We all got wet suits for Christmas so we decided to christen them at the beach in Aberdeen today. That’s Daniel and Elizabeth in the centre of this next photo venturing in together.
I’ve never swum in a wet suit before but I have done some winter swimming and I can tell you the wet suit made an enormous difference. Our wet suits are not even proper winter ones – they’re 2.5mm – but it was still miles warmer and we stayed in for a good length of time.
We’ll definitely get lots of use out of them.
The main difficulty with wet suits is getting them on and off as it’s rather like squeezing a watermelon into a condom or so I imagine. Then taking them off again can be tricky too, especially if you’re trying to avoid getting covered in sand.
Even Ben went in and didn’t freeze his balls off. Later some friends joined us for a swim and we all went back to our house and had a huge lentil bolognese to warm up. What more could we want than wild swimming followed by lunch with friends? All in all, it was a terrific 1st day of 2022.
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Happy New Year on a wet day! 😊
Thank you! Happy New Year to you too.
😊🙏
I hope you have a wetsuit that has a long tag on the zip, you can get even the most stubborn of suits on and off that way. I don’t know why they even make the short tagged ones, like mattresses that are made without handles.
I would never go in the water without a wetsuit, it’s so much hassle to go in the water that it’s more worth it if you can stay in longer. I do admire you all for taking the plunge without them, and now you have the choice – I imagine they are just different experiences.
Yes, it does have a very long tag on the zip but why didn’t they just put the zips on the front? I guess surfers use them and it would be uncomfortable to lie on your stomach on a surfboard with a zip – that’s probably why. We’ll always use them now. I can’t believe I went in without one!
Over the years there have been many zip designs. Originally there was a vertical front zip, then diagonal. After that came the back zip, which can come with an interior flap to reduce flush through. Most modern designs for surfers use a front chest zip using a pullover flap, which prevents most water penetration but is also the most difficult to get on and off. The water temp for Aberdeen is about 8C. Down here in West Cornwall it is 11.5C, which is a big difference. At 8C, you are in ice-cream headache territory!
I imagine you are not in swimming for long. You would need a thicker wetsuit for longer, more like a 5/4 mm and quite a bit more expensive.
BTW, if you do not already do so, it is advisable to rinse out wetsuits after use as they will last longer that way. Have fun!
We were only in for about 15 minutes. I could have stayed in longer but the kids were starting to shiver. For Elizabeth it was her first time ever swimming in the sea and she loved it so we’ll do it much more over the summer when it’s warmer. And thanks for the tip! I was planning to hose them down today – they’re currently outside on the clothes line as they got covered in sand.
I had a wetsuit many moons ago for river rafting, and yes it was a feat getting it on and off. I can see the problem with sand, which was not something encountered with river rafting 😊
Looks like you had a fun start to the new year – all the best for the rest of it.
Thanks, Katrina. A great first day it was. I hope the rest of the year is just as good.
Sounds like a fantastic day. I always draw the short straw with our kids – going into the sea with just my shorts – regardless of them having wetsuits, or body suits, or whatever. The weirdest thing? I once had to go in after my daughter when she got into trouble in the water – I didn’t feel the cold at all.
I bet the adrenaline kicked in when you had to rescue your daughter and that would have kept you warm. I hope she was OK.
I imagine a Winter wet suit would be significantly harder to get on and off! I would think swimming in the sea is cooler than river swimming as I always find the seaside walks cooler than the country ones.
Happy New Year.
Yes, that’s a good point. I think they’re harder to move around in too – less maneovreable. Happy New Year!