Thursday, December 31, 2009

Plans Set for New Year's Day skin swim

Date: January 1, 2010
Location: Bradford Beach
Meeting Time: 11:40am
Meeting Location: east side of Bradford Beach House
Swim Time: Noon

The Goal: Complete a 25m Lake Michigan polar skin swim at noon on New Years Day

The Plan:


  • Mark off 25m along the shore with bright orange cones.
  • The mass of people on the beach typically congregate south of the Bradford Beach house so we should find ample space just north of the beach house to mark off our 25m course.
  • We will setup a base camp for our towels and gear at the south end of the 25m course.
  • When the cannon goes off at noon we will plunge into the water at the north end of our 25m swim lane and swim south towards base camp.
  • Rumor has it that there may be warm water for soaking cold feet and perhaps a little Killepitsch available to warm up your insides! :)

Parking: Parking can be a nightmare. If you're not adverse to walking I have found it easiest to park at the Lake Park Bistro parking lot and to hike down to the beach. (...there are trails that provide a short cut to the beach.) Travel distance is approximately 1/2-3/4 mile. I plan to arrive at the Bistro Parking lot 11:20am.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on the beach!
~Capt'n

19 comments:

Diablo said...

ALL HANDS ON DECK!!! CALL TO QUARTERS!!!

Moondaug said...

g-that seems very cold, I wish I had a few warm bodied vixens to warm me up:-)

Unknown said...

Thanks to you all for letting me join your plunge party. Good luck on future polar swims. We're so lucky it was so warm out, as opposed to today.

Diablo said...

Part of the ship, part of the crew.

Patriarch said...

Ladies and Gentlemen: congratulations on your feat. I wish I could have joined you, or at least come to watch, but I was up north cross country skiing. It's a new year, time to reset all the counters and plan to set new records.

Moondaug said...

Anyone up for a lunch time polar bear swim? I'll chip in for an ice cream recovery drink!

Moondaug said...

Well folks, I'm at a loss now. I went to go for a swim yesterday only to find a wall of ice probably at least 10 feet high, as high as the rock pile, and about as far out from shore. I theorize the cause to be a big heaping of snow upon ice, on which the waves froze as they splashed higher and higher against the snow barrier. Also, the lake was frozen over in many spots. Unless someone has an ice auger to make some seal holes, this may be the ultimate cold shoulder that the lady of the lake throws our way. If the lake was frozen over a little more we could probably walk out to a spot and shovel a length in the ice for polar bear swimming. However we would still have to climb over the frozen snow and ice to get there while risking falling in to an unstable spot. All in all, the logistics seem sadly hopeless. Unless our fearless Captain (Hook) can navigate us to a straight and true course, I fear there is no way back.

Diablo said...

Maybe we can look for a different spot to get in the water.

Moondaug said...

Hey Diablo,

Sing me the song if you find a place in the lake to swim, I think Davy Jones has the Captain.

Diablo said...

Dew,
Any ideas?
The Black Pearl has round aground and Hook is enjoying its plunder.

Moondaug said...

What a great day for a swim it was OUTSTANDING. Air temp in thr low 40's water temp about 33.1 F. The shoreline snow and ice made it seem like Antartica. Kinda gives one a sense of what it must be like for Gordon Pugh or Lynn Cox. What a rush! special guest Dewdrop Jr. took some footage. http://www.youtube.com/user/Dewdrop3963#p/usome footage

Diablo said...

Well done Dew.

Moondaug said...

A new record low temp was set for us today-32.2 F. The water was clear and the sun even made a brief appearance. Diablo is indeed aptly named as the cold water doesn't seem to effect his stroke much at all. The footage can be seen on You Tube-dewdrop3963. Next swim set for 2-7-10 high noon @ Klode. Come one, come all for a swim in the refreshing waters of the lady of the lake, or just bring us a hot chocholate :-)A new record low temp was set for us today-32.2 F. The water was clear and the sun even made a brief appearance. Diablo is indeed aptly named as the cold water doesn't seem to effect his stroke much at all. The footage can be seen on You Tube-dewdrop3963. Next swim set for 2-7-10 high noon @ Klode. Come one, come all for a swim in the refreshing waters of the lady of the lake, or just bring us a hot chocholate :-)

Moondaug said...
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Moondaug said...

Unfortunately last weekend we were locked out by planes of ice. Our hope is that what will happen, eventually, is that the currents will drive the frozen ice planes out enough for us to swim.

Moondaug said...

Finally, after an almost 2 week respite, the lady of the lake saw fit to allow us another 25 meter seal swim. Crew consisted of Diablo and Gumdrop. Today’s dusk time swim took us from Klodes south beach straight out and back. Glaciers scattered the waters, but were navigable. The frozen surface of the rocks made for an interesting site. Air temp was in the low 30's and water temp, well at this point its all pretty much the same (cold as a witches left teat with a brass bra in the middle of January, as close to freezing as possible). The waves took us for a good body surf on the way in. This is our third Captain-less cold water swim, but in his honor, I wore a pair of neoprene blue seventy booties, though without the grocery bags:-). Plan is for the next swim to be on Sunday at 1:00.

Moondaug said...

Todays 50+ polar bear swim took us out and back just past the rock pile on Klodes south beach. Air and water temp's were in the low 30's. Waves were calm and there appeared to be a fog coming from the north east. Crew Consisted of Diablo and Gumdrop with special guest Gumdrop Jr. We took about 15 strokes out and noticed it took significantly more strokes to get back in. We are still working on theories as to why. There was some comment on the lack of a captains presence (our fourth captain-less cold water swim). It was theorized that he lacked the necessary skill set to set sail in these chilled waters, but Gumdrop Jr. came to his defense claiming that he could acclimate well enough if need be. But still we wondered how much longer this ship of fools can last without a proper and right captain. We have so far logged our second cold water swim this month. It is uncertain whether we will log another swim in this month. Don’t tell anyone, but there was also a whisper of possible mutiny, but once again Jr. came to Captains defense, saying that it might make him cry. Most perplexing.

Moondaug said...
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Moondaug said...

On this last day of winter I logged my last winter polar bear plus swim. As the captain has been absent since Jan, despite our agreement of a once a month swim, it seems that now according to the pirates code (all must be ready for action when the time comes), a punishment must be decided by the crew. Diablo, also absent but excused, left me the last of the Klode crew for this last day of winter. White caps were every where with strong waves. Water temp around a balmy 40, I could feel springs approach in the water. Air temp in the low 30's. This being the first swim that the fiery one, Diablo has not felt the strength to do has finally shown some indication of his limits. I was beginning to think he was unstoppable. Recently back from the mountainous west where I swam the waters of the Rio Grande, Colorado, and Gila rivers, I was glad to get this last winter swim in Lake Michigan. Next swim is at klode beach at noon tomorrow, where we will welcome in the first full day of spring and most likely decide a fitting punishment for Hook.

Gumdrop