Sunday, October 25, 2015

There was no sun at the beach this morning, just thick high clouds. The ocean was flat with some 3 to 4 foot sets of waves that were spaced well apart. There was no sign of any wind.
Getting in today were Niel, Duke, Rick, Amy, John, Sylvia and Gerry. The water temperature was down to 'only' 62 degrees or so, colder than we have been used to but still 8 degrees above the temperatures for October 2013. We swam out to the first buoy, went under the pier and along the buoy line to the last buoy at the creek. From here Amy and John returned along the buoy line and to the third buoy on the left side of the pier while Niel, Duke and Rick swam to the end of the pier and in to the beach from there.  We covered .81 miles.

niel

Sunday, October 18, 2015

A beautiful fall day at Avila before we got in. 65 degree water, air temp in the upper 70's, 2 to 3 foot waves and a slight gusty breeze. More like summer than fall conditions, another day of unseasonably warm air and water.
Swimming Sunday were Sylvia, Niel, Rick, Duke, Dale, Tom, Marcus, John, Pete and Damion.  The plan was to go out to the buoy line on the left side of the pier, to swim along   the buoys, past the last one and on down to Fossil Point. From there we would return back along our route.

The swim started out smoothly but once we passed the last buoy I began wondering if there was a powerboat maneuvering in the area because small waves were starting to break over my head from behind. When we grouped up near the point we all realized that a strong WSW wind had come up and pushed up a strong current with an 18" wind chop which coming towards us almost directly from where we began the swim. The swim back was the roughest conditions that we have had since last winter.  I normally alternate breath but I found that breathing every other stroke put me in better sync with the chop, but the conditions were so comfortable getting back to the pier was just a matter of doing the work. 

Some of the group near the point. The rest are there somwhere.

Tom 

Tom got this one of me

And this one!

The water was a bit messier when we were getting out.

So we did .9 miles that felt like 1.4.

niel

Sunday, October 11, 2015

We had a great swim today.  Twelve people (Niel, Sylvia, Pete, Amy, Dale, Nicole, Marcus, John Hampsey, Rick, Damion, Gerry Gross and Pete) swam in water that was 65+ degrees. There were 4 to 5 foot waves but the tide turned just before we got in so the surf was laying down as we swam out. At John's suggestion we did a bit of an adventure route;  from the first buoy  out and around a moored sailboat, on to a buoy that marks a reef which is past the end of the buoy line, back to and under the pier to the third buoy on the west side and diagonally in to the shore at base of the pier.  .9 mile in 38 minutes. The water was so comfortable people were just floating and visiting when we grouped up at the turning points, no need to keep swimming to keep warm!


The 2016 Will Swim For Food - Saturday January 16th, 8AM

This is a annual fundraiser for food banks; raise money and go for a 1 mile swim around the Santa Cruz pier in January. Rob did this swim in 2013 and a group from Avila has gone every year since. Rob, Niel, Ali, Stephanie, Tom and Leslie have raised more than $5000 for foodbanks. This is a swim, not a race. There is no entry fee or cost to the swimmer. You sign up and raise pledges from people who think you have a crazy idea of fun. There is no minimum amount of pledges.  Pledges can be directed to any foodbank in the U.S. 
The ducks are a very fun part. If you, or a donor, pledges $150 or more at one time they will receive a full size duck decoy that they can decorate as they wish and the swimmer can tow behind them during the swim.

Stephanie, Niel and Tom

It is a very fun event for a great cause that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to feed adults and children in our communities that are hungry.
  The website for this year's swim doesn't seem to be quite complete yet, there is still stuff there from previous years, so I'm not sure that you can actually sign up now but I've begun working on my idea for this year's duck(s). 

http://willswimforfood.com/ 


niel

Sunday, October 4, 2015

It is October and the weather has changed. Avila was cool with patchy clouds, no wind and 61 degree water. There was a swell from the south that was moving the buoys around  but no wind or chop. 

In the water today were Niel, Tom, Damion, Pete, Amy, Danielle and two people who joined us after we were in the water. They were from the bay area and had done Scott Tinley yesterday.

The water was comfortable and it was nice to get reaquainted with elevator feeling from swimming across a swell.

After we got out the clouds cleared off, it warmed up and was very pleasant on the beach.

Thanks to John Hampsey for writing the post last week when I was out of town. 

niel

                            

  

Sunday, September 27,2015

Swimming today were Amy, John, Sylvia, Angela, Damian, Duke, Dale, Stephanie, Kim, Lloyd, and Pete.

At 10:45am the tide was full, and mist and fog enshrouded Avila for the first time in quite a while. The beach was open and quiet, the water flat with moderate surf breaking on shore. We decided to swim the buoy line but shake things up by heading to the right first. So we swam under the pier and went north to the last buoy by the creek, then doubled back and swam under the pier to the last buoy by Fossil Point, then back to the pier and in. Distance was a little less than a mile. Proteus, the ancient sea god, looked kindly on us today because the water seemed to get warmer the longer we swam until, by collective assessment, we deemed it 70 degrees!

--John Hampsey

Sept. 27, 2015