Tips on cold water swimming.



B

Bob Harvey

Guest
Want to enter a charity event in April next year that involves swimming from Robben Island to
Blouberg in Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.

Distance is about 7km's. This does not worry me as I am able to manage in the pool, indoor.

My main concern is the ocean temp. As I am from a warmer part of the country I am certainly not
used to swimming in 10 deg. C. Do swim my longer swims in the local lakes but the water is
fairly moderate.

Any ideas on how to prepare.

Thanks, Bob
 
"Bob Harvey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Want to enter a charity event in April next year that involves swimming
from
> Robben Island to Blouberg in Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.
>
> Distance is about 7km's. This does not worry me as I am able to manage in the pool, indoor.
>
> My main concern is the ocean temp. As I am from a warmer part of the
country
> I am certainly not used to swimming in 10 deg. C. Do swim my longer swims
in
> the local lakes but the water is fairly moderate.
>
> Any ideas on how to prepare.
>
> Thanks, Bob

The only 2 things I know work (I swam the English Channel) are:
1. put on weight - fat is the best natural insulator of the lot, and will not slow you down
significantly.
2. get in cold water and swim as much as you can. It will eventually acclimatise you, and the
acclimatisation will last longer than you expect (many weeks for 3 closely spaced sessions). This
is clinically proven at the Royal Navy school of medicine - I can provide references if you like.
The more the better. As well as cold conditioning, it will get you used to other aspects of open
water which are quite different to the pool, such as swimming in waves and coping with salt in
the mouth etc., all of which are conquerable, but need experience to cope with - don't leave it
until the day and hope for the best! Good Luck.
 
7km at that temp sounds dangerous. That temp would be chilly even with a wetsuit; I doubt that very
many people can do that distance bare at that temp without serious hypothermia. At a minimum, you
should have a swim assistant in a boat with warm clothing and drinks in case you have a problem.
Beyond that, a lot of practice, a bit of extra body fat and the thickest allowable head covering are
about the only things that are going to help.

Are you sure about the temp? Another 5 deg. C would make a _big_ difference.

Art

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 18:48:04 +0200, Bob Harvey <[email protected]> wrote:

> Want to enter a charity event in April next year that involves swimming from Robben Island to
> Blouberg in Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.
>
> Distance is about 7km's. This does not worry me as I am able to manage in the pool, indoor.
>
> My main concern is the ocean temp. As I am from a warmer part of the country I am certainly not
> used to swimming in 10 deg. C. Do swim my longer swims in the local lakes but the water is fairly
> moderate.
>
> Any ideas on how to prepare.
>
> Thanks, Bob
 
I for one, and I'm sure there are many others who would be interested in the Royal Navy's research
into swimming in cold water. Are their results available from the Web?

I prepared for and swam in a 10km event in about 15-16ºC water over ten years ago and can now cope
with relatively cold water with little or no preparation. (I realise that 7Km in 10ºC is quite
different and I would think quite dangerous for anyone not well prepared.) I also have adequate
natural insulation (fat), more than I had when I did the 10K but I'm also now much older. However,
others report the same and some suggest that the thyroid or associated glands may have a "memory"
which you need to train only once. When the body is again subjected to the cold conditions, your
body instinctively knows how to deal with it.

Anyone care to comment on this hypotheses?

KFie ~~~~~~~~~^o~~~~~~~~~~

"Duncan Heenan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:3fef4222_1@mk-nntp-
2.news.uk.tiscali.com...
>
> "Bob Harvey" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > Want to enter a charity event in April next year that involves swimming
> from
> > Robben Island to Blouberg in Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.
> >
> > Distance is about 7km's. This does not worry me as I am able to manage
in
> > the pool, indoor.
> >
> > My main concern is the ocean temp. As I am from a warmer part of the
> country
> > I am certainly not used to swimming in 10 deg. C. Do swim my longer
swims
> in
> > the local lakes but the water is fairly moderate.
> >
> > Any ideas on how to prepare.
> >
> > Thanks, Bob
>
> The only 2 things I know work (I swam the English Channel) are:
> 1. put on weight - fat is the best natural insulator of the lot, and will not slow you down
> significantly.
> 2. get in cold water and swim as much as you can. It will eventually acclimatise you, and the
> acclimatisation will last longer than you expect (many weeks for 3 closely spaced sessions).
> This is clinically proven at
the
> Royal Navy school of medicine - I can provide references if you like. The more the better. As well
> as cold conditioning, it will get you used to
other
> aspects of open water which are quite different to the pool, such as swimming in waves and coping
> with salt in the mouth etc., all of which are conquerable, but need experience to cope with -
> don't leave it until the
day
> and hope for the best! Good Luck.
 
Sort of related...there was an article in yesterday's NY Times
(http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/28/nyregion/28SURF.html) about cold water surfing. It mentioned a
conditon called surfer's ear, related to exposure to cold water.

This is all news to me. What does the group know about this?

Over the years, some die-hards develop surfer's ear, a condition in which bone builds up in the ear
canal after prolonged exposure to cold water. Tom Piacentine, a longtime winter surfer on Long
Island, said he had undergone three operations to scrape the buildup from his ear.

"Bob Harvey" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Want to enter a charity event in April next year that involves swimming
from
> Robben Island to Blouberg in Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.
>
> Distance is about 7km's. This does not worry me as I am able to manage in the pool, indoor.
>
> My main concern is the ocean temp. As I am from a warmer part of the
country
> I am certainly not used to swimming in 10 deg. C. Do swim my longer swims
in
> the local lakes but the water is fairly moderate.
>
> Any ideas on how to prepare.
>
> Thanks, Bob
 
I've no local experience, but 10c does seem a bit low to me. Are you sure that's what it will
be? At that temperature the swim is doable by the right person, but you'll certainly need to be
well prepared.

"gwydion" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:eek:[email protected]...
> 7km at that temp sounds dangerous. That temp would be chilly even with a wetsuit; I doubt that
> very many people can do that distance bare at that temp without serious hypothermia. At a minimum,
> you should have a swim assistant in a boat with warm clothing and drinks in case you have a
> problem. Beyond that, a lot of practice, a bit of extra body fat and the thickest allowable head
> covering are about the only things that are going to help.
>
> Are you sure about the temp? Another 5 deg. C would make a _big_ difference.
>
> Art
>
>
> On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 18:48:04 +0200, Bob Harvey <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Want to enter a charity event in April next year that involves swimming from Robben Island to
> > Blouberg in Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.
> >
> > Distance is about 7km's. This does not worry me as I am able to manage
in
> > the pool, indoor.
> >
> > My main concern is the ocean temp. As I am from a warmer part of the country I am certainly not
> > used to swimming in 10 deg. C. Do swim my longer swims in the local lakes but the water is
> > fairly moderate.
> >
> > Any ideas on how to prepare.
> >
> > Thanks, Bob
> >
 
> However, others report the same and some suggest that the thyroid or associated glands may have a
> "memory" which you need to train only once. When the body is again subjected to the cold
> conditions, your body instinctively knows how to deal with it.
>
>Anyone care to comment on this hypotheses?

Could you give more details. I am not sure if glands such as thyroid have 'memory'. I think that the
amout of thyroid hormones that are stored in gland depends significantly on diet (iodine), your
temporary condition. Maybe here the psychic plays the main role (coping with stress >> hypothalamus
is not ihibited strongly by 'stressed, blocked' parts of our CNS that are under our consciousness
>>> thyroid is able to release as much hormone as is needed to speed up cells metabolism and keep
body temperatue )

I swam in open water (lake) till the second decade of september. I used normal swimsuit and no cap.
I swam nearly every day and maybe because of that I was able to tolerate lower temperature of the
water. I was put off by pain in my ears and head - it was twice harder when the wind was strong. The
small reduction in water temperature was a big problem to me.

Gosia
 
King Frog <[email protected]> wrote:
>I prepared for and swam in a 10km event in about 15-16ºC water over ten years ago and can now cope
>with relatively cold water with little or no preparation. (I realise that 7Km in 10ºC is quite
>different and I would think quite dangerous for anyone not well prepared.) I also have adequate

yeah - that 5-6C/10F is a big difference. At 60, I can do an extremely relaxed dive for an hour, the
hood may be optional. At 50, I need the food and gloves.

I think you can get used to it, but I don't think there is much of a memory effect. If it is, the
physiology gets outweighed by the mental side.

For 7000m, that wetsuit will be key, add the hood, and maybe the booties and gloves while we're at
it. And at least for me, silicon wax ear plugs. I can't stand the rush of water everytime I turn the
head to breathe.
--
Jason O'Rourke www.jor.com
 
Thanks for the input so far.

Duncan I would be most interested in the "Royal Navy school of Medicine" refrences.

The articles I have read talk ot temperatures from 10 - 14 deg C.

If you would like to find out more about this swim go to the following link, http://www.upstart.co.-
za/scripts/diy.dll?pagename=sArtDetail&cate=6&table=Robben%20Island%20Crossings&site=openswim .

Kind regards, Bob
 
"Bob Harvey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thanks for the input so far.
>
> Duncan I would be most interested in the "Royal Navy school of Medicine" refrences.
>
> The articles I have read talk ot temperatures from 10 - 14 deg C.
>
> If you would like to find out more about this swim go to the following
link,
>
http://www.upstart.co.za/scripts/diy.dll?pagename=sArtDetail&cate=6&table=Robben%20Island%20Crossin-
gs&site=openswim .
>
> Kind regards, Bob

Sorry, on the previous post, it went by accident before i'd actually written it!

Bob, The research I refer to is all contained in the book "Essentials of Sea Survival" by Dr. Frank
Golden & Prof.Michael Tipton. ISBN 0-7360-0215-4, published by Human Kinetics. PO Box 5076
Champaign, Illinois 61825-5076 , USA. US price $24.95 email [email protected] . It is a bit
repetitive, but completely up to date and is readable by a layman, and contains the findings of 2
lifetimes' scientific research and experience of 2 world experts in survival, especially cold water
survival. As well as being a naval surgeon, Frank Golden was/is medical advisor to the British Long
Distance Swimming Association for many years, and used a number of swimmer volunteers in some of his
research experiments, so he knows about swimming too. It has some irrelevancies for the swimmer, but
if you skip over those, you'll find the latest wisdom on the subject. The advice is of course to
stay out of cold water if you can! However if you are convinced to do it, I am sure it will be
useful. If you are preparing for the Channel, you'll also get a lot of useful tips and contacts if
you subscribe to the Channel Swimmers Smart group (it's free) at
www.smartgroups.com/groups/channel_swimmers , you have to 'register' which you can do by email to
[email protected] , if you need a 'sponsor' give my name, and if I'm
required to do anything let me know. From my own experience, I'd say that you should aim to spend as
much time in the sea as possible. You'll probably be required to do a qualifying swim of 6 to 8
hours in Dover Harbour anyway by the governing bodies before they let you go. The sea then will
usually be in the range 16-18c (can be slightly more with a good summer, slightly less in a bad
one), which is quite comfortable once you're fully acclimatised, but for those coming from hot
countries it can be quite a shock, so if you can, aim to come a couple of weeks before your swim
date and get down to Dover harbour each day for a good long swim - aim to be able to handle 6-8
hours reasonably comfortably by the time you swim, but be sure to taper off for a few days before
the actual swim - you won't lose the acclimatisation in that time if you're properly prepared.
Swimming in the sea is not the same as swimming in the pool, so though pool work is good for fitness
7 some of the technique, there's no substitute for the real thing - especially getting used to the
rough and tumble of waves, salt water, and of course the temperature. Also, some pool swimmers get
'spooked' by the sea (fear of the unknown below them etc.). This is all in the mind, but can and has
led to failures, so being at home in the sea is fundamental. But at least the temperature has one
compensation - there are no biting sharks in the Channel! Don't forget to book your slot on a boat
at least a year ahead, and try to be first on the tide, as the weather is notoriously fickle, and
that gives you best chance of getting away. A good overall book to read up on is Penny Lee Dean's
'Open Water Swimming', ISBN 0-88011-704-4 also from Human Kinetics above. Less technical, but
interesting is Paul Jagasich's 'Two Faces of the English Channel' (he swam the same year as me, and
we trained together in the harbour in 1988) published privately (Library of Congress copyright
reg.no. 397 530), Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia 23943, USA. I hope this helps, and I wish you
good luck - you'll need that too. If you can stick at it, and learn not to worry or take it too
seriously, it will be the adventure of a lifetime. Best wishes, Duncan
 
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