How cold is it? How cold does it feel?

Posted on December 11, 2014 by myrtlevilleswimmers

Interesting comments around at the moment about the fact that the sea temperature has actually been warmer than it was at the start of July this year (12.1c said the Ballycotton gauge…hmmmm: working?). Even if it’s right, people are saying they feel very cold in and out of the water. It’s the air temp combined with the sea that’s the difference, of course. Spending an hour in the sea (or even 30 minutes) in July is very different to doing it in December, January etc.

Cork Harbour Weather – @CorkHarbourWX – had this on a tweet spotted by Bernard Lynch last week “The still air temp is +6C but the THSW temp (how it actually feels outside) is only +2-3C. Wrap up!”. Extensive research was then conducted (he Googled THSW) to find what it was:

THSW Index uses humidity and temperature to calculate an apparent temperature. In addition, THSW incorporates the heating effects of solar radiation and the cooling effects of wind (like wind chill) on our perception of temperature.

Why bother posting this? Just another reminder / warning to us all to think of all the factors when swimming in Winter. Tides, sea temperature, wind temperature etc. Cold always wins. We can go into the sea on a beautiful flat calm day in December and be tempted to go a bit further than we should.

One thing you’ll notice is that a Northerly wind makes Myrtleville nice and calm. Even quite strong Northerlies can still leave our favourite beach very swimmable. It’s also a very cold wind! It’s safer to be five or ten minutes from the beach when you feel cold, than to have gone over past the Dutchman when you realise that wind is freezing your elbows, your hands have clawed and it looks like a long way back. No rule says you have to go to the Dutchman. Fennell’s Bay is lovely this time of year!

So, look at the sea, check the tides, agree with a swim partner what you’re doing, cut it short if you feel cold – or before you feel cold – and always have your gear ready for a quick dry and change afterwards. Afterdrop can be painful and it’s worse if you dawdle getting dressed. Winter swimming is fantastic – a real buzz. Just be careful. Swim Safe.

A bit of a do – December 20th.

Posted on December 9, 2014 by myrtlevilleswimmers

Siobhan Russell is posting an Event on FaceBook for all swimmers. For non-FaceBookers, it’s the Turkey Thaw in the Pine Lodge, Myrtleville, at about 4.30pm on Saturday, December 20th – after the last Myrtleville Turkey Swim for 2014. All are welcome.

Open water, sea swimming in Cork, Ireland.

Pine Lodge – ready to be filled.

The Pine Lodge is a great spot. The suggested table of events for the day and evening per Siobhan is:

Second last Turkey Swim in Myrtleville at 3pm.
Raffle being held after swim at the beach.
Pine Lodge for drinks and Turkey Thaw afterwards – about 4.30pm.
Photos of the year on screen.
Food available from pizza van.

Crystal’s Munchie bus.

Siobhan’s agenda stops at that point, but I think she must have run out of space. I’m sure the following should also be there.

Tequila Chaser Chicks – live on stage at 9.30.
Denis’ Shower Strip – repeated performance on request throughout the night – just ask and he’ll be ready to go.
X Rated photos on screen (i.e. The Killary Shots) – once the kids go home. Sure to set up the next stage……..
“It’s way too hot” – off to the beach without any silly old clothes to get in the way

Just another normal night out for this crowd, really.

See you on the 20th. Oh, it’s Carol’s birthday, too. There might be even more cakes than usual.

Swimming in December

Posted on December 5, 2014 by myrtlevilleswimmers

Siobhan Russell got this beautiful picture yesterday morning. The sea is under 10c and closer to 9c at times, but the calm conditions have been a bonus.

Heading for the Dutchman – Myrtleville, December 4, 2014.

Not looking as good for next week, but we’ve got 08.15 tomorrow and the Turkey Swim on Sunday at 11.00 to look forward to before then.

As an add-on to the post on swimming in cold water, Donal Buckley has done a great post this week on what to expect as you swim in the colder sea for the coming months and how the blood flow to the limbs and skin is restricted. Peripheral vasoconstriction it’s called, but he makes it easy to understand!

Swim Safe.

Santa arriving early – fresh supply of Hats on the way.

Posted on December 3, 2014 by myrtlevilleswimmers

There will be a new stock of the world’s most desirable stocking fillers, Myrtleville Swimmers hats, in Centra Crosshaven before Christmas. Yellow, White, in demand and international. The supplier has promised delivery in about ten days.

I got you another present, Angela..

Pat’s Hat on Ironman training in Mallorca – I think that’s a yellow hat blowing away in the background.

Fair enough, he’s holding up the Hat, but it might as well be two fingers – ‘I’m on the beach in Floriday, Nah, Nah, Na, Na, Nah’

Update on the changing shelter.

Posted on December 2, 2014 by myrtlevilleswimmers

Work to get a shelter built on the beach is moving along. Obviously, the main focus is on making the structure low-key and in keeping with the surroundings. You may recall one of the early designs. You’d hardly notice it on the beach.

It was suggested that this was so small it might actually be missed by visiting swimmers. Kieran Murphy has proposed a way to draw some attention to it make sure it doesn’t completely fade into the background.

Kieran Murphy’s contribution to the design of the new changing shelter.

I think this is just the most tasteful and appropriate proposal. Fair dues, Kieran. You’ve a real eye for eco-friendly design. I’m certain there will be no objections to it.

Still warm – really.

Posted on December 1, 2014 by myrtlevilleswimmers

At 11c and over, it’s a full degree warmer than 2013, when Carol Cashell recorded 10.2c on Dec 1st. We’ll ignore the fact that 26 days later, she got 7.9c on St. Stephen’s Day. The Winter has certainly been shortened.

We were unfortunate on Saturday morning to get the tail end of the Easterly wind, so twenty swimmers headed to Fountainstown for a splash in the slightly smaller waves. Great numbers in the water.

Feckin’ Easterly. Myrtleville, 29 November.

August morning in Fountainstown – or at least that’s what passersby thought. No parking spaces left.

The Turkey swimmers in Sandycove got the luck this weekend. Sunday was a beautiful day for a swim. Unfortunately, even that couldn’t drag Siobhan Russell out of her habitual down-in-the-mouth, unenthusiastic demeanour.

You’d just feel like shaking her to get a bit of life into her. Always so downbeat – and don’t get me started on that Lowry fella.

Swims today at 11.00 (might just be too late for that one!) and at 4.30pm. Enjoy it while we have it.

Swimming in Cold Water

Posted on November 29, 2014 by myrtlevilleswimmers

A RE-POST FROM 2014: IMPORTANT STUFF. SWIM SAFE – IT’S COLD OUT THERE.

As we head towards the lower sea temperatures, some swimmers are making a decision on whether to take some time out of the sea or continue with a wetsuit, or in togs. This is an individual decision and should be made on safety grounds alone. Don’t just follow a group – your safety is your responsibility.

We’re fortunate that much detailed thought has been given to cold water swimming and hypothermia by Donal Buckley on http://www.loneswimmer.com.  In making a decision on whether to swim through the Winter, everyone should read at least some of his many articles on his chosen specialised subject. His recommended shortlist of articles to begin with are as follows:

WHY would anyone swim in cold water?

The Ten Commandments of Cold Water Swimming.

“What temperature of water is too cold to swim in?”

How To – Understanding Mild Hypothermia in swimmers

Cold water and cold immersion shock, the first three minutes.

Ice Mile Dilemmas VIII – The Dangers.

If you want to know more, there are about fifty articles which he has helpfully put in this Index.

Swim Safe. Swim Responsibly. Educate yourself. Remember – Cold Always Wins.

EXCLUSIVE!!! CREGAN-CONDON IN CONMAN SHOWER SHOCKER!!!

Posted on November 27, 2014 by myrtlevilleswimmers

The world of OW swimming has been rocked this week by revelations of fraud by International Man of Mystery, Denis Cregan-Condon. A regular feature in Society pages and noted Babe Magnet, Mr. Cregan-Condon seemed to have it all.

The man in action, magnetting babes.

From Crosshaven to Killary, Lanzarote to Loch Allua, no gathering was complete without him. The foundation of his fortune was his “invention” of the “Cregan-Condon Compact Cloudburst Purification Pourer”.

Cregan-Condon Compact Cloudburst Purification Pourer – promotional brochure shot.

The devious genius of the jet-setting conman is clear from the title of the “invention” – avoiding the use of the word “Shower”. Once his plan was set in motion by promotional releases on unsuspecting specialist websites (this one), the criminal mastermind just sat back and watched the kudos pour in.

Cregan-Condon sitting back and enjoying the kudos pouring.

Today, exclusively (because nobody else would bother), this correspondent can reveal that the “invention” is a sham, a fraud, a rip-off and a barefaced attempt to scam a pensioner out of the credit for his life’s work.

The “Purification Pourer” is nothing more than a flagrant and blatant copy of the Harris Shower invented by Mr. M. Harris of Back of the Island a long, long, long, long, long time ago.

Thanks to intrepid sleuthing by an undercover agent known only as LaLa, slightly creased pictures have emerged online. They clearly demonstrate the shower in use by the proud inventor, Mr. Harris, in 1962.

Mr. Harris in action with his Shower. The one and only.

1962 – a good year for wine and showers.

Despite some initial reservations that Mr. Harris couldn’t actually have looked like that in 1962, independent confirmation was received that he has actually looked the same since he was three. He was a very distinguished child, insiders said.

Mr. Cregan-Condon was not available for comment as we went to print. Calls to his main office at the top of the slip in Myrtleville went unanswered. With his reputation in tatters, it remains to be seen how he can restore his position in swimming circles. Is this the end of the line for the self-styled International Man of Mystery and Babe Magnet? Will his days of carousing be over? The world awaits….

Cregan-Condon: Carousing.

NOTE: Got a tip-off? Know something that the world should hear? Get in touch on TOTESMADEUPBALLS@MYRTLEVILLESWIMMERS.COM. Reward of a 4 hour swim with Mr. Finbarr on Christmas morning to anyone who provides a tip-off that’s published.

AGM Minutes

Posted on November 25, 2014 by myrtlevilleswimmers

Real clubs run by serious people have AGMs. I was reminded of this when I received Angela Harris’ excellent minutes for the Sandycove AGM. It made me wonder – if Myrtleville Swimmers had an AGM, how might that go?

Let’s just see – 2014 AGM Minutes

Treasurer’s Update.

Like a Summer weekend.

Posted on November 24, 2014 by myrtlevilleswimmers

The Turkey Swims have really come into their own this year, encouraging nearly sixty swimmers to Myrtleville on Sunday. Before that, there was a nice group of a dozen or so in at 8.15 on Saturday morning too. Pride of place goes to Jamie O’Donnell who decided he’d had enough of the wetsuit after the Summer and wouldn’t be needing it for the Winter.

Jamie O’Donnell jumps for joy at shedding his wetsuit..

There are dozens of pictures around FaceBook of the Turkey Swim. Just click here.

November – not August. Great to see it.

Some Turkey Swimmers on the way – basted, but not frozen. Yet.

Well done to all involved in the Turkey Swims. Still five more to come.

#6 Sandycove – November 30 at 12:00 noon.

#7 – Sun 7th Dec – Myrtleville – 11:00

#8 – Sat 13th Dec – Sandycove – 10:30

#9 – Sat 20th Dec – Myrtleville – 15:00 (half the Draw will take place)

#10 – Sun 21st Dec – Sandycove – 15:00 (other half of Draw will take place)

Myrtleville Swimmers

Open Water – Sea Swimming in Cork, Ireland

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