I started swimming about a year ago and have really fallen in love with it. I've only swam in open water and have no desire to go in a pool.
I swam right through the winter in the ocaen here in New England in 37 degree F water with a triathlon wetsuit. The water is warming up, now it's about 47F.
I was wondering at what temperature should I try swimming without a wetsuit? I was thinking that maybe I could try it when the water hits 50F. Anybody have any suggestions?
I sort of have a goal in the back of my head to swim the English Channel someday.
Former Member
High 40's would be real cold. San Francisco bay swimmers swim in 50's water all the time with no wetsuit.
Easiest thing to do is wear a cap for cold water like they do , then you can go in sans suit.
www.geocities.com/.../coldwatercaps.html
All the Marathon swimmers piled on Lanolin and Vaseline. I found I only needed it under the armpits, around the crotch area where the trunks rubbed, around neck creases and on the chin and my shoulders where the whiskers rubbed.
I have a very low body fat and get cold just looking at snow, do any of you use a grease or vaseline on your body when you swim?
cantwait4bike
Another way to approach this without the vaseline which is a God awful mess is to double up on caps (wear a neoprene and a silicon cap) and to drink something warm before you get in and after you get back out to jump start the rewarming process (I normally drink hot ginger tea in the morning with breakfast on swim days and then fill a thermos up with hot Cytomax - an electrolyte replacement energy drink - to drink on my drive down to the water). It's also not a bad idea to wear a wool stocking cap in the morning before you get in the water to conserve body heat.
Interested to read. I've never worn a wetsuit before because the water here in HI doesn't get way too cold. If the air's cold though (dropping below 75), I don't like to get in, but will most of the time, especially if it actually feels better in the water and the motivation to swim is in me. I guess I would try colder water if it would be the only other time to experience it, but if not, forget it. I don't know how you guys do it. :) I am such a wus. Does a wetsuit really keep you that much warmer and what about other parts of the body that are not covered?
Right now in CT, Long Island Sound is in the high 50s/low 60s and it's quite comfortable without a wetsuit. I could probably swim comfortably until it was about 55 degrees. After that I would want to consider a wetsuit.
Another thing to consider is the air temp and weather forcast for your swims.
At the Chesapeake Bay Swim this past weekend, water was supposedly 73 degrees (felt a bit warmer), but the sun was HOT and beating down at 90+ air temps. To use the imagery of one of my teammates, she felt like a hot sausage in her wetsuit. Most wetsuiters reported similar feelings.
I went with the speedo (earning Mr. Chaos' OW Swimmer Seal of Approval), and the cool water, even in the colder shipping channel, felt great.
...I can normally swim fine in lakes, but as soon as I put my face in this freezing lake, it took my breath away...
The gasping is caused by the vagus nerve in the nose. You can minimize this response by leaving your face out of the water until you've warmed up with at least five minutes of head-up swimming. I find it also helps to get back on shore for a few minutes after that initial warmup swim, recover a bit from the shock of the cold, then get back in. When I get in for the second time the water feels so much warmer.
I would definately get a wetsuit! This may be just me since I am really sensitive to the cold, but I did a swim in a 71 degree lake which made me start hypervenilating. I can normally swim fine in lakes, but as soon as I put my face in this freezing lake, it took my breath away. I would have not even been able to even stand swimming in a lake much colder. To have a more comfortable expirence, definatly get the wetsuit- especially if your lake is going to be a lot colder!
