Saturday, August 31st., 2024

Poly Pier Toes

Jodi and I had a very pleasant swim this morning. We swam 4K in 56° water. The air temp was also 56°, the morning overcast is a constant, but the water was flat, glassy and made for smooth swimming. 

Yesterday Tom had seen heavy red tide between Morro Bay and Cayucos and thought the water at Avila was getting funky. This morning the water was somewhat cloudy but not objectionable between the Avila and Poly Piers and very clean with great visibility on the east side of the Avila Pier.        

When we got out at 8:30 the beach was more crowded than usual and on its way to a full holiday weekend crowd. 

I'll swim tomorrow at 11 and plan to get away before the crowds get too crazy. 

niel

Friday, August 30th, 2024

Swim Tales From Tom's Toes - 

Heavy gray and an essence of funk… The air temperature was 58° when I arrived at 915 AM. The marine layer was thick and heavy. The water was calm, glassy in spots and 54°. That's what my toes tell me anyway.  The swimming was good although there was definitely was an essence of red funk. I was driving between Morro Bay and Cayucos yesterday and the red Funk was pretty heavy there. Hopefully the it'll will pass on by without getting too heavy. 

Thursday, August 29th, 2024

 

Fossil Point

Conditions today were much like Tuesday except the air and water were 2 degrees warmer. This morning's numbers were 57° and 57°.  The gray overcast is dull but the swimming conditions are wonderful. I encountered spots of water with a funny taste that I could not identify. The grayness makes if difficult to judge the clarity of the water. 

An egret at the Avila Pier breakfast bar. 

The Saturday group will swim at 7 and I'll try for some swimming in the sunshine on Sunday at 11.

niel  

Wednesday, August 28th, 2024

Tom's Toes Says - 

58° and heavy marine layer. That was Avila at 910 AM when I arrived. The water was glassy and calm with a very small swell.  The water temperature was about 56°, and the water clarity has gotten quite murky in the last few days.  By the time I finished swimming an hour later the sun was just starting to burn through and a breeze was picking up.  It was a good midweek swim. 

Tuesday, August 27th, 2024

Avila was back to its gray and cool summer self but the swimming conditions were still great.

The air and water temps were 55°. There was no wind and just a hint of a swell out at the end of the Poly Pier so it was nice and smooth the whole way. There was heavy overcast but no fog. 55° is the lower limit for me in my summer wetsuit so I was feeling the cold towards the end.  

Today's route was; the buoy line to the first crossbars, the second crossbars, 

the end of the Avila Pier, the mooring tripod thing on the Poly Pier, 

the end of the pier, back to the Avila Pier and in. 

I do not know what score the judges gave me on my swim. 

I'll be back on Thursday and Saturday at 7.

niel 

Monday, August 26th, 2024

Tom's Toes Tails - 

Another beautiful morning at Avila… 65° air temperature, blue skies, and a slight breeze.  The water was calm and glassy and about 56°.  There  was a little bit of the kelp stew that Niel talked about last week, but nothing to cause any grief while swimming.  it was such a good morning here today that there was a couple literally dancing on the beach, practicing their swing dance!  

Sunday, August 25th, 2024

A beautiful but windy say at Avila Beach. At 10:30 it was 80° and totally sunny with a light breeze. The surf was small and there was some small bumps on the 57° water. Jamie joined me today. She has been swimming 25 yds. at a time for too long and got back in the ocean today. It was bumpy and white capped towards the horizon, so I figured that the wind would pick up and the chop move in, so triangles was the route. Jamie wanted to do 3,000M but would have options for a shorter swim and the triangles would mean that we would be changing directions and not swimming the hard way the whole time.    

At the 4th buoy on the east side for the second time.

 Jamie was loving being back in the ocean.

At this point Jamie swam back to the #1 buoy and went in while I completed the clockwise triangle. The wind and chop quickly built up, before I was at the end of the pier I was meeting some that broke over my head. 

The water is still very clear and clean for late summer and even with sub 60 water temperatures Avila is a beautiful place to swim.

By 1:00 the wind was gusting and picking up clouds of dust along the beach. The water was whitecapped in to the surf line. 

I'm planning on swimming at 7 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and again at 11 on Sunday.

niel

I spoke with Tom Lorish before we got in. He was a happy swimmer.  

I also spoke with Pet Kelley for a bit. He is still swimming.

 

Josh, David and Matt

First Sharfkfest Swim

Matt swims with us on Saturdays. Josh is his wife's cousin, 

his partner David was the first swimmer out of the water.

Next Thursday Tom Israel leaves for Maui and the Maui Channel Relay with friends from San Diego. It looks like Hurricane Hone will have done its worst and gone by Tuesday so I hope the swim goes well.  

   

Saturday, August 24th, 2024

 

Swimming conditions this morning excellent; flat, glassy and windless. The water temperature varied from 57° to wake up 55°. The air temp was 50°. At 7 Avila was a hole in a wall of fog. The clouds were hanging onto Fossil Point but we could easily see Avila Rock and all of the Poly Pier. I suggested swimming to the rock but we decided not to because instead of burning off the fog could close down. We decided to swim to the first crossbars on the Poly Pier, to the end of the pier and to loop back via the end of the Avila Pier and the kelp patch at the end of the beach.  This route would give us lots of alternat routes if the fog closed in.     

Tom, Niel and Jodi at the first crossbars along the Poly Pier.  

The view looking the opposite direction back towards the Avila Pier.

When we stopped at the end of the Poly Pier the fog had closed in and all we could see of the Avila Pier was a darker smudge in the fog. The sun was obscured but bright so we headed towards the Avila Pier by keeping the sun on our right shoulders.

We found the end of the Avila Pier without trouble and continued on to round the reef and kelp patch, come back along the buoy line and in to shore.    

As we were getting out the navigation conditions had completely changed.

I'll swim tomorrow at 11. 

niel

Friday, August 23rd, 2024

Tom's Swim Report - 

The conditions were changing as I was swimming…  I arrived at 910 a.m. and Avila was thick in fog. See before picture.  The air temperature was about 65° and the water had a pretty good wind chop on it.  By the time I had swam out to the end of the Avila pier I could tell the fog was starting to burn off.  The water temperature dropped off to about 56° from Wednesdays 60.  I didn't get any of Niel's kelp stew, instead, staying with the analogy, it was a very clear broth.  By the time I finished my swim the fog was completely burned off (see after picture) and the water was getting glassy.  A good morning swim.

 

Thursday, August 22nd, 2024

 Swimming In Kelp Stew - 

The morning overcast was back but there was no fog and the sharky signs are not up so the whole ocean was available.

It was a warm 60° and calm. The water was 58° +/- depending on where I was. Further out there was a bump on the water.  The big yuck was the almost constant presence of chopped up kelp. I was almost constantly hitting the stuff with my hands or head or having it hang up on my goggles.  Very annoying.     

The Harbor District's crew have worked their way out to the buoy line and are placing new pilings. I've begun to detour seaward.

I'll swim Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 11.

niel

Wednesday, August 21st. 2024

Tom's Wednesday Swim Report -

Gorgeous at Avila this morning...   blue skies, 65° air temperature, and the water was glassy and calm.  Based on human observation, it was determined that the man and the gray suit has gone onto graze bluer seas.  The water was 60° maybe even 61.  Lovely swimming conditions. 

Tuesday, August 20th, 2024

 

I enjoyed an amazing morning swim at Avila Beach today. The mild offshore flow had moved the fog and clouds far offshore. At 6:45 it was sunny and still, 52° but it felt warmer, the surf and water were flat, the water was clean and clear with no sigh of red tide. The sharky sign should come down today.     

I swam Tom's Three Peaks route; the buoy line with three loops around the Avila Pier in 58° water. It was beautiful.

When I was leaving the air temp was pushing 80° and it felt like it would be a hot day in Avila. The fog is supposed to return tomorrow. 

I'll be back on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. 

niel      

Monday, August 19th, 2024

Gray day but beautiful… 59° air temperature when I arrived at 915 AM. The the water was glassy and flat. There was a small wave on, and the water temperature was 58°.  Out of respect for the man in the gray suit, for the second day in a row I did the buoy line boogie.   It was a beautiful day of swimming. 

Sunday, August 18th, 2024

 

Fog and Big Fish Today -

The Harbor Patrol confirmed the sighting of a shark over near the port mid day yesterday so the sharky signs will be up for a few days.

Tom Lorish had gotten in at 9 and stayed along the buoys. I wanted something shortish and relaxing today.  I spoke with the lifeguards and decided that sticking to the buoy line was a good plan.  

The air temp was 66° when I arrived and 75° when I left. At 11 there was some sun over near the port while Fossil Point was lost in the murk. By 11:30 it was sunny in Avila and very nice. The water was 59°. The water had a small bump on it but there was no wind.  Occasionally the surf was 3'. Despite the prevalence of seals and sea lions suffering from toxic algae the water still looks clean with no sign of the nasty red brown color it usually has in summer. One of the lifeguards told me that he had been spear fishing near Fossil Point and the deeper he went the nastier the water quality was.

I had a nice relaxing swim and a pleasant lunch on the beach.

The sharky signs should be down Tuesday morning. I'm planning on swimming on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7 and next Sunday at 11. 

niel

Saturday, August 17th, 2024

The morning fog is still with us. Avila was really socked in this morning so we planned a swim along the buoy line with loops around the pier. The air was warmer at 56°, the water was about the same at 56°, the surf was a bit larger, the swell was negligible, there was no wind and the water was glassy. 

Niel, Paula, Jodi, Matt and Tom Israel got in at 7. Tom expressed his odd sense of fun and went bareback. We did a lap of the east buoys, went around the pier and to the 4th buoy on the west.  At this point the fog had thinned sufficiently that changed jour plans and continued on to the first crossbars on the Poly Pier, swam up the pier (why does the direction towards the ocean end of the pier seem like up?) to the second crossbars and to the end of the Avila Pier. Tom and Matt went in. Jodi, Niel and Paula swam to the 4th buoy on the east side, back along the buoys to #1 and in.   

Tom, Jodi, Paula Matt and Niel at the 4th buoy near Fossil Point. 

Adventure Swims Report -

Paula did the 2.7 mile Donner Lake Swim on 8/10 and recently did 7K in Lake Tahoe as part of her training for the Horsetooth 10K swim near Ft. Colling, CO on 9/8. 

Matt will do an Alcatraz swim next weekend. 

Tom Israel and some buddies from San Diego will do the Maui Channel Relay at the end of this month. 

For those of you who know Rob Doumouchel, awesome open water swimmer and recent city manager of Homer, AK., he is now living in Juneau, AK. and working for the city. Juneau has a population of 30,000 (Homer has 3,000), is that capital of Alaska and is accessible only by plane or boat. 

Swimming with glaciers.

In the water at Auke Lake 

I'll swim tomorrow at 11

niel

Friday, August 16th, 2024

Beautiful morning at Avila… Clear blue skies and 65° air temperature. The water had a wind bump and was 57°. Excellent morning vitamin. 

Thursday, August 15th, 2024

Today was another morning of thick fog at Avila Beach. The air temp was 51°.Tom's toes were not available so I measured the water with my thermometer and read 57°. It felt coldish at the start but more comfortable later. The water was glassy with a small swell that didn't put up a push and the 'surf' was 1 to 2 foot which made very nice swimming conditions.  

Visibility was about 70% of the way to the next buoy.

I decided to swim the buoy line. Two laps of the buoys would be short of two miles so I took a leg around the pier instead of passing under to make sure that I made my 3,200 goal.  I managed that and a bit more. 

On my first trip down the buoy line I wandered into the surf line but otherwise I managed to keep a good line. During the second lap the sun was able to make a brighter spot in the fog which helped. 

With no hydration or calories along two hours is about when my tank gets empty, so this worked out nicely.

There really wasn't anything to take a photo of that would not look like the inside of a gray sock. 

I'll swim Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 11. 

niel           

Wednesday, August 14th, 2024

Tom's Swim Report - 

Another foggy one at Avila this morning… Arrived at 915am, 60° air temperature and foggy. The water felt like it had dropped off from Monday to about 55°.  Niel will probably tell me I am on crack again but, I trust my toes!  There is a slight bump on the water but it was nice swimming. 

I'll report If the water is warmer tomorrow.  niel 

Tuesday, August 13th, 2024

There was very dense fog in Avila Beach this morning. I could not see the buoys from the beach let alone the end of the Avila Pier.  I decided to swim the west buoy line, over to the Poly Pier and swim out and back along the pier. The distance would be about right and the P Pier is the closest thing to lane lines that we have in the big pool.  

The air temp was 53°. The water was 57° - 58°. There was no wind and a small swell from the SW. I could not even see a bright spot from the sun in the fog. 

This is the wackiest plot I've every seen. I don't think the fog could confuse the GPS. I did make more than the usual stops and course corrections but I definitly did not do one and a half loops. On the way out I could not see the Poly Pier from the 4th buoy but I lined myself up with where the second crossbars should be, noted the direction of the swell and kept on that line. I was 150 M to the left of the second crossbars when they came into view. I got some help by skimming the seaward side of the kelp bed that is just inshore of the line from the 4th buoy to the second crossbars. On the way back I kept the kelp on my left and made a lot of stops to check my line and was to the right of the 4th buoy when it came into view.  

Today's conditions gave me a real lesson in evening out my stroke. With no reference to the shore to keep me on line it was obvious that I was pulling harder with my stronger arm. Every time I stopped to check my course I was headed more to the south than I should be.    

This morning's crowd at the second crossbars on the Poly Pier. 

I'll swim Thursday at 7 and hope to swim Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 11. 

niel

Monday, August 12th, 2024

Tom's Monday Swim Report -

A beautiful start to the week… It was 62° air temperature when I arrived at Avila at 915 AM. Blue skies and calm water. There was a bit of a chop and the water was 59°. Beautiful swimming conditions. 

Sunday, August 11th, 2024

Back In The Water -

We spent this past week in Portland, OR. so I've missed a few swims and it was very nice to be back at the Big Pool.

It was 60° with thick overcast and fog when I arrived. The surf was 1 to 2 foot and there was a small chop.  The Harbor Patrol safety boat was just a blur along the buoy line.        

Before I got in I spoke to Tom Lorish after he had gotten out. He had done his Three Peaks swim which kept him in close. I think that swim included three passes at the end of the Avila Pier but I'm not sure about the rest of the route.  

I decided to do two triangles with a finishing lap around the pier. The water felt very nice, I measured the temp as 59°. Half way into the first lap the sun came out and the wind and chop picked up. The chop was coming from the east which is unusual for this time of the year. 

View of the lumpiness looking east from the end of the Avila Pier.

I had a very nice swim and a lunch break afterwards. With the sun out the air temp was up to 75°.

I'll swim Tuesday and Thursday morning's at 7 and hopefully at 7 on Saturday and 11 on Sunday. I've an appointment with my dermatologist on Thursday and he sees anything he need to freeze or remove I'll be beached until I'm healed up.

niel

Friday, August 9th, 2024

 Tom's Swim Report - 

The big heavy is back… I arrived at 915 AM and the big heavy marine layer was back. 59 degrees air temperature, and a very slight breeze. The water was flat and calm and it was close to low tide. In the picture you can see how solid the kelp bed is by the rock buoy. Looks like you could almost walk across it, many birds and otters do.  The water temperature was 56° and it was a good morning swim. 

Rumor has it that Sean, Tom Israel, Jodi and Matt swam Saturday morning at 7.  

I'll swim tomorrow at 11.

niel

Wednesday, August 7th, 2024

Tom's Swim Report -

Beautiful morning at Avila. 62° air temperature, blue skies, and a slight breeze coming from the southwest. The water was mostly calm and flat with a slight bump. It was 57 in most spots, with the occasional 56 and 58. Aquatic microclimates.  Excellent swim conditions.  A rhetorical question: is it just me, or does it seem like they have been working on the same spot on the pier for about 10 months or more?  I can't quite work out what they have done or needed to do that would take that long. The only thing I can think of is that that is the exact spot where 80% of the waves break into the pilings and they are replacing everything. 

Tom - When the construction to repair the pier reached the area far enough offshore to where the larger waves would keep the decking wet they found that the pilings, cap beams and decking were all water damaged and needed replacing.  Repairs of this extent were not in the report about the condition of the pier that was provided by the Harbor District's consulting engineer and was not in the projected costs or timeline. So, yes, they have been working on the same area of the pier for many months.

niel 

Monday, August 5th, 2024

 Tom's Swim Report -

The new normal continues…  to evolve…  sort of.  9:30 AM arrival. Air temperature was 61° with a solid marine layer. All part of the new normal. The water had a breezy bump on it that seem to be coming from the southwest. That is part of the evolution.  Water temperature was a little cooler than Sunday, my toes tell me 57°.  By the time I got out there was blue sky showing. The swimming was lovely.  See before and after pictures below. 

Sunday, August 4th, 2024

 

The Yacht Club was setting buoys out for an event when I arrived so I needed to plan a route that would avoid any boat/swimmer interference. Three triangular buoys had been placed, all well out beyond the ends of the Avila and Poly Piers. The lifeguard shared with me what part of the ocean the boats typically use. I wanted to swim out to the end of the Poly Pier so I added what I knew from my experiences and planned to swim out and back along the P Pier, figuring that a captain would need to ram into the pier to get me.              

The lifeguard told me that the water temp was up to 58°, which turned out to be right on and a nice surprise. It was gray and overcast when I got in but cleared as I was swimming to the end of the P Pier.

Keeping the pier between me and the boats was a good idea. When I was returning back along the buoy line there were two participants between the two piers and about half way in to the beach along the Avila Pier. It all worked out fine, they did their thing and I had a very nice swim.      

I got a text from Tom L. that he had had a nice pre yacht race swim and seen my chair but not me.

I'll be out of town  next week. I may make it to the beach on Sunday the 11th.

niel