I went on a trip this week with a busload of teenagers. It was a field trip for a high school club, and there were 3000 teenagers at this event, all staying in the same hotel!
The first evening, I scoped out the hotel pool, which consisted of an indoor pool and an outdoor pool which were connected by a tunnel. The indoor pool was wall-to-wall teenagers. I dipped my hand into the water, and it felt nice and warm. I assumed that the water in the outdoor pool would be the same temperature, due to the connection between the two bodies of water.
So, I went up to my room and got dressed for a swim. I ventured outside to the outdoor pool. It was extremely windy and chilly, so I was looking forward to the warm pool water. I jumped in and it was NOT WARM – it was freeze your ass off cold! I was surprised scince the water was shared with that nice warm indoor pool! Despite how cold I felt, I was desperate for a workout…so I started swimming. The water was so cold that I had no choice but to swim as fast and as hard as I could. I stopped once to look at my workout book, but it was too cold to stop for even a few seconds, so decided that I would just swim as fast and as long as I could stand it. The wind made the water in the pool choppy, so I imagined I was in a race…and it turned out to be a good workout. I think I swam for about 30 minutes. When I got out, my skin was beet red from the cold.
The next morning I swam in the indoor pool (while all the teenagers were busy with their activities). It turned out that the tunnel between the two pools was blocked by a sheet of plexiglass.
I walked over the the mall across the street and bought a thermometer at Radio Shack. The water temperate in that outdoor pool was 67.1 degrees Farenheight!!! The 80 degree water at the Sportsplex no longer feels cold to me!
The place where the Titanic had the accident would feel nice to me, in the 20’s Fahrenheait, below 0 Celsius. Because the water is salty, it does not freeze at the expected 32F/0 C.
chrissy, It’s sort of still true. I do have an easier time getting into the pool now. I just grin and bear it and know that in a few laps I’ll feel fine. I can’t say that it doesn’t bother me at all, tho. I know a guy who wears a wetsuit vest in the pool to keep his core warm. He’s really lean and has trouble staying warm, even after a few laps. Happy swimming, carol
“The 80 degree water at the Sportsplex no longer feels cold to me!”
is this still true? I’m so cold in water, and honestly, if one swim in very cold water would cure me of feeling cold in 80, I need to know it!
My Dad bought a 10M pool for our garden a few days a go and it was filled up so I managed to sneak a quick dip… Big Mistake! I jumped in head first and it felt ver cold indeed! I looked at the thermostat in the water… It read 59 Degrees Fareighnheight!
Water temp at Point Dume Beach in Malibu was 56. Your legs and toes feel like they want to shatter!