i'm swimming in the chesapeake bay swim in about a month, and know most people will be wearing wetsuits. i don't have a wetsuit, and i don't want a wetsuit, but i don't want to be pulled out of the race 3 miles in, shivering, miserable, and maybe hypothermic. i'm planning to do some training swims in the 3 weekends i have left - and in new york, where it's a good bit colder. the coldest swim i've done (last fall) was 53 for 19 minutes without any pre-training. any advice would be appreciated...
i expect to do the swim in about 2.5 hours.
Parents
Former Member
My Daughter just swam in the Potomac river to Chesapeake Bay swim last weekend. (Well, actually she swam with 5 other brave souls to the 2.5 mile bouy and back.) The reason only six swimmers made the swim was because the race was cancelled due to 17 knot substained winds, and worse expected. While approx 40 swimmers (one wearing a string bikini) elected to go for a calmer lake swim as an alternate, my daughter and two of her girlfriends were there for the tougher conditions of the bay, so elected to go with the challenging alternative. Along with individual kayakers, and two bigger support boats, they took 1 hr and 40 minutes out (against wind) and 40 minutes back...had a blast. The bay was 68 degrees, and the girls all swam without a wetsuit, with no real problems. I think it is a personal thing. I dont know if I would swim in 68 water, racing my daughter (she is doing 5 mile, I am doing 2.5) this weekend in 74 degree water...cold enough for me.
My Daughter just swam in the Potomac river to Chesapeake Bay swim last weekend. (Well, actually she swam with 5 other brave souls to the 2.5 mile bouy and back.) The reason only six swimmers made the swim was because the race was cancelled due to 17 knot substained winds, and worse expected. While approx 40 swimmers (one wearing a string bikini) elected to go for a calmer lake swim as an alternate, my daughter and two of her girlfriends were there for the tougher conditions of the bay, so elected to go with the challenging alternative. Along with individual kayakers, and two bigger support boats, they took 1 hr and 40 minutes out (against wind) and 40 minutes back...had a blast. The bay was 68 degrees, and the girls all swam without a wetsuit, with no real problems. I think it is a personal thing. I dont know if I would swim in 68 water, racing my daughter (she is doing 5 mile, I am doing 2.5) this weekend in 74 degree water...cold enough for me.
