Sunday. January 28, 2018

I was out of town so today's post is by John Hampsey and Duke.

Avila blog   January 28, 2018

We had a solid swim group today for January, perhaps because of the unusually warm air and dazzling sun. The beach had the crowds of a June day and the air temperature was 80 degrees!

Swimming on this Sunday were Karen, Phil, Curtis, Amy, Sam, Sidney, Jonny, Heidi, Duke, and myself. The tides were extreme, as noted by the rock-strewn high water mark. And as we entered the sea at just after low tide we walked for quite a distance across a magically-extended sandbar. There were 1-2 foot waves and the water was clean and clear. The big surprise was the water temp of 50 degrees. This was the coldest water we have experienced in almost a year.

 Everyone swam east heading for the reef buoy, which made sighting easy but which also meant several swimmers had to wrestle with Proteus the ancient sea-god who was napping amidst the tangle of spiraling kelp. At that point, because of the unusually cold water, Amy and Sam decided to head back and the rest of us continued swimming east to Fossil Point. From there we divided into two groups—one headed to the end of the pier and the other swam to the middle of the pier. The wind had picked up a bit and there was some strong chop in the water during the latter part of our swim. Total swim distance was 1.1 to 1.2 miles. Unlike last Sunday, everyone warmed up quickly back on the beach and enjoyed the exceptional moment of heat, bright sun, and gorgeous cerulean-blue sky.

 --John Hampsey