For open water swimmers, even chilly, choppy water beckons

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Some people think it’s just too cold to swim, but it’s not cold at all once you’re in the water.” Unlike many athletic endeavors, open water swimming is a pastime embraced by many in their 50s and up, way up. “It was a truly spiritual moment swimming in the open water and watching the dawn come up.” “Once you’ve been out there shivering with someone, they’re your pal. “We’ve had cormorants swim within a few feet of our faces, and seen different kinds of bird life and schools of fish,” says Mark Schaefer of Branford, Connecticut, who started swimming in Long Island Sound with his wife, Beth Weinberger, after he threw his back out during the pandemic. Liz Adams, also in the Boston area, has been a swimmer all her life, and says, “It’s almost like yoga in the water, with its breathing patterns.” She, too, fell in love with open-water swimming during the pandemic.