General News
9 July, 2021
Chilly start to the day for COWS
A GROUP of swimmers had a chilly start to their day in Camperdown last Friday.
A GROUP of swimmers had a chilly start to their day in Camperdown last Friday.
The swimmers, which dub themselves Camperdown Open Water Swimmers – or COWS for short – took to Lake Bullen Merri as the sun come up.
Group member Rod Watkins said the swimmers who varied in abilities had planned to swim the length of Lake Bullen Merri, which is about 2.5 kilometres.
“It was good, it was pretty cold,”he said.
“The water temperature was cold and the wind was making the water choppy.
“Because of the way the wind was blowing we ended up doing a loop of three kilometres, it was hard to keep everyone together with the conditions.”
Mr Watkins said the seven swimmers were in good spirits after their efforts.
He said the idea had been brought up earlier in the week and COWS members decided to have a go.
“We’ve done it before in summer,” Mr Watkins said.
“I don’t think anyone has been mad enough to do it in winter before though.”
The water temperature on the day was a chilly 10.5 degrees, proving a challenge for swimmers not used to the cold conditions.
“There was a variety of swimmers there, not everyone was used to the cold,” Mr Watkins said.
“If you’re conditioned to it (the cold), it’s not so bad.”
Swimmers warmed up with a coffee and breakfast following the swim.
Mr Watkins encouraged anyone interested in joining the group to get in touch via their Instagram page – cows_swim.
He said the group are looking to expand to other neighbouring lakes over summer.