Thursday, September 30th, 2021

Here is photographic proof of a Rob Dumouchel sighting this morning at Avila Beach. Freed from the bonds of the Alaskan per-winter Rob was looking totally local in his rental convertible. There was time for a too brief visit before Duke and I had to be responsible and head to work. Rob may make it back for some additional beach immersion on Saturday morning before leaving for a conference in Portland, OR on Sunday and then back to Homer, AK where he portrays a responsible city manager.     

Niel, Duke and Tom swam this morning along with a couple of other unidentified swimmers. The big event of the day was the 56° water temperature. Yeikes, I was glad that I had thrown both of my wetsuits in the car and had my winter season suit to wear. The water was nice and blue and clear, the surf was still up with a south swell and 3 to 4 footers. I could feel the swell pushing towards shore way out along the CP Pier. Duke did his U-Burner, I wandered around and over to the CP Pier and Tom got in about 9 and did his own swim.       

Looking east at the Avila Pier from the third crossbars on the CP Pier.

Saturday morning at 8 it will probably be Leslie, Niel, Jodi, Tiki and Stephanie, and whoever else cares to join us.   

niel 

Tuesday, September 28th, 2021

 Sunshine -

Our September Santa Lucia (offshore) winds arrived today and at 8 AM we had clear and windy skies at Avila Beach. Duke and Niel swam. Duke did his U-Burner sprint and NIel did his hour in and around both sides of the pier.  I saw Tom's car parked in his usual spot across the street from Kraken Coffee so he was either in the water or wrapping himself around a double pumpkin chai.  The water temperature was 59.5° and the air 55°. It was pretty smooth at 8 but by 9 the chop was building up to have some real character. There was a long period swell that produced some occasional 3 to 4 footers.  

Almost mystical at the end of the Avila Pier

The Wild Women will swim at 5 PM on Wednesday. Meet up at the life guard tower on the left side of the pier. 

Duke and I will be back at 8:30 AM on Thursday.

niel 

Sunday, September 26, 2021

 An Odd Grey Sunday

There wasn't any sun yet when I left San Luis Obispo for the beach, which is not a good sign that there would be any sun at the beach today. At Avila the water looked nice but it was grey, 55° and the water was 58°. The surf was up some with a nice swell coming in making 4 footers.  Niel, Duke, Leslie and Tiki were joined by Tiki's dad, Pete, and Jenni who lives in Berkeley and swims in the east bay. Jenni and Tiki were going bareback and the rest of the group would be swaddled in our neoprene.  

It was too cool and grey for the end of September

Tiki and Jenni at the first buoy

Niel, Leslie, Tiki, Jenni (pink buoy), Pete

and Duke at the 4th buoy on east of the pier. 

We did a nice easy swim. Jenni and Tiki called it good at the fourth buoy on 

the west side and went in while the rest of us swam back to the pier.

Duke and I will be back at 8 AM on Tuesday. The Wild Women will swim at 5 on WEDNESDAY. They meetup at the lifeguard tower to the left of the pier. 

niel   

Saturday, September 25th, 20221

Niel, Jodi, Leslie and Tiki swam at 8:05, Stephanie got in later, started on her own, never found us and joined up with Tom when he got in at about 9.  The air temperature was 55° and the water was 59°. It was nice and flat and calm. The fog and low clouds had visibility down to 3/4 to 1/2 mile. I felt kind'a chilled before getting in and had to not think about getting cold during the swim.  

Avila Beach from the pier. It will be nice when we get more into 

the fall and no longer have morning fog and low clouds.  

We swam a big 'circle' which was more of an irregular quadrilateral.

That is the geometry lesson for today. (I had to Google it) 

Niel, Jodi, Leslie and Tiki at the end of the Cal Poly Pier.

Duke, Jodi, myself and whoever joins us will swim in the sun tomorrow at 11. 

niel

Thursday, September 23rd, 2021

It was Tom and I this morning, getting in at 8:30. The water temp was 60°, it was glassy but there was a bit of wind. What a change from Tuesday. Duke is still recovering from our sprint workout in the chop and sat out today.  I was going to swim the Cal Poly Pier. Tom said that he was going to swim a smile.

Views from the Avila Pier

Tom getting in.

 

I started out swimming over to the second crossbars on the CP Pier

and then to the end of the CP Pier

Tom's route.

I'll be back to swim at 8 on Saturday morning.

niel

Tuesday, September 21st, 2021

Thick fog this morning, I couldn't see the end of the pier from the shore, but there was enough vis to swim. Duke and I had morning appointments so there wouldn't be any two mile routes today. We'd both do his U-Burner sprint route of about 1200M, three legs, out, over and in with a bit of a break at the corners.

The air and water temperatures were 59°. It was very gray with a steady breeze out of the south that was pushing up a strong onshore current and chop.  It would be a contest to see who could keep the straightest route in these conditions. We both got pushed around a lot and have a odd jog to the right at the end of the pier.  I was trying to stay on Duke's feet coming past the end of the pier but every time I lost his bubbles he was way off to the right or left. I think that it was both of us.

We spoke to Tom as we were getting out and he in. Later he texted that it was double chop and churn out there. We all had a lot of fun.

Niel

Duke

I think that the contest is a tie and the ocean won. 

The Wild Women will swim tonight at 5.

Duke and I will be back on Thursday morning at 9:30.

niel

 

Sunday, September 19th, 2021

Swimming In The Sun -

There is more of a crowd at the beach at 11 then at 8 in the morning but the sun and warmer temperatures are so much nicer. The water is bumpier but that makes for more of an ocean experience. At 10:30 this morning the air temperature was 71° and the water was 60°. There was a wind chop out of the south east and the west which made for some interesting conditions. 

We had an especially nice group today with the regulars Niel, Duke, Leslie, Tiki, Jodi and David joined by Alex, David's wife and Theresa, our swim buddy who graduated and took a job in Newport Beach. Alex decided that she wanted to get in the ocean so she got a wetsuit got in and had fun. Theresa was giving herself a break from the big city.   

We did a bow tie route. I do not think that I had swum this route before.  

 

Duke was getting hot so he waded in and waited for the group.

The 'fog' in the photos is water moisture that is inside my camera.  

David and Alex

Theresa, Leslie and Tiki

Theresa, Leslie and Tiki

Theresa and Leslie 

Leslie, Theresa and Duke just outside of the surf line.

David, Tiki, Leslie, Theresa, Jodi and Duke, hard to see in the swell.

Theresa. LA hasn't changed her a bit.

Theresa and Jodi

The official Avial Dolphins wetsuit drying rack.

Leslie sent me some nice photos but I could not get the text to computer to blog thing to work. Maybe tomorrow.

 

Theresa and Grace are going to do an 8 mile swim next weekend in Costa Mesa or Corona del Mar and Theresa will be back in two weeks. 

Duke and I will do a short swim on Tuesday at 8.  

niel

Saturday, September 18th, 2021

The water and air temperatures were 59° this morning. There was no wind, small surf, nice and glassy but a bit of red tide in some places near the Cal Poly Pier.  

This mornings crew was Leslie, Tiki, Jodi, Stephanie and Niel. We began by going east until we were off of Fossil Point and to the end of the Avila Pier. Tiki and Leslie headed in from there. The remaining three swam to the third crossbars on the CP Pier, in to the second crossbars and east to the west end of the buoy line and back to our starting place. 

That was a nice 2.24 miles.  

Niel. Leslie, Tiki and Jodi. 

Stephanie was a bit behind us and had caught us up by the last buoy.

Jodi, Stephanie, Leslie and Tiki social distancing off of Fossil Point.

Tom got in at about 9 and went over to the CP Pier. I saw him backstroking along the buoy line when we were at the showers. 

 

Tomorrow's swim will be at 11 with guest celebrity Theresa.

niel

Thursday, September 16th, 2021

It Was A Hint - 

At 8:30 everything at Avila was typical of another summer morning except the water temperature was down to 58°.  It is dark in the morning when I get up and there is Halloween candy in the stores so I am going to have to accept that we are sliding out of summer and the water temperature will be trending down.  If I'd had my winter wetsuit with me I would have caved and worn it today but I just had my tri suit so some mental jujitsu was required. The lower water temp. pushed me and I had a great swim. I was colder but I pushed harder and did my hour with no stops. I was colder but I didn't get too cold. This is what last winter was like but with my 3.5/4.5 wetsuit and 50 degree water. 

I saw Duke at 8:30 as he was getting in and I was just starting to suit up. He did his U-Burner and I didn't see him in the water. When I was heading to the showers there were three swimmers heading east along the buoy line, two on the east side of the pier and a solo swimmer on the west side. Tom finished up his swim along the buoys on the west side so I'm guessing that was him.  I've no idea who the other two were.    

I'll be getting in at 8 on Saturday and Duke and I will swim at 11 on Sunday. Company is always welcome.

niel

Tuesday, September 14th, 2021

 Ick. It was 59° in Avila this morning but it was drippy wet and felt chill. The water was still 61° so that was a plus. Mr. Lindsay had predicted that there would be rip currents along the coast and sure enough, there was a big one on the left side of the pier. There were occasional 3+ foot waves and a swell out of the SE, which is typical of a storm. There was some extra power in the water with the foam doing a better job than usual of trying to push me over. When I was swimming I could feel a deep movement in the water. Perhaps our first hint of winter?  

I was on my own today. Duke texted me that he was too comfortable with his coffee to get up out of the chair and come swim and would ride to Cayucos later. Gezzz, was he drinking decaf? I wonder if there was a double chocolate Costco muffin next to his coffee cup? We miss ya buddy.

I just went out and paddled around and got my hour in. The water is clean but there is a lot of broken up kelp everywhere. If I remember correctly that is a late summer thing. 

Tom was walking down to the suds as I was getting out so we talked for a bit, wondering if one of us should go check on Duke to make sure that he didn't fall asleep in his chair, spill his coffee and miss out on his bike ride.  😉𝨝

I'll be back Thursday between 8:30 and 9.

niel

Sunday, September 12th, 2021

It was just lovely today. At 11 o'clock the air temperature was 71° and the water was 61.5°. The Is was not windy at Avila Beach but offshore it had picked up so there was a chop and current out of the SW. The surf was small with an occasional 3 footer. The water was a nice green today.

Duke had arrived early and had seen Maria and Heidi get in at 8, Paula and a couple of friends get in next and Tom and Sue get in at about 9. There was a solo gentleman really banging away along the buoy line with a dolphin swimming cover while we were getting ready. The 11 o'clock group was Duke, Leslie, Jodi, Pat, Niel and we were joined by Roshan from the Bay Area. Roshan swims open water at home and was having wetsuit problems so she decided to go bareback. 

The group all made it down the buoy line and to the end of the Avila Pier. Between there and the buoy at the mouth of the creek Pat went somewhere, I didn't see him at the group up at the buoy. Duke and Roshan went in while the rest of the group headed to the second crossbars on the Poly Pier. I turned around there while Jodi, Leslie and Pat wet to the third crossbars and back to the end of the Avila Pier before coming in. 

This is Jodi with Leslie behind her, Niel, Duke, Pat and Roshan at the end of the Avila Pier. 

Duke and I will be back at 8 on Tuesday. It sounds like this week's Wild Women In The Water evening swim will be Tuesday at 5. 

niel

Saturday, September 11th, 2021

 

Nothing special to see in the water today. No seals, dolphins,birds or sea monsters, just dense overcast and a hint of a SE swell. The air temperature was 59° and the water was a comfy 62.5°. There were some warm spots out there that felt several de]grees warmer. 

The Cal Poly swim team was on the beach doing some dry land workouts. 

In the water today with Group 1 were Jodi, Leslie, Stephane, Tiki and Niel. 

Group 1went over to the CP Pier and swam to the first crossbars, then back to the second crossbars, to the last buoy at the creek, to the end of the Avila Pier, around the reef buoy and back along the buoys to our start and in. 

Group 2 was Tom was Sue who swam back and forth between the Avila and Cal Poly Piers. 

Jodi, Leslie, Tiki and Stephanie at the first crossbars. 

When we stopped at the second crossbars before heading to the creek this heron was already in possession and was giving us the stink eye so we crossed under the pier at the next opening.

We'll swim tomorrow at 11.

niel  

Thursday, September 9th, 2021

It was just another dull morning in the sleepy Central Coast beach town of Avila Beach. No one had any idea what terror was about to over take this idyllic setting. It was gray and overcast with fog coming and going, hiding who knows what terrors of the deep that were lurking out there, waiting for unsuspecting swimmers to venture out over the great depths of the ocean. The air and water temperatures were 61° and the water was flat and clear, the better to see something coming.

Niel, Tom and Duke were joined by Sue who is in town for a few days. She will be swimming Friday and Saturday mornings. 

While I was out on the Avila Pier checking the water temperature I saw what was surly Nessie, The Loch Ness Monster in the waters over near the Cal Poly Pier! Some stray radiation from Diablo Canyon must have attracted this famous sea monster to the Central Coast. This looked so real I could not believe my eyes!   

Duke would not be intimidated and set out on his own to do a U Bruner sprint and to spit in Nessie's eye as he went by.

Tom and Sue got in before me. I do not know where they swam but I saw Sue when I had gotten out and she said Tom was 'gone'. I couldn't bring myself to ask if she meant that Tom had had gotten out earlier and was on his way home or had been part of a sea monster buffett.      

I felt compelled to swim in a large X pattern, 

marking the last known location of Nessie and Tom.

Me at the end of the Cal Poly Pier with no sea monster in sight.

Maybe it was my pink cap that kept me safe?

Leslie's Wednesday Evening Swim Report - 

Me, Jodi and Tiki jumped in and went 4th creek buoy, around the big catamaran moored out there, there was no one home so we continued around the Avila Pier to other 4th buoy, back to 1st and in.  Water was nice, clear but smelled a little funky still to me at the creek buoy.  No seals!!   Beach was pretty empty, tons of parking and no lifeguards.   We're going to keep the wed evening swims going as long as we can until daylight savings.    Everyone is invited anytime!

I believe that they meet at the lifeguard tower on the left side of the pier and get in the water at 5:00. They will continue evening swims until the time changes on November 7th.

No sea monster is going to keep me out of the water! I'll be back Saturday morning. I think that I'm going to Farmers so I'll be at the beach at about 9.

Sunday's swim will be at 11. Should be no crowds.

niel