Yesterday morning, as we stood in the Dolphin Club planning our route, a solo woman swimmer walked in out of the darkness. Her skin was a discolored - bright red and blotchy white (a temporary side effect of swimming in cold water). A rush of cold morning air blew past her and I pulled my towel tight against my shoulders to keep warm. She chattered, “It is really nice out there, the water temp is f-f-f-fifty.”
As she entered the women’s locker room, my group of fellow swimmers started nodding their rubber capped heads and smiling. “Fifty”, said Mark with a smile. “Yeah, I got 49 yesterday”, said Vince. Sunny just smiled and said, “Fifty.” They all seemed pleased and relieved by the report of the apparition swimmer. I too started to smile and nod. Then I looked out at the cold dark bay, shivered, and thought these guys are insane.
I mentioned this to Jon and he replied quite simply, “Fifty feels a whole lot better coming up than down.” With that he pushed his way out the back door and into the night.
I reconciled his comment during our swim.
During the summer months, the temperature in the bay is in the high 50s and does sometimes even hit 60 degrees. As we approached winter and the mercury began to fall, 50 degrees was the mark where it was officially “f*#&kin cold.”
It seems a sub-50 degree swim is a badge of honor of sorts. In fact, I learned that many Dolphin members stop swimming when the temperature hits 50. Sub-50 is condsidered dangerously cold by many. This winter has been particularly cold. The water has been hovering around 47-48 degrees for weeks. The lowest recorded temperature this winter was 44.
As we rounded the pier, I started to get it. From depths of winter, hitting the 50 degree mark is like a calm warming after a storm. Fifty feels better when the temperature is rising that when it is falling! I peeked over at Jon gliding through the dark water and thought, “yeah, he’s really got it.”
Twenty minutes later as I made my final turn back toward the club, I could no longer feel my face, hands, or feet. The sun was finally starting to rise and I was struck by the site of frost on the dock! I watched Jon rise to his feet and wade out of the water. His back was bright red with blotchy white patches. He looked back toward me with a huge grin, nodded and made his way into the club. In that moment of ‘would-be clarity’, I was again struck with the distinct sense that my dear friends and I are all insane.
