Here in the Denver area we started our Open Water Season on May 2nd.
There were 14 people who showed up at the Chatfield Gravel Pond to swim.
6 had wetsuits and 8 swam in skins. Water temp was 53 degrees. I swam for about 4 minutes and then dried off. Air temp was 45 degrees, so I bundled up and started to shiver. It was so bad my hand really shook, could not hold my warm drink.
slknight, are you perhaps in New Hampshire? In my youth (long time ago) I went swimming at Crane's in Ipswich, Mass., in 44-degree water. I didn't know it was supposed to be cold. If you have a few hours to while away, you can numb up all over. Then it's not a problem.
Close! I'm in Southern Maine. :) 47.1 was the Portland buoy temp when I checked it. The water near me might be slightly warmer because my beach is a nice little cove that warms up a bit more. I used to live near Crane's; it's a lovely place, as long as you don't mind frigid water and greenhead flies. :D
If you ever want to come east for a fun open water swim, a friend of mine runs this one in Gloucester, MA:
home.comcast.net/.../index.htm
They have great t-shirts and prizes.
Mine is still about 7 weeks away. (Can't seem to find good place to do so in Cincinnati area.) So I will live vicariously through you for now.:bliss:
Can you move north, and a little west? The Great Lakes make for fine OW swimming.
Where did you swim, and what were the water temperatures?
We swim in a place that is a gray area: approved by one city branch for swimming, not approved by another. So I must be a little reticent. A good site for the closest thing to year-round is www.openwaterchicago.com. Water temps in low 50s; nobody had a measuring implement.
Here in the Denver area we started our Open Water Season on May 2nd.
There were 14 people who showed up at the Chatfield Gravel Pond to swim.
6 had wetsuits and 8 swam in skins. Water temp was 53 degrees. I swam for about 4 minutes and then dried off. Air temp was 45 degrees, so I bundled up and started to shiver. It was so bad my hand really shook, could not hold my warm drink.
I find I am more sensitive, or responsive, to air temps. We have an informal 100 degree cutoff, water + air temp, below which we go to the coffee shop instead. Most ppl in the casual group are not hard-core swimmers but do this one swim because we like to watch the sunrise from the water. And 4 minutes was probably a maximum today (air temp around 58). Squealing ist verboten.
The season has begun! :bliss:
So jealous! The ocean's up to a whopping 47.1 here. :shakeshead:
slknight, are you perhaps in New Hampshire? In my youth (long time ago) I went swimming at Crane's in Ipswich, Mass., in 44-degree water. I didn't know it was supposed to be cold. If you have a few hours to while away, you can numb up all over. Then it's not a problem.
Read about that hiker/fisherman who went for a walk in White Mountains, fell into 6-foot snowdrifts, got lost, lost his boots, built himself a snow cave and hunkered down for 3 days last weekend.
