No Wetsuit, 50 degree water, what do I do?

X2 I would pass on the race without a wetsuit.

everyone is different.  If the water was 65, it would be a go.

55-59 is pretty darn cold for 1500m.  scrawny little me would easily go hypothermic and I know that I couldn't wouldn't shouldn't do it.  

have you ever gotten into water that cold without a suit?

Thank you all!  Luckily many of you responded before the tri shop close to my house closed...ducked over and rented a suit for tomorrow!!  I was seriously considering doing this in a speedo...

SO glad I posted!!!

#RookieMistakes

Unless you are used to it and know what to expect I would not do it without a wetsuit.  I would be concerned about cramping and not having the bouyancy of a wetsuit to get through it.  Your risk of cramping in those temps goes way up.

edit. just was you got a wetsuit.  good call.

55F is only 12.8 Celsius.

The translation is necessary because I just checked the "Triathlon Canada Competition Rules."  For water temperatures below 14 Celsius wetsuits are mandatory.  When water temperatures are below 13 Celsius the swim can be cancelled.  I did a triathlon on Sunday where the water temperature was 13.6 C.  As a result of this water temperature the Olympic event swim was shortened from 1500 to 750 meters.  (Swim is my weakest event - an Olympic triathlon with a 750 meter swim is my idea of a perfect triathlon.)

I think that these guidelines are saying that swimming in 55F water with no wetsuit is dangerous.

Don

Excellent!

55 degree water is very cold. Not to be attempted without a wetsuit. Do you also have an additional (neoprene?) cap, and earplugs (can be had from CVS). Those can be very useful in really cold water (tips I learned here on BT).

60º is a far cry from 50º

I am surprise at all the people proclaiming that they wouldn't do it without a wetsuit.  Can, have and will do again.  If you don't have the money for a wetsuit don't worry about it, but spend a few bucks on some earplugs and maybe a neoprene cap.

At the races I've done with lakes in the 60 range a lot of people asked me "aren't you cold?" but none of them got in the water in their wetsuits and declared how warm they felt.

Wetsuits are for buoyancy. They aren't magically heated.

Wetsuits are allowed for warmth, they are touted for buoyancy.

You are correct, they are not magically heated, they are heated by your body affecting the small amount of water in the suit to a much greater degree than your body affects the entire body of water.

I don't know about swimming in 60 degree water.... the few times I have swam OWS in the winter in Houston were quite cold even with the suit on...

Huh?  So I take it you don't wear a jacket as they aren't magically heated either?  As above, wetsuits are for warmth and as an added benefit they add buoyancy.  Also, some races like B2B recommends/requires a wetsuit for their race (although I did see some folks without)

-55 degrees ?