When I say scuba diving, surfing or paddle boarding you may be picturing a Caribbean beach with waves crashing along the shore. Its hot, blue skies, with white sand beneath your feet.
While the modern day adventurers I spoke to are used to seeing white, its definitely not in the form of hot sand.
Let’s set a different scene. It’s the depths of winter and you are not too far from your own backyard. Maybe you’re facing the frigid temperatures and winds out on the great lakes or even just down at the Thames. You suit up and get ready to take the plunge.
That’s what ice and winter divers like Rob Pugh experience when they dive during our coldest months. Rob has completed thousands of dives all around the world. Currently he is an instructor with cross current diving in London.
Dive equipment, new and old, on display at Cross Current Divers on Oxford | Sam Cook 2020
Your gut instincts may have you saying he’s doing something dangerous or maybe he’s just crazy, but he says that’s not the case. While it is difficult to get to this level of diving, he says winter diving and diving in general is actually an incredibly safe sport.
“Diving is probably the safest sport you’re going to have. The next safest sport is bowling, and that’s not just me saying that, that’s statistics.”
He’s not just making a joke when he says that, when you look at the stats, injuries from diving only account for 1092 emergency room visits in the US per year. Bowling, on the other hand, account for 19,802.
He says that this is because it is a self regulated industry that takes safety extremely seriously. Its a niche sport and that somewhat forces the community to be the best that it can be.
While it may be safe, you still might be wondering what kind of person would desire to put themselves into this kind of situation. Rob says the answer is simple, an adventurer.
“Since I was little I’ve always loved the water. I also liked being adventurous. Diving appeals to two different groups of people. Those who want to enjoy the environment down south, and those who like the adventure. I’ve always been more adventurer.”
You don’t need to go under water to get a thrill so cold it will chill your spine. The Lake Surfistas are a group of Canada based women surfers and paddle boarders who make the most of the great lakes surf season that last until the end of winter.
Julie Colgan of the Lake Surfistas hanging out in the XFM studio | Sam Cook 2020
One of their members, Julie Colgan came to the XFM studio to talk. She shared most people’s first response when they learn what she does.
“They’re shocked that you can actually surf the great lakes. They’re shocked that there is this huge surfing culture. And surf season actually runs from August until the first of spring, as long as the lakes don’t freeze.”
And while she thinks winter surfing and paddle boarding are amazing activities, she understands why it can be a hard sell.
“We’re going out in weather that most people are hibernating through. So cold windy days in the fall, or yesterday with 40 kilometer per hour winds, we’re the surfers that are hitting up the great lakes and looking up the weather forecasts and following the wind.”
Before you start heading out to walk through the snow to water Julie says she encourages everyone who is interested to learn more about winter surfing and paddle boarding from the tight knit community that surrounds the sports.
While the closest some of us may ever get to diving or surfing is through movies like Point Break, it remains clear to see that the excitement and thrill may be worth braving the icy depths for those who cant scratch their adventure itch above water.
