify a new one.

I've got a Decathlon float, two inflatables and a storage cavity. I do find it more stable than my original one.

Having had 4 swims last week I’m not sure when I might get back in the sea with these two big storms rolling in. Off to the pool tonight it feel so so hot in the pool now 🤣

I've been pool swimming. I'm melting by 300m in

I was never brilliant at turning, but with doing more in open water and not having done much regular lane swimming in years, I'm now pants at turning. Awkward as I tend to swim fast lane and it slows me up a lot, but my actual stroke is fast enough.

I did a Thursday morning dip in the sea in the small window between storms. I did just go have a look at the seafront and it was ok bumpy but I’ve been in worse. I didn’t go in though out of respect for all the RNLI requests today to respect the conditions.

After a few weeks off due to half term, weather and Covidy kids I've made it back this weekend. Water's 6.5⁰C and with 13⁰C air temperature it felt much more comfortable without the stabby cold face in the water and much longer to lose circulation in my right foot which seems to be my weak spot. I had reynaulds while breastfeeding which was more painful and stabby than putting your face in a sub-5⁰C lake

It's good to be that bit milder and get a longer swim from it!