Polar Bear swim was nice and warm this year

[FluffyMcDeath]

The weather kept the crowd at bay. It was raining quite heavily just before the swim. The attached is a "before" picture.

The sea was relatively warm and the air temperature was much warmer than last year (with no snow to trudge through).

Once we got out of the water the rain stopped.

 

[Glaucus]

Nice. Actually not really, it's cold here again and just the thought of jumping into anything other then steaming water makes me want to shiver. Although I might be convinced if someone offered me a shot (or three) of Remy Martin XO to keep me warm.

 

[Speelgoedmannetje]

huuuh I think you're very brave to do so
I don't have the guts to do so atm. Lots of snow and ice here in NL. Hasn't been for years so joyous I am

 

[redrumloa]

Our local radio station has a similar event, I do not partake :wink:

The Paul & Young Ron Show will commemorate the coldest day of the year with a swim in the ocean

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat ... 36637.html

In a city where wearing flip-flops by the Christmas tree is the norm, temperatures in the '30s mean people dig real deep into their closets for that ugly Mickey sweater they bought in the early 1990's.

Unless you are “OMG” Mike from the “Paul & Young Ron Show.” Then and only then do near freezing temperatures signal jumping into the ocean on the coldest day of the year.

For those Iowans still in town after the Orange Bowl, or any other crazy person looking to catch pneumonia, you can join the morning radio team on BIG 105.9 FM on Wednesday as they take a chilly dive into the waters off Fort Lauderdale Beach.

The temps are expected to dip in the mid-30s, but it will likely feel even colder with the sea breeze nipping at your nose and other scantily-covered parts.

No video for this year's (colder) swim, but here is last year's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxdKu1OfYHI

 

[ltstanfo]

They do a similar event here in Huntsville. I did not partake but I did go SCUBA diving in a nearby quarry on New Years Day. The water was a "balmy" 54F at depth (90ft) and the air temp was just 26F. If I can figure out how to embed images, I'll update this message and post some of the dive photos.

*EDIT - Attempting photo embed. Below is a photo of me using my Farallon "scooter" at the quarry Alabama Blue Water Adventures. Go James Bond!

For Fluffy, the dry suit I am wearing is a fine Canadian product made by the Whites group in Vancouver (Victoria).

Regards,
Ltstanfo

 

[Glaucus]

At this time of year the lakes and rivers around here are for skating on, not swimming in (check it out: Winnipeg web cams). Instead we have some restaurants that open up their patios and server a full coarse meal. Again, I've never attended. In fact, the only cold place I'd voluntarily visit would be a strip-club. :twisted:

 

[ltstanfo]

At this time of year the lakes and rivers around here are for skating on, not swimming in (check it out: Winnipeg web cams). Instead we have some restaurants that open up their patios and server a full coarse meal. Again, I've never attended. In fact, the only cold place I'd voluntarily visit would be a strip-club. :twisted:

Thanks for the webcam link Mike! Never been to Winnipeg and now I at least have an idea what it is like.

Regards,
Ltstanfo

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

For Fluffy, the dry suit I am wearing is a fine Canadian product made by the Whites group in Vancouver (Victoria).

Give me a dry suit or give me death!!!

The water was about 6C this year, I'd say. I don't stay in long but back when it started there was a 300 yard course (1920). Guess folks were hardier back then. Your dive hole sounds relatively balmy as you say at 12C but that doesn't mean you'd last long just in speedos.

While the beaches warm up around here, in amongst the islands the water stays cold all year. There isn't much in the way of shallow water and the drop off is steep. A couple of summers ago I stayed with a friend on Galiano island and swimming off the dock was frigid. Must have been about 10C and a couple of hundred yards in that was quite exhausting. 12 feet down it's much colder. I'm not too surprised to hear we make dry suits around here.

 

[Robert]

I'm incredibly soft when it comes to water temperatures.
Anything under 18 degrees and I don't last long.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

There's a nice little gallery of cold swims from around the globe from the Telegraph.

A lot of these venues are way colder than our local swim, but we did manage to get 2 pictures of our Vancouver nutcases out of 27 pictures.

 

[Glaucus]

I'm definitely not built for cold. My sis has Raynaud's syndrome and I may have a touch of it. I froze my foot once playing outdoor hockey, now it's very sensitive to cold in general. I'm always blown away by people who brave -30C weather with a t-shirt (although I can't complain about the girls going to clubs in short skirts) while I'm bundled up and still shivering. Good thing I'm not a smoker.