Sunday, July 31, 2017

Duke's Swim

Duke wanted to go long today so he proposed a route that would provide plenty of places for people to do something less than the 2.25 miles he was up for. 

Duke, Niel, Sylvia, Heidi, Leslie, Tom, Hillary, Jeff, Sara, Ben, Sue and John. At the start it was overcast with no certainty of clearing. There was no wind but there was a current and small swell from the SW courtesy of a storm off of Baja. The water temperature was 62 F / 16.667 C.  We had 12 people in the water at the start. Sylvia would do her usual individual swim. The rest of us did a triangle to the buoy at the creek mouth. Duke, Niel, John, Hillary and Heidi swam over to our usual rendezvous point along the Cal Poly Pier. John headed back to the buoy line, making his swim about 1.5 miles. Duke, Niel Heidi and Hillary swam to the end of the Cal Poly Pier, to the end of the Avila Pier and in to the beach for 2.3 miles. 

The group getting formed up at the first buoy. 

Hillary, I'm not sure, Tom, Leslie, Sue and Duke at the end of the buoy line.

John, Jeff, Heidi and Hillary at the end of the Avila Pier.

Heidi, Duke Hillary and John at the creek mouth, ready to head over to the Cal Poly Pier.

Hillary, John, Heidi and Duke at the Cal Poly Pier. 

Heidi says 'we're going that-a-way'. 

Hillary and Duke off to the far end of the Cal Poly Pier, 

which is about 600 M further out to sea. 

Who says that we don't do any swims with lane lines?

Hillary and Heidi at the end of the Cal Poly Pier and still all smiles.

This was the longest ocean swim Heidi had done. 

We had a nice push from that SW swell from here to the Avila Pier. The conditions had been wonderful and we all had a great time. 

I'm planning on swimming on Wednesday evening. In the water at 6.

niel

Wednesday Evening, July 26, 2017

Another nice evening at Avila Beach.  The air temperature was in the mid 70's the water was 62 degrees F / 16.667 C with a noticeable current from east to west. 

Niel and Hilary Trout (new swimmer to us via Rob) swam the buoy line and enjoyed the beautiful conditions. 

niel

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Take your pick, it was either fog or heavy overcast at Avila Beach today.  The water temperature was 60.5 F / 15.833 C which is pretty nice since here on  the Central Coast I consider anything above 60 to be a gift. The critter concern today was the possible presence of seals or seal lions that were sick with domoic acid toxicosis. The nice warm water promotes the growth of algae that blooms, builds up in shellfish and bait fish and thus builds up in seals until it causes seizures and unnatural behavior. Any seal that is acting strangely or getting too close should be avoided.

Swimming today were Sylvia, Niel, Duke, Tom, Sidney, Sam, Jonny, Jeff, Gerry Gross and Stephanie.  Sylvia and Gerry did their own individual swims. The rest of the group dis a clockwise triangle. 

There was no wind, hardly any waves or swell and the surface was glassy.

 Duke and Jeff at the first buoy.

Sidney, Sam and Jonny

The group at the last buoy to the left.

Jeff

Sidney and Sam

Niel and Jonny (upside down)

Sidney, Niel. Sam, Duke and Jonny saying goodbye to Jeff.

Jeff and his family are wrapping up their annual 5 week visit to the Central Coast and are returning to New Zealand.  We'll see Jeff again in about 47 weeks.

niel

Wednesday Evening, July 19th, 2017

At 5:45 Avila Beach was sunny, warm and windy. The breeze was out of the SE and was strong enough to push up a wind chop but no whitecaps. The water still fairly clear and I recorded a temperature of 65 F / 18.333 C.
I was expecting to be by myself and no one else showed. I hung out for a while and decided I was more interested in dinner than swimming. 

I'll be back Sunday.

niel

Sunday, July 16, 2017

On Friday that was a credible sighting of a 10' shark (what species?) over at the Olde Port Pier, 2 miles away.  We planned a swim without too much concern.  The plan was to swim parallel to the beach to Fossil Point, then to the end of the Avila Pier, to the last buoy at the creek mouth and back to our starting place. That would be about 1.5 miles or 2400 M. It was sunny, warm and calm with very clear water and 2 foot plus waves. I recorded a water temperature reading of 64 F or 17.778 C in shallow water, so we were looking at 60+ outside the surf line.   It was looking like a very nice day for a swim. 

We had 17 (!) swimmers. I hope that I got everyone's name down correctly; Niel, Duke, Jeff from New Zealand, Dave Van Mouwerik, Heidi, Amy (back from an extended backpacking trip), Sydney, Sam, Steve from Bakersfield, Maria, Pete, Jeff from San Luis Obispo, John, Jonny, Pallakka from Brazil, Tom and Leslie Lorish. 

As we were wading in one of the lifeguards told Duke and John that a (the?) shark had been sighted in the same location on Saturday.  The no wetsuit part of the group had already started for our from up point at the last buoy towards Fossil Point so we held a swim conditions update when we all got to the buoy. Everyone decided to continue to the point. From there part of the group headed back along the buoy line while the rest continued on the original route.  

 Duke saying the S word at the last buoy.

Duke, Amy, John, Sydney, Maria(?), Pete, Sam, San Luis Jeff

 San Luis Jeff, Jonny, Leslie, Heidi

Steve, Dave Van Mouwerik, Pallakka, Jeff from New Zealand

Jeff, Tom Lorish and Duke at the end of the Avila Pier. 

When we arrived at the buoy at the creek mouth we met most of the group that had come back along the buoy line. They had continued under the pier and met up with us.

This was one of the nicest swims I have enjoyed in a long time. The water was comfortable, flat and clear with a great group of people to swim with.

Heidi is will miss this Wednesday evening, Maria is a maybe, I'm planning on coming. How about Duke (come on, leave work early) Brenda or Amelia?

niel

Wednesday Evening, July 12, 2017

Here is the Wed evening swim report from Heidi Bezaire:

It was Ladies Night at Avila.  Swimming Wednesday evening at 6 pm were Brenda, Amelia, Maria and Heidi.  It was sunny, the air temp was around 70 F and the Port reported a water temp of 61 F.  During the swim, Heidi's cheap-o watch displayed water temps ranging 59-61 F.  There was a steady breeze out of the east, creating some chop.

The water felt balmy and pleasant, compared with many of our colder Sunday morning swims.  We swam a counter-clockwise triangle, which meant that during our first leg east along the buoy line we swam head on into a chop that often slapped us on the head.  In contrast, our swim to the end of the pier and then to the 2nd buoy on the west side was smooth.  

At that point, Brenda and Amelia headed to shore so they could head to the hills for a sunset hike.  Maria and Heidi continued to the 4th buoy on the west side then swam back under the pier where we paused to watch a majestic pelican poised on the pier, silhouetted by a setting sun.  Or, was he watching us…?    

Looking forward to Sunday’s swim.

Sunday, July 9th, 22017

We had 11 swimmers today; Niel, Duke, Lee, Sydney, Sam, Heidi, Stephanie, Maria, Pete, Jonny and John. There was fog and overcast that cleared as we were getting in the water. I measured a water temperature of 57.7 F / 14.167 C but it felt warmer. There was a slight breeze and a long 1 foot swell out of the SE. 

Getting started. That is Pete in the white cap. 

From the left, Lee, counting caps, Maria, Sydney, Jonny, Sam and Stephanie. 

Group up at the mouth of the creek.

At the Cal Poly Pier. Duke, Sydney, Sam and Lee

Sydney, Sam, John, Heidi and Jonny

From the Cal Poly Pier was retraced our route back to the Avila Pier. About half of the group went in while the rest continued down the east half of the buoy line and back for an additional 1/2 mile.

My plot seems to indicate that I followed the same path from the creek mouth to the Cal Poly Pier and back except that I swam through several patches of kelp on the leg back. I must have been just outside of the kelp on the way out.

After our swim while we were on the beach we were treated to dolphins jumping near the little reef outside the buly line and then a visit by one or two humpback whales.

Heidi would like to swim this Wednesday evening. Maria is a maybe. Duke and I can't make it. Girls, see if you can get this organized.

niel

Wednesday Evening, July 5th, 2017

Swimming this evening were Maria and Niel. Avila Beach was sunny with a light wind from the east. The water temperature was 61 degrees F / 16.6 degrees C.  We swam a triangle counterclockwise. Maria decided to ditch her neoprene and enjoy the real ocean swimming experience. The spike in our route off of the end of the pier is a hiccup from Garmin.

Maria at our starting point.

Approaching the mouth of the creek.

Out at the end of the pier we were exposed to the glassy rollers that the 

wind was pushing from the east. 

Coming back to our starting point.

With the water temperature back up Wednesday evenings are a very pleasant time to swim.

niel

The 2017 Fourth of July Swim

We had seven swimmers for the 4th of July Swim; Niel, Heidi, Duke, Sara, Maria John and Jonny.  There was dense fog or overcast, an air temperature of 58 degrees, no wind, nice transparent water and a water temperature of 54F/12.2C degrees.

The fog was hanging in close to the water so we decided to stick to the buoy line.

Duke (out of the frame to the left) John, Maria, Sara, Jonny and Heidi at the first buoy.

Our route would be out to the first buoy, under the pier, down to the creek, then doubling back past the first buoy to the opposite end of the line and back to the pier. 

Sara and Jonny at the mouth of San Luis Obispo Creek

The same spot, Maria and John catching up. 

Same spot, Heidi, John, who is explaining why we was halfway to the beach, and Maria. 

Duke back at our starting point with the others coming under the pier.

Sara, Maria, Jonny, Heidi, John and Duke at the opposite end of the buoy line. We'd lose sight of the beach at times.

In spite of the foggy and cool conditions we has a great swim. The water was very smooth and we all felt like we were gliding along. 

John and the pot luck; Niel's strawberries and blueberries with shortcake and vanilla yogurt, John's home grown Santa Rosa plums, Heidi's coffee infused brownies 

and Maria's fruit kabobs.

We will swim tomorrow evening, Wednesday, at 6 PM. Duke, Jonny, Niel and Maria are planning on showing up. 

niel

Sunday, July 2, 2017

We had a nice group today with some new and returning swimmers joining the regulars.

Jeff (from San Luis Obispo), Sylvia, Niel, Heidi, Jonny, Mason (Jonny's friend from Santa Margarita, new to ocean swimming) Sam, Sara and Mackenzie (Sam was swimming, Sara was paddling their kayak named Shark Bait with 2 year old Makenzie navigating) Maria, Jeff (here for 5 weeks from New Zealand, no wetsuit), Duke, John and Christian (from L.A. and in the area for the weekend. It was overcast with a water temperature of 56.5, 5 degrees colder than last Wednesday evening.  :-(

I'm recovering from a cold so a 1/2 mile along the buoy line was right for me.

 Duke took the group on a clockwise triangle. 

Sara, Mackenzie, Sam and Shark Bait. Sorry about the water droplet. 

Grouping up at the first buoy. 

The rest of the group at the first buoy. 

Everyone at the last buoy on the left of the pier. From here I headed back to the start while the group swam to the end of the Avila Pier, to the SLO Creek mouth and back along the west half of the buoy line to the start. 

Major Congratulations and a 'Way to Kick Those 70 Year Olds Youngsters Butts' to Sylvia Glenn!

At 79 years Sylvia finish first in the 75 to 79 Semana Nautica One Mile Swim Saturday finishing 15 minutes ahead of second place. Next year anyone in the 80 to 84 age group should be very concerned.

4th of July Swim -

We will swim the morning of the 4th. In the water at 10AM, an hour earlier than usual to beat (most) of the traffic and get home in plenty of time for the rest of the day.

If you are coming bring a snack to share to celebrate the day.

On the 4th we will see if anyone wants to double back and swim Wednesday evening on the 5th. It was sure beautiful last week. 

niel