60 degree water is balmy for lots of Maine kids

Today's How's the water? story offered some interesting insight into why ocean temperatures in Maine are so cold.

Some were quick to blame the warm Gulf Stream for missing the Maine coast. That's part of the story. Georges Bank, an underwater plateau the size of Massachusetts, does block that warm-water current from entering the Gulf of Maine. But even without a warm current, scientists say, the summer sun is so powerful now that the surface water here should be a lot warmer than it is. For a full explanation of Maine's cold water, swimmers should look skyward. At the moon.

My kids never pass on an opportunity to swim in the ocean even when the air is chilly, let alone care about the temperature of the water.

When you live in Maine you expect your skin to change colors as it freezes and goes numb while swimming in the ocean. The difference about swimming in the summer is that it happens a little slower than the rest of the year.