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!
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Former Member
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.
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.
