Insights Into Ice Swimming
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Colder water temperatures are coming.
Time to curl up with a nice good read in a warm room…like Nuala Moore‘s 2016 manual – Insight Into The World Of Ice Swimming.
Her book is based on her experiences in doing ice swimming (i.e., swimming for distance in water under 5°C) from her native Ireland to Russia and Argentina and many places between.
“I focused on Cold Water Shock, Cold Water Incapacitation/Swim Failure, Post-Rescue Collapse and Hypothermia and how it applies to swimmers, mainly at distance.”
Even tough Moore and other ice swimmers have swum at least a kilometer in 0°C water and sub-0°C air temperatures, she warned, “There are limits in the cold. For everyone.
As swimmers, we can use and learn to work with the inevitable cold. I have taken the research and I have crossed it with the experiences I have had. It’s an educational journey on what happens to our bodies when we spend time at cold temps, based on <5°C, but mostly based on the 0°C experience. Ice Water changes the internal workings of our body. In the book, I try to highlight the risks that we can manage, discuss the ones we cannot, and mostly to harness our personal responsibility to swimming in cold water.”
She admits, “There is so much more to come, but I had start [somewhere]. This [publication] has been in my head for two years, so I am delighted. There is a world of thought ahead on all these areas including huge interest from the Coast Guard. This was always my plan and the next one will have a lot more thoughts.”
“What is really educational and inspirational about this book is that it offers advice and fundamental background information that is applicable to many more people other than ice swimmers,” remarks Steven Munatones.
“Whether it is professionals that work in cold water conditions or people like me who do not like water below 13°C and even triathletes or those who live in tropical areas and cannot swim in water below 20°C, this book contains hints, advice and basic knowledge that is equal parts informational and inspirational.”
To purchase a copy, contact nualamooreswim@gmail.com.
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