Today, in addition to the regular Sunday swim, a small group had planned to go long and do what we call the Martini swim. The Martini route starts by following the Avila Pier out along its length to the end. From there, straight to the end of the Cal Poly Pier, then to the rock off of Fossil Point and then back to the end of the Avila Pier and in along the pier to the beach (see, the route is shaped like a martini glass, and this swim can be done in either direction). However, the fog was unusually thick Sunday morning. At 10 it was hanging on the surface of the water thick enough to make it hard to see the end of the Cal Poly pier and impossible to see the rock off of Fossil Point. If it did not improve the poor visibility would be a problem for the 2.4 mile swim that was planned for today, as the longest leg of the route would be the .93 mile stretch from the end of the Poly pier to the Fossil Point rock. Getting lost in the fog 3/4 of a mile off shore could result in a lot more swimming than planned. Things got more complicated when I checked the water temperature and got at reading of 53.5, so we could add cold water to the chance of getting lost in the fog. The water temperature seems to be swinging between extremes this summer, since we have already experienced both 50 and 60 degrees since spring. Well, ocean swimming is about adaptability, so we modified the route, the weather cooperated and we had a great swim. At 11 we had seven swimmers ready. The fog had lifted and was thinning, so the visibility was OK but due to the colder than expected water temperature we modified the route to provide bail out points should a swimmer get cold. The entire group would swim the right side of the buoy line to the last buoy at the creek. From there the regular 1 mile +/- swim would continue to the end of the Avila Pier and then back to the buoy line. Those going long would swim to the end of the Poly Pier, back to the end of the Avila Pier, (giving both a bail out route back to the beach for anyone getting cold and a much closer mark to swim to if the fog thickened) and from there to the rock, back to the pier and in. Sylvia and Dale were going to hang out on the beach. Susan, Gary Cushing, Eric, and Rick Marina were going to do about a mile. Duke, Rob and Rob's friend Matt from S. Cal. would go long. I was providing kayak support for the long swim. With the fog there was no wind so other than being cold, the water was flat and perfect for swimming. When we returned to the Avila Pier Matt decided to go in while Rob and Duke continued on out to the rock and back. Twice a harbor seal came by to see what we were doing. It was 12:30 when I dropped Duke and Rob off at the buoy line so they had been in the water for about 90 minutes adn had definitly earned a Att'a Boy! and a nice lunch.
If conditions are favorable I'm interested in doing this swim in the fall. Watch this post or check with me at the beach if you are interested.
Next Sunday is the Fourth of July. We will have a pot luck lunch after the swim.
See you then.
niel
*More pictures available here on Facebook and over on Rob's website
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