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WELCOME

Swim Bold Swim Cold

Cold Swimming

Why?!

a film in Southsea Uk

The rise and rise of cold swimming
starring the Cold Swimmers of Southsea, UK

Cold Swimmer stunning sunrise in water_e

Sunrise Cold Swim - nothing else matters. Special moments during the nine months of filming

Have you ever wondered what makes people take to icy water?

You may well have a heard a cold swimmer (or two) proclaiming its virtue.

On one level they might be thought to be crazy and on anther brave: perhaps both at the same time.

Take a look at the people practising this "mad fad" and their motivation for this modern phenomenon.

Swim Bold Swim Cold premiered with two screenings at the Southsea Cinema in November 2024.

Further sell out screenings followed. In April it came to No 6 Cinema's massive screen in Portsmouth Dockyard and screened a long side documentary, "I Am Martin Parr".

Location

What better place for my exploration of cold swimming than in Southsea, in the maritime city of Portsmouth - my home town. The pandemic lockdowns saw a spike in cold swimming - pools and gyms shuttered. People found a way to challenge themselves physically and mentally in a unique time of duress.

Fun, lively, candid and informative Swim Bold celebrates the swim clubs and individuals who do this apparently extreme pursuit in seaside community of Southsea.

Are they mad? Why do they do it? The Tipsy Dippers and The Shivery Bites provide some of the answers! What are the benefits and risks to the human body of cold water immersion?

I document the start of my cold swimming journey - swimming for the first time all year round.

Cold swimmers share a common bond and community spirit. Their human stories fascinated me.

Swim Bold touches on the pollution of the waterways and open water: a growing problem in the UK. This precious natural resource is at risk from sewage pollution in particular. Sewage dumping by water companies causes swimmers to change their swim location.

The epicentre of the cold swimming community in Southsea is located at the "hut" by the promenade. Swimmers have cold swum from this spot long before it was in vogue. It is a popular gathering place for veteran cold swimmers and newbies alike.

Discover the local legends who swam across the decades with colourful stories and social history in this seaside town.

Southsea is a special place with its pier and natural beauty with its long shingle beach, vegetated in parts. The geography of the beach will be forever changed as the foreshore will be re-shaped as part of the coastal sea defence plan for Portsmouth. I was aware when filming that I was capturing a special moment in time - the people and spirit of the place and its natural beauty in a period of change.

Sun, snow, fire, rolling seas: take a dive in to cold swimming. Human stories. Starring the cold swimmers of Southsea!

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Highs & lows - sharing my own cold swimming journey

Nick Silk Spinnaker Tower charity abseil Swim Cold Swim Bold film

Helen Cold Swimmers Winter Solstice 2024

The "epicentre" of cold swimming in Southsea

SWIM COLD SWIM BOLD TRAILER

Screening

Swim Bold Swim Cold Cold Swimming Film Nick Silk No 6 Cinema Portsmouth

Portsmouth map uk for cold swim film by Nick Silk

Southsea in the maritime city of Portsmouth

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Swim Bold Swim Cold audience reaction

"A beautiful and moving movie" Beena

"How fun and informative. Thoroughly enjoyed it - the quality as a viewer was amazing too" John

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"So natural. Candid. A treat"

"Touching....I got quite emotional"

"Well put together - I learnt things I did not know" Des

"A visual love letter to Southsea!"

Swim Bold Swim Cold Shivery Bites Re-warm on Eastney Beach

The Shivery Bites swim club re-warming on Eastney Beach

Nick Silk in water shooting for Swim Bold Swim Cold film

On a less "immersive day" shooting. I had discovered previously that water and electronics really do never get on.

"You could be in the supermarket later and just think - I was in the water this morning and it was SIX degrees! "

Deb

Cold swimmer stories

"Cold swimming - Part of my mental strengthening journey"

Dirk

Dirk uses the experience of cold swimming in real life stressful situations. He began the practice as a way of

coping following a painful divorce.

Most of us can't be extraordinary. We will never climb Mount Everest or run the "Big 5" - embarking on adventures of great endurance; pursuing the incredible.

However there is a way every-day people set a challenge through routinely taking a cold water dip. An activity that can be life enhancing. A moment of heightened awareness - an endorphin high - where nothing else matters and time stops. The water. The sunrise. The feeling.

Beth puts it simply yet succinctly in Swim Bold. After an early swim with New Zealander Fran, she says with a giggle - "at least you have done something difficult already that day - and overcome it!'

Time's up! The Tipsy Dippers, Southsea Beach

Physiology: The human body and cold
Can anyone cold swim?

Extreme cold: the effects on the human body. Talking to physiologist Prof Mike Tipton of the University of Portsmouth's extreme environments laboratory for Swim Bold

Prof Mike Tipton, University of Portsmouth

Mike Tipton, Professor of Human and Applied Physiology at the University of Portsmouth explains for Swim Bold Swim Cold, the science and safety of cold water immersion on the human body: the risks and benefits of this extreme environment and "cold water shock". He shares some cautionary advice and why not everyone can or should cold swim.

Safe approach for a cold swim: Preparation is key.

"You would not buy a pair of running shoes and expect to do a marathon the

next day"

Mike Tipton has over forty years of research and published over six hundred scientific papers. He stresses the safety imperatives for those in cold water and has worked closely with the RNLI, saving people from drowning. There is a huge risk to life for the human body in cold water, especially for those with pre-existing health conditions.

As I was filming there were reports in the media about deaths from cold water immersion - notably when breath holding was an added element. Social media and influencers proclaiming "you can do it" without warning of the risks.

I wanted my film to celebrate the pure joy of cold swimming but highlight these dangers. How is the human body affected? And how to cold swim safely.

The danger of combining breath holding and cold water immersion

Mike is emphatic - - do not combine breath holding and cold water immersion where the face is under water. He states that it causes about 82% of people to experience an arrythmia.

It is a fact caused by conflicting physiological responses and opposite inputs to the heart: the cold shock response and the diving response.

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Is there any evidence of the benefits of cold swimming beyond the anecdotal and "it does me good"?

Science has necessarily been concerned with the prevention of deaths from drowning in cold water. Therefore studies in to the physical and mental health effects of cold swimming is limited. However studies are taking place. According to University of Portsmouth's Prof Mike Tipton, science is "slowly but surely playing catch-up" but he says:

"the activity of

cold swimming is

being taken up at a rate, way in advance of our understanding of the benefits of it".

Cold Swim Safety

- get a health check

- do it with a group

- swim parallel to the shore

- stay in for a few minutes - no need to spend a long time and potentially dangerous

- wearing a wetsuit can achieve the same effects as without

- no extended breath holding

The scientific studies are scant but swimmer reported benefits include:-

- Sense of well-being & improved mental health

- alertness "feeling alive"

- caused by endorphins - the body's "happy chemical" spikes

- as much as 2.5 times in one study: greater than crack cocaine

- an effect that can last for several hours

- Positive effects for menopausal or perimenopausal women

Frances Cold Swimmer portrait Nick Silk for film Swim Cold Swim Bold

Fran Cold swimmer, portrait for Swim Bold Swim Cold

"The sea is my happy place -

regardless of the time of year but when the water is cold you get an extra sense of zen, floating around." Fran

"This is ours - we need to keep this biodiversity.

I swim for many reasons but I go in as a personal protest against water companies who dump sewage into the water. It is our food source too."

Annette

"Sea Swim Warrior"
Passionate defender of the marine environment

"Sea Legs" The swimmers were a rich source to photograph and take portraits for "Swim Bold Swim Cold".
The Shivery Bites head over heels for cold swimming

Could the swimmers imagine life without cold swimming? Unequivocally not! The majority confidently asserted that it had impacted their mental health positively.