Sunday, October 29, 2017

Gray, cool, 5'+ sets, closing out, no wind, strong swell from the SW, 56 degrees but felt colder. 

I told John Hampsey, our resident professor of the English language, that I would write a Haiku about today's swim but didn't quite get there.
Swimming today were John Hampsey, Jonny, Amy, Heidi, Niel, Duke, Karen, Maria and John. This was John's first time swimming with us. 

John H., Amy, Duke, Karen, Maria, Heidi and John 

forming up at the first buoy

Heidi and Karen at the end of the pier.

Duke at the end of the pier.

Maria at the end of the pier.

Our last evening swim of the season will be this Wednesday, 11/1, at 5PM.

niel

Wednesday Evening, October 25, 2017

After a blistering 100 - plus degree heat wave this week, it was a pleasure to arrive in Avila where it was a comfortable 75 F.  Hillary and Heidi swam today.  At 5:15 pm, we negotiated some mildly challenging surf on our way out to the first buoy on the east side of the pier.  

The Port reported 56.8 F water and that felt about right.  From the end of the buoy line we swam to the end of the pier.  We wanted to swim to an anchored boat on the west side of the pier but soon found ourselves surrounded by huge clumps of kelp and a moderate red tide.  Instead, we swam to the 2nd buoy.  

We were going to swim under the pier but our plans changed again.  When we attempted to swim between the pilings, the water moved us back and forth so much that it was difficult to maintain a line.  So we swam to shore on the west side of the pier as the sun disappeared behind the hills.  A very nice .87 mile swim.

-Heidi

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Fall at Avila Beach: warm to hot on the sand, 55 degree water, strong offshore winds and larger waves than we see in the summer.  In the water today were Niel, Heidi, Jonny, Duke, Amy, Bo (Amy's brother from SoCal), Dave VanMouwerik, Sam, Sydney, Sue (back from England) and John.

The plan was to do a similar swim to last weeks; out to the end of the Avila Pier, over to the Cal Poly Pier, more or less straight back to and under the Avila Pier and in to the shore. 

The line parallel to the Cal Poly Pier is how far the wind pushed us out 

to sea in the 7.5 minutes that it took the group to reform.  The swim to the

Cal Poly Pier and back to the Avila Pier were across the chop. On the leg back 

to the Avila Pier I was on Duke's heels and the jogs in my trace are 

us zig zagging with the push from the chop and wind. 

Sue at the start. No wetsuit for her or Dave.

Sydney, Sam and Duke at the start.

Dave and Sue at the Cal Poly Pier

The group broke up at the end of the Avila Pier. Sydney and Sam went in.

Heidi was having impossible trouble with her goggles and had to cut her swim short.

Duke and Bo at the Cal Poly Pier

You can make up your own caption for this picture.

I think that this is Jonny, John, Amy, Duke and Bo (?)

This was a great a nice swim and a great workout, and, the beach was nice and warm afterwards.

Sue and Heidi will swim this Wednesday at 5:00. Everyone is welcome to join them.

Steve Dalke lives in Bakersfield and made the trek over to Avila to swim with us prior to attempting the 12.2 mile swim from Anacapa to Oxnard.  He did really well and was the 62nd person to complete this swim.  Congratulations! 

niel

Sunday, October 15, 2017

It was a sunny and warm 78F at Avila today.  The water was glassy and calm with thick patches of red tide near the pier and buoy line.  Beyond this area to the west appeared to be clear water so Duke suggested swimming to the end of Avila pier then to Cal Poly pier.

Swimming today were Duke, Sam, Sydney, Karen, Maria, Pete, Peter Kelley, Heidi, John and Jonny.  Jonny's friend Sean joined us on his kayak.  The Port was reporting 59F water but we all agreed that it felt more like 56F.

Our swims were variable from the start.  After several weeks of competitive swimming, Sam & Sydney chose a laid back swim near the pier and along the buoy line.  Peter Kelley did his own swim, sans wetsuit, as usual.  Karen, Heidi, John, Jonny & Duke swam to the end of the pier then to Poly pier.  John & Jonny were accompanied by a curious sea lion during this leg of the swim.  

From the Poly pier, Karen and Heidi swam back to the end of Avila pier then into shore, while John, Jonny & Duke swam to the center and under Avila pier then to shore. 

Maria & Pete got a late start and eventually caught up with us, but I’m not sure which route they took.

The water between Avila and Poly piers was calm, clear & beautiful - a very nice swim indeed.

(the map I sent to you is the route Karen and I swam, 1.37 miles)

-Heidi

Wednesday Evening, October 11, 2017

Heidi and Niel swam a mile down the beach to Fossil Point and back. The water was nice and clean with a temperature of 58 degrees. It was flat and calm with no current. Peter Kelley was getting in at the same time and we met up out by the buoy line and had a brief discussion about the water conditions.

Avila from the first buoy

We ended out swim at the first buoy just as the sun

dropped behind the hills at Port San Luis.

 niel

Sunday, October 8th, 2017

We had a nice group today with two guests from Southern California. Dena (and Eric) from Pasadena and Courtney, from Redondo Beach (?) were visiting the Central Coast and joined us. Courtney does tris and has been swimming for two years. This was Dena's first ocean swim. The rest of the group was Niel, Amy, Sara (with Ben and their daughter on the kayak), Heidi, Duke, Karen, Jim, Jonny, Maria and Pete.

Jonny, Pete and Maria get extra double points for having run the City to the Sea Half Marathon this morning before coming to the beach to swim.

It was overcast and cool at 10:30 but the sun came out as we began swimming.  The water was 58 degrees with medium red tide.

The plan was to start out on a clockwise triangle, which would give our Southern California swimmers a chance to get comfortable and to complete the triangle for a mile or, if anyone was interested, to add in some additional distance.

Dena swam the first leg to the end of the buoy line and back to the pier, which was great for a first ocean swim.

At the creek buoy Niel, Jim and Maria chose to swim over to the Cal Poly Pier and back, adding .6 mile to their swim while the rest of the group returned along the buoy line to complete a 12 mile swim. 

I think that the white cap is Courtney, don't know who is in green,

Ben and daughter in the kayak.

Dena, Sara, Heidi, Karen and a white and pink cap.

Courtney and Duke at the end of the Avila Pier. 

Jonny, Heidi, Ben  and someone in a yellow cap.

Courtney waiving to HIllary to prove that she made it to the swim.

Hillary had lined her up with a weekend of epic riding and swimming. 

Jim and Maria at the Cal Poly Pier.

With the leg over to the pier we covered 1.61 miles.

There will be a swim Wednesday evening, in the water at 5:30. That is just about enough time to do a mile in before the sun drops behind the hills. There will not be many more evening swims, just whatever we can manage before the time changes on November 5th.

niel

Wednesday Evening, October 4th, 2017

I got to the beach late as Hillary was halfway out to the buoy line. I decided not to rush and just enjoy hanging on the beach. The water temperature was 56 and seems to be dropping fast as the daytime air temperatures are falling. There was no wind or chop but a strong right to left current parallel to the beach. When Hillary stopped swimming she began traveling towards Pismo Beach at a good clip. She did three laps of the left side of the buoy line and got out at 6, just as the sun was dropping behind the hills.

niel

Sunday, October 1, 2017

The first day of October was a real nice one at Avila Beach. It was warm with just a light variable wind, which made it almost too warm on the sand.  The surf was small and the water temperature was 58 degrees.  There have been bioluminescent red tides in Pismo Beach and in Santa Barbara but we had clean and clear water. 

Tom picked today's route: out to the end of the Avila Pier, over to the Cal Poly Pier, back to the west end of the buoy line and along the line to our starting point.

We had 15 people in the water today; Niel, Sylvia, Amy, Sidney, Sam, Kyley, Karen, Duke, Tom, Hillary, Jonny, Pete Kelley, John, Maria, Pete and Shawn Green was on his kayak. 

Hillary, Sydney, Karen, Kyley and Sam at the first buoy.

Sydney, two swimmers catching up, Hillary, Karen 

and Shawn at the end of the Avila Pier

Tom, Duke, Sydney and Hillary at the Cal Poly Pier

This was a very nice swim in great conditions.

Dolphins Kick Butt at the Tiki Swim in San Diego-

Sydney and Sam, part of the Avila Dolphin Ocean Swimming Development Program ;-),  did great at the recent Tiki Swim. 

Sydney (15) finished second in her heat and cut 7 minutes of last years time. 

Sam (13) finished 8th competing against 14 and 15 year olds and cut 8 minutes off of last years time.

Way to go and just wait until next year!

An Avila Dolphins Gear Review - The TYR Pinnie Vest

Hillary was the first to wear one at our swims. You can see hers if you look at the picture of her at the end of the Avila Pier. They they are a stretchy mesh vest that dramatically increase your visibility in the water, way beyond what can be achieved with a brightly colored cap. At Avila Beach, outside of the buoy line, we share the water with all manner of boats and personal watercraft so being easy to see in the water is a concern. They ever make it easier for other swimmers follow me in the water.  These are stretchy and fit easily over a wetsuit and don't interfere with your stroke or have any noticeable drag. They come in two sizes. GH Sports in San Luis Obispo carries them and the can also be found on line.

Wednesday Evening Swim - 
Wednesday the 4th, in the water at 5:30.


niel