A father-of-five drowned after "freezing" in the "choppy" sea while cold swimming, an inquest heard.
Ed Matts, 59, was part of a local cold swimming group and went to his local beach at West Bay in Dorset at 7am on April 11.
He was told by fellow swimmers to avoid entering the sea as the water was too choppy and rough, but the financial trader said he wanted a "quick dip" so he got in.
Shortly after, the dad got into difficulty and "froze" in the water just 30 feet from the shore, with two colleagues swimming towards him to try to help.
They said Mr Matts was unable to lift his arms to be rescued and the two friends were forced to head back towards the shore as they were cold and exhausted, the inquest heard.
The man was unresponsive when the coastguard recovered him from the sea about an hour later.
Sadly, he was pronounced dead in the back of an ambulance at the scene.
A post-mortem examination later confirmed Mr Matts died from drowning.
Dr Michelle James, a member of the Bridport Bluetits, said: "I have known Ed for a year now and he usually comes down for a swim slightly later than us.
"On that day we had decided to turn back early as there was an unusual current in the water and it was getting choppy. We were drying off when Ed arrived - I told him that the sea was a bit choppy. Ed said he was just going to have a quick dip.
"He always had an unusual style but it was clear that something was wrong when he tried to come back to shore."
Dr James said they asked if Mr Matts was okay, but he shouted "not really no", Mail Online reports.
She added: "We didn't see him fighting or thrashing in the water. It's as if the lights went out all of a sudden. He just froze, it was so distressing to see."
Richard Middleton, the assistant coroner for Dorset, said the man's son believed a recent trip to Lanzarote his dad had been on may have changed his resistance to cold water.
He added: "When Mr Matts entered the water he was given advice about these conditions. It is down to each individual to assess the risks taken with every swim in the water.
"His fellow swimmers assessed the risks and decided to cut their swims short. Therefore I have reached the conclusion of misadventure."
