The Outdoor Swimmers' Handbook: Collected Wisdom on the Art, Sport and Science of Outdoor Swimming

£11
FREE Shipping

The Outdoor Swimmers' Handbook: Collected Wisdom on the Art, Sport and Science of Outdoor Swimming

The Outdoor Swimmers' Handbook: Collected Wisdom on the Art, Sport and Science of Outdoor Swimming

RRP: £22.00
Price: £11
£11 FREE Shipping

In stock

We accept the following payment methods

Description

A treasured guide for anyone who wants to venture into rivers, estuaries, lakes and seas for a dip, a moonlit swim or a great adventure. I loved this book! The hat will keep you visible, which will help keep you safe. A tow float - basically a lightweight inflated bag - performs the same function, although Kate doesn’t believe they’re necessary if you plan on staying close to shore. Goggles are also important if you’d like to swim with your face in the water. Kate recommends tinted ones for sunny days and clear ones for overcast days. Calum: “If you’ve just started swimming, get out while you’re still enjoying it and keep it super short. Habituation to cold water is something that takes quite a long time, it can take a few swims or weeks and months. In winter, when wearing a wetsuit, I will notice that my pinkie goes wandering and won’t connect up with the rest of my hand. That’s a sure sign I need to get out, it’s to do with the cooling of a nerve in your arm. If I”m not wearing a wetsuit, I’d be getting out before that kind of time. Learn about your body over time, you might understand the signs better. Cold showers can be useful to see how cold feels, but it’s not the same as immersion.” Does it matter if you’re a weaker swimmer and poor at front crawl? Calum Maclean is a broadcaster and Ambassador for The OSS. He is the author of 1001 Outdoor Swimming Tips (Vertebrae Publishing). On insta: @caldamac.

The Outdoor Swimmers’ Book Bundle - Outdoor Swimming Society

Not for records. Not for fame. Not for compensation. But for the genuine joy of venturing into rivers, estuaries, lakes, and sea for a simple dip, a wild swim, and aquatic adventures of all sorts.” It's very much a matter of choice,” Kate says. “For the cold-averse, wetsuits have become amazing. If your focus is that you want to swim up and down a river, and enjoy nature and relax, then having a wetsuit might be a really important part of your journey - you won’t need to worry if it’s too far for you anymore.”There are no hard and fast rules on how long to stay in the water for - some people have far higher tolerance for cold than others do. Even experienced swimmers like Kate still feel the cold! Photo: The Outdoor Swimming Society. Kate has several strategies for dealing with it. One of them is making sure you have someone swimming with you. Another is counting strokes, and focussing on the feeling of the water against her hands. It’s important to be aware of the fact that you are going to be much colder ten minutes after you get out of the water than you are in it, so err on the side of caution. If you don’t feel cold at all when you get out, that simply means you can stay in for longer next time.

The Outdoor Swimmers’ Handbook - Guernsey Literary Festival The Outdoor Swimmers’ Handbook - Guernsey Literary Festival

Rew suggests several reasons why this might be - freedom from gravity, immersion in nature - but at the end of the day, she doesn’t want to over-analyse it. Kate Rew, founder of the Outdoor Swimming Society. Photo: Finisterre Microadventure The Outdoor Swimmers Handbook is a really important, inspiring book, written by someone at the heart of the outdoor swimming movement that –– over the last fifteen years –– has encouraged millions of people to experience the wonders and friendships of Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas. Rew’s book combines hard-won, deeply researched information on how to swim safely and joyfully out-of-doors, with vivid first-hand accounts of swims in astonishing places and with remarkable people. The Handbook has a democratic purpose; to give anyone the confidence and the inspiration to begin to swim. Watch the premiere of Under the Surface, a documentary that follows swimmer Jim Read exploring acceptance after injury, men’s mental health, and what it means to be vulnerable as a man in the endurance swimming world Wild swimming is a good practice ground for controlling your thoughts and anxieties - we all have them.” I'm absolutely crap at cold. People expect, because I run the Outdoor Swimming Society, that I'm going to be tough as nails, so I find it really difficult to admit I need to get out when other people can stay in.” 2. You don't need lots of expensive kit For some dips, all you really need is a swimming costume! Photo: Liz SeabrookI am super excited to have been able to group it all together in what I hope is a really accessible, beautiful fun to read book. It’s a very poetic kind of handbook, with beautiful community photography (thanks to all the contributors!) and illustrated field guides. So many swimmers have helped create this movement and form and articulate this knowledge over the years – may it help make water accessible to millions more.’



  • Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
  • EAN: 764486781913
  • Sold by: Fruugo

Delivery & Returns

Fruugo

Address: UK
All products: Visit Fruugo Shop