Change Your Latitude - 57* North Open Water Challenge

I don’t discount the human body and mind’s capacity to condition themselves to endure thermal stress FWIW, i find for me that the physical aspects are overrated and the cognitive aspects highly underrated. swimmer A without a wetsuit is much harder to spot on the bottom than swimmer B who, with wetsuit, will remain floating on the surface under most circumstances. FWIW, the density of an average adult is 1.01 g/ml but I do not not know how the lungs fit into that figure. Seawater in the mid 50's is 1.03 g/ml. This makes the average adult a floater, with a 180 lb version being 3.5 lbs positively buoyant. My guess is that the typical cold-acclimated skin swimmer is even more buoyant. The rub comes in figuring out a way for organizers who are largely responsible for participant safety, to differentiate between those who are genuinely cold-acclimated and those who just imagine themselves to be That is not an easy task. I agree totally. But I would go further. I think that it is simply not possible for an event organization to substantively asses this, and I second what Evmo says in this regard. This will be a bit off topic, sorry, but the corporate approach that that OW is heading in is a major flaw for which the sport (and swimmers) will suffer. The paradigm must be established, perhaps through the long road of precedent, that the swimmer is ultimately legally responsible for his/her safety and life. This thread is not the place to start such a discussion, of course, so if someone wants to respond, please PM me directly or start a new thread on this topic. seems pretty nutso to me. Have to admit though, you don’t write like a nut. for all of 2011, only 3 of my swims were above 60 F, most were in the 40's a few in the mid 30's. maybe I am but hide it too well :) What else do we need to do to entice you and your kind to Change Your Latitude in Sitka-by-the-Sea? We are idiosyncratic in so many ways, I can only speak for myself. You might be surprised to know that I heartily vote in favor of a rule requiring wetsuits given that your goals are as you stated: 1) promoting OW swimming by locals, 2) bringing in out-of-towners, and 3) creating a family event. As I tried to explain before, mandating wetsuits will not likely reduce the event's risk for cold-related medical emergencies: 57 F is extreme for a wetsuited non-acclimated pool swimmer. The key to reducing that is to assure that all swimmers, regardless of their attire, are swimming well within their thermal confidence zone. Your 10k is a geographic based out-and-back course. That is a huge plus in my book, as is the 'wilderness' setting/scenery. For out and backs, there is the not so simple issue of keeping outbound and inbound swimmers from colliding, e.g LJRS Gatorman. If it were 1 or more laps around buoys, that would make it a no go for me. The mandated wetsuit makes it a no go too. As you probably know, Dr. Evmo is famous for his multiple stellar marathon swim performances in 2011, and Dr. Chaos for his incredible 2010 season and for founding the epic multiday 8 Bridges Swim. I've never met either of them in person, but they undoubtedly have a much deeper experience base to draw upon than i do. hope this is helpful in some way, and that you do not take it to be argumentative. I'm looking forward to hearing an announcement for the 1st Annual Sitka Swim Week, featuring a dozen swims in mountain lakes and tidal waters, orcas not included!

I don’t discount the human body and mind’s capacity to condition themselves to endure thermal stress FWIW, i find for me that the physical aspects are overrated and the cognitive aspects highly underrated. swimmer A without a wetsuit is much harder to spot on the bottom than swimmer B who, with wetsuit, will remain floating on the surface under most circumstances. FWIW, the density of an average adult is 1.01 g/ml but I do not not know how the lungs fit into that figure. Seawater in the mid 50's is 1.03 g/ml. This makes the average adult a floater, with a 180 lb version being 3.5 lbs positively buoyant. My guess is that the typical cold-acclimated skin swimmer is even more buoyant. The rub comes in figuring out a way for organizers who are largely responsible for participant safety, to differentiate between those who are genuinely cold-acclimated and those who just imagine themselves to be That is not an easy task. I agree totally. But I would go further. I think that it is simply not possible for an event organization to substantively asses this, and I second what Evmo says in this regard. This will be a bit off topic, sorry, but the corporate approach that that OW is heading in is a major flaw for which the sport (and swimmers) will suffer. The paradigm must be established, perhaps through the long road of precedent, that the swimmer is ultimately legally responsible for his/her safety and life. This thread is not the place to start such a discussion, of course, so if someone wants to respond, please PM me directly or start a new thread on this topic. seems pretty nutso to me. Have to admit though, you don’t write like a nut. for all of 2011, only 3 of my swims were above 60 F, most were in the 40's a few in the mid 30's. maybe I am but hide it too well :) What else do we need to do to entice you and your kind to Change Your Latitude in Sitka-by-the-Sea? We are idiosyncratic in so many ways, I can only speak for myself. You might be surprised to know that I heartily vote in favor of a rule requiring wetsuits given that your goals are as you stated: 1) promoting OW swimming by locals, 2) bringing in out-of-towners, and 3) creating a family event. As I tried to explain before, mandating wetsuits will not likely reduce the event's risk for cold-related medical emergencies: 57 F is extreme for a wetsuited non-acclimated pool swimmer. The key to reducing that is to assure that all swimmers, regardless of their attire, are swimming well within their thermal confidence zone. Your 10k is a geographic based out-and-back course. That is a huge plus in my book, as is the 'wilderness' setting/scenery. For out and backs, there is the not so simple issue of keeping outbound and inbound swimmers from colliding, e.g LJRS Gatorman. If it were 1 or more laps around buoys, that would make it a no go for me. The mandated wetsuit makes it a no go too. As you probably know, Dr. Evmo is famous for his multiple stellar marathon swim performances in 2011, and Dr. Chaos for his incredible 2010 season and for founding the epic multiday 8 Bridges Swim. I've never met either of them in person, but they undoubtedly have a much deeper experience base to draw upon than i do. hope this is helpful in some way, and that you do not take it to be argumentative. I'm looking forward to hearing an announcement for the 1st Annual Sitka Swim Week, featuring a dozen swims in mountain lakes and tidal waters, orcas not included!