I’ve started the swimming season without a wetsuit. The water is already at 16 degrees. The cold challenges us, but not only physically—it’s above all mental. Letting go of artificial protection is a decision. The first contact with cold water can be a shock. The skin tightens, breathing turns into hyperventilation, and instinct tells us to give up—it’s the body reminding us that we’re fragile. If we resist that first impulse, if we embrace the cold and stop fighting it, something almost magical happens: the body adapts and the breath finds its rhythm. The cold becomes a familiar presence, and we begin to feel the water as part of ourselves. We sense the waves and currents more clearly, along with the constant changes in temperature. There’s a deeper connection between us and nature, a sense of freedom in swimming without a wetsuit (and, honestly, the best part: not having to put it on and take it off). This isn’t a debate that can be won with arguments, because studies show several advantages to swimming with a wetsuit over long distances—safety and protection, better buoyancy, improved biomechanics, and reduced risk of hypothermia in cold water. It’s more a personal choice: a challenge, a preference, a way of deciding how we want to experience life with the sea.
When we get out, the body may shake and the skin is covered in goosebumps, but the energy is priceless. We feel happy with our ability to adapt, and there’s that sense of victory. The cold of the sea reminds us that we’re alive, that we feel, and that freedom often requires a bit of discomfort. And then everyone says, “so brave to go without a wetsuit…” which brings a certain satisfaction—but what really matters is feeling the harmony between body and sea, and the energy we’re left with.
It’s already 16 degrees—give it a try, it costs nothing… well, just a little, but only at the beginning…
Sofia Guedes