Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Watch WISN 12 at 5 or 6PM Today! (Wednesday)

Next Swim:  Thursday July 10th 5:00PM

Last Swim: Wednesday July 9th 6AM
Water Temp:  46 Yikes!
Waves:  Calm
Water Clarity:  excellent
Those brave enough to take the plunge:  Gumdrop, Ruth, Don Diego, Neo, Capt'n, and special mention to Diablo who swam without a wetsuit!
Special guests: Showgirl, Diablo, Patriarch, and the crew from channel 12, weatherman Chris, cameraman Pat, and intern Chesney

The streak of extremely cold water continues.  But with camera rolling, the show must go on!  While a few of us wimped out (or had some sense), the braver part of the Cru put on a great show that I'm sure will be going viral by this time tomorrow.  Watch channel 12 at 5 or 6 tonight.

The good news is that the wind is turning around tomorrow from offshore to onshore, which might bring in some warmer water (or maybe not, I've given up trying to predict).

14 comments:

Unknown said...

I just saw the 6:00 news preview and they showed Ted swimming so the rest should be coming on soon!

Waterbug08 said...

Just saw it! Awesome
be there tmrw @ 6pm =)
~Nanook

Kahuna said...

Not a bad story, compared to others. All the swimmers sounded good, and the onsite reporter seemed to get it. He had a nice quote about losing oneself in the beauty of the lake. Go Pro footage nice. Why no Diablo footage or comments though? Too bad too that the studio Kathy or producer had to name the piece "dangerous waters" to get couch potatoes to watch.

Kahuna said...

That, and of course, we miss not having in the story some "words of wisdom" from the Patriarch.

Moondaug said...

Here's the footage.

http://www.wisn.com/weather/icy-temperatures-not-keeping-lake-michigan-swimmers-club-out-of-water/26872526#!bb8OOp

Ben Speed said...

I'm so sick of this cold water. It's the "startless summer."

erun said...

Anyone want to go tonight at 6?

Unknown said...

I'm a first timer, but I think a few people and myself from the last thread said we are going at 6 tonight.

erun said...

Excellent. See you there

Unknown said...

Great TV segment!!

Waterbug08 said...

Be there at 6!

Kahuna said...

I could do either time tonight. Maybe 5 was suggested because of the Bastille Day run tonight at 9? Sounds like the consensus though on this string is 6.

TriBo said...

I'm coming up from Florida to do the USATriathlon Sprint Nationals Aug 10 and am worried about cold water temps. I'm 70 and have never raced (with a wetsuit) in water less than 65F. I've seen your blogs going back to 6-26 and think, as someone previously commented, that west winds blow warmed-up, near-shore water to the middle of the lake and it is replaced by cold, deep-lake water. What is your source of mid-lake surface temps of 59 and 58 for 6-29 and 7-1?

Kahuna said...

TriBo -- Glad to hear you are coming to Milwaukee. Come swim with us at Klode Beach while you are here, as we'd love to meet you! As to where to find Lake water temperatures, if you look at the topics address in the column on the right side of the main page, scroll down below the picture of the bottle of Killepitsch, and you'll see two links entitled something like "Lake Michigan Water Temps" and "Another site for Lake Michigan Water Temps." There are maps there showing water temps. But it truly is impossible to predict what the water temp in Milwaukee will be on August 10th. It could be anywhere from 45 degrees to 72 degrees. It is highly unlikely to be in the forties or the seventies, but you just never know. A strong wind out of the West tends to push the warm surface water to Michigan, and brings up cold water from the deep to the Milwaukee shore, and the opposite is true also. Some of us have gone for half mile swims without a wetsuit in water temperatures in the 46 to 49 range, and none of us have died or gone to the hospital yet. It's a challenge, and there is some pain involved, especially initially but there is also no lack of exhilaration to it. My trick is to focus on something else for a minute or two, and put the water temperature, and what your body is trying to tell you about the water temperature, out of your mind. Going in with others help, ritual helps, having a definite goal as to the minimum distance you are going to cover helps, and saying the words "Fwah, Fwah, Fwah" just before you go in helps. We can help you find websites so you get completely suited up (boots, hat, gloves), if you want to be fully "protected", or (if you have a few days in Milwaukee) to get you acclimated. You can do it! There's always cold showers or ice baths as well, if you really are wanting to get yourself acclimated before you arrive, little by little. Good luck!