Sunday, March 17, 2024

Sunday, March 17th, 2024

Sunday was a exceptional early summer day at Avila Beach. It was 70°, cloudless and almost windless with small surf. There was a wind chop out of the west that wasn't noticeable until you got a good distance offshore. 
We had a lot of people in the water today. Coach Tom Lorish brought a group from the CP women's water pollo team and swam with them around the Avila Pier. Then Tom swam over to the CP Pier. Sue from London was here and swam Friday and today. Today she swam around the Avila Rock. Niel, Jim and Tom Israel also took advantage of the favorable offshore conditions and swam around the Avila Rock. 
Avila Beach at 10:30

Jim, Niel and Tom at the Avila Rock.

Avila Beach at 1 PM.

Beautiful spring weather is predicted for this week so I'll be swimming 
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7 and next Sunday at 11.

niel

 

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Saturday, March 16th, 2024

 
Jodi, Jim and Niel
at the end of the Avila Pier
l
It Might Be Spring - 

At sunrise it was 39° and clear with the beginnings of an offshore breeze.  The surf was up a bit, there were occasional sets of 4+ footers with 2 to 3 footers in between.   

The water temperature at Avila Beach is the coldest in the spring, so Thursday's 50° and todays 49° are providing spring swimming conditions. The water is nice and clean and the offshore breeze puts a chop on the water to make it more interesting. 
When Niel, Jim and Jodi began wading in this morning there were expressions about unhappy toes. After full immersion and a short swim out to where we grouped up the conversation was short and we got back to swimming in order to not focus on how our exposed skin was feeling. 

We swam the west buoy line, to the end of the Avila Pier and to the second crossbars on the Poly Pier. That was enough for Jim's shoulder so he went back while Jodi and Niel swam to the end of the Poly Pier and back to the end of the Avila Pier.  Offshore as far as the end of the Poly Pier the wind chop was real enough to make swimming like running a rocky trail, except for the addition of 3 foot swells.  The chop would flatten out the closer we got to shore which was nice to keep in mind during the slog back to the Avila Pier.
Spring also means that it is sunny at the showers which makes getting changed a much friendlier experience. 

I'm looking forward to swimming tomorrow at 11.

niel  

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Thursday, March 14th,2024

 Five-O -

This morning the water temperature at the Poly Pier was 50°. It felt cold getting in, but it always does when the water is below about 55°. I guess the water temperature by judging how long it takes to stop noticing how cold the water feels and get into the swimming. My thermometer then tells me how accurate my bare skin estimate was.  I was thinking probably colder that the 52's we have had recently but not 50°.  It is nice to find out the water was colder than I thought it was. 
I'd gotten in just before 7. It was a chilly feeling 44° with a light wind and clear skies with a nice sunrise. The water was flat close to shore but bumpy further out.     




I'll be back Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 11.

niel


Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Tuesday, March 12th, 2024


The Avila Pier from near the mouth of San Luis Creek. 

I'm back to swimming at sunrise. I got in a bit after 7 when the light was good enough to see everything clearly. 

At 7 it was 45° in Avila and calm. The surf sounded large but was the same as it had been over the weekend, one to three foot breakers with an occasional larger set. The water is holding at 52°.

I did clockwise and counterclockwise triangles and swam 3,501M in 1:18.

Swimming parallel to the beach I'd occasionally find myself on the top of a big swell looking way down to the beach, but when I came in I swam to the shore without having to deal with any waves. 
The bottom is evened out now so there are no holes to drop into.

I'll be back on Thursday morning at 7.

niel         

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Sunday, March 10th, 2024

Today's conditions were calm, completely gray and 51° above the water and 52° and very clear in the water. The waves were up with sets of 3'+ and there was a short period SW swell and no chop, so the water was smooth and lumpy. 

Swimming today were Tom Lorish, Tom Israel, Paula Dooley, Jim and Niel.  When I arrived Tom L. was already heading out to the end of the Avila Pier. I lost sight of him in the swell but I think that he swam to the Avila Rock. That would have been an extra special swim today because the swell that would be like riding into the wind in bout directions.

The 11 o'clock group swam out to the end of the Avila Pier and decided a route based on how things were there. Getting out through the waves was more challenging that it has been. We decided to swim the the second crossbars on the Poly Pier where Paula and Jim would drop off and Tom and I would swim more to somewhere. 

Niel, Jim, Tom and Paula at the second crossbars on the Poly pier.
The water was nice and clean.

Tom and I pushed our way into the swell to the end of the Poly Pier and rode the swell bus back to the Avila Pier.

We have a nice clear week ahead of us so I'm planning on swimming Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7 and next Sunday at 11.


niel   






Saturday, March 9, 2024

Saturday, March 9th, 2024

It was a nice morning in Avila Beach, 41° and clear with a light offshore breeze with small surf breaking on the steep beach. The water looked like it would be choppy but the wind died and we hade smooth swimming. 
Jodi, Tom Israel, Jim and Niel swam out to the end of the Avila Pier and over to the end of the Poly Pier. Jim is nursing a shore shoulder and went back from there. The rest of the group swam to the second crossbars, to the end of the Avila Per and in. The water temperature was down a bit to 52°. 

Tom, Jim, Niel and Jodi at the end of the Poly Pier.

The lifeguards were in the water doing their recertifications. We spoke with Phil briefly.

I'll swim tomorrow at 11. It looks like we will have a week without rain so I expect to be swimming Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday next week.

niel



Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Tuesday, March 5th, 2024

It was a nice morning in Avila Beach. At 41° it was a bit on the cool side, there was a light offshore wind and small, weak waves. The beach and bottom are still stormed up: the beach and the shallow water is very rocky and there are a couple of sand bars that make the waves break about 100M out and again as they hit the beach.  The water temperature was 54°.      
I got in on the west side of the pier and planned on swimming two big triangles. I got the first done but half ways into the return, at the end of the Avila Pier, this barge had come in close to shore on the west side of the pier. This barge has a derrick and is used to place and pull out the buoys that we swim along all summer. It is too early for the buoys to be placed so maybe they were going to do some work on the pier.        

I reversed my plan and swam back the way I had come.

I'm done and ready to get out.
There is a bump on the horizon to the left of the end of the Avila Pier.
The barge was stationary out there until I left for home. At 11:30 they were gone. 

We are supposed to get some rain Wednesday afternoon nad evening but the predicted amounts are small so Swimming Thursday morning is iffy. The weather looks nice and dry through the weekend so I'm planning on swimming Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 11.        

niel

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Thursday, February 29th, 2024

 
This morning it felt like a storm was coming.  The rain is due tonight but all of the players were present in Avila this morning. It was cloudy and at 52°, warmer that it has been this early in the morning. There was a steady wind out of the SE and the surface of the water was a ripped up. The waves were small to flat and the swimming looked easy enough until I got a ways from shore. The flat light had hidden the size of the chop and how confused the surface was.      

The Second Crossbars at the Poly Pier looking towards the Avila Pier
  
The water was colder near the Avila Pier and 54° at the end of the Poly Pier. Swimming out along the Poly Pier on the west side of the pier the water was constantly changing and I was taking on some water.  

When I turned the corner towards Avila at the end of the pier the chop went up a factor. Luckily (?) I had a lot of trash in my head from yesterday and I was able to keep giving it to the water and until I found myself past the end of the Avila Pier and closing on my point to turn back towards the Avila Pier.  On this leg I kept turning into the swell and swimming towards Pismo. I kept correcting to the left and trying things but I never figured it out. 

Enough rain is predicted between Thursday and Saturday nights to make me sit out the weekend. If the storms wimp out I'll reconsider.

niel       



Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Tuesday, February 27th, 2024

 Niel's Tuesday Morning Swim -  

I have a great swim this morning. I arrived a bit early.  The air temperature was 45°, the surf was like Sunday, 2 to 3 foot but mushy, well consolidated and breaking on the sand bars three times with the final break at the beach. Sand is building up on the beach so the walk to and from the water is no longer rocky. The beach near the water is still very steep. Sometimes the water that runs out collapses the incoming waves and creates a wave going back out through the surf.  I waded out until I had to begin swimming and in 10M I could stand up on a bar and walk out past the breaks. 
 
I had not done triangles in a while so I swam the imaginary buoy line clockwise and counterclockwise. The water felt colder than Sunday. I measured 55° which is almost the same temp as on Sunday but with the lack of sun and a 25° cooler air temperature it felt like 53 - 54.
I could still feel the swells passing under me at the end of the Avila Pier.  Each sandbar takes some energy out of a swell and by the time they reached the beach they were down to mush.

Things look good for swimming on Thursday with rain starting Thursday night and continuing through Saturday so swimming Saturday and Sunday may get scrubbed. 

niel                

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Sunday, February 25th, 2024

This was Avila Beach at 10:30 Sunday morning, sunny, 70°, a light wind and a 55.4° (!) water temperature. At 1:00PM the beach was packed and it felt and looked like summer. Not bad for February.
I spoke with Tom Lorish as he was getting out after swimming around the Avila Rock.

Swimming today were Jodi, Tom Israel, David and Niel.  We made the big decision to swim out to the end of the Avila Pier and to figure out what we wanted to do once we got there. 
Once there we decided to swim the same route as yesterday, until we got to the second crossbars, when we decided to make our turn back to the Avila Pier at the third crossbars instead of the end of the pier.   

David, Tom, Niel and Jodi at the end of the Avila Pier.
With the sunshine and the 55°+ water it was very comfortable out there today. 

David at the second crossbars doing an imitation of an otter 

Tom, Jodi and my toes at the second crossbars

The water stayed fairly smooth and we had a great swim.

With scattered showers and a chance of .1 inch of rain predicted for Monday I will be swimming on Tuesday and Thursday at 7.  Rain is still predicted for Friday and Saturday so swimming next weekend is chancy.

niel



Saturday, February 24, 2024

Saturday, February 24th, 2024

Tom and I got in the water a bit before 7. It was 45° with a light offshore wind, the water beyond the surf line was rippled but not choppy. It was close to high tide and the beach still has a steep slope into the ocean. The surf was 2 to 3 foot and was breaking very close to shore  which made getting out, and back in, a short, busy experience.

We swam out to the end of the pier, over to the second crossbars on the Poly Pier, to the end of that pier and back to the end of the Avila Pier.  The wind had picked up and there was a head slapping wind chop now that we pushed into all of the way from the end of the Poly Pier to the shore.  The water felt a bit warmer and I measured 53.5°. With the weak sun and the wind it do not feel more like 52°.


Niel and Tom at the second crossbars on the Poly Pier.

I'll swim tomorrow at 11. Tuesday's swim will depend on how much rain we get on Monday.
Swimming Thursday looks pretty certain but the possibility of rain on Friday may mess up next weekend. 

 niel 

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Sunday, February 18th, 2024

Tom's Sunday Swim Report -

 

Managed to get a swim in between water polo games. Lots of clouds in the sky, but no rain… While I was here anyway.  The ocean was wild and rocking and rolling.  The water quality seemed fine to me, nevertheless, I stayed on the east side.  I'm just glad I was able to get a swim in today before the big rain hits. 

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Conditions on Saturday morning were gray skies with some breaks in the clouds, no wind, a 50° air temperature, small surf and 52° water. 
Niel, Tom and Jamie got in just before 7. Jamie has been swimming with us on Sundays and today was her first morning swim.
Jamie was looking for about a mile, Tom and I wanted to go 2 miles, so we planned a swim over to the Poly Pier figuring that Jamie would turn back early.  

Niel, Jamie and Tom at the second crossbars on the Poly Pier

On the way to the Poly Pier there was a strong offshore push. There was no wind and all of the swells were headed N or NE so I do not know where such a strong push was coming from. The plot shows how much correction I had to make to make to arrive at the second cross bars.  
At the second crossbars Jamie was ready to go back and agreed to swim to the end of the Avila Pier with Tom and I . She'd go in from there and we would swim to Fossil Point and back. 

When Tom and I were at Fossil Point it was raining in Port San Luis but was calm in Avila. When we started back and the water's surface blew up under us and we had a riotous swim across a variable cross swell all of the way to the Avila Pier. There was still no wind. The rain over at the port must have had some wind with it and kicked up a patch of storm conditions for us. Tom said that at one point he felt a big lift and then dropped into a hole in the water.

4 to 5 inches of rain is possible between now and Wednesday so swimming before next Saturday will depend on how much rain we get. A couple of inches Sunday night would dirty up the water until the end of the week

niel    
 

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Thursday, February 15th, 2024

Easy numbers this morning; the air temp at 6:45 was 52° and the water was 52°. It was calm with flat surf.  The County's water samples from Monday had Avila Beach and the Creek Mouth in the green zone so I indulged in a Reef  Buoy / Poly Pier loop with a swing by the mouth of San Luis Creek.  


The Poly Pier at the second crossbars
This looks a lot flatter than it swam. There were multiple small swells out of the South and SW that made it more lumpy than the photo shows with a push from the SW and noticeable help swimming in along the Poly Pier.  . 

There actually are lane lines in the ocean

Getting changed in 50° air with no wind was almost luxurious compared to Tuesdays mid 30's and gusty wind.
 
Current predictions have Saturday being fairly dry and most of the rain on Sunday, so I'm planning on getting in at 7 on Saturday morning and sitting out on Sunday, unless it rains a lot before Saturday morning. 


A Book Review -

More about how the tides function than my brain could hold in one reading 

Sadly, definitly not Avila Beach

Waves and Beaches by Willard Bascom and Kim McCoy - 
I came across this book in December while browsing in a bookstore in Pacific Grove. I had never heard of it. I leafed through it and between the science about how waves and beaches function and interact and the photography, I didn't put it down. It has been a wonderful read, taught me about things that I've seen and wondered about and will be a resource for further study. It was originally published by Willard Bascom in 1964 and was republished with current data and photos in 2020. If you follow my blog this book is probably something for you.    


niel    

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Tuesday, February 13th, 2024

A view of the former Reef Buoy turning point. 
The kelp patch is still here but the big surf two weekends ago put the buoy on the beach.
 
It was cold this morning. At 6:50 the air temp was 37°, and combined with a stronger than usual offshore breeze I was hustling to get in the water.  That seems strange but I was getting chilled while getting ready so I hurried to get in the water. The rising sun was behind some clouds so it was hard to tell how clear the water was but there was no silty taste. The wind chop was just enough to make itself felt and to require corrections in my navigation.  The water temperature measured 52°-53° but the air temp had me thinking the water was 51°.
The surf was 3 foot + and wimpy.       

Getting changed in the wind was less fun than being in the water but once I got my warm clothes on and into the sun it felt nice.

Xterra Swim Socks Gear Report Follow Up -

My feet get colder than my hands and these Xterra Lava Swim Socks have been great at keeping my feet warmer and not getting in the way or feeling like blobs tied to my feet. Unfortunately, after about 20 swims the soles are torn up at the ball and heel.  The soles have small rubber dots for a wearing surface and they have not adequately protected the fabric. The right one has the bigger holes and this foot is the one that I have behind me to brace myself with when I'm pushing through waves. The big swells have taken a lot of sand off of the beach so the beach and the bottom is rocky. 

These have been perfect for me, just thick and warm enough and my wetsuit pulled on easily over them.  I'm going to have to look for another brand with more real soles.         

I'll swim Thursday morning and we'll see how much rain comes in Saturday and Sunday.

niel