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.

Ah, my tribe! It IS so addictive. Best feeling I know of.

@Orangesarenottheonlyfruit re. the hypothermia, what are the (pre)signs? I probably have a tendency to stay in too long, as just love it once I'm in.

PP ^ Love the tips up there about freezer bag, hottie etc.

What's 'skins' swimming? Just in a cossie, or is it a special suit?

It was really interesting - but reading more closely, you have to drop your core temperature enough to be hypothermic in order to produce the proteins. But as my mum died with dementia, as did her mother, its all the more reason for me to tough it out through winter.

I didn't get to swim on Saturday (it was my birthday and dh had made plans), but dh got me a heated throw which is going to be wonderful to get under when I get back from swimming

I don’t live near the sea but thoroughly enjoyed vicariously experiencing it through these posts! One day...

I swim all months. Worst for me is march/ April sea cold from winter and not yet creeping up. Best sept October when still has ‘warmth’ - a relative term - from summer. Have never yet work a wet suit but getting close to doing so so watching with interest.
My best tip swim somewhere you have a hard walk and preferably cliff climb afterwards. Nothing better to warm up than a stiff climb up.
Often find warm spots are very close to rip tides so I tend not to stick around in them although it Is tempting.
Good tide timetable and understanding of Rips essential I often swim alone and very remote safety first !
Lovely thread.

Skins is in a swimsuit rather than skinny dipping. There is good research already about cold water immersion and benefits for physical and mental health. They used to treat severe depression cold water but it was a fairly savage dousing. Some of the hydrothermal centres in Hungary still have clinical water baths. Good for cellulite too - although not worked very well for me.

Ringsender2 A good check is to touch each of your fingers to your thumb one by one. If it's easy you're good to keep in the water, if your fingers are really slow then get out. Otherwise, I think it comes with experience but always best to err on side of caution and get out wanting more.

Wow you lot are hardcore! I'm in Australia have just braved the sea again for the first time this spring. I thought it was pretty nippy, but just googled and sea temp was 19.5! :D And my Aussie friends thought I was insane going in at that temp!

There were loads of people paddleboarding, surfing & kayaking in the rough surf at Cromer a few days ago. Very impressive.
I felt like crying just looking at them. My hands would be in agony instantly - most of them had bare hands (and yes wetsuits & booties).

I have just started loch swimming this summer with a group of women and we are loving it,not near enough to the coast for sea swimming but are planning a New Year's day dip.
Will be checking hints and tips with interest as we plan on carryingon throughthewinter if possible, I had to invest in gloves as my hands were painful and shoes are a must when getting in and out of stony lochs.
People who know me think I'm nuts but no-one is more surprised than me !

Lots of good advice here

I bought some full-finger neoprene swimming gloves. They are tight enough to take ages to put on, and the water quickly got in. So I couldn't swim in the little river more than 15 minutes with them on before my hands were numb anyway (on a very hot summer day). The tightness risks aggravating my RSI, too. I guess if I had a dry suit then I could put the gloves on underneath the suit, but would gloves sitting underneath sleeves let water inside the suit? How does one get a good dry suit fit in the Time of Covid?

I admire the cold water swimmers. I just have no idea how people withstand it.

@InsanityRocks thanks for the tip!

Attached is pic of my swim earlier

It was definitely harder to get in today. I felt a bit faint for a couple of minutes when I got out, possibly a sign I was in too long? I wonder if a swimming balaclava exists? My nose and cheeks were very cold!

Very wet in and out today. A lovely spot though.

Lovely pictures - I’ve not managed to get in this week as it’s been really windy wild, I’m hoping there’s a window of calm tomorrow evening for a swim before the stormy weather returns.

Ah hello fellow nutters. Swam today and it was utterly blissful. It seemed cold last week but just delicious today.
Does anyone else notice that their sleep improves after a cold swim?

It was the same water temp here as last week, but the sun made it feel much warmer. I womaned up and swam front crawl half the time after getting discouraged by the cold on my nose for the last few weeks

Oranges, yes I sleep so well!

Think I might swim again tomorrow. It's about the only thing that tempers my corona anxiety. Feeling especially fraught at the moment.

Any tips on swimming in the dark?!
I've been going three times a week but my two evening slots will now be after dark.
I'm thinking torch in tow float & guardian light on goggles, don't go too far from shore
Still fairly mild here, 14 deg probably. Rubbish weather heading our way though.

Just a word of caution as well about vigorous exercise after a cold swim - it can make the after drop worse as the warm blood, that your body is trying to keep in your core to warm your internal organs, is instead directed out to muscles & you lose even more heat energy.
So you might feel warm during the exercise, but then drop back to being colder again especially internally. Just be cautious if you're not used to it, and if the sea is particularly cold.

Lovely sunset swim tonight in a small window of relative calm in what has been a windy wavy week and is forecast again all weekend. Hope to get out again Monday if there’s no pollution warning after the heavy rain coming in.

@Ihaventgottimeforthis

Any tips on swimming in the dark?! I've been going three times a week but my two evening slots will now be after dark. I'm thinking torch in tow float & guardian light on goggles, don't go too far from shore Still fairly mild here, 14 deg probably. Rubbish weather heading our way though.

I'm too bloody scared to swim the dark regularly but when I have done a moonlight swim, a glow stick in the tow float works like a charm.

Oooh hello, can I join? Unfortunately I live too far from the sea to swim there regularly but do have an open water swimming lake near me that I've been toying with swimming in over the winter- it lifts my mood like nothing else. I last went in about a month ago (skins, but was quite numb after) but the temperature has plummeted to 11.5 since then. Happened to be at the south coast this week and had a quick swim in my cheapo shorty wetsuit but that was apparently a balmy 15 degrees.

Does anyone lake swim and have advice on wetsuits? I have the aforementioned cheapy suit plus a naice triathlon suit that 2 kids later I can't fit in at all (and is not winter weight). I don't want to spend loads but don't want to be so cold I won't go! Our lake is doing winter inductions over the next couple of weeks so I need to move quite quickly. Any advice from more experienced welcome.

I can't believe how tough you people are! I don't go in to swim but to bodyboard, and this is my current outfit of choice:

Bikini
Long sleeve rashvest
Short sleeved rashvest over the top
pair of knickers over bikini bottoms
2/3mm full body wetsuit
2/3mm shorty wetsuit over the top
Thick walking socks
5mm neoprene boots
5mm neoprene gloves

And I'm still bloody shivering! I've had enough after 40 minutes and it takes an hour or more to feel warm again after.

I've just bough a 5mm neoprene hood in the hope that helps! I'm testing it out for the first time today. I can't see me sticking to it all winter anyway. Probably chicken out by the start of December and won't be back in until April.

Pickles impressive use of layering !
I am warm bodyboarding in a 4mm wetsuit, but late October is the latest I have been in. Would like to try cold water swimming in just a costume but when I get there I chicken out.