i swim on the south shore of long island, New York and stopped about a week ago when the bay hit 58degreesF. Now that i found a wet suit that actually allows my shoulders to move i want to go back. Is anyone else swimming on the Great South Bay ? and does 58 sound dangerously cold to anybody? There was only one time where i experienced teeth chattering shivering type after-swim conditions and that was probably because i had cut my foot and was having to tend to that.
At low tide the water is only about 2 to 4 feet so it is always reassuring that if there is a real shock to the cold, one can walk back. I was swimming okay without a wetsuit in 60deg temps for 20-25 minutes. I'm wearing a double bathing cap, grease but no goggles because they just fog in the cold.
thank you in advance for your opinions!
Former Member
Sounds like you have a great place to swim. Have you tried anti fog on your goggles? Sometimes goggles will fog if you keep pulling your face out of the water allowing the goggles to warm. I would really try and find a swim buddy, even in two or four feet of water there is still danger from the cold.
willie
In San Francisco, the Bay rarely breaks out of the 50's and during the dead of winter will drop into the low 50's. Swimmers from the South End Rowing Club swim all year round (without wetsuits) but then we have the advantage of having hot showers and a sauna afterwards. 58 in and of itself is not so bad as long as you can get your body to acclimate to that temperature. In other words if you only go in once a week it will be a shocker each time but if you're in several times a week your body will acclimate. Keep on swimming - you're doing great! PS - Wearing a neoprene cap will help tremendously in these lower temps since 30-40 percent of your body heat is lost through your head - wear a neoprene cap and then put a latex or silicon cap over that.
thank you Gary. i think my cap may be neoprene (its the old lady style with the chin strap) and it never occured to me to put that one on first then the latex.
up until last monday i was in every day so having the week off may be a shocker but its 70 degrees in New york today, no high winds, so at least the warm air will help in a psychological sense.
thanks for your encouraging words.
I swam in a very cold large lake in Northern British Columbia that was colder than 60 degrees, with no wetsuit.
They say if you swim every day, as the water gets colder, your body will get used to it. There is a GREAT book out that I recommend, called Swimming to Antarctica, by Lynn Cox.
My recommendation is to swim close enough to shore the first time out, so that if you do get frighteningly cold, you can swim back soon enough. I did this with the cold lake in BC because I was afraid.
Good luck and hope this helps.
A few of us in RI have done some late season swims. The latest we have gone is second week of November. We wear neoprene caps, booties, wetsuits, and even neoprene gloves, and we still find we have to be very careful and watch one another for the effects of hypothermia. I understand that people who swim in the ocean every day can get used to the cold water, but we haven't experienced that. I would suggest you have not only swim with a buddy, but that you stay close and talk to one another during the swim. You might include someone to watch from shore while you swim and make sure you get back alright. There is not much margin for error should you get into trouble from hypothermia, and they could call in a rescue, or come drag you out of the water themselves, should you need it.... The wetsuit does provide some measure of safety.
