# Why Do People Flock To Cold Water Beaches and What Should I Do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 11, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-flock-to-cold-water-beaches-and-what-should-i-do/368340 "2006-08-11T19:47:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-flock-to-cold-water-beaches-and-what-should-i-do/368340/21 "2006-08-12T12:17:07Z")
[QUOTE=LiveOnAPlane] Uh, huh. I hear you loud and clear. I’m used to the much warmer Gulf waters by Destin, FL or the slightly cooler waters on Kwajalein. I can’t tell you how many people, who are used to this water temp, are amazed at how cool Hawaiian waters really are–that is, compared to what they’re used to or have read about. Folk who are used to the cold Atlantic water probably don’t find it anything but glorious. Same thing, but more, when friends reared on Baywatch, etc., actually dip a toe into SoCal waters…dang, that stuff is COLD!!! [/QUOTE] The thing is, that blue water looks so warm! The sun is so nice, the land is so nice, Tom Selleck always looked so nice swimming in it, that it’s a shock it isn’t very warm. I mean, you look at the water near San Francisco, it doesn’t _look_ anything but cold and nasty, so it isn’t a surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-flock-to-cold-water-beaches-and-what-should-i-do/368340/22 "2006-08-12T12:34:01Z")
Then there are those who can’t get enough of cold water: [Jacksonport Polar Bears](http://doorbell.net/pbc) ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-flock-to-cold-water-beaches-and-what-should-i-do/368340/23 "2006-08-12T12:46:58Z")
Honestly, stop being such a wimp! It’s invigorating and preserves the viability of your sperm for future generations of little Shagnastys. You want cold, try swimming in the North Sea! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-flock-to-cold-water-beaches-and-what-should-i-do/368340/24 "2006-08-12T13:05:24Z")
Heh. When I was a little kiddy in Norway we’d go for a swim now and then during the summer. Damn. Find a little bit of sand on the shoreline somewhere and go for a swim in the beautiful clean clear water that sloped rapidly down to 50+ meters in depth. Get out and lie in the sun every few minutes until the blue tinge went away and your teeth stopped chattering. Nowadays I won’t go swimming unless it’s somewhere approximating to tropical. Having said that, I was very amused in the Maldives when the diving instructor was wearing a shorty ‘because it gets cold at this time of year’. I spent an hour at 20m wearing nothing but trunks and a thin t-shirt, luxuriating in the warmth. It really is a matter of what you are used to… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-flock-to-cold-water-beaches-and-what-should-i-do/368340/25 "2006-08-12T15:03:28Z")
Why cold water? Because hypothermia is **mood-altering**!!! (I think endorphins are involved.) Lake Michigan has been my swimming hole of choice, where the average water temperature _year round_ is 39 degrees fahrenheit! That’s because most of the water in the lake is deeper than 20 feet down, and the temperature of that water doesn’t change much. Only the thin surface water gets warmed up very much. At the best of times, the August water by my shore may be 70-75 degrees, if the winds and currents have pushed the warm surface water in my direction. And that can change overnight, if the conditions change. I’ve enjoyed a pleasant swim one day in said 70 degree water, only to discover the very next day that the water temperature has dropped into the 40’s. During our recent heat wave (temps in the upper 90’s) it was a challenge to cool off because Lake Michigan was in the 50’s in our area. But _damn_, once you got over the shock to the system, it was wonderful! ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-flock-to-cold-water-beaches-and-what-should-i-do/368340/26 "2006-08-12T15:41:30Z")
The water on the Nantucket Sound side of the Cape is about 10-15 degrees warmer than the water on the Brewster side. I realize that doesn’t help much, but it’s better than nothing 😉 Cold water doesn’t bother me once I’m in it; it’s the getting-into-it part that’s agony. I discovered there’s a reason why some people just jump in without thinking: The agony time is much, much shorter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-flock-to-cold-water-beaches-and-what-should-i-do/368340.md?page=1)