Sunday, July 24th, 2022

I arrived about 10:15 and there was Tom wading out after swimming over to the Cal Poly Pier. 

He said the water felt colder than yesterday but the swimming was smooth and beautiful.

I measured 13.5°C/56°F  during my swim. 

The air temperature was 59° and there was no wind.  Yet.  

Swimming today were Niel, Justin and Homer. Justin swam with us for his first time a few weeks ago. Hi is training for the Alcatraz biathlon.  This was Homer's first swim at Avila. He has done some swimming in Carpentaria but is living here now and has signed up for the the Alcatraz Swim later this summer.   

We started out swimming back and forth along the buoy line to get Homer alcamated and comfortable. After a lap and a half, about 1.2 miles, together, Homer swam two more buoys to make his 1.5 miles while Justin and I swam to the end of the Avila Pier, over to the CC Pier and back to and along the buoys to our starting point.     

Justin, Niel and Homer at the #4 buoy on the east side of the pier.

You can see that at this point that the wind had come up and it was clearing, so we got some nice sun but things got bumpy. The wind chop began breaking so the loop Justin and I did got physical.  

 

 I'll swim at 7 AM on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and at 11 next Sunday. 

niel

Report from John Hampsey on his swim at 4.

Sunday July 24th, The 4pm Report:
--per usual-- Group B met at 4pm at the lifeguard stand. However, Amy and Thom and Jonny could not make it, so I swam alone. Ocean scene very precarious-- there were two swirling bait balls--one by the end of the pier, and one off Fossil Point; water was choppy and 57 degrees, and very clean. Lifeguards said a bit sea lion had come ashore earlier in the day and been taken away by marine rescue. They recommended strongly that I stay between the surf-line and the buoy line. So I went in the sea by the pier, stayed close to shore, and swam to Fossil Point and back, stopping periodically to check on the moving spectacle of the bait balls. Had a partial vision, but it was ineffable.
best wishes to all--
--John Hampsey