Open Water PBs

[Wildswimmer]

Ladies and Gentlemen

Please feel free to tell us about your open-water achievments. Be it distance, time, lowest bare-skin water temperature. Whatever.

Please post it here.

For starters my current PB is bare-skin in water at just under 8C on Sunday 10th December. It's also the first time I've swum outdoors in winter proper.

Wildswimmer Pete

NB I think OpenNewbie's Forth swim well qualifies! :thumb:

[e-fitz]

Tooting Bec, 66 yards fs and 33 yards breastroke @ 4 degreesC, bare skin. Other SwimClubbers took part - Leppie and Adam Lelean to name but two.....

The Solent on New Years Day, reported to be 6 degrees C ... and planning to do it again this year, if anyone would care to join us - rescue boat and 1st aid will be available....:clear:

[cougar]

Wildy, to give you exact venues, times and dates would comprimise my anonymity. This just cannot be allowed to happen for i would then have to terminate the whole of swimclub. This would not sit to well with me as i
have developed a kinship with some of you, im an assasin with a conscience so not entirely evil.. As its you mucker i will p.m. you..

[Steve]

29.30 for 2km ocean swim in the cole classic 2005:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40801000/jpg/_40801635_swim_300.jpg

Mind you they didn't tell us about the shark (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4684418.stm) in the long distance version beforehand...

[Emma]

La Jolla Rough Water Swim - the Gator Man (3 miles) - 1 hr 15 min.

(But water temperature usually around 69 F.)

Emma

[OpenNewbie]

:D Aye, my forth swim is my best achivment so far...

Might be tempted to try a dip in the Resivouir for new year, thats if its not forzen solid!

[Paddy3101]

Lowest temperature 4C (measures on the thermometer), New years day. Branksome Beach (near Bournemouth) after fund-raising lifeguard demo. (Demo was done in a wetsuit)

Best result was 4th in Bournouth Pier-Pier swim. Can't exactly remember the year but was around 94/95 ish.

Also did a few SLSC (Surf Lifesaving) national competitions. Made the finals for a few events.

[Speedy Gonzalez]

My open water PB has nothing to do with temperature but the fact that I swam 5k in the dirtiest water I have ever encountered.

Rumour has it that one swimmer felt his hand touch something and when he looked it was a dead cat....

:zip:

[Wildswimmer]

Well I was hoping to report another PB today, but no such luck.

Went swimming in the Irish Sea at Abergele, N. Wales. However at 10.5C it was hardly cold, and my total of an hour, in three sessions, isn't anything special.

Ahh well, there's the coldest part of winter yet to come!

Wildswimmer Pete

[Wildswimmer]

While I missed my Albert Dock swim today, there was a silver lining to the cloud. As I was not only psyched-up but very upset over the affair I packed my kit and went off to the River Weaver in Frodsham.

The river was slightly muddy, gently flowing and looked very inviting. The water temp was 6.7C (as compared with Albert Dock's 5.6C). So I slipped in wearing just my Speedos, had a 20-odd minute thrash up and down, and came out feeling great.

So at least I got a new PB: 20 mins at 6.7C :thumb:

Wildswimmer Pete

NB Of course this could have been anger-fuelled. :devil:

[Spidey]

I swam in the English Channell at Brighton this Christmas morning 11:00 and as e'fitz says, open water - bbbbrrrrrr.

[Speedy Gonzalez]

I swam in the English Channell at Brighton this Christmas morning 11:00 and as e'fitz says, open water - bbbbrrrrrr.

Yes the water must have been cold. The guy on the left has gone blue in the face.

[Wildswimmer]

Hi Spidey,

I moved one of your pics to "Pics of Places You Have Frozen Your Boll......sorry, Swum". :wave:

I think it qualifies for inclusion in what many no doubt consider to be our Chamber of Water Tortures. :devil:

Wildswimmer Pete

[Juicy Lucy]

Last open water swim; Sandown to Shanklin, Isle of Wight in August. Conned into swimming by IoW masters supremo Jenny Ball. Haven't spoken to her since!

Water temperature around 20 degrees. Too cold, couldn't see where I was going, saw no other swimmer throughout the entire swim, couldn't see any canoeists either, swim was about two miles, reckon I swam four, didn't like the salty taste, never again!

Invited to a garden party the day before the swim by IoW masters. Certainly the best part of the weekend.

Warm clear pool with a straight black line on the bottom for me in future.

JL

[Linny]

Rivers and lakes in Aberdeenshire are warm enough in the summer if you are fairly well padded but the sea is only just bearable on a sunny day. Swimming the noo is nigh on impossible; I understand that there were some hardy individuals in the sea off Aberdeen on Boxing Day but I shouldn't imagine they were in for long; also I don't think that temperatures where I live (nearer the hills than the sea) have risen above freezing for 5 days and this is borne out by the fact that the lights are on and there are people curling on the nearest bit of open water to my house.

[richard-broer]

Depends on the definition of "best"

As part of a competition? Sluis (NL) in 1978: swam with good stong tactics to win the 3km event in 33.05.
As complete seasonal competition? Netherlands in 1978: won the complete competition by coming in second at the crucial swim in Olst (3km). To win I new I had to make a fast time, so I entered the water to swim as fast as possible for 2,5km. The tactic was to keep up with my major competitor after that bij slipstreaming behind him. He passed at about 2800 and I didn't let go; time was under 32 minutes, but the course was perhaps a bit too short for a 3km.
As long distance? IJsselmeer (NL) in 1994: swam to finish the 22km, overwon sea sickness, cramp, fatigue to finish in 6h20m. the crowd on the harbourwalls was great!
As just a swim? A few years ago at Salles sur Verdon (Fr) were the Gorge opens to the lake. Swim from the sun into the gorges and look at the cliffs, beutiful! Last year in Tobago, swimming above the coral and fish seeing a large turtle swim by.
As coach? IJsselmeer (NL) in 2005: the swimmer I coached had never coverd a distance longer than 10km. The water was 14 and a bit. 2 below the permitted minimum temperature. Great swim. She was very satisfied and all blue...

There are a lot of exiting swims about. Just try any and find out what the thrill is!

[Spidey]

Hi Spidey,

I moved one of your pics to "Pics of Places You Have Frozen Your Boll......sorry, Swum". :wave:

I think it qualifies for inclusion in what many no doubt consider to be our Chamber of Water Tortures. :devil:

Wildswimmer Pete

To be honest, I did not notice how cold it was - sounds strange. I just thought nice thoughts and blanked out my cold receptors.

[Wildswimmer]

Managed another PB today in Hatchmere: 20 minutes bare-skin in water at 5.6C.

I'll really have to work on getting through my 20-min barrier.

Wildswimmer Pete

[Linny]

Happened to come across a photo of the local open water I referred to before! :)

http://www.grampianlife.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=6304#6304

[Dunc]

To be honest, I did not notice how cold it was - sounds strange. I just thought nice thoughts and blanked out my cold receptors.


Spidey, all androids are like that.

Once did 5km (Worlds open water, Munich, in 200) in 61 minutes. The water was 16 Celcius. Okay if you kept moving.

[Dunc]

Happened to come across a photo of the local open water I referred to before! :)

http://www.grampianlife.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=6304#6304

At least you didn't have to swim in the Guildford Lido (pic > 100KB, so can't attach it, help someone?).

[Spidey]

At least you didn't have to swim in the Guildford Lido (pic > 100KB, so can't attach it, help someone?).

Go to the picture and reduce its size - save it as a copy so not to lose the quality of the original, attach the smaller one.

[e-fitz]

Spidey, all androids are like that.

Once did 5km (Worlds open water, Munich, in 200) in 61 minutes. The water was 16 Celcius. Okay if you kept moving.

Gee Dunc, I knew you were a master and all, but didn't realise you had been around that long....

I also did the 5k at the olympic rowing lake in Munich, some 1800 years later in 2000, in 66 minutes 37.96 seconds. By then, of course they had electronic timing and were able to measure the time this accurately, even though the microchipped swim hats didn't work when wet....

Happy New Year all..