Brr! How to Deal with Cold Outdoor Gigs?

[MermaidKatia]

I was wondering how other mers coped with less than ideal swimming conditions for cooler outdoorsy gigs. I'll be doing a Renaissance Faire this weekend and the projected temperature is a high of 60 F and a low of 45 F! Yikes!

Last year I tried to stay warmer by doing the gig only half submerged. I lay a plank of wood across my pool to sit on and let my tail dangle in the water, but even with a light cloak it was still really dang cold! It doesn't help that the only water we can draw up is from a well.

I'd be interested in heating the water some, but I'm worried about damaging the silicone. We have a couple of horse trough heaters (that we only use when I'm not in the water), but since the pool is 12ft in diameter x 2.5ft deep, they don't raise the temperature all that much.

Any other ideas??

[AniaR]

so 60f is actually pretty average where I am, lol. It's the temp today. 45f yup that's a bit cold.

Get those hand warmers, the gel ones, that you crack the way you crack a glow stick. They go inside mitts, Put them in your top (cold boobs hurt, lol) and put them in your tail. Wearing tights and socks if you can manage it under your tail will help. Sew some netting on a blanket and keep the blanket near by.

You can have silicone in warm water. Raven's tank is heated. It's really only a problem to keep it in something like a hot tub for an extended amount of time because it can melt the bonding. Especially if you have silicone + neoprene. But if you warm it to the same temp as something like a heated pool you'd be fine.

[Mermaid Danielle]

You could also get some skin colored fabric to wear as a shirt. If you're creative you could hide it under netting and shells and such.

[Arella]

I don't remember who had these pics but it was somewhere on a snowy lake and they just used a dark green towel and I think it actually looked really good :)

[MermaidKatia]

Great ideas, thanks guys! It hadn't occurred to me to put on more clothes xD

[Echidna]

only mermaids in warm climates go in bras, shelltops or nothing ;)

the northern ones wear sealskin all over!

[AptaMer]

the northern ones wear sealskin all over!

LOL, never thought of that. So that's why mermaids are selkies in northern waters and need to take off their fur, not just lose their tails, when they come onto land.

[AptaMer]

On a note of advanced human capabilities. Perhaps these people have made discoveries that could help you, MermaidKatia.

There is a guy from the Netherlands, Mr. Wim Hof, who has trained himself to be able to sit in literal ice water without even shivering, wearing nothing but a bathing costume.

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1092968/The-ice-man-cometh-How-bizarre-ability-survive-freezing-conditions-breaking-records.html

He claims you can use the power of your mind to overcome the effects of the cold, and has trained other people on how to do it themselves.

There are also the aboriginal people of Tierra del Fuego who could be in temperatures close to freezing without any clothes on.

And finally, there's the famous freediver, Natalia Avseenko, who trained herself to be able to dive in ice-covered sea water without any clothes on so she could swim au naturel with beluga whales.

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She gave a talk about how she did it


http://youtu.be/oz4-2WgH47E http://youtu.be/oz4-2WgH47E

I think the human body is capable of so much more than many can even imagine!

[Echidna]

hmmm.
if it were that easy (or if everyone could do it), I'm pretty sure the inuit would have discovered a way to do that too, as their survival depended on it.
I've never seen an inuit go into cold water naked though :p

On the other hand I'm convinced I can withstand sub-zero temperature almost indefinitely!
as long as my body is immersed in a hottub, that is.

[AptaMer]

Hmm, I don't think either of these people would claim going in freezing water is easy. They would say most people could train themselves to do it if they're willing to put mental effort and going through acclimatization into it.

I guess the Inuit people took the selkie approach- they cover themselves in fur.

LOL, aside from the Fuegian native people and the old-time Ama divers of Japan maybe going in freezing water is a thing only hardcore white people want to do? :rainbow:

I'm thinking of the polar bear swim people do every January 1 here in Toronto. I have a friend who goes into Lake Ontario and splashes around completely starkers every year on Jan. 1 (she's part of the nudist contingent at the polar bear event). She's been saying she wants me to go with her, but somehow, I just keep finding a reason why I can't go in every year. I suppose I should toughen up- but I wanna see if you're allowed to wear more than a bathing costume. Maybe I should wear some full-body unitard that would at least keep me a *little* warmer :)

[AniaR]

We do the polar dip here in that kind of temp I have videos on my YouTube!

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[Echidna]

While it's definitely possible somehow, I don't think everyone can do it, meditation/ mind-control or not.

There are several groups in Germany who do stuff similar to the polar bear thing.
they call themselves ice penguins or something.

I also think you have to be 100% healthy to attempt this, as many illnesses react very badly to cold exposure.

[AptaMer]

We do the polar dip here in that kind of temp I have videos on my YouTube!


Woo hoo. Good on ya Raina!

You've got more stamina than me :phew:

[AniaR]

Its a special combination of adrenaline, alcohol, and emergency services on standby lol

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[AptaMer]

I also agree with Caltuna that you should be completely healthy to go in really cold water.

[SIF]

I wondered the same thing with my kiddy pool here in Oregon. What my dad and I have come up with is kind of the same as in a heated pool. I have one garden hose running to a heat source(my Coleman camping stove with a canning pot for boiling) and another garden hose leading back to the pool. Cover the hoses with netting scraps and people do not even realize they are there. It wouldn't work for a deep pool but maybe if you have TWO remote units running you could sustain a moderately warm water temp in the shallow one you are using.

[MarkF]

"You'd need to test first." How about place a shoe warmer between your thighs. Fancy models have wireless remotes and can last 5 hours on a charge. Should be able to make waterproof. The inside of the thighs are by major veins and can deliver warm blood to the legs and upper body.
Just a thought. Never tried, I'm not a frigid water person and I would test this.
http://www.thewarmingstore.com/thermacell-heated-insoles.html