Sunday, Mat 15, 2011

Rob, Niel and Chad. swam today. The water temperature was 54. The rain showers we had Saturday night were not enough to muddy the water. There was a steady wind from the south and wind waves from the SSW. There wasn't much surf but the wind waves were 1' to 2' with an occasional 3 footer and not breaking. The waves were only 3 seconds apart. The swimming conditions didn't look too challenging when we got in, without whitecaps it didn't look too bumpy. We made up this swim as we went along. We swam out to the end of the Avila Pier, then to the phantom buoy at the creek, doubled back along our route to the end of the pier and swam to the last buoy on the east side at the start of the sea wall. We came back along the buoy line towards the pier, angeling in early to avoid the lines of the fishermen on the pier. This swim turned out to be mush rougher than we expected. On the first leg on our way out to the end of the pier it seemed like I never got out of the surf line. Swimming in the wind waves was just like working through the surf. It wasn't like swimming through a chop. The waves were big enough to really push you around and they would break over your head. It was easy to swallow a lot of sea water. Each leg was different but they were all a lot of work. We were in for 41 minutes. This swim was just over a mile.

niel