Avila Beach was grey and overcast at 10:30. Sylvia was waiting for me on the beach. I measured a water temperature of 63 degrees so it is holding up nicely. Interestingly, Sylvia says that the water temperature in Santa Barbara has been running about the same as it has here. http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=ntbc1
The ocean south of Point Conception is normally 6 to 10 degrees warmer than what we see here. We are definitely getting the better end of that deal! Looking back through my records I find that I have not recorded a water temperature at Avila Beach that was below 57 degrees since the beginning of June with half of those reading at 60 or above. Some summers we have not seen the water temperature break out of the 50's so this must be close to a record for high summer water temperatures.
Back at the beach, Ali and Brett joined Sylvia and I in swimming the triangle clockwise. Brett si a Poly grad, working in SLO, living in Atascadero and is going to do the tir in Monterrey. This was his first (?..almost?) swim in the ocean. He did really well, had a great time and will be joining us again for more ocean fun.
niel
A Therapeutic Swim
I'd had a long day with a lot of driving and a meeting in the middle, but really felt that a swim would be good so I dragged myself to the beach. Wow, it was warm, crowded and the water was 65 degrees! It was not as windy as it had been in San Luis Obispo but the wind at Avila couldn't seem to decide what direction was right for it. Anything direction between the SW to the east was being tried. Ali and I swam down to Fossil Point and back. We covered 9/10's of a mile in a casual manner. The water was even warmer by several degrees down towards the point so we were stopping and just enjoying the water. You can tell from the plot that swimming into the late afternoon glare made navigating a challenge. When we got out I felt great, completely rejuvenated and looking forward to dinner.
niel
We had a great swim today. The water was 63 degrees, no birds or seals and just a little wind until later. Swimming today were Niel, Sylvia, Rick, Duke, Gerry Gross and Ali. We were joined today by Craig, who is from Las Vegas but visits Santa Maria and swims in a pool. Today would be his first ocean swim. There was a yacht race under way so we had to select a route that kept us close to the buoy line. There was a catamaran anchored half way between the east end of the buoy line and Fossil Point. We agreed to swim the buoy line with a swing out and around the anchored cat added on. Sylvia and Craig stayed along the buoy line and covered about .6 of a mile. When we regrouped at the last buoy we could see an otter on the edge of the kelp bed not too far off. He did not find our prowess in the water to be worthy of a comment. When we began swimming west along the buoys there was some chop to deal with. Ali dropped off when we returned to the pier, leaving Niel, Rick and Duke to swim under the pier, down the buoys to the creek mouth and back. The chop was rougher on the west (windward) side of the pier. We covered a total of 1.24 miles. When we got into the water from the creek on the west side of the pier it was really warm.
We had a really nice swim.
niel
Avila Beach was warm, calm and sunny with a water temperature of 60.5 degrees. We had a big crowd today; Niel, Rick, Duke, Sara (who was visiting Avila from the bay area), Ali, Kurtis, Jon, Stephen, Mary, Will and Dan. We swam the triangle clockwise at a fast pace.
Dave Van Mouwerik Swam the Semana Nautica 10k today. No results posted at this time.
Rob swam a fundraiser in Humboldt Bay today. This was a tide aided 4.5 miler.
You can see a news clip about it here
http://kiem-tv.com/video/swimmers-take-bay-benefit-local-non-profit
and see Rob doing his famous chicken dance. Watch for his post about his swim.
I'm interested in doing the Santa Cruz 1 Mile Rough Water Swim again this year. It is on Saturday August 2nd. $35 before July 25th. This is a Masters swim so if you want to enter, get some of the great swag they give away and to have a time posted you need to be a member of Masters and do the swim without a wetsuit. There are always some people who don't enter and go with the rubber. The water temperature in Monterey Bay has been 58 -59 degrees so this would be a good year to do this swim. I'd do it as a day trip from SLO and car pool.
http://www.pacificmasters.org/comp/openwater_meetsheet/14cruz1M.pdf
Interested? Email me at ndilworth@charter.net
niel
Avila Beach was showing off today. When I arrived a little after 10 Avila was a sunny hole in the clouds and fog that extended from the hills behind the port all of the way around to Fossil Point. There was just a little hint of wind out of the SE and the water temperature was 61 degrees. NOAA had predicted large surf at the south facing beaches, which includes Avila, but an occasional 3 footer was the biggest wave to be seen. Niel, Dave VanMouwerik, Amy and John Hampsey decided to do a swim along the buoy line and to not mix in with the yacht race that was forming up off of the end of the pier. The wind was shifting around, making things a little choppy, but the water was nice and we had a great swim.
niel
Duke showed for the 8 AM swim to Pirate's Cove but was the only one present, leaving him to swim at 9 with Niel and Rick. We planned to swim out to Avila Rock and back, which is a 1.5 mile swim. There was heavy overcast or low clouds that was staying high enough to not be considered fog. Visibility was about 2 miles. There was an occasional breath of wind that would die away, the sea was glassy and the water temperature was 59 degrees. The swim out to Avila Rock was nice; smooth, warm (for Avila) water and not much of a swell so siteing on the rock was pretty easy. When swam around the rock and grouped up at the south end we found that we needed to swing farther left to clear the kelp beds which put us on a line to the end of the Avila Pier, so to the pier we swam. At the end of the pier Duke threw down on us. He had planned on doing the 3+ miles to Pirate's Cove so he proposed swimming over to the Cal Poly Pier before returning to the beach. This would make our 1.5 mile swim into a 2.5. Well, the sun was breaking through and the water was so nice that Rick and I went along. Rick and I swam directly back to the base of the Avila Pier, which was 2.3 miles while Duke went under and down the buoy line enough to ensure that he made his 2.5. The water temperature was very even the whole way with no cold spots.
We will all be back this Sunday.
niel
Bonnie Zaikowsky and I swam this evening. The wind was still up, out of the SW and making small whitecaps. The water was 60.5 degrees. Again, quite a few people fishing from the pier but no sign of the birds, seals, dolphins or other predators that usually follow the smaller fish. Bonnie had swum with us before but had not been in ocean in 2 years so we planned on swimming out to the first buoy and then down the line to see how it was for her getting back in the ocean. It turned out that she had difficulty getting relaxed enough to breath easily. We stopped and talked but when we reached the second buoy she decided to go in and play in the surf and work on getting used to the water. I'd done a lot of meters that morning in the pool so I was happy with a half triangle. The chop put an edge on the conditions but it wasn't bad and the water temperature was great. At 6:30 the wind had died away, the ocean had glassed off and it was a beautiful evening.
niel
