New Plans for the Dolphin's Swim on New Years Day

The weather has changed our plans for an early swim on New Years Day.  We had planned on jumping in the water at 9 on Thursday, HOWEVER, the weather forecast is for frost that morning with temperatures around 30 degrees, which is too cold for me!  So, let's plan on swimming later in the day at 2:30.  It should be about 50 degrees and sunny by then, still wintery but not frozen, with water temperatures in the upper 50's.   Avila will be crowded but hopefully most of the Polar Bear swimmers from noon will have left and there will be some parking. As always, our swim plan and route will be determined on the beach by current conditions. 

niel

Sunday, December 28,2014

I was not at the beach so this report is by John Hampsey.


Swimming today were Pete, Rick, Tom, Stephanie, Bo, Amy, Dale, and myself. Niel was on vacation. Pete went in first and did his heroic bare-back swimming. The rest of us entered by the pier and swam south along the imaginary buoy line to just short of fossil point. The day was sunny, with a stunning blue sky and light wind. The water was clear and, according to our arterial Galileo thermometer, 57 degrees. Though the waves on shore were fairly small, there was a strong chop and current out at sea, especially as we headed from fossil point out to the end of the pier. At times my body felt toboggan-like crashing down between the chops of water. We stopped to gather at the end of the pier, except for Amy who apparently entered some kind of Zen-Proteus state and was about a 1/4 mile beyond the end of the pier when we hollered her back. Next we headed north toward the creek. I seemed to be the only one who thought the water smelled a bit funky the last 100 yards or so. Then, with the wind and current at our backs, we sailed back to the pier and walked out of the sea like gods. It was a great swim. The distance was 1.3 miles; exact swim-time unknown. 

Sunday, December 21, 2014

 It was a nice day for a swim at Avila Beach; sunny with high clouds and a 10 to 15 MPH offshore breeze.  The pier was closed because of the predicted high surf so I did not get a water temperature but the station at Harford Pier was reporting 61 degrees. There were occasional shoulder high waves between the 2 to 3 footers.  Dale and Sylvia watched our stuff while Stephanie, Niel, Rick, Tom and Amy headed out through the surf, swam down to the end of the sea wall and then to the end of the pier.  Amy and Stephanie headed in while Tom, Rick and Niel doubled back along our route. 

Kevin Watkins was out body surfing on the left side of the pier.  That is Kevin between Tom and Sylvia. 

I won't be at the beach next Sunday but Tom and Rick will be there to swim.

On New Year's Day,Thursday January 1, 2015, we will jump in the water at 9AM in order to avoid the crowds for the Avila Polar Bear Swim at noon.  The water should be warm (for Avila in January) but wear whatever is comfortable.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

There was high thin clouds and it was kind'a cool at the beach.  The waves had been big yesterday but were down to an occasional 4 to 5 footer today.  The pier was still closed so I could not get an 'official' water temperature but the NOAA station on the Harford Pier had been reading 61 - 62 degrees over the last day.  This is crazy warm for Avila Beach at this time of the year.  Last December I recorded one 56 degree reading with the other four being 53.  That is 8 or 9 degrees colder than this year!
The water looked OK but concerns about bacterial contamination after the heavy rains on Thursday evening keep us out of the water. My Blue Water Task Force volunteers collected their usual beach and creek samples on Thursday so we would have had some data to base our concerns on but a power outage in Avila Beach from Thursday evening until late Friday shut down the incubator at our lab and ruined all of the samples. The County will sample Avila and all of their other sites tomorrow.  Their results will be posted Wednesday at http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/health/publichealth/ehs/beach.htm.  
Niel, Dale and Rick sat on the beach and enjoyed the view. Rhonda, Jon and Roxy joined us.
Rain is forecast this coming week so we may not be getting in next Sunday either.  

niel 

Sunday, December 7, 2014

We had very nice swimming conditions at Avila Beach today.  Thin high clouds, no wind, almost flat conditions, 3 foot surf and an amazing water temperature for December of 61.5 degrees.
Swimming today were Niel, Stephanie, Tom Lorish, Amy, Dale, Rick and John Hampsey. While the water in the ocean was very clear the recent rain has created toilet like conditions in San Luis Obispo Creek (http://www.surfrider.org/blue-water-task-force/chapter/34) so we stayed on the east side of the pier, well away from the creek mouth. 

We covered 1916 M in a very relaxed 49 minutes, the warm conditions encouraging everyone to hang out at the turns and enjoy floating in the water. 

We have photos in the blog now because Santa came early with a Ricoh WG20, a very nice little waterproof camera.  Credit for my selection of this model goes to Rob, who having killed about half a dozen cameras of this type documenting his swim adventures found this model to be the most durable. 

niel

Sunday, November 30, 2014

A Short Swim With a Lot of Vertical Distance

The sky was bright with an occasional shower. It was warm, about 65 degrees with a water temperature of 58.  There was a strong and steady wind out of the SE, small waves but a closed packed wind chop that was running to 3+ feet. Sylvia watched our stuff, Pete body surfed and Stephanie and I tested out the swimming conditions. The buoys have been taken out so our route was going to be approximate.  When we started swimming out I found that I had underestimated the conditions and it was rougher than I had thought.  It took some work and punching through some waves to get out against the chop and wind.  Once we turned parallel to the beach it was not as hard but very messy swimming with no organization to the surface of the water.  I was not swallowing any water but the swimming conditions were as messy and changeling as I have experienced.  I was warm and comfortable so it was just a matter of figuring out how to make progress in these conditions.  I kept stopping in order to stay connected with Stephanie because I would completely lose sight of her if I got more than 20' away.   We both had a lot of fun on this swim and this was a nice accomplishment for Stephanie who has only been swimming in the ocean for a few months.

niel

Sunday, November 23, 2014

The Boat Swim

Pete, Niel, Duke, Rick, John Hampsey and John Harmse swam out to and around a sailboat that was anchored a short ways beyond the end of the pier. Pete made his own way out and back. The rest of us swung by the two remaining buoys, out to the boat, towards the mouth of the creek, back under the pier and in.  The total distance turned out to be just over a mile. The water temperature was 58.5.  There was a gusty offshore wind that died away after we got out leaving the ocean glassy and the beach warm and sunny. 

niel

Sunday, November 16. 2014

The T is for Tom Swim

Duke, Pete, Dale, Niel, Tom

Stephanie was already out in the water

Thanks to Leslie for the photos.

The water temperature was 58 degrees.  There were high clouds so the sun came and went.  It was comfortable with the sun out and cool without It. At 10:30 there was an offshore breeze off of the beach.  It moved into the west as we were swimming and then died away to nothing.  Pete Kelley did his own swim. Stephanie and Dale swam the buoy line and Duke, Niel and Tom Lorish swam a route by Tom. His birthday is coming up and he wanted to see how well he could swim his initial.  It came out pretty well and was fun.  Not sure how we will do a D or N or S for Sylvia..... We added a little distance on the end by going down to the buoy and back.

Ignorie the time and distance information. This was not a 20 k swim.  I thought that I turned off the GPS at the end of the T but it tracked me all of the way back to town.

niel

Sunday, November 9, 2014

We had 13 swimmers today. We started out under low overcast with visibility changing from 1/2 mile to well over a mile.  The water was 59.5, flat, clear and glassy.  Swimming today were Pete Kelly, Sylvia, Yvonne, Niel, Dale, Rick, Amy, Tom Lorish, Stephanie, Tom Hampsey, Tom Harmse, Ali and Diego.  Most of us went out and left down the buoy line. One group swam out towards the end of the Avila Pier and the second swam the triangle. This was Diegos second ocean swim and he was up of a half mile so I stayed with him out and back along the left side of the buoy line and then swam around the pier by myself after seeing him in to the beach.
Once we were out of the water the overcast cleared off so we had a nice sunny day to relax on the beach.

This was Yvonne's last swim with us. She is leaving tomorrow to move to Michigan.  We'll miss her.
  
Duke was not with us today because he had some kind of event to do on his bike involving fondue.   ;-)

niel

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Avila was sunny and comfortably warm. There was a light wind out of the east and 2 - 3' surf with an occasional 4+ footer.  The water was 60 degrees.  Swimming today were Niel, Lloyd, Tom Lorish, Stephanie, Rick and Pete Kelly.  Pete did his own swim. The rest of us went down to the last buoy where Stephanie returned along the buoy line while Rick, Tom, Lloyd and Niel completed the triangle.  We had the beach practically all to ourselves afterwards. 

niel 

Wednesday Evening, October 29,2014

We had nice conditions for the last evening swim of the season.  Avila Beach was sunny with a slight breeze out of the SE. The water was nice and clear, with small surf and a temperature of 60 degrees.  Niel, Lloyd and Mark started on the west side of the pier, swam the buoy line to the creek mouth and then to the end of the pier. Mark headed in along the pier at this point while Niel and Lloyd completed the triangle.  The water was several degrees colder on the east side of the pier.  We watched a beautiful sunset while we packed up.  It will be just Sunday's now until Daylight Savings Time returns.

niel

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Avila was the standout place to be today.  The wind which was so strong in San Luis Obispo and along the coast was just a mile offshore breeze in Avila giving us excellent swimming conditions.  The water was 60 degrees and there were occasional sets of head high waves but there were long breaks between the big sets so getting in and out was just a matter of timing. We had a big crowd today featuring some familiar faces that had not been at the beach in awhile.  Big Steve Snyder, the original Avila Dolphins Beach Master and Paula Dooley joined Sylvia, Niel, Rick, Rhonda (not swimming), Amy, Dale, Tom Lorish, James, Stephen, Mary Jane, Ali and Pete Kelly. We all went out to the first buoy and down the line to the left.  At this point we split up into a group that was going to swim back along the length of the buoy line to the creek and another that was going to the end of the pier and then to the last buoy at the creek. Most of us managed to meet up at the creek before finishing off our swims. 

This Wednesday, the 29th, will be the last evening swim of the season and next Sunday will be the end of Daylight Savings time so you will get to sleep in an additional hour before getting up to go to the beach.

niel 

Wednesday Evening, October 22, 2014

Avila was warm (warmer than San Luis Obispo) summ and breezy. The pier was still closed so I could not get a water temperature but the NOAA station over in the port was report 65 to 66 degrees. It might have been that warm at Avila.  Lloyd, Mark and Niel swam a clockwise triangle.  The swimming conditions were great and I was wonderful to be out in the water. 

niel

Sunday, October 19. 2014

It was a beautiful day for swimming! The water was clean and 65.5 degrees!  A west wind was picking up so surface conditions were getting choppy.  There was some boat traffic and the Pali Kai Outrigger Canoe Club was out near the end of the pier so we decided to do variations on the buoy line. Yvonne did the left half.  Duke, Rick and Niel got out front with Amy, John Hampsey, Stephanie and Dale a little farther behind. Pete Kelly swam his own route.  There was no swell like last week but the chop was larger and swimming on the windward side of the pier was kind'a messy, but, it was warm and sunny and beautiful on the beach afterwards. Hard to complain for October.

niel

Wednesday Evening, October 15, 2014

Niel, Sylvia, Mark and Yvonne swan this evening. The water was 64.5 degrees and choppy.  There was a wind out of the SW that was making the flags stand straight out.  We all started on the west side of the pier.  Sylvia and Yvonne did the buoy line while Mark and I swam a three legged course that got easier on each leg. 

niel  

Sunday, October 12. 2014

High Tide and Large Waves

The waves were large and the tide was high which made for a unusual and fun swim today. It was hot and almost windless on the beach.  The waves came in sets that were head high+ but the sets were spaced well apart making getting in just a matter of timing. The pier was closed a third of the way out, just short of the buoy line and the water temperature was a friendly 62 degrees. We had 12 swimmers today doing four different routes. We all got in down the beach a ways from the pier where the waves were smaller.  Pete Kelly headed directly towards the end of the pier. The rest of us swam left to the end of the buoy line. Sylvia, Dale, Amy, John Hampsey, James and Haley swam the left side of the buoy line for two laps. Niel, Rick, Duke and Bo swam to the end of the pier and to the last buoy on the other side. We returned back to the end of the pier and headed directly in to our starting point. That was 1.45 miles for the four of us. Gerry Gross got in after we did and swam the buoy line on his own. 

This is shortly before high tide at 12:55. Just after this photo was taken a large set came in and the wash came up to the bottom of the steps, scattering people, blankets, trash cans and chairs up and down the beach.

niel 

Sunday, October 5. 2014

We have an abbreviated plot today because the FINIS website won't let me log in and pull up all of the data.
Avila was sunny and warm, but cooler than San Luis Obispo. I actually did not need the umbrella that I brought. The water was 60 degrees, nice and clear with an occasional wave that was large enough to bodysurf. There was no wind.  It is hard to remember that it is October.  
Swimming today were NIel, Amy, John Hampsey, Jon Harmse, Sylvia, Dale, Ali and a friend, Gerry Gross and a new swimmer who I met but did not retain his name. There was a yachting event going on so we stayed in close and swam along the buoy line.  A full lap is just under a mile.

Not too many Wednesday evening swims left but the one on the 8th should be a nice one.


Preparations for the Santa Cruz Will Swim For Food have begun.  This is a one mile swim around the Santa Cruz Muni Wharf on Saturday, December 13th.  The swim is a fundraiser for local Food Banks.  Swimmers raise pledges in recognition of their willingness to do a lap around the Santa Cruz Wharf in winter.  This is not a race.  Most of the swimmers wear wetsuits. The idea is to swim,. have fun and raise money for Food Banks.  The really cool accessory is a custom painted duck decoy that, for a financial consideration, you can paint  as you want and tow behind you during the swim.   Pledges can be made to a food bank in any location.  Last year Niel, Rob, Leslie and Ali raised a total of $1600 for the San Luis Obispo County Food Bank.

You can read about signing up for this years event at; 
https://www.stayclassy.org/santa-cruz/events/will-swim-for-food-2014/e37835

and the Will Swim For Food page is;

http://willswimforfood.com/

Last year it was cold, silly and a lot of fun.  Ali and I are going again. Come join us, have fun and help feed the hungry..


niel

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Today's swim started out under overcast skies but there was no wind, the ocean was glassy and the water was clear. Perfect swimming conditions except for the 58 degree water.  We have not seen a temperature this low since May 18th.  58 is not really cold for Avial, some summers the water has not made it into the 60's, but coming on the heels of a summer of the warmest water temperatures that I can recall it felt cold.  But, the swimming conditions were great.
We has a nice group today; Amy, Dale, Sylvia, Niel, Duke, Joyce, Rick, Rhonda, Jon Harmse, John Hampsey and Pete Kelly. 
There were at least three different routes today with everyone doing some form of a swim along the buoy line. Rick, Jon, Duke and I swam down to Fossil Point and back covering 1.14 miles. I had a better workout in the cooler water, wanting to push at the start to get warm and then not wanting to idle around visiting. 
I gott'a remind myself that there will be days in the spring when 58 degrees will sound tropical and keep enjoying this great place to swim.

niel

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Today's swimmers were Niel, John Hampsey, Jon Harmse, Sylvia, Yvonne, Dale (!) and Pete Kelly (!!).  The water was 62 degrees, flat with some small surf.  It was overcast with a very slight breeze.  We all decided to swim the buoy line, either all or part.  We all started going east, towards Fossil Point and doubled back.  When Jon and I crossed under the pier the sun came out and the wind picked up. By 12:30 whitecaps were starting to form so our 11 AM start time got us done while the conditions were nicest.

niel

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Mark is tapering for his first Olympic distance tri this weekend in San Diego so he wanted to swim just the left side of the buoy line.  He got a bit more than he planned.  There was a steady east blowing parallel to the beach that created a strong current and chop. The water was a welcome 65 degrees so we had nice conditions to work in. Heading upwind was a real slog. The return trip was faster but still very bumpy. 

Good luck to Mark next weekend  AND

a high five and good luck to Sylvia Glenn. She is part of a women's relay team that is the first to attempt the Anacapa Channel crossing.  

Destination:  Anacapa Island to Silverstrand Beach, 12.5, or more, miles

                     First women's relay to swim a SBCSA channel, in addition to 

                     60+ Hot Mermaid-Babes!  no little old ladies allowed (Sylvia is 77!)

Jump off time is scheduled for 2:00 AM, Friday, September 19th.

You can track their progress at  www.sbchannelswim.org/tracking.html

niel

The Dawn Patrol In Ventura

I was in Ventura this weekend for the West Coast Conference of the Surfrider Foundation.  I got out at about 6AM on Saturday and Sunday and swam in water that felt like the very high 60's.  Those of us from San Luis Obispo to Humboldt were loving it, while the members from Huntington Beach to San Diego and Hawaii were grousing about the cold conditions. A San Diego member told me they has seen 77 degree water earlier this summer.

Saturday morning my buddy Brad paddled with me so I headed out past the pier and down the beach. My navigation was all over the place.  There was a 3 foot long period swell and in the pre dawn light all I could see when I look up was water and dark sky. The pier is well lit, including an illuminated flag pole on the seaward end, so finding my way on the return leg was easy.  I had not been swimming at this time of day in many years and I had forgotten how beautiful it can be. 

I was on my own Sunday so I did a loop around the pier. I floated for a while at the end of the pier. The sky was lightening and getting red in the east and there was enough light to see the outlines of the early surfers on the break at the point. 

niel

Wednesday Evening, September 10, 2014

Niel, Mark, Kim, Sylvia and Yvonne swam the buoy line in 64 degree water.  We strarted towards the creek and came back under the pier to the other end of the line and back. There was a steady breeze out of the ESE (?!?) that was strong enough to make a current and chop run parallel to the beach.  It seemed like it took twice as long to swim east to the last buoy as it did to come back.  

niel

Sunday, September 7, 2014

The fog and low clouds cleared off just in time to give us sunny skies and calm conditions for the start of our swim today.  The water was 59 degrees, colder than it has been in two months but still warm for Avila Beach. Niel, Sylvia, Duke, Tom, Rick, Amy and John Hampsey were joined by four new swimmers today, Stephanie, Walt, Joyce and Marcy.  I want to thank them for joining us and acknowledge the efforts of our regulars in supporting the new swimmers.  I planned a staged route of .5, 1 and 1.5 miles to accommodate everyone's ability and familiarity with cold water ocean swimming.  We grouped up at .25, .5 and .75 miles, which was at the last buoy near the creek mouth. From here Niel, Duke, Rick and Tom swam to the Poly Pier and the rest of the group headed back. A breeze out of the SE came up on our way to the Poly Pier and made it a real ocean swim across the chop on the way back.

niel

Wednesday Evening, September 3, 2014

Avila was sunny and windy.  There was a strong, steady breeze out of the SW. The ocean was 63 degrees and had a head high chop. All of the bait fish, birds and other critters seem to be in San Simeon because they are not here.  Mark and I started west and turned to the end of the pier from the mouth of the creek.   The water was warm but the chop was tough, just the right size to break over your head. From the end of the pier we swam to the second buoy and came in. 

niel 

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Today's swim started off with the presentation of a special trophy to Jon Harmse by Duke for his performance in the Santa Barbara Aqua Bike two weeks ago.

Look closely at the trophy, it's special and so is the story behind it. You will have to ask Duke or Jon.  

It was a pretty emotional moment for Jon so the his trophy's special feature came in handy.

We enjoyed a fabulous swim today in very friendly water.  It was very warm on the beach, the water was 62 degrees and we had a large group of swimmers.  Swimming today were Yvonne, Sylvia, Dave Van Mouwerik, Rick Marina, Niel, Amy, Kevin Watkins, Sam, Duke, Breanna, Carolyn, John Harmse, John Hampsey and Pete Kelly and his daughter. Rhonda rented a SUP and kept us company which was great.  We combined distance and a bit of an adventure swim today. The adventure part was to swim down the beach until you could touch Fossil Point.  Pete and his daughter turned around at the last buoy.  I think that everyone else made a touch on the point.  We swam back along the beach to the first buoy at the pier. Niel, Dave, Sylvia, Carolyn, John Hampsey and Amy continued under the pier and went down the buoy line to the creek and back.  Our total route was a mile and a half. There was a wide range of abilities and speeds in the group today so my total time shows how much time we spent regrouping and also just enjoying floating in the warm water. The wind went from 0 to small whitecaps in in the time that it took us to shower off, so we got out of the water just in time. 

niel

Wednesday Evening, August 27, 2014

Niel, Mark, Kim and Lauren swam this evening. It was clear and warm at the beach. There were some large (for Avila) sets, maybe 4+ feet sometimes and the water was a fabulous 65 degrees!  There were some pelicans and other birds diving for fish but no bait balls. This was Lauren's first try at swimming in the ocean so we kept it simple. We took our time getting out through the surf and swam to the first buoy. At the third buoy Lauren and Kim headed in. Mark and I swam to the last buoy and back, so we did a 1/2 mile. The water was very comfortable.  

niel

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Very clear 62 degree water. Dave Van Mouwerik, Niel and Tom Lorish swam a CC triangle. Jon Hampsey and Amy swam the buoy line and Sylvia did her own swim as usual. Rick and Rhonda arrived a bit late and didn't swim but stayed to visit. 

niel 

Wednesday Evening, August 20, 2014

We enjoyed another beautiful evening swim in Avila. It was a bit windier than usual but it was sunny and warm with 62 degree water.  The ocean was pretty empty; no fishermen, no birds to speak of and just a couple of seals. Niel, Rob, and Marian swam while Stephen and Kelly waited on the beach.  Kelly was Rob's ride to the beach 'cause he was still waiting for the repairs to his truck to be completed so he can return to Arcata before school starts on Monday.  It's quite a story but the result is that Rob has slipped in three swims with us rather than the one that he initially thought was possible.   
We swam the triangle clockwise because Rob wanted to and going clockwise at this time of the day would not have us swimming directly into the setting sun.  There was more wind than is usual for this late in the day so we had some chop to deal with, but the water was so nice. We has a great swim and covered just over a mile. 

niel

Sunday, August 17, 2014

It was just about as good as it ever gets at Avila today; no fog, no wind, sunny and warm, almost no one fishing from the pier, no birds or bait balls and 61.5 degree water.  Except for one guy in a pleasure boat it would have been perfect. Swimming today were Rob, Rick, Niel, Duke, Angela (this makes 3 times!), Jon and Gerry Gross.  Rob had a more adventurous drive up from the wedding that he attended in Manhattan Beach Saturday night but he persevered and made it to Avila to swim with us before continuing to Arcata.  Rob wanted to do something traditional so Duke, Rick Jon, and Niel joined him to swim the triangle counter clockwise. It was really nice in the water so we spent plenty of time at the turns.  We covered just short of a mile in a casual 40 minutes of swimming and visiting while enjoying the water. On the leg from the end of the pier to the end of the buoy line we had a power boat come barreling around Fossil Point and head in towards the beach as if he was going to shoot the pier but he spotted us, throttled back and headed back out to sea.  
Once back on the beach Duke went back out to swim with Angela along the left side of the buoy line and Gerry came by, got in, and swam the buoy line on his own for 45 minutes. 
After our showers there was plenty of benchracing conducted on the beach before next weekends Santa Barbara tri and aqua bike. We'll see how the talk holds up two weeks from today.

niel

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Wednesday evening celebrity swim-in.

Swimming tonight were Niel, Mark, Lynn, John Siegel and Rob. It was nice to see some faces that we have not seen in a while.  John and Lynn have just been absent but Rob now lives in Arcata so this was a treat.  The water was 63 degrees (about 10 degrees warmer than Humboldt Bay where Rob is swimming now), some current and chop but not bad.  We swam down to Fossil Point and back for a very pleasant short mile. 

niel