Cold Water Mers!

[Echidna]

yes, I know I post in this section a lot ;)

so I've been messing around with all kinds of wetsuits to be able to swim in our cold lakes here.
while it's nice to be warm, I never feel comfortable in a suit, not to mention totally un-mermaidy!
the warmer suits also make me as flexible and graceful as a stuffed bag.

what I'd like to know, is if it's possible to swim in colder waters and NOT have unpleasant health repercussions (colds, bladder/kidney inflammations...etc).

Couldn't find anything in Google, because all normal diving is done with suits, no exceptions.

have any cold water mers tips for mermaiding in colder regions?
what should the temp minimum be, how long to stay in the water, is it possible to swim relaxed or is it just no fun when it's too cold?

(and yep, I know it highly depends on personal fitness and resistance level, I'm working on that!)

[NixieOona]

hey i used to live in austria and our water is preeeeeettyy cold.

the best tip from my side i can give you is self control and getting used to it.
ater swimming in cold lakes my entire life and free diving to chilly depths ive learned that the more often you do it the more your body gets used to it. at the beginning you might get some medical stuff but it houdnt be bad if you start slow. get in the water every day and raise your time as soon as you feel comfortable with the last. the important thing is to stay in the water completly not just to your knees. at the beginning it would be a good idea not to go alone!!! so for example:
day time
1 5min
2 10 min
3 15min
4 20 min
5 25
6 30
and so on ....
when your don get dressed complety warm go home hot bath or shower and cuddle up.
push yourself and sta calm while in the water.
atleast for e its all about self control deep breaths and alot of movement to stay warm.
hope this helped <3

[Echidna]

hope this helped <3

yep, thanks!
I guess German waters are about the same temps as Austrian ones (at least in the south, the Northern Lakes & Seas are, well, unpalatable in the depth).

so once one is used to it with training, one can go mermaid tailswim even in cold lakes without getting bad stuff?

share your stories, the lowest temperatures, and longest swim/dive times you've done in cold waters without getting something bad from it!

(and please no boasting :p
although I've read about a woman who did a swim in the Arctic with just a bathing suit on, but said swim lasted for 30 seconds and she needed the whole day after warming up again lol.)

[NixieOona]

hey again!
yes indead if your body is used to it and you are in the water it should be fine!

i now live in seattle and have been swimming in the ocean during fall so air temp was about 55-60 F and water was i think 8-15 C (sorry for the mix and match o units i just moved and am still conused) ive swam all from 30min to 2h in the ocean since i moved here.

hey wenn du aus deutschland bist sprichst du deutsch??

[Echidna]

good to know!
I can't get the US system down either, I always have to look it up :p

und ja, ich spreche auch deutsch.
wie ist es so in Seattle?

[NixieOona]

haha yay shön kalt regnerish haha es ist july und es shüttet we hölle -.-
und in deutschland??

[Mermaid Narina]

Haha I live in Australia and the stereotype is that it's warm, but we are in the middle of winter now and the water is just above freezing temperature some days :( it has taken sheer force of will to jump in the water and endure the shivers for the sake of filming an underwater video! It's all about self control though, I try to focus on looking graceful and controlled and it helps to forget about the fact that I'm freezing :P try to distract yourself with games like picking things up off the bottom eg coins or pebbles and you would build up resistance without even realising ;)

[Mermaid Galene]

It gets remarkably cold here in Wisconsin/Minnesota. My first swims this spring were in uncomfortably cold water, and I probably shouldn't have done it. I later learned there was a cold water warning advising people not to swim. They said below 60ºF, a swimmer risks sudden death. You might want to check out these websites:

http://www.coldwatersafety.org/nccwsRules3.html
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/education_safety/safety/ice/hypothermia.pdf

Swim safely, folks!

[Echidna]

meh, those links are a real bummer for someone living in colder climates :p
it also says one should treat any water colder than 70 F (21°C) with caution.

and while I totally get that (I usually tackle temps like that with a suit), there must be a way to get comfortable with colder water, there are people swimming the oceans after all, and even traversing the English Channel (which is what, 15° to 17°C during summer?).

however, there have been many accidents with such cold water swimmers.
in the end, most mermaid swimming/footage is probably done in tropical seas and not too deep.

here goes my year-round mermaiding in lakes out of the window! lol.

[Meilyn]

Living here on Washington state, the waters are usually about 40-50 degrees. We're used to colder climates and weather here so it doesn't bother me so much staying over half an hour or so in the waters. Before I even learned how to swim, I would sit in Lake Washington up to my waist playing with the minnows lol.

I also have a health issue with not being able to create my own body heat as I'm anemic so I'm used to being cold all the time :/ I have to wear fuzzy socks to sleep or I can't sleep because I keep too cold for my own good sometimes.
--------
To my own experience, if I lower my body temperature before I hit the cold waters, it doesn't feel as cold. But if I jump into the spa or rinse with hot water right before I do, I'll shiver and die a little on the inside. Our YMCA wants everyone to rinse off before they get into the pools. Always found it better to rinse super cold before getting in or the water feels even cooler.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Off topic but NixieOona, is that a Fin Fun monofin in your signature? If yes, how are you going so fast with it? I am only going at a snail's pace with mine!:lol:

[NixieOona]

Yes its a fin fun pro. Thats funny I love mine it propels so well haha. Not as well as the finis ones but still pretty good
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[NixieOona]

Also my dolphin kick is pretty quick for starters cause im a swimmer its all upper body strength
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[Mermaid Jaffa]

Oh yes. I can see that. You don't stop midway when your fingers go up (If that makes any sense!) Some mermaids I've watched, stop a little before completing the move when their fingers go up and down. Yours is a very fluid movement.

[NixieOona]

Thank you makes me happy to hear it looks good :)
Getting the neoprene soon already very excited
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[AptaMer]

what I'd like to know, is if it's possible to swim in colder waters and NOT have unpleasant health repercussions (colds, bladder/kidney inflammations...etc).


Well, it seems like these women in Siberia swim in the middle of winter, and stay healthy. They even think it's good for you!

These ladies even go right across a snow covered beach to swim in the local lake.

http://www.vocativ.com/culture/photos/photos-intense-russian-women-bathe-icy-waters/

Their city, Norilsk, is a couple of hundred kilometres inland from Russia's Arctic Ocean coastline.

[Lostariel Telrunya]

I live in Alberta, and while it's cookin' hot in the summer, the water never really warms up. My friends and I always hike up the big mountain creeks in the Kaninaskis, where the water can get to literally 1 degree Celsius. While I haven't ever stayed fully in the water for more than 20 minutes, I love cold water, so I haven't had a problem with it!

[lucyish]

Lynne Cox writes fairly in depth about acclimating to the cold and signs of hypothermia in her book "Open Water Swimming Manual." She 's swum the English Channel and consulted with Navy SEALS in writing it. It's very readable and I'd recommend it as a resource. My local library owns a copy, but it's also fairly inexpensive on Amazon if yours doesn't.

[Echidna]

Well, it seems like these women in Siberia swim in the middle of winter, and stay healthy. They even think it's good for you!

These ladies even go right across a snow covered beach to swim in the local lake.

http://www.vocativ.com/culture/photos/photos-intense-russian-women-bathe-icy-waters/

Their city, Norilsk, is a couple of hundred kilometres inland from Russia's Arctic Ocean coastline.

eh...I think these women belong to a different species than me :p

I've lived in the tropics, and worn wooly coats, long trousers and all, and never lost a drop of sweat.
The only place where I do sweat is a +90°C sauna.

(and btw, I have a feeling these "tough siberian women" come out of a sauna after half an hour of 100°C, and take a 5 minute dip in snow and ice. Which is what scandinavians do as well, and it's indeed healthy, whereas doing this without having overheated in a sauna first is just insane, no matter where you're from.)

[Nana]

I was going to say that as well.. if you wanna swim outside during winter and feel mermaidish you gotta grit your teeth and swim in cold water.
Indoor pools are a pretty decent way to get through the winter too if they aren't closed that is the matter and if they allow mermaids.

[PearlieMae]

Wait...isn't 100˚C boiling (212˚F)?

[Echidna]

Wait...isn't 100˚C boiling (212˚F)?

If it's water, sure.
Air that hot is bearable for a while, depending on what you're used to.

I admit I prefer saunas with only around 90°C, though.
It's less strenuous for the system.

[MarkF]

You've got many of the same issues learning cold water tolerance as breath holding. The fight or flight mental thing that, in the beginning you have a panic and that makes your heart race pushing the blood out to the extremities be chilled and works against you, also the energy of the panic's raised heart rate, shakes and extra wiggling around makes you tired. The first few minutes you are in the water you need to say "Relax". Cold water hurts, yep! but not as much once the panics over. Like breath holding you continue to experience the pains and feeling but not as much with experience, tell yourself "Just a little bit more."
Practice days before anything important.

[Capt Nemo]

When you hit 39 F water without a hood it's an instant ice cream headache! Door County (thumb of Wisconsin) has a lot of upwelling due to winds. It just broke 60 degrees last week. Normally, it should be around 70-75F just warm enough to go without a hood. Most of this summer the area from Kewanee to Death's Door was in the 40-50F range. Last year it was 80F at this time. The Michigan side downwells and it can be 60F at 150+ meters down.

[MarkF]

Cap, that crazy talk - 39, homie don't play that game.
The Ocean here still hasn't made the 70's.

[SeaChange]

I am eyeing the chilly Ontario lake with trepedation as summer winds down and my darn monofin has been "en route" for almost a month. There's merit to working up to cold water swimming at serious temperatures, but in my case, I think a good unannounced shove off the pier will yield better results!

[AptaMer]

Well, Lake Ontario hasn't warmed up this year like it has in the past. It's still only up to 20°C, and it's the middle of August. I can get into water that cold, but can only stay in maybe 20 minutes. Need to toughen up like Raina and the Halifax mercrew I guess!

Last year the water was beautiful by July, and even got up to 25° a few times. I wonder if we're going to have another cold winter like we did before this year.

It would be fun if Toronto Mers could get together for an open-water swim, in spite of the cold water. In past years the water has stayed at its peak temperature until the first or second week of September. Maybe this year will be different though.

[Echidna]

Actually, if the water is around 20°C, you are less likely to catch one of the many unpleasant things becoming active at higher temperatures (bilharzia, for example, also amoebae), and it shouldn't be dangerous either if you don't stay in too long.

It's just that it is zero fun swimming in water that "cold", at least for me.
I remember being much less spoiled before I got my illness, but I only did "surface swimming" back then :p

*heads back to thermal pool*

[Capt Nemo]

Cap, that crazy talk - 39, homie don't play that game.
The Ocean here still hasn't made the 70's.

Here's Michigan temps right now!
http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/glcfs.php?lake=m&ext=vwt&type=N&hr=00 Transect Temp Profiles

http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/glcfs.php?lake=m&ext=swt&type=N&hr=00 Surface and Bottom Temps

[MarkF]

thoughs are winter time temps here. I'd like to try some place warm, say Florida, St Thomas, Ibiza. :)
Think warm thoughts.