Re: [Paddlewise] swim for it?

rebyl_kayak_at_energysustained.com wrote:

> Would your arms really stop working from the cold after swimming 45 
> minutes in 23 degree C water?

No.  We used to swim for hours, no PFD, no immersion gear -- just a bathing 
suit -- in 23 C (73 F) water; actually for an active swimmer, 73 F is a bit 
warm.  Our limit for "hours" of swimming was about 62-64 F (ca. 17 C). 
Below 60, it became pretty brutal to stay out for an hour.  the rate of 
heat transfer being proportional to the _difference between_ skin temp and 
water temp.

> Another thought was how much more difficult it seems to be to make 
> progress swimming when wearing a life jacket. If I was in isolated and 
> cold waters and had to swim a kilometer would it be better to abandon 
> the lifejacket. Somehow that doesn't feel right? One would be swimming 
> faster but without the benefit of buoyancy and any insulation the PFD 
> provided. I guess it depends on one's physique and swimming ability.
> 
> Is there a preferred stroke for best speed swimming while wearing a PFD?

I've not swum more than a few meters with my PFD on (a very high volume 
one), so I am extrapolating from that experience.  The Australian crawl 
would be cumbersome; better would be the side stroke, for distance, or one 
of the back strokes.  Personally, I would not abandon the PFD; I'd want it 
for insulation once ashore; plus it has my E-gear in/on it.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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