We’re ending at about 32 or 33 minutes on each swim at the moment. My first year open water swimming through the Winter, so the movement in water temperatures is a surprise to me. Friday afternoon at 4.00 we got 8.7C and thought it was cold, but it was swimmable and not just in Bernard’s moveable “calm bit”. A bit of fun at the end, trying to surf some waves into the beach.
Saturday morning at 8.30 it was colder at 8.3C / 8.4C with long rolling swells, but fine to swim to Fennell’s Bay. Carmel was threatening to not renew her subscription if we couldn’t make it colder for her to practice for the Cold Water Swimming Championships next weekend.
Sunday morning, it was rough and bitterly cold in the wind before and after. The run (sprint) down the beach to get into the sea was the worst bit. The water was actually a relief! Bernard’s watch read 7.8C when we were getting out at 33 minutes.
So, with a couple of watches to verify it, we have almost a full degree drop in the water temp over three days. Somebody qualified (a Registered Coldology Practitioner) please tell me it’s not going to keep going at this pace!! February is the coldest month, the Coldologists say. I’m really enjoying it and can’t remember what it was like not sea swimming regularly, but still hoping the sea won’t keep getting colder at this rate.
If it keeps getting colder at the rate it dropped over weekend I reckon I have about another 3 to 6 days left of winter swimming:)