Sea swimming kit guide

Sea swimming off Exmouth is the simplest sport we do and the one that keeps people in the water all year. The kit is small, but the right few pieces are the difference between a ten-minute dip in March and a proper swim.

Start with safety

A tow float is the one thing to buy before anything else. It makes you visible to boats, kites and the lifeboat crew, gives you something to hold if you cramp, and the dry-bag versions carry your keys and phone. Swim with someone, tell someone your plan, and check the tide: the estuary side of the beach runs hard.

• Tow float, ideally the dry-bag type
• Bright swim cap so you can be seen
• Never swim alone in the estuary mouth

Wetsuit or skins

From late May to October plenty of people swim in a costume. Outside that, a swimming wetsuit makes it a sport rather than an endurance test. Swim wetsuits are cut for the arm stroke and float your legs, so they feel very different from a surf suit.

• Summer: costume, or a 2mm springsuit if you feel the cold
• Spring and autumn: 3/2mm to 4/3mm swim wetsuit
• Winter: 5/4mm suit with hood, gloves and socks

Hands, feet and head

Extremities go numb first. Neoprene socks or boots, gloves and a hood or neoprene cap add ten minutes to every winter swim and make the walk over the stones bearable. A 3mm set covers most of the year.

Goggles and caps

Any decent pair of open-water goggles with a wide field of view is fine; tinted lenses help on bright mornings. Silicone caps are for visibility and keeping hair out of the way, neoprene caps for warmth.

Getting warm again

The swim is easy, the changing is the hard part. A changing robe turns a car park on a windy day into somewhere you can get dressed, and a hot drink afterwards is not optional. Most of the team keep a Dryrobe and a flask in the van from October to April.

Where to swim

The seafront in front of the shop is sheltered by the sandbank on the right tide, and Sandy Bay is the calm option when the wind is from the west. Have a look at our spots guide, and ask us on the day if the sea looks lively.