Swimming in cold water, part 2

On Jul 17, 4:58 am, "Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great lakes
from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2 months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one is over
20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a wetsuit. I
want to do that entire length with out one.

I think you should do that. You were so successful with your swim
around the lake last year. Don't worry about the cold. After a while
you won't feel anything at all.

On Jul 17, 3:58 am, "Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great lakes
from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2 months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one is over
20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a wetsuit. I
want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Micheal

I've been replying to the other thread, but my posts aren't appearing.
The challenge you mention is longer and about the same temp as
swimming the English Channel in winter. I'm not sure anyone has.

On Jul 17, 4:58 am, "Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great lakes
from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2 months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one is over
20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a wetsuit. I
want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

You haven't looked very hard. Search with google for: english channel
swimming association.

"MW Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Jul 17, 4:58 am, "Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great
lakes
from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2 months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one is
over
20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a wetsuit.
I
want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

You haven't looked very hard. Search with google for: english channel
swimming association.

You're better off talking to the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation;
http://www.channelswimming.net/
They are a lot more helpful, and authoritative nowadays.

On Jul 16, 8:58 pm, "Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great lakes
from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2 months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one is over
20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a wetsuit. I
want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Micheal

people who attempt those types of things first attempt to do the
distance in a controlled environment in order to train. Once you can
train yourself to handle the distance in nice water, then, you can
start attempting to adapt your body to colder water. you will need to
get some body fat to insulate your body. It takes a while to get your
body used to it. 1km a hour is an absurdly slow speed for this type of
enterprise. This seems to indicate to me that you are not a proficient
enough swimmer.

Andres

"Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:GfWmi.50385$xk5.43429@edtnps82...

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great
lakes from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2
months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one
is over 20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a
wetsuit. I want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Micheal

Michael, if you will permit me to philosophize a bit, rather than
speculate about things neither you nor most humans can hope to achieve,
there is a tremendous amount to be gained for me, you, and just about
anyone else by

Setting an achievable goal then engaging in the pursuit of it.

and by

Competing

My own efforts in this direction have been at weightlifting, not at
swimming, because weights have been my main form of exercise for the
last five years or so. I will spare you the details (they are on my web
site in my bio for anyone interested) but there is simply nothing like
having to perform on someone else's clock.

If you are a swimmer, then join a local masters swim team, go to the
practices, and participate in some meets. You needn't aim to set a
world record or win anything - the accomplishment is in having the
intestinal fortitude to get to the competition and perform in the first
place. You needn't do this constantly - I think even one meet per year
is enough. It will keep your training focused, and it will provide
rewards that, while difficult to put into words, are worth the effort
and then some. If it's an outdoor swim you want, join up with a couple
of friends and enter as a team into a local triathlon - you do the
swimming leg, and let them do the bike and the run. This is but one of
many possibilities.

Just my opinion, and best of luck to you.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Jul 16, 8:58 pm, "Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great
lakes
from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2 months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one is
over
20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a wetsuit.
I
want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Micheal

people who attempt those types of things first attempt to do the
distance in a controlled environment in order to train. Once you can
train yourself to handle the distance in nice water, then, you can
start attempting to adapt your body to colder water. you will need to
get some body fat to insulate your body. It takes a while to get your
body used to it. 1km a hour is an absurdly slow speed for this type of
enterprise. This seems to indicate to me that you are not a proficient
enough swimmer.

Andres

I dont plan to do this for at least 5 years. In that time, I plan to join a
Masters team. Use that training to get faster. Also, I plan to do more
swimming in cold water. I is not something I would do tomorrow, or even next
year. I would like to do it before I am 35, which is about 8 yrs from now.

Micheal

"Steve Freides" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:GfWmi.50385$xk5.43429@edtnps82...

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great
lakes from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2 months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one is
over 20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a wetsuit.
I want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Micheal

Michael, if you will permit me to philosophize a bit, rather than
speculate about things neither you nor most humans can hope to achieve,
there is a tremendous amount to be gained for me, you, and just about
anyone else by

Setting an achievable goal then engaging in the pursuit of it.

and by

Competing

My own efforts in this direction have been at weightlifting, not at
swimming, because weights have been my main form of exercise for the last
five years or so. I will spare you the details (they are on my web site
in my bio for anyone interested) but there is simply nothing like having
to perform on someone else's clock.

If you are a swimmer, then join a local masters swim team, go to the
practices, and participate in some meets. You needn't aim to set a world
record or win anything - the accomplishment is in having the intestinal
fortitude to get to the competition and perform in the first place. You
needn't do this constantly - I think even one meet per year is enough. It
will keep your training focused, and it will provide rewards that, while
difficult to put into words, are worth the effort and then some. If it's
an outdoor swim you want, join up with a couple of friends and enter as a
team into a local triathlon - you do the swimming leg, and let them do the
bike and the run. This is but one of many possibilities.

Just my opinion, and best of luck to you.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com

I like your idea, there is no reason I couldnt do all parts of a tri, with
practice, I might be decent at it.

"Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:MFeni.45801$tB5.44177@edtnps90...

Quoted message said:

"Steve Freides" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:GfWmi.50385$xk5.43429@edtnps82...

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the
Great lakes from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2
months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one
is over 20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a
wetsuit. I want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Micheal

Michael, if you will permit me to philosophize a bit, rather than
speculate about things neither you nor most humans can hope to
achieve, there is a tremendous amount to be gained for me, you, and
just about anyone else by

Setting an achievable goal then engaging in the pursuit of it.

and by

Competing

My own efforts in this direction have been at weightlifting, not at
swimming, because weights have been my main form of exercise for the
last five years or so. I will spare you the details (they are on my
web site in my bio for anyone interested) but there is simply nothing
like having to perform on someone else's clock.

If you are a swimmer, then join a local masters swim team, go to the
practices, and participate in some meets. You needn't aim to set a
world record or win anything - the accomplishment is in having the
intestinal fortitude to get to the competition and perform in the
first place. You needn't do this constantly - I think even one meet
per year is enough. It will keep your training focused, and it will
provide rewards that, while difficult to put into words, are worth
the effort and then some. If it's an outdoor swim you want, join up
with a couple of friends and enter as a team into a local triathlon -
you do the swimming leg, and let them do the bike and the run. This
is but one of many possibilities.

Just my opinion, and best of luck to you.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com

I like your idea, there is no reason I couldnt do all parts of a tri,
with practice, I might be decent at it.

Go for it, and let us know how you do, Micheal.

Were I you, though, I might consider just the swimming leg to start
with. There is the business of making the transitions between
outfits/sports, which I have always found to be enough of a pain in the
[censored] that I never wanted to do a triathlon, even though for years I
swam, bicycled, and ran regularly every week. In particular, I just
hate what running straight after a bike ride feels like on the legs. If
I was organizing triathlons, I'd run first, bike second, and swim last -
not necessarily to yield better performances, just because I like that
order - the bike provides a nice form of recovery for the legs from
running, and swimming feels great after a hard bike or run. Just my
opinion, of course.

The one time I participated in a triathlon, it was as a member of a team
organized by an ex college swimmer - he swam, another friend of mine did
the bike leg, and I ran. Our experience was a bit odd because, when it
was over, we realized that our ex-college swimmer friend had done next
to no training and was the worst swimmer of the three of us. My friend
who rode the bike leg was also a college swimmer back in the day and
would have posted a much time, and I was the fastest cyclist but I had
to do the run because, well, no one else ran. It was, when all was said
and done, an interesting experience and one I would repeat again should
the opportunity present itself, although I still confess no interest in
doing all three sports of the event myself.

There is a newsgroup rec.sport.triathlon should you want/need it.

Like the commercials say, just do it.

-S-

Quoted post said:

1km a hour is an absurdly slow speed for this type of enterprise.

It's slow, but not absurdly so. Vickie Keith swam 77km in 64 hours
(butterfly!) a couple years ago.

Micheal Artindale said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great lakes
from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2 months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one is over
20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a wetsuit. I
want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Any help would be great.

The 5C lake would be Lake Superior. The last two times I have been
there, I went swimming in that lake and the temperature was fine,
about 20- 25C, I think. Both were in July.

I understand that if it has been sunny and the wind is towards shore
then the surface is warmer. If the wind is the other way, then the
surface water moves away and the cooler (i.e. "fekking freezing"😉
water from deeper comes up and the temp heads towards the 5C you
mentioned.

I heard this explanation from an expert-on-everything® who is usually
wrong, so you might want to search out the actual facts before
starting to do your traveling. There are sites that show the surface
temp of any part of the lakes on a day-to-day basis.

I know for a fact the temperature varies. It is sometimes tolerable
and sometimes not

I have heard that the temperature cycle in Lake Superior is two month
behind the temperature of the air. It's fresh water, but take this
factoid with a grain of salt.

The last time, I was doing mindless backstroke over gentle swells and
enjoying the sunset/almost full moon. Then I realized that I was far
enough from shore that a sudden weather change could cause the waves
to rise and the surface temperature to drop 8-10C (15F) faster than I
could swim to shore. I purposefully swam in closer then.

Other anecdotes indicate caution.

When I was twelve, I was used to swimming in cool, spring-fed lakes.
My brother and I would lie the thermometer out in the sum becaue my
mom would not let us swim unless it was 21C (70F) outside. Our own
adolescnet standards were more like "It's not freezing or anything, it
will be fun" I was somewhat unfamiliar with just how cold Superior
was, though

One hot summer afternoon, I dove into Lake Superior, head first.
Probably, before my feet actually cleared the surface, I realized I
made a mistake.

This was my first realization in life that I could actually do
something that would kill me.

It was like a punch in the chest. I was wiped out for the day, even
though the ladder to get out was only a foot or two from where I had
dived.

I worked on a lakes freighter for a while. We used to clean mops by
tying them up and thowing them in the water for a bit. One September
in Lake Superior, we ruined all our mops. The mops were bouncing on
the surface from wave to wave. The strands were freezing when they
hit the air and then breaking off when they hit the water.

They say that Superior is cold enough that somtimes bodies sink.

Here's something to consider with distance swimming - particularly if
you are doing it alone. Wetsuits float. It's pretty easy to drown
without one. but harder to drown with a wet suit.

Also, if you want to deal with colder water, swimming faster can
help. Less time in the water and more heat produced by your body. I
would shoot for 3 km an hour, if you want to really brave 200 or 300
km in Superior.

Good luck

Mick Young

On 17 Jul,

MW Smith said:

On Jul 17, 4:58 am, "Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great
lakes from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2 months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one is
over 20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a wetsuit.
I want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

You haven't looked very hard. Search with google for: english channel
swimming association.

For *real* cold water swimming (-1.8C) try here:

<http://www.investecnorthpolechallenge.com>

--
BD
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

"Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:GfWmi.50385$xk5.43429@edtnps82:

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great
lakes from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2
months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one
is over 20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a
wetsuit. I want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Micheal

What kind of math are you using to compute that?

Assume you can swim 1km/hr sustained (for how long?).
Let's say you have been able to train up to swimming continuously for 8
hours without breaks -- breaks would lower your overall average speed.

So you start off on day 1 and swim 8km in 8 hours, spend 2 hours eating
and digesting before bed and sleep for 12 hours. The remaining 2 hours
ofthe day are spent commuting to and from your start/stop points.

Let's assume those two months each have 30 days, or 60 days total.
60 x 8km /day = 480 km

This is roughly 1/3 the distance you mentioned and requires 8 hours a day
of continuous swimming - seven days a week.

Your math implies:
1300 km / 60 days = 21.7 km/day
Yet it is impossible for you to average 1km per hour and then cover 21.7
km in a day (24 hours) back to back. Yes impossible for you and me as
well.

My advice... next time you are bored, go outside and ride a bike, jog,
head to the nearest body of water and swim. Just do something besides
live in some fantasy land.

But on the positive side, thanks for sharing your warped reality, at
least we now know why you were asking what many felt were absurd
questions.

"Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:MFeni.45801$tB5.44177@edtnps90:

Quoted message said:

"Steve Freides" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:GfWmi.50385$xk5.43429@edtnps82...

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the
Great lakes from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2
months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one
is over 20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a
wetsuit. I want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Micheal

Michael, if you will permit me to philosophize a bit, rather than
speculate about things neither you nor most humans can hope to
achieve, there is a tremendous amount to be gained for me, you, and
just about anyone else by

Setting an achievable goal then engaging in the pursuit of it.

and by

Competing

My own efforts in this direction have been at weightlifting, not at
swimming, because weights have been my main form of exercise for the
last five years or so. I will spare you the details (they are on my
web site in my bio for anyone interested) but there is simply nothing
like having to perform on someone else's clock.

If you are a swimmer, then join a local masters swim team, go to the
practices, and participate in some meets. You needn't aim to set a
world record or win anything - the accomplishment is in having the
intestinal fortitude to get to the competition and perform in the
first place. You needn't do this constantly - I think even one meet
per year is enough. It will keep your training focused, and it will
provide rewards that, while difficult to put into words, are worth
the effort and then some. If it's an outdoor swim you want, join up
with a couple of friends and enter as a team into a local triathlon -
you do the swimming leg, and let them do the bike and the run. This
is but one of many possibilities.

Just my opinion, and best of luck to you.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com

I like your idea, there is no reason I couldnt do all parts of a tri,
with practice, I might be decent at it.

<deep breath>
Exactly! There is rarely a reason a person cannot achieve what they set
out to do once they commit. Should you actually embark on such a path I
am sure you could be successful and I would be overjoyed to read or see a
news article on your accomplishment. In that light, I wish you well.

<sigh>
Unfortunately you return again and again to this group with visions of
granduer, evoking many comments, guidance, flames, and other traffic -
and yet to our knowledge the most you have done is gone to Basic
Training.

I coulda, woulda, shoulda..... it gets tiring when coming from a child
let alone an adult. At over 25 you certainly are viewed as an adult by
society, yet you act like a child sitting by the window watching the
world go by while day-dreaming.

You claim you like steve's ideas, and say there is no reason you couldn't
do it [with practice]. I say you are less than half right, as you have
not shown anyone in this group that you can get off your computer chair
and go out there and train.

.... i live too far away....
..... it is winter now ....
....excuse, excuse, excuse.

to quote Yoda, "No, do or do not, there is no try".
Time to fish or cut bait buddy.

"Steph" <[email hidden]_CUT> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:GfWmi.50385$xk5.43429@edtnps82:

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great
lakes from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2
months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one
is over 20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a
wetsuit. I want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Micheal

What kind of math are you using to compute that?

Assume you can swim 1km/hr sustained (for how long?).
Let's say you have been able to train up to swimming continuously for 8
hours without breaks -- breaks would lower your overall average speed.

So you start off on day 1 and swim 8km in 8 hours, spend 2 hours eating
and digesting before bed and sleep for 12 hours. The remaining 2 hours
ofthe day are spent commuting to and from your start/stop points.

Actually, that would not be what I would do. I naturally float on my back
such that my face doesn't go underwatrer. I want to finf out if I am able to
sleep >in the water<. In otherwords, I get tired enough to fall asleep, I
roll onto my back, and eventually sleep. I know how impossible this could
be. I have looked to see if I can find anyone who has attempted this, and
have come up short.

Quoted message said:

Let's assume those two months each have 30 days, or 60 days total.
60 x 8km /day = 480 km

This is roughly 1/3 the distance you mentioned and requires 8 hours a day
of continuous swimming - seven days a week.

Your math implies:
1300 km / 60 days = 21.7 km/day
Yet it is impossible for you to average 1km per hour and then cover 21.7
km in a day (24 hours) back to back. Yes impossible for you and me as
well.

My advice... next time you are bored, go outside and ride a bike, jog,
head to the nearest body of water and swim. Just do something besides
live in some fantasy land.

These things hit me ass I lie in bed. and when I am looking this information
up usually just before I go to bed at night.

Quoted message said:

But on the positive side, thanks for sharing your warped reality, at
least we now know why you were asking what many felt were absurd
questions.

Wow.
Micheal's intention is to swim, "non-stop" 1300km across a lake, which
could be 5' centigrade. He figures his natural buoyancy will allow him to
sleep in the water. I believe he stated he wished to do this without a
wetsuit.

So the questions just come rolling out of my head.....

has he even slept naked in 5'c / 41'F weather?
has he been in water for an extended period? he was estimating 60 days! I
am pretty sure his skin would simply fall off at some point (fresh versus
salt having little effect).

How will he sleep in the water without drowning, why would he not exit
the water and dry out and warm up.

....and so much more.
Make sure you let Ripley's know when you attempt it though.

"Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:pJsqi.60151$tB5.30062@edtnps90:

Quoted message said:

"Steph" <[email hidden]_CUT> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Micheal Artindale" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:GfWmi.50385$xk5.43429@edtnps82:

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the
Great lakes from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2
months.

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one
is over 20C.

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a
wetsuit. I want to do that entire length with out one.

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Micheal

What kind of math are you using to compute that?

Assume you can swim 1km/hr sustained (for how long?).
Let's say you have been able to train up to swimming continuously for
8 hours without breaks -- breaks would lower your overall average
speed.

So you start off on day 1 and swim 8km in 8 hours, spend 2 hours
eating and digesting before bed and sleep for 12 hours. The remaining
2 hours ofthe day are spent commuting to and from your start/stop
points.

Actually, that would not be what I would do. I naturally float on my
back such that my face doesn't go underwatrer. I want to finf out if I
am able to sleep >in the water<. In otherwords, I get tired enough to
fall asleep, I roll onto my back, and eventually sleep. I know how
impossible this could be. I have looked to see if I can find anyone
who has attempted this, and have come up short.

Quoted message said:

Let's assume those two months each have 30 days, or 60 days total.
60 x 8km /day = 480 km

This is roughly 1/3 the distance you mentioned and requires 8 hours a
day of continuous swimming - seven days a week.

Your math implies:
1300 km / 60 days = 21.7 km/day
Yet it is impossible for you to average 1km per hour and then cover
21.7 km in a day (24 hours) back to back. Yes impossible for you and
me as well.

My advice... next time you are bored, go outside and ride a bike,
jog, head to the nearest body of water and swim. Just do something
besides live in some fantasy land.

These things hit me ass I lie in bed. and when I am looking this
information up usually just before I go to bed at night.

Quoted message said:

But on the positive side, thanks for sharing your warped reality, at
least we now know why you were asking what many felt were absurd
questions.

"Steph" <[email hidden]_CUT> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wow.
Micheal's intention is to swim, "non-stop" 1300km across a lake, which
could be 5' centigrade. He figures his natural buoyancy will allow him to
sleep in the water. I believe he stated he wished to do this without a
wetsuit.

Yes it does seem a little ambitious doesn't it as a first swim?
I think he'd be better off starting with something less challenging, like
swimming the Atlantic. If he handles that OK, maybe he could then think of
tackling the Great Lakes. In fact if he did the Atlantic East - West, he
could carry straight on up the St.Lawrence Seaway thereby not losing any of
the fitness he had built up in the Atlantic. I'd advise taking a large
packet of sandwiches though, wrapped in good waterproof paper, as he might
get hungry before he reaches the land of home cooking.

Duncan Heenan said:

"Steph" <[email hidden]_CUT> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wow.
Micheal's intention is to swim, "non-stop" 1300km across a lake, which
could be 5' centigrade. He figures his natural buoyancy will allow him to
sleep in the water. I believe he stated he wished to do this without a
wetsuit.

Yes it does seem a little ambitious doesn't it as a first swim?
I think he'd be better off starting with something less challenging, like
swimming the Atlantic. If he handles that OK, maybe he could then think of
tackling the Great Lakes. In fact if he did the Atlantic East - West, he
could carry straight on up the St.Lawrence Seaway thereby not losing any of
the fitness he had built up in the Atlantic. I'd advise taking a large
packet of sandwiches though, wrapped in good waterproof paper, as he might
get hungry before he reaches the land of home cooking.

And some eucalyptus rub for his stiff neck.

Quoted message said:

On Jul 16, 10:58 pm, "Micheal Artindale"

Quoted message said:

Here is why I want to know about swimming in cold water:

Quoted message said:

I was bored one day, and I was curious how far it is through the Great lakes
from Thunder Bay to Kingston ON.

Quoted message said:

It is about 1300km. If I can maintain 1km/hr I could do it in 2 months.

Quoted message said:

The coldest lake is around 5C this time of year, yet the warmest one isover
20C.

Quoted message said:

I know many people have swam parts of the great lakes without a wetsuit.. I
want to do that entire length with out one.

Quoted message said:

I have looked around, but am unable to find anything out.

Quoted message said:

Any help would be great.

The 5C lake would be Lake Superior. The last two times I have been
there, I went swimming in that lake and the temperature was fine,
about 20- 25C, I think. Both were in July.

I understand that if it has been sunny and the wind is towards shore
then the surface is warmer. If the wind is the other way, then the
surface water moves away and the cooler (i.e. "fekking freezing"😉
water from deeper comes up and the temp heads towards the 5C you
mentioned.

I heard this explanation from an expert-on-everything® who is usually
wrong, so you might want to search out the actual facts before
starting to do your traveling. There are sites that show the surface
temp of any part of the lakes on a day-to-day basis.

I know for a fact the temperature varies. It is sometimes tolerable
and sometimes not

I have heard that the temperature cycle in Lake Superior is two month
behind the temperature of the air. It's fresh water, but take this
factoid with a grain of salt.

The last time, I was doing mindless backstroke over gentle swells and
enjoying the sunset/almost full moon. Then I realized that I was far
enough from shore that a sudden weather change could cause the waves
to rise and the surface temperature to drop 8-10C (15F) faster than I
could swim to shore. I purposefully swam in closer then.

Other anecdotes indicate caution.

When I was twelve, I was used to swimming in cool, spring-fed lakes.
My brother and I would lie the thermometer out in the sum becaue my
mom would not let us swim unless it was 21C (70F) outside. Our own
adolescnet standards were more like "It's not freezing or anything, it
will be fun" I was somewhat unfamiliar with just how cold Superior
was, though

One hot summer afternoon, I dove into Lake Superior, head first.
Probably, before my feet actually cleared the surface, I realized I
made a mistake.

This was my first realization in life that I could actually do
something that would kill me.

It was like a punch in the chest. I was wiped out for the day, even
though the ladder to get out was only a foot or two from where I had
dived.

I worked on a lakes freighter for a while. We used to clean mops by
tying them up and thowing them in the water for a bit. One September
in Lake Superior, we ruined all our mops. The mops were bouncing on
the surface from wave to wave. The strands were freezing when they
hit the air and then breaking off when they hit the water.

They say that Superior is cold enough that somtimes bodies sink.

Here's something to consider with distance swimming - particularly if
you are doing it alone. Wetsuitsfloat. It's pretty easy to drown
without one. but harder to drown with a wet suit.

Also, if you want to deal with colder water, swimming faster can
help. Less time in the water and more heat produced by your body. I
would shoot for 3 km an hour, if you want to really brave 200 or 300
km in Superior.

Good luck

Mick Young- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The expert is correct, only the surface water gets warm and weather
conditions stir up cold water. The thickness of warm surface water
depends upon how deep the water is, sometimes it is only warm for a
foot or so. In a large shallow area the warm water collects if the
wind is pushing towards shore. In the middle of the lake the warm
surface water is only a foot thick or so.
I live by the Lake Superior and I have been swimming in it a couple of
times a week for the past month and a half to train for a triathlon.
I only swim in the lake when wearing a wetsuit as I am afraid of
hitting a cold patch and cramping up.

Shane