After yesterday's heat, this morning Avila was wrapped in a solid wall of fog. The fog was hanging off of the beach and was lifting slowly. The water temperature was 55. The water was very clear and there was a slight breeze from the SW. There was also an unusual swell from the SE, but nothing to speak of in the way of surf. Swimming today were Rob, Niel. Samantha, Sylvia, Pete, Dale, Pat and Don. Kris went for a walk and watched our stuff. By 11 the fog had moved offshore far enough to not interfere with our swim. We started on the left of the pier., went left down the buoy line and back to the pier. Niel, Rob, Dale, Don and Pat went longer. Everyone else headed in. The group swam out to the end of the pier, angled to the last buoy at the creek and swam back along the buoy line, under the pier and in. Our swim lasted 40 minutes. Kris and Rick Marina joined us for a pot luck lunch.Rob and Niel will be back this Wednesday evening to swim at 5:30.
We had 8 swimmers today. Susan James, Niel, Sylvia, Dale, Brittany, Chad, John and Don Davis. Gerry Gross came by and visited. No swimming for him while he is resting/rehabbing his shoulder. It was very warm and crowded on the beach. The water was 54..5 with good visibility, nominal surf and no chop. We could of used some of the wind that was blowing everywhere else to cool things off on the sand. We did an easy swim along the buoy line. Brittany and Chad are getting a lot more comfortable in the water so we will consider doing some longer distance next time. We met three other swimmers out along the buoy line who are training for the Alcatraz swim and invited them to join us.We will also be swimming tomorrow, Memorial Day, at 11 with a pot luck brunch afterwards.
niel
50 Degrees! The last two days of wind had caused the water temperature to drop to an even 50 degrees on Sunday. The air was clear but cool and the wind was picking up and showing signs of strengthening as the day went on. Some chop was starting to build up but so far there were no white caps in the bay. We had Sylvia, Niel, Brittany, Chad, Duke and Dale on the beach. Rick Marina took a break from his rid to chat. Dale watched our stuff. We did four different swims. Sylvia, who has Alcatraz coming up, went in without a wetsuit and swam her own workout. Chad, Brittany, Niel and Duke swam the left side of the buoy line at which point Brittany went in. We swam under the pier to the buoy at the creek. The chop was building up and making us work hard. At this point Chad headed back along the buoy line while Niel and Duke swam over to the Poly Pier. That leg into the chop was a lot of work. From the Poly Pier we came directly back to the buoy line at the Avila Pier, occasionally getting to surf the bigger waves in the chop, under the pier and in. Duke and I were in the water 50 minutes and swam about 1.5 miles. Next weekend is Memorial Day Weekend. We will swim on Sunday as usual. We will also swim on Monday at 11 and have a pot luck lunch afterwards. Swim long and earn that first piece of cherry pie.The Martini Swim - We will be doing the Martini route on Sunday, June 27th. This is a 2.4 mile swim. The route is out along the Avila Pier, from the end of the pier to the end of the Poly Pier, from there to Avila Rock, (this leg in itself is .93 of a mile), from there back to the end of the Avila Pier and in. The route is in the shape of a Martini glass, hence the name. We will have kayak support. Rob, Niel and Duke will be going and anyone else who is comfortable at this distance is welcome. If you have not done this distance before I would recommend that you first try 2-1/2 or 3 laps of the buoy line. Since this swim is a circular route route it does not offer any good 'bail out' options. For those that do not care to go long you can group up and do any of the shorter swims niel
In spite of the wind it was absolutely beautiful at Avila Wednesday evening. At 5:30 the wind had died away, the water had flattened out and it was warm and comfortable on the beach. We had a mix of new and familiar faces; Niel, Rob, Sandy, John. Patrick Farrar (!), Bob and Brent (?, I may have that wrong). I got there too late to get a temperature but the water felt much warmer than last Sunday. We were guessing 55 or 56. We swam the left side of the buoy line, at which point Sandy decided to return along the buoy line a ways while the rest of us went out parallel to the pier to the end, around the end and in along the westward side. The total distance was about a mile.You can find more info and pictures at Rob's website; robaquatics.com. You can also check the site for updates on how Rob is doing at the Masters Nationals in Atlanta, today through Sunday. niel
You could tell that summer is on the way by today's conditions; it was cool with heavy overcast with perfect swimming conditions. It was windless with the water about as pool like as it can be. The water temperature was 53. We saw one seal and a flock of pelicans, so our summer friends are returning. We now have three of the usual four buoys on the left side of the pier, all four on the right and the jet ski dock is back. There were eight swimmers today, five regulars and three new friends. Sylvia, Rob, Niel, Duke and Dale were the familiar faces. Chad, Brittany and Sandy came to get their first experiences with ocean swimming. We swam out to the buoy line and went left, then doubled back to the pier. Sylvia (no wetsuit) Sandy and Brittany headed in. The rest of us continued on to the last buoy at the creek, then swam to the end of the Avila pier and came in along the pier. We were in the water about 45 minutes. There were all smiles on the beach afterwards so we may have some new regulars.Rob and I will be there this Wednesday, getting in at 5:30. Everybody is welcome to join us. It is a great way to put your work day behind you.niel
I was out of town for last Wednesdays' and Sunday's swims and was looking forward to getting in tonight. The swimming conditions were great this evening. The wind was dieing so the chop was laying down, the water was very clear and 53 degrees. Rob (no wetsuit!) and I were joined in the water by Barb and John from the SLO Tri Club. Samantha, also with SLO Tri, watched our stuff. We did the right side of the buoy line at which point John and Barb headed in and Rob and I swam out and around the pier. That made 27 minutes for us. It was a great way to put the day behind you.See you on Sundayniel
The weather was beautiful and the water was pretty smooth last night, if not a little cold (51 according to the NOAA buoy so probably 52ish at the beach). Along with myself we had about 6 people from the Central Coast Triathlon Club get in and swim the buoy line on the right side of the pier. It was good to see some new faces in the water and hopefully we see them back regularly! Once we got out I saw Pete had also shown up and was swimming the triangle on the left side of the pier. I swam back out for a while but never caught up with him in the water.
Rob D.
It must be summer! We had a nice turn out today including Gerry Gross, Duke and Angelia, Dale, Rob, Sylvia and myself. It was foggy at 10:30 but burning off. The water was 53 with nice swimming conditions except for the chill. With the fog just lifting we swam out alaong the pier then down to the end of the buoy line at the creek, and back to the pier for about 23 minutes in the water. Angela had run earlier so she just hung with us on the beach. Gerry had not brought a wetsuit and voted to stay out. By 12 it was beautiful, warm and sunny on the sand.niel
