Oamaru Harbour Swimming

After a brief hiatus for winter, the activities of the Oamaru Harbour Open Water Swimming Club have recommenced.
As the only member to date, it falls on Conrad Galland to describe the pleasures of swimming in the harbour, in the hopes of luring a few stalwarts to join him in this wholly satisfying, and only slightly masochistic, pastime.

Firstly, one needs to be a competent swimmer, and, secondly, one who is sick enough of pool swimming to undertake the exhaustive physical preparations required to survive extended exposure in the harbour.
It is generally very cold.
A wet-suit is not an option, it is a necessity.
You can swim unprotected for a relatively short period in the summer, but the water in the harbour is mostly bone-chillingly cold, and one must just accept this aspect of living in Oamaru, as one accepts all the little injustices of life.
The upside is that you are not likely to collide with any other swimmers, most of them being of the warm water wimp variety.
This represents a stark difference from the swimming pool situation, where avoiding obstacles is the main challenge.
Swimming along with nothing in the way but more water is no small pleasure.
Once suitably garbed, it is necessary to enter the water promptly, as you will quickly begin to overheat.
Entering the water is quite tolerable, until it comes time to put your face in, the only unprotected part of your body.
Your first facial dunk will be met with a searing, sinus headache-type pain, which I presume is due to the rapidly chilled bones of your face contracting around the as yet uncooled air within the sinuses, with a resultant rise in pressure.
This eventually goes away as everything comes down to the same temperature, usually taking about 10 minutes of gradually increasing facial exposure.
The pain is replaced by a generally numb feeling, which is not entirely unpleasant. Now you are ready.
It is really quite splendid. Come, join me in the sea.
- By Conrad Galland