35 minutes swimming in the Irish Sea

35 Minutes in the Irish Sea: Open water swimming adventures.

35 minutes in the Irish Sea, water 8°C, air the same. Nice and cosy in my new Silvertip, astonished at how effective it is. - Roisin M

Roisin dropped our Support Heroes an email after a January wintery wild swim in her new Silvertip, here's her story.

I’m a wild swimmer and scuba diver from Northern Ireland. My friends and I have always struggled to get into the winter waters in wetsuits or swimming gear, as we’ve always had a fear of that first bite of the cold, so until recently it was all summer swimming for us.

We started up a wild swimmers group as our New Years’ resolution – check out Ballyhornan Sea Swimming Group on FB- and to celebrate I decided to invest in a proper wetsuit – not a surfing wetsuit or a paddling wetsuit but something to keep out the cold.

I love snorkelling about and taking pictures and identifying marine life, so needed something extra warm to allow me to moodle around without getting hypothermia. As a diver I’m well aware that local waters can dip down to 5 degrees on the East coast of Ireland so I knew it would need to be good if I was to get anything other than a 5 minute scream-and -splash. As soon as my new SilverTip arrived I was down to the water for a test run. Dipping in, I was astonished at the small amount of water ingress, it is a great semi-dry suit. So none of that first shock, and I could wiggle into my fins with ease, without that horrible trickle of water down my back . Very flexible and streamlined ( unlike myself I must add). A good twenty minutes in the water passed before I felt anything like chilly, and there was still plenty of time to take a few pics of the rising sun before I headed back in.

Once on shore and de-kitted I realised that there was none of the usual shaking and shivering. The suit had kept my core warm throughout the swim, and I was perfectly comfortable a few minutes after changing. No need for hot whiskeys here! I’ve been able to get into the water every day now, what a treat! My unfortunate friends have not found the Silvertip yet, but I'm sure will shortly do so, as they are the ones screaming and running away under towels, while I enjoy a calming dip, taking my time getting in, swimming around, and getting back out again.

Thanks, Roisin, for sending this invigorating tale through to us!