Daring Deeds - real stories, expeditions, road trips and adventure
35 minutes in the Irish Sea
By Ashleigh Naysmith
01, Feb, 2019
Facing the first bite of cold in the wintery Irish Sea
"35 minutes in the Irish Sea, water 8°C, air the same. Nice and cosy in my new Silvertip, astonished at how effective it is." - Roisin M
Roisin dropped our Support Heroes an email after a January wintery wild swim in her new Silvertip, here's her story.
I’m a wild swimmer and scuba diver from Northern Ireland. My friends and I have always struggled to get into the winter waters in wetsuits or swimming gear, as we’ve always had a fear of that first bite of the cold, so until recently it was all summer swimming for us.
We started up a wild swimmers group as our New Years’ resolution – check out Ballyhornan Sea Swimming Group on FB- and to celebrate I decided to invest in a proper wetsuit – not a surfing wetsuit or a paddling wetsuit but something to keep out the cold.
I love snorkelling about and taking pictures and identifying marine life, so needed something extra warm to allow me to moodle around without getting hypothermia. As a diver I’m well aware that local waters can dip down to 5 degrees on the East coast of Ireland so I knew it would need to be good if I was to get anything other than a 5 minute scream-and -splash. As soon as my new SilverTip arrived I was down to the water for a test run. Dipping in, I was astonished at the small amount of water ingress, it is a great semi-dry suit. So none of that first shock, and I could wiggle into my fins with ease, without that horrible trickle of water down my back . Very flexible and streamlined ( unlike myself I must add). A good twenty minutes in the water passed before I felt anything like chilly, and there was still plenty of time to take a few pics of the rising sun before I headed back in.
Once on shore and de-kitted I realised that there was none of the usual shaking and shivering. The suit had kept my core warm throughout the swim, and I was perfectly comfortable a few minutes after changing. No need for hot whiskeys here! I’ve been able to get into the water every day now, what a treat! My unfortunate friends have not found the Silvertip yet, but I'm sure will shortly do so, as they are the ones screaming and running away under towels, while I enjoy a calming dip, taking my time getting in, swimming around, and getting back out again.
Thanks, Roisin, for sending this invigorating tale through to us!
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