Go to From The Observation Deck
- Add a comment
- Go to The Polar Bear Club ain't got nothing on us!
Re: How strange; I had no idea well water could be so cold!
Believe me, Katray, my wife and I had no idea that well water could be so cold either . . . until that day! And you're right . . . to each his own. I'm really not much of a thrill seeker myself ( life in general is thrilling enough! ) but as far as rollercoasters go, my vertigo keeps me from seeking that thrill as well! No one wants to see a grown man vomitting on an amusement park ride! 
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 10:33 AM
| link to this | reply
How strange; I had no idea well water could be so cold!
As for the Polar Bear clubbers; shiver me timbers, each to his own but I would ride a rollercoaster for thrill seeking instead..:)
posted by
Katray2
on January 12, 2013 at 9:58 AM
| link to this | reply
Re:
Is that what it is, C C T? And I'm usually a skeptic when it comes to statistics anyway, so I do find it hard to believe that more Brits than Ruskies die from the cold! So, is there anything you'd like to confess about your granny . . .?
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 8:58 AM
| link to this | reply
Re:
You're absolutely right, lustor. It is hard to imagine someone trying desperately to stay warm with a heater on wanting to jump into the frigid ocean waters! Time to crank up the thermostat!
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 8:55 AM
| link to this | reply
A bit dangerous for oldies Jimmy. We have information not to go out if it is cold, Do you know more people die in England than Russia from the cold so statistics say. A good way to get rid of granny invite her in for a dip. Evidently we stand around in thin clothes.
posted by
C_C_T
on January 12, 2013 at 8:41 AM
| link to this | reply
its hard to even think about going in cold water especially right now when its 15 degrees here and I am freezing with the heater on
posted by
Lanetay
on January 12, 2013 at 8:31 AM
| link to this | reply
Re:
Believe it or not, TAPS, that's how I usually enter a pool as well. But after that kid's scream, something told me to "test" the water first. Knowing now how cold that water actually was, I think if I had simply jumped right in, the shock to my system may have killed me, or at least left me unbelievably numb for quite a while! I'm talking arctic cold here!
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 6:45 AM
| link to this | reply
Re:
You might have been, sam. I suppose his scream was a bit of a warning, one which we did not heed, but probably should have! Hey, it made for a great tale! Sorry if it was a bit chilly for you!
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 6:41 AM
| link to this | reply
Re: JimmyA
Are you serious, Wiley? I'm sorry to hear that. This may be a silly question but I'll ask anyway . . . did he venture in of his own volition, or was he pushed in? I mean, it's difficult to fathom someone actually wanting to dive into water that frigid! I've never been much of a risk-taker, but that seems just a little too wreckless!
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 6:29 AM
| link to this | reply
Re: So the Polar Bear club jumps into water warmer than their surroundings.
Perhaps, Ciel, but I don't think the water was that much warmer, especially in the dead of winter. But this was the complete opposite! When it's 90 degrees out, you don't want to jump into water that's 45 degrees either! Believe me, you don't! Our bodies are just not designed to go from one extreme temperature to another. At least I don't think they are . . . 
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 6:21 AM
| link to this | reply
Re: sounds like they should have put up a warning....in Sydney we have the
And you probably shouldn't, Kabu. I know those Ice Bergers or the people in the Polar Bear Club are just testing their bravado, but all my wife and I were trying to do was cool off for a spell on a warm, sunny June afternoon! We weren't expecting icicles to form around our toes in the process!
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 6:15 AM
| link to this | reply
Re:
Thanks, adnohr. Yeah, it's one I've retold a few times, usually with mixed responses, because some people find it hard to fathom pool water being that cold! Sometimes I'm not sure if we were truly brave, or just a bit wreckless in trying to beat the heat. Let me put it this way . . . once we finally climbed out of that pool, suddenly the heat didn't bother us anymore!
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 6:09 AM
| link to this | reply
Re: Jimmy
I'm sure it is, Naut. Yeah, I can see the water still being somewhat cold in early May, but by late June, the water's temperature should have risen considerably. However, I don't think that anyone would expect a pool's water to be as cold as some lake in northern Alaska! And if there had been any hungry sharks in there, I don't think I would have felt their bite either!
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 6:04 AM
| link to this | reply
Re:
Believe me, FSI, there was nobody more surprised than me ( or maybe my wife ) at how cold that water actaully was! Sometimes I can't believe that we continued with our bravado and actually went into that water up to our necks! I'm talking Arctic cold here . . . !
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 6:00 AM
| link to this | reply
Re:
Thanks, mariss. Glad you got a kick out of that. Actually, I was never much of a "polar bear," although I really don't mind the cold. However, while I'm minding the cold, I'm usually fully clothed! Jumping into a pool of unbelievably frigid water with nothing on but a pair of swim trunks shouldn't constitute a "daring adventure!" 
posted by
JimmyA
on January 12, 2013 at 5:56 AM
| link to this | reply
I've been in some pretty cold water but I can't stand to inch in one rung at a time. While everyone else is squealing and inching, I have always dived in head first, turned around and made my way back and climbed out.
posted by
TAPS.
on January 11, 2013 at 7:33 PM
| link to this | reply
You made me freeze just reading this! You two were much braver than I because I would have been with the lad! LOL! sam 
posted by
sam444
on January 11, 2013 at 5:56 PM
| link to this | reply
JimmyA
My uncle joe went into the 'Back River' of Montreal in November, 0° f, froze to death in the cold and they found his body in Quebec City the next spring on the sluice gates. That's Polar Bear dying swimming.
posted by
WileyJohn
on January 11, 2013 at 3:47 PM
| link to this | reply
So the Polar Bear club jumps into water warmer than their surroundings.
I'll bet that makes some difference.
posted by
Ciel
on January 11, 2013 at 1:40 PM
| link to this | reply
sounds like they should have put up a warning....in Sydney we have the
Ice Bergers...never felt the need to join 'em though.
posted by
Kabu
on January 11, 2013 at 12:58 PM
| link to this | reply
LOL - very brave souls you both are for dipping anything more than a big toe to test the waters. Nope. Not for me!! Makes a great story though. Giggle.
posted by
adnohr
on January 11, 2013 at 12:14 PM
| link to this | reply
Jimmy
Brave souls, that you actually went in! My experience of COLD water was up near Ingonish, Cape Breton, on a nice warm and sunny day, on a beautiful sandy beach - in early May! You don't want to go even near the water anywhere on Cape Breton in early May! I went in - up to my knees - and if a shark had chopped them off at that point, I would not have noticed! Yes, I did make it back out, just barely...Other than that, and especially later in the summer, Cape Breton is gorgeous, especially the Highlands...
posted by
Nautikos
on January 11, 2013 at 11:23 AM
| link to this | reply
I myself do not see myself doing one of those polar bear plunges...I never thought about how a well supplying the pool's water could make it so unbearably cold.
posted by
FormerStudentIntern
on January 11, 2013 at 10:22 AM
| link to this | reply
It sounds worse than creek water, only good for younger days!! I am no polar bear no more!! Glad you got out alright, that probably was rough after being used to the ocean. I like your name for the Non-Ka-Bobs.
posted by
mariss9
on January 11, 2013 at 10:07 AM
| link to this | reply