Thanks for that info Mike. 55F is pretty darned cold! I'm actually the other way around- accustomed to heat. My house stays about 82 to 85F all the time. For me that is normal. If I go into a place where they use A/C and have it 70F then I'm shivering! I'll never forget being in Peru with some friends from Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, and we went hiking through this dry desert-like area. I was wearing a sweatshirt, long pants, and boots. They all thought I was crazy. The human body is amazing how it adapts to our surroundings. On the flipside, In Cusco it was friggin' cold, and heated buildings are apparently not common. And I'm talking cold cold- like 0C/32F. They also didn't have hot water. Taking a shower in 32F with no hot water is not a fun experience.

You guys that kayak and surf in the cold have my total respect.

: Hi Malcolm,
: I don't think the two are comparable. With freediving, you're using
: an oxygen 'reserve' and ignoring the anoxia warning triggers.
: With cold, it's more where you condition your body to alter its
: bloodflow patterns somewhat to minimise heat loss. The warning
: triggers still become as apparent as without any conditioning,
: which aren't as apparent as you'd think. A lot of people don't
: actually know what the warnings feel like so aren't fully aware
: of them when they happen.
: Also, long term cold water swimming has an interesting effect, you
: get fat. :) Similar type of fat that seals have rather than
: excess-food-fat in that it is laid down fairly evenly over the
: entire body.

: The local lough, Lough Ine, has water temps of about 13C, 55F, now
: and people swim there for fairly long times without any cold
: effects. The top few inches of water does get noticable warm by
: late evening on 'hot' days, though. Oddly, that warmer water
: feels 'yucky' to me.

: Mike Savage
: South West Cork