Grace, Theresa and Leslie did a weird route because of the large surf. The surf was super high and it looked like we were swimming in rolling hills. We went to the end of the pier, to the creek buoy, and back to the first buoy. Back around the pier to the 4th buoy on Fossil Point then back to the first buoy and out and back around the pier. A three pier swim I guess. It was crazy out there today but clear and not too cold.
I'm headed into SLO now for a tetanus shot.
Leslie
niel
We had a nice group today including Alex, who was over here from Lancaster along with David, Leslie, Hillary, Niel, Theresa and Grace. We decided to swim over to the Cal Poly Pier in a roundabout way and shoot for about 2 miles.
That is Leslie, David, Grace, Alex and Theresa getting in.
I think that is Grace, Alex, Theresa \and Leslie at the first buoy.
Yuch!
Early this morning the air quality In Avila Beach was listed as Unhealthy due to smoke from the fires so I decided to take a pass on swimming.
Air quality is predicted to begin improving this evening and to be much better for the remainder of the week.
Check out AirNow.gov for your local numbers and health recommendations.
I'm planning/hoping to swim at 9 on Thursday.
niel
We had better visibility today with a high cloud cover so we had no visibility limitations and our choice of routes. The bait fish and the following sea birds are becoming more numerous. There were large bait balls with lots of feeding going on in several locations during and after our swim. This is not unusual for this time of the year. We may need to cancel some swims if a feeding frenzy gets to the point where getting in the water is hazardous. The water around one of these large feeding events is full of feathers, fish parts and bird poop and you do not want to swim through that water. Also, the large number of seals that are attracted to the bait fish will draw any sharks that are in the neighborhood and fancy a seal lunch.
Anyway, the water conditions were the same as yesterday, glassy, calm and a water temperature of 14°C/57°F.
Swimming today were David, Niel, Theresa and Leslie. We all did one triangle then David, Theresa and Leslie id an additional half.
This photo is noteworthy for two reasons, because of where it was taken from and what you can see. The Avila Pier has been closed to foot traffic since March and was reopened this week, so I could go out on the pier before the swim, get a water temperature and check out the conditions. The string on the railing is for my big lab thermometer and I can see one and a half buoys, so Theresa and I could start out along the buoy line instead of hugging the shore.
The water was flat and glassy, still pretty clear except in spots and the temperature from the pier was 56° F. I got a reading of 14°C/57.2°F on the little thermometer that I can take with me during the swim.
Because of the fog Theresa and I decided to stick the the Tom's T route because it is safe from boat traffic (sort of today) and offers lots of options for distance.Our usual swim along this route is about 3,400M. I had been feeling pretty good after those swims so I decided to go long today. We would go out to the buoy line, turn right and swim teh buoys to the end of the line at the creek mouth, return, go out and around the pier and swim out and back along the buoy line on the opposite side. Repeat until the desired distance is achieved.
At 9AM this morning Avila had dense fog, no wind and a funny glow from the sunrise above the clouds. I couldn't see the buoys from the beach. I was the only swimmer. With the fog Tom's T route seemed the best for navigation and avoiding any stray boat traffic. The air smelled damp and beachy with no hint of smoke. There was hardly anyone in Avila.
By Leslie & Niel
Because of the smoke and ash in the air this swim was somewhat of a baptism by fire.
Theresa and I did two triangles around the pier. The water was about 60 and relatively clear. It was nice and flat. The sun was a red beach ball above us the whole time which made us feel like water witches. Breathing didn't feel too bad. Theresa and I thought it was OK.
Thanks Leslie
What a difference two days made. Sunday was super hot and clear, Tuesday was overcast, foggy, windy, choppy and smokey with larger, 3'+, waves. The water was still very clear but the yucky skys made it look brown. We couldn't smell any smoke but ash was falling steadily. The breeze was blowing from left to right, almost parallel to the beach, which is really strange for Avila Beach, and it was driving a 1'+ chop. The water temperature was 15.5°C/59.9°F but felt a degree or two colder due to the lack of sunshine.
Teresa and I decided to do the Tom's T; back and forth along the full buoy line with a detour out and around the pier each time buy. We swam out, under the pier and west to the last buoy at the creek. Teresa is faster than I am and we didn't stay together. It was not too bouncy on the lee side of the pier but the swim in along the pier's east side was rough and had me thinking about what the leg out the buoy line would be like. That leg was work but not bad. I avoided sighting along the buoy line because lifting my head up just got me a view of the water and a mouth full, so I navigated by tracking my progress along the beach each time I breathed on that side. Returning was fun and back along the length of the pier was messy but just as I was starting to feel spent the wind dropped and the last half mile was in glassy water.
Product Report on the Orca Openwater CORE
Yes that is me in a screaming orange Orca wetsuit. It is the same model that Craig wore on Thursday but is NOT the Openwater SW model that Hillary has been wearing the past couple of months. They both have lots of dayglo orange and make you very visible in the water. The SW has 4mm material and a tow ring at the base of the spine and a electronic ID system. The CORE is 2mm material and the sleeves are more like a fabric than neoprene.
I don't like to be cold in the water, I may go in without a wetsuit once a year for a short swim. I swam 1.7 miles in this suit today in 62 degree water and I did not get cold. The suit is extremely light weight, it feels like a feather when compared to my EXTERRA tri suit, and is wonderful to swim in. I could feel the cold of the water through the sleeves and shoulders for the entire swim but my chest and legs felt fine. The seams are not glued so water came into the suit as soon as I was knee deep in the wash. These are all things that a tighter, heaver wetsuit would prevent, but while I could feel the cold more than with a tri suit I did not get to the point where I was actually cold today and enjoyed a tremendous freedom of movement like I was not wearing a wetsuit.
I'll use this suit when the water temperature is 60 or above and it is sunny. I like the freedom of movement and the visibility. As the water temperature drops I'll switch to my tri suit and then to my 3mm surf suit when the water slides below 55 degrees. At $170 list the CORE is a great open water suit in the right conditions. The SW model would have a much broader temperature range and is $399.
I'll swim Tuesday morning at 9.
niel