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 still swimming/ dipping multiple times a week depending on sea state & more recently pollution warnings! It’s been lovely and warm in the sea this week despite having some chiller air temps. Plan to carry on through my 4th winter even it’s more 10min dips than lengthy swims.

Hi All,
Approaching my third winter here and enjoyed a lovely 1km - 17° swim last week.
back again tomorrow so will see what temperature the lake is then!
I’m definitely noticing the drop now. And the crowds are thinning!!

Still quite busy where I go. And glow swims are very popular.

I'm going to be filling up my wheelie bin for daily dips soon 😁

I missed out this morning (bloody cats had a restless night and I had a tactical lie in) - definitely up for a dawnie tomorrow before the wind picks up.

Lovely sunrise swim here (it’s getting later and later sunrise 😞)although a tad bumpy waves compared to yesterdays surprisingly calm sea state. I’m missing the magic seaweed App which used to give me a good ideal of swell etc but I’ve not find a useful alternative as I’m not a surfer just used it to help gauge swim conditions. I do look at a local webcam to gauge as well when I remember but that’s not by the swim spot.

Lovely 1km this morning. Water hovering around 15.2°.

Our lake is down to 15 too now. Getting in is harder but it’s just lovely. I wore my gloves for the first time as I suffer with my hands but I don’t think I necessarily needed them!

I will wear a wetsuit when it gets cooler and I want to swim for longer.

I’ve missed the water being colder!

My lake's in the 15s... it'll be a shock as last time it was 19⁰C and I was in skins.

Wondering if it's neoprene vest time?
I toyed with the idea for today but the windspeeds were at choppy levels and I'm not on my best form.

I swam 1k in my regular swimsuit at 15° here this morning, no gloves/boots yet. Head in/out breaststroke 37 minutes, half and half. All I could think of when at water level and looking at the layer of mist coming off the water was that it's a visual representation of the heat steadily leaving the water!!! Air temp was 3° when this pic was taken.

I've now definitely signed up for penguin Antarctic ninja and polar bear silver. I have ordered my thermometers and I'm looking at whether to get a thermal swimsuit or go the whole hog with a wetsuit. I did Antarctic last year in a long sleeved twobarefeet swimsuit and a pair of neoprene leggings ("dive and sail" brand from Amazon) as well as huub gloves, a decathlon neoprene hat and zone3 booties. The only change I want to make really is that the twobarefeet suit drags my arms doing crawl, due to the scoop neckline. I need a high necked front zip suit with sleeves I think. Might get a shortie trisuit next summer. Oh heck, I've said the T word... Who even am I any more???!

Haha kit fever is real! I have so far just done skins over winter which obvs shortens my time in the water, but it is cheap and easy to get changed after a cold swim ( I just pat dry and throw on layers on top of wet swimmers ). I have a cheap aldi suit which is ok and a fandan gofaster swimming wettie too. The fancy one is a bit tight but super toasty and bouyant.

You lot make me feel so inadequate. 😀I'm in Oz and just got in my unheated pool for the first time (this swimming season) this weekend at 20 degrees. I also swam in the sea last weekend and it was 19. I doff my cap to you all!😀

Spot of river swimming this weekend. Or more like dipping! Once in the rain and the next time in the sun and blue skies although both very nippy. Guessing at 15°. Delightful!

It's been a while hasn't it!

I've not done much this year- mainly down to ill child issues in the spring plus consistent pretty poor weather until. I particularly hate wind!

I've had a go today- about 40 mins/ roughly a mile if my watch is honest. The wind picked up near the end and I ended up front crawling with single side breathing as the wind was whipping waves up. I'm glad I went though.

When I finally made it back in the summer (it took so long for the lake to warm up!) I remembered how good that warm muscle/ cold skin feeling is.

I haven't been river swimming in about 2 years though. There's just not been enough warm dry spells with decent water quality.

It has, hasn't it?! Not sure what happened there...

I'm SW Scotland. I've managed a bit more swimming over the last 2 years (in the sea) but not through the whole winter yet. Hoping to manage it this year. My motivation is similar, it feels SO good!

We have a hot spell with little wind at the moment, planning a morning dip tomorrow.

I've more or less had a year out of the water! Swam the Solent last year, and since then I've had a winter off, and just didn't get started this year. The weather has been crap for water quality tbf...

Fabulous sea swim in N Wales today - not too cold in the water although the swell was a bit fun. Hope to keep going for another month.

I had such a good time in my bit the other day, I stayed in too long and got quite a big reaction (can't remember what it's called?) and took a while to warm up. The sea-loch I go in is across the road, how do people manage driving to and from, how do you get changed and warmed up quickly?

Ooh joining. I’ve started lake swimming this year and now addicted!

My trick is I don't "get changed". I get out the water and put on a wooly hat and then a 30s upper body pat down and on goes a thermal top and then another one. Then same lower body. Big wooly socks and step into crocs. Dressing gown with a hood then a dry robe. Then I drive home. I can be in my nice warm house quicker than it takes to get changed in a dry robe.

Same. Unless I have specific plans to go on somewhere which is rare. I can't be doing with wrestling in and out while all damp and sticky

Hello everyone so pleased this thread popped back up.

I did manage Coniston this year it took me 5.5 hours. Was still an hour ahead of the slowest and feel an hour slower than I should have been but I did it. With no training as with elderly parents and bereavements it’s been a difficult year.

last weeks lake swim was the best. No wind and temperature prob around 15 but I think it will start dropping quickly now.

Thanks for the information; so the 'pat down' is with your stuff still on? Don't your tops just get all wet and cold? How bad does your dressing gown get, do you need to wash it each time? I'm thinking mainly from sea swimming, everything gets salty-wet so it needs a was or it won't dry... apologies I've not swum with many groups, they all seem a bit 'cliquey' to me.

@Billybagpuss wow well done! Sorry life is difficult right now, hope it improves somewhat; but wild swimming is so helpful isn't it?! Not sure I'll ever attain those dizzy heights of swimming, but all year round is doable I think...💪

Wow @Billybagpuss that's an amazing effort, I can't imagine swimming that long!

In the pat and dress system, all your layers are going to end up a bit damp! The dry thermals soak up the water from your costume. My view/experience is that I lose less heat just layering up than I do trying to muck about in the wind down at the beach.

You can do a rinse+spin to get rid of the salt water, but I probably only do that once a week. If I'm swimming daily, I just hang it up and let the kit dry with a bit of sea salt on it.

I am near the sea (but it's so tidal that we need to only swim at certain times of day, usually when I'm working or when it's tipping it down) and the local FB group just posts the times of the swim and people say Hi if they are there.
I did go once when there was a man with a piano playing on the beach. It was amazing!