Newbe

[faysexy]

Hi am fay from England am new here but I love the hole idea of quick mud I have never done it before and would love some advise.

What locations should I look for?
What risks are there?
How deep can you go?

I like to try deep play and enjoy the feeling of being sucked in and being held tight.

I live in West Sussex any locations would be great

Fay x

Have a nice Christmas xx

[bart1997]

...

[faysexy]

Hi thanks

I am bart I am going to have a look round and see if there are any good locations. I have done a little sinking fun but I havent been no deeper than knee height so far. What should I look out for going deeper!

[bfc796]

West Sussex! No way...

It's usually 'Wisconsin' or somewhere like that, very far from here. I'm in good old Shoreham-by-sea, by the way.

I know of a few discreet locations locally, which took years of scouting missions to discover, but they all involve tidal mud; and the sea (and by extension, the mud) is prohibitively cold between October and June, in my experience. The air temperature is unusually mild at the moment for this time of year, but the ocean is not so capricious, unfortunately...

http://www.getaforecast.com/weather-charts-seatemp.php

Yup, currently 9 Celsius off the south coast of England, a full 28C below normal body temperature. I've found that if you want to sink very deep in estuary mud with bare feet and legs, then it needs to be at least 16-18C. OTOH, if you're wearing long socks and are feeling brave, then I know a place between Chichester and Hayling Island where you could try sinking up to your thighs in creamy thick blancmange type mud. I haven't gone sinking during Winter before, but I expect it could be done with the right clothing - probably 2-3 layers of socks/leggings would keep your skin dry (and clean), as the mud is so thick at this location that it's not 'wet'. The consistency is like that in Doronko 15 on YouTube, just thicker and deeper.

You can send me a PM if you like.

Welcome to the swamp!

[faysexy]

Thank you I do surfing so I no what the temp is like this time of year I have a 3mm and 5mm wetsuit. But clearly I dont want to be seen buy on lookers.

The weather has been very wet so I have been looking on and off for muddy area's but so far only place's I have seen is to close to foot parths. I like to try deep sinking if I can!!

[bfc796]

Yes, onlookers... That's half the battle in the densely populated south-east of England. Most of my excursions have been just before dawn, around first light, in order to minimize the chance of unwanted interlopers. I've found plenty of promising spots that simply aren't viable because of the likelihood of being observed by random passers by.

I was a bit apprehensive about the idea of suggesting specific areas, with the associated risk of hypothermia that goes with getting stuck, but it sounds like you've got the skills and experience to handle it. Still, it can be dangerous - I recommend taking a small plank of wood with you (soft pine is good), about 15" x 6" x 3/4", which you can use to push yourself out (or pull yourself down, if you immerse it about a foot under the surface of the mud).

How familiar are you with the techniques for extricating yourself? If you know how to get unstuck, then you're unlikely to run into difficulty. For instance, if you are up to your waist and want to get out, then just lean backwards and spread your bodyweight over the surface as much as possible, whilst slowly pumping your knees upwards. It's actually quite hard to completely submerge, so you don't need to worry about accidentally 'drowning' in the stuff.

Better to be West Sussex than East, believe me; if you're looking for suitable locations - there is absolutely nothing eastwards of Southwick locks for many leagues (Newhaven harbour is a non-starter becasue of the buildings that line the river). It depends of how deep you want to go? I've explored just about the entire coast-line between Shoreham-by-sea and Southamptom water, and I'm afraid pickings are rather slim when it comes to inter-tidal estuary mud that meets the requisite criteria (seclusion, depth, consistency, etc).

As for inland areas, local quarries have what are known as 'settling ponds' where the silty clay by-product of whatever is being excavated is left to graually solidify (I think). It would be nice to take tide level and sea temperature out of the equation.

You've got me thinking now.

[faysexy]

The small plank of wood is a good idea I am fairly new I know the basics. But I have only been knee deep so far. I would love to go all the way under.

I am happy to look around West Sussex if you know of any sites that would be cool am near Gatwick.

Am not really keen on going round the coast like you say two meany people. But clay pits sound great but I dont know of any round here. I been mostly looking at in land rivers and ponds for quick sand and deep mud.

[bfc796]

I've sent you a PM.

[faysexy]

I've sent you a PM.

Thanks got it

[bfc796]

I had a quick look at these dry suits you mentioned (expensive!)... They certainly look as though they'd keep you warm and dry, but I'm fairly sure there is a major drawback in using one for the purposes you have in mind, unfortunately. Basically, mud is denser than the human body and the laws of physics mitigate against sinking below waist/chest depth in mud because of the floating point that is reached when immersing an object in a semi-liquid, gelatinous substance. This doesn't apply when the substance reaches a certain thickness, but that causes another problem since the layer 5 ft below the surface becomes more difficult to displace and cannot easily travel outwards and upwards in order to make room for the object taking it's place. Being on the skinny side is definitely an advantage in that respect, but this only helps so much.

Pete bogs have a naturally far lower density per cubic foot than clay pits for example, which is why pete is better type of mud for sinking very deep; as demonstrated in this short video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SylEMyamVwc Theoretically, gelatinous clay could be aerosolized by introducing millions of tiny air bubbles whilst pumping it through a pipe in gelatiouns form and at high pressure, then allowing it to dry in situ. I know that specialized industrial equipment can do that, by it's a pretty elaborate workaround. You know how a Wispa bar is lighter than it should be? Yeah, like that.

As far as I can tell, a dry suit would substantially increase you buoyancy / volume-to-weight ratio and raise your floating point higher than it would otherwise be. On that basis, a contour-hugging wetsuit would be more suitable if you want to go in really deep and possibly submerge. That is all theoretical speculation, though - with your real world experience of wetsuits and dry suits, what do you think about this?

Physics is a bitch.