Sunday November 25, 2018

Summer Conditions at the Wrong Time of the Year

Beautiful clear skies, an air temperature in the 70's, a water temperature of 60 degrees and great swimming conditions. This is not a normal description of Avila Beach in late November but it was what we enjoyed today. 

We had the first rain of the season Wednesday night into Thursday so the water in San Luis Obispo Creek was full of bacteria.
You can see the numbers for the amount of enterococcus bacteria (the EPA's indicator for human waste) at https://www.surfrider.org/blue-water-task-force/chapter/34.  The CA state standard beyond which peopel should avoiding contact with the water is 104 organisms/100ml, so samples that clock in at 6 to 10 thousand mean you need to stay clear of the creek.
Considering the tide and lack of wind we decided that swimming on the east side of the Avila Pier would be reasonable. 
In the water today were Niel, Duke, Emily, Heidi, Peter, Theresa, John, Jonny and Maria. The wind picked up out of the SE and made the swim from the point to the end of the Avila Pier a good bit of work. With the water so comfortable we spent a lot of time waiting to pull the group back together before starting on the next leg, just hanging in the water talking. Just like August.
We had a nice pot luck snack after the swim of desert leftovers from Thanksgiving.

niel

Sunday, November 18, 2018

The Trouble With Tribbles and a Fortune Cookie Swim


The Trouble With Tribbles is one of the most famous episodes from the original Star Trek.  The Enterprise is inundated with featureless but harry and harmless creatures.

Well today there was one on the beach right there where we put our chairs. This one was kind'a quiet, it didn't move or even squeak when Duke set down his chair near it. Eventually Sue became concerned and moved it to near the trash can. It must have woken up because it was gone later.

I've come across some strange and unexpected things on the beach but never a Tribble.

It was sunny at Avila Beach today with thin high clouds, about 70 degrees with 60 degree water. There was no wind, the ocean was flat and the water was nice and clean. Not as clear as last Sunday but very good for Avila Beach. The water temperature is about 4 to 5 degrees warmer than this time last year, for which I have no explanation. 

There is no course map today because I forgot to charge my Garmin 310 GPS watch. 

Tom's Fortune Cookie Route is sort of a folded triangle: swim out along the Avila Pier to the end of the pier, then to the western end of the buoy line at the mouth of the SLO Creek, east along the entire buoy line to its eastern end on the other side of the pier, back to the end of the Avila Pier and in along the pier. Total distance is 1.25 miles.

Swimming today were Peter, Niel, Amy, Duke, Sydney, Sam, Tom, Maria, Sue (back from England for a time), Johnny, Brian (chased out of Southern California by the smoke and debris) and Jeannine. Soon after the start the group unraveled into four or more swims. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed these very unseasonable conditions. 

The rain predicted for this week should taper off on Thanksgiving Day so we should be good for the Leftovers Swim on next Sunday where we will swim long and have desert. 

niel

Sunday, November 11,2018

A Really Beautiful Day At Avila Beach

It was sunny and calm with an air temperature in the upper 60's, no clouds except for some haziness from the fires in Malibu. The water temperature was 58.5 with amazing clarity,  I could see the anchor chain on a buoy all of the way to the bottom. The beach was almost empty. The life guards are gone for the season but the swim zone buoys have not been removed yet so we still have them for course layout, so we swam the triangle counterclockwise today.

Duke, Niel, Sydney, Sam, Emily and Heidi getting in.

On the west side and off the end of the Avila Pier we swam over large schools of bait fish that were well below the surface. It was great fun. We rarely have water that is this clear so I don't know if they are usually there but out of sight.

As you can see from the recent swim maps my stopgap Garmin 310XT produces really messy plots. I'm looking forward to Christmas when Santa delivers another 910XT to replace the one that the ocean ate a few weeks ago. 

The repair or replacement of my Ricoh MG-30W waterproof camera will take a while longer, hopefully by the end of the year. 

HEY, how about a Leftovers Swim on Sunday, November 25th? Buy that pie you'd really like to have on Thanksgiving with the assurance the you can bring it to the beach on Sunday, do a long swim, and share the leftovers with friends?

niel

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Tom’s Avila Swim Report:

Deep blue skies, sunny, with wispy clouds scattered about; a beautiful day at Avila. 

Swimming today was Sydney, Sam, Tom, and Larry the harbor seal.  The water was clear and cool, about 54 degrees.  The lifeguards are gone, the buoys remain.  Tom and the sisters swam the buoy line; Larry did his own thing.

and this from Sue:


At first only Tom, Sydney and Sam came to swim- they stayed together, followed the buoy line and swam about a mile, according to Tom. The girls said the water was super clear and on the warm side

A bit later Annemarie showed up and went out by herself, then Eric and the two girls (Cal Poly) went out together
A beautiful 78 degree day in Avila!!!
We missed everyone today
 Hope you had a great weekend!!!