We beat the temperature/swimmer ratio!!! woohoo!!! (July 5, 2014)

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67 swimmers... 60 degrees!!!
67 swimmers… 60 degrees!!!  (okay, not everyone was in the pic!)

Okay, so I’m running a bit behind, but this is the report from last week… and the cool thing about this swim was we beat the “temperature to swimmer ratio”!  In my little statistically oriented mind that’s quite an accomplishment!  We’ve only done that a few times… pretty good sign of happy swimmers… especially at this time of year… maybe everyone is just getting tougher!P7040004

So what is the temperature to swimmer ratio?  It is when you have more swimmers out for a swim than you have degrees on the thermometer.  It only counts when you do it in Fahrenheit.  Not nearly as impressive if you do it in Celsius.  😉

Pretty sure that's Lynn!
Pretty sure that’s Lynn!

So the week prior, the water was a balmy 68F (18C)… but good ol’ Lake O knew that that was getting a bit ahead of itself for this time of year… so she rolled over.  And it dropped to 60F (15C).  As I always say, in my mind 60F is the cut off… above is warm… and below is starting to get cold.  If you are naked.  Which is one of the reasons the English Channel is as tough as it is… 34k is a long way to go… in 60F water.  However, in a wetsuit… 60F is perfect.  You won’t overheat and you won’t freeze.

Celine, becoming one of our regular kayakers!
Celine, becoming one of our regular kayakers!

So the temp was 60F… and we had 67 swimmers out!!!  Pretty cool.  Probably about 20% naked too.  Not too shabby.

Kim having a great paddle too... perfect conditions for the SUP!
Kim having a great paddle too… perfect conditions for the SUP!

Pretty flat… and lots of fun.  As you can see from the pics… 60F takes a minute to get into, but once you are in and get swimming… it is beautiful.  Lots of smiles and time to fool around in the water after the swim and take some pics even.  Actually a few extra pics this week because I took the camera in the kayak this week… thought I’d see how the other half lives above the water!  (actually I had a ear operation this winter and it was flaring up a bit so I thought I’d give it a rest).

Adrian... muggin' for the camera!
Adrian… muggin’ for the camera!

As usual… thanks to all our kayakers!  We’d be lost without you.  (do what you want with that double entendre!).

See... there's a few naked swimmers!
See… there’s a few naked swimmers!

Anyway… a great swim and a fun time had by all… thanks Lake O!

A nice swim shot with the Toronto skyline in the background!
A nice swim shot with the Toronto skyline in the background!

Cheers,

Rob

 

 

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I founded LOST Swimming because I like open water swimming and would like to see it grow and thrive in Lake Ontario. I started as a competitive swimmer as a kid and ended up getting as far as a silver medal at Nationals and going to the Olympic Trials in 1988. But I retired after that, I was sick of swimming. So I got into running marathons and have run over 35 to date, as well as a few ultra marathons, including the Marathon des Sables (7 day, ultra across the Sahara Desert). I also kind of fell into triathlons and have done a handful of Ironman tri's too. This gradually got me back in the water and in 2006 I took the plunge and attempted swimming the English Channel. I didn't quite make it across, but the circle was now complete and after 17 years I was a swimmer again! Although I still do plenty of pool swimming, I now much prefer open water swimming and like to say that open water swimming is to pool swimming, what trail running is to treadmill running! As a result I hope to encourage more people to join me for a dip in Lake Ontario as often as we can!