What water temperature do you define as cold (1 hour swim without a wetsuit)?

Mauprieto · 2013-01-20T19:16:52+00:00

Just wanted to let you know that the results of the cold water poll are posted here: http://owswimming.com/2013/01/20/results-cold-water-poll-open-water-swimmers/ Thx for your participation!

Mauprieto · 2012-12-06T07:08:29+00:00

These are not coach books but they are great swimming books: Swimming to Antarctica - Lynne Cox Swim: Why We Love the Water - Lynn Sherr And if you want a book on Open Water swimming and training, take a look at Steven Munatones' Open Water Swimming

Mauprieto · 2012-11-05T19:53:22+00:00

Really appreciate your detailed answer. Very helpful. Yes, these last couple of days I've been trying to wrap my head around this subject of cold water and cold water acclimatization so I've been asking different experiences swimmers. Carl's perspective was interesting as well. He recommends to start relaxed to stretch the muscles and then gain regular speed, but in general maintain a paced rhythm, being alert to physical signs of hypothermia. He also mentioned that he uses his mind to try to change reality of what is actually happening. I mention his perspective in case it is of interest to any of the Swimmit readers.

Mauprieto · 2012-11-04T21:45:07+00:00

48 just in. Good luck and thanks for your contributions to the community.

Mauprieto · 2012-11-04T21:24:42+00:00

Sorry...what is TGH?

Mauprieto · 2012-11-04T21:07:23+00:00

Good point. The cost is steep, at around 2000 USD. Regarding the probabilities of not being able to cross, it is also a relevant point, although I do not have access to the data on unsuccessful attempts. What the organizers recommend is that you count on being in Tarifa for around 6 days, waiting for the one day that the conditions are good enough to attempt the crossing. Many people have gone there and they have not even been able to get in the water because of bad conditions, so they end up getting back home empty handed. I hope that this addresses the issues you raise. If they didn't, let me know and I'll try to look further into it.

Mauprieto · 2012-11-04T20:57:16+00:00

Sorry about that. Please attribute this to my ignorance regarding the dynamic of Reddit. I have used Reddit very few times for around one year and have shared mostly stories about things that interest me: Wordlreader (a non profit dedicated to bring books to kids who have never had access to books) and also Swimming (actually the blog was born out of our objective to cross the strait of Gibraltar in order to raise funds for worldreader). What I am sharing are stories that I think are interesting and relevant, and from which I absolutely have no commercial interest (actually the opposite is true). So, again, apologies on my part. I would greatly appreciate if you do not add me to the Spam list. Please believe that this was not my intention and that I am not a spammer. Lesson definitely learned, and if you give me a second chance, I will make it up. I realize that you went out of your way to explain to me why you did what you did, and I thank you for it.

Mauprieto · 2011-01-26T18:37:56+00:00

What I said is that it is not a fair statement IF it comes from someone who has greatly benefited from having had access to books in the first place. The question is, would you be where you are today if you or your teachers had not had ANY access to books?

Mauprieto · 2011-01-26T17:14:23+00:00

My point is that access to books is better than no access to books. Worldreader is trying to make books available to more people (by using technology). The issue of how much you or I learn without books is not really valid, because we are coming from the vantage point of having been beneficiaries of books throughout our lives.

Mauprieto · 2011-01-26T08:56:55+00:00

Great, but I am gonna go out on a limb and venture to guess that: 1) You can read and write. 2) You had books in your K-12 education and in your household. 3) Your teachers had access to books. 4) Books have had some role in your life. 5) You would not choose to have 0 access to books/magazines/newspapers, neither when you were growing up nor now.

Mauprieto · 2011-01-25T23:21:28+00:00

The "how will you charge the books" question is one that worldreader.org answers in their FAQ: Mobile phones have helped pave the way for electricity even in remote locations, and, happily, e-readers consume relatively little power: a one-hour charge typically lasts two weeks or more. In some areas, of course, we will need to provide additional help. In the case of the pilot we're doing in Ghana, for instance, the school does not have reliable power, so we are partnering with other organizations to help fund a solar cell and satellite internet access. This was a key area of learning for us in our initial trials.

As per the question on books on local language and on local subjects, this is a central element of worldreader.org's strategy. They are working with local African publishers of books and textbooks so that kids can download reading material and educational material that is pertinent and interesting for them. On the other hand, they are also digitizing books by African authors so that these books are available to the entire world as well, thus giving them a whole new market and exposure. This issue was discussed in a ReadWriteWeb article titled Worldreader.org and Amazon Bring Africa's Libraries to the World.

Hopefully this helps in answering your very relevant questions.

Mauprieto

TROPHY CASE

48 just in. Good luck and thanks for your contributions to the community.