Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019
It was a leisurely gathering at the beach before our swim, and folks seemed to like it that way. On this crisp, sunny, gorgeous day--swimming were Jonny, Duke, Pete, Anne Marie, Dana (who joined us for the first time), Brenda, Stephanie, and myself. Also with us on his kayak—Sean Greene, which was a treat! We entered the ocean around 11:10am; the water was choppy and tempestuous under the influence of a stiff north/east wind. Anne Marie swam to the second buoy, Pete did his Pete swim, and the rest of us headed south along the buoy line. The water temp near the shore was 58, but farther out it was 56 degrees. The red tide was history, and blue tide was in! The sea was clean with good visibility, but there were heavy clots of kelp in places that had been kicked up by two weeks of ocean upwelling. After pausing at the 4th buoy, we headed to the end of Avila Pier, directly into the wind and wild chop, which made for an adventurous and challenging swim. It felt like we were surfing with our faces. At one point, so much kelp engulfed Duke that he had to walk on top of it to free himself! After a Buddha float at the end of the pier, we sailed back to the beach where a warm sun and quieter wind greeted us. Folks generally dispersed except for Jonny and me. Aspiring demi-gods... we lounged with our coffee.
--John Hampsey
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