Monday, April 7th, 2025

Tom Lorish's Swim Report -

Beautiful morning at Avila. I arrived at 91 5 AM to blue skies and a hazy horizon. The swell had picked back up after a few days of flat and calm. There were 3 to 4 foot waves rolling through and the bulldozer was knocking down the berm and building up the Sand around the lifeguard towers. The water temperature was about 53° and the swimming was good.

 

Saturday, April 5th, 2025

Beautiful and Cold - 

Niel, Tom Israel and Jodi got in the water a bit after 7. It was sunny, cloudless and 51° with a light offshore breeze. The surf was one to two foot and the surface was rippled. Based on Tom Lorish's Friday report we knew that the water would be around 50°. We planned a counterclockwise loop over to the Poly Pier and back past the Avila Pier and around the reef buoy.  This route would provide opportunities to cut the swim short if the water temp made that seem like a good idea. 

Jodi and Tom began remarking about the water temp as soon as we began wading in. With my wetsuit and booties I don't fully experience the water temp until my face and hands get wet.  When I began swimming my world was "definitly 50° or less". We didn't dally at the first buoy, swam under the pier and headed down the buoys to the west.  The water is still very clean with great visibility 

When we arrived at the second crossbars on the Poly Pier I was as comfortable as I was going to be.        

Out along the Poly Pier the water warmed up a bit so we were relatively happy at the end of the pier.  About a third of the way from there to the Avila Pier the temp dropped back down. I was the last to arrive at the Avila Pier. Jodi and Tom were all in for completing the original route so we headed off to the east and the reef buoy.     

Swimming in to the beach involved swimming until your hand hit the sand and then standing up.  The sun felt great and we were all pretty comfortable after the showers. 

I got a rub on my neck from my wetsuit on Thursday and despite taking precautions today I irritating it more, so I'll need to sit out until it is healed. I'm getting a spot on my nose zapped Thursday so I may be out for a week. 

A big note; the Avila Pier is now open out about half way to where the renovations have been completed. 

niel

April 4th, 2025

Tom Lorish Swims - 

Coolbreeze, blue sky, and a haze far off in the distance. I arrived at Avila at 910 AM. There was a cool breeze blowing from east to west that created dimpled water. The swell had completely dropped off leaving only 6 to 12 inch waves. The the water felt about 50° to me… Which means it was probably 51. I had a nice swim around the CPP. 

Thursday, April 3rd, 2025

The Point to Pier T -

This morning's conditions were just as nice as Tuesday's so I swam the route I was going to do that day: the end of the Avila Pier, to Fossil Point, double back and continue over to the Poly Pier and come back to the end of the Avila Pier and in. The air temp was 44°. It was sunny with a very light breeze. The surf was 2 to 3 foot, I only needed to jump over one wave to get out and start swimming. The water was flat and glassy and had a pronounced swell near Fossil Point. The water temperature is about 51° and colder in spots. The water is also very clean and clear. 

The conditions at Fossil Point 

 

The conditions at the Poly Pier. 

After 90 minutes and 3679M I was ready to get out and warm up. 

We'll see what Jodi and Tom want to do on Saturday morning. 

niel

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025

Tom Lorish Checks out the Avila Rock - 

Clear skies, glassy water, and a super low tide.  That was Avila at 830 AM. The air temperature was 48° and the water temperature was 52°. It was a good morning to swim around Avila rock.  There was a serious bed of kelp out there with no clear channel through, so I had to do about 15 yards of kelp crawling.  It was interesting out at the Rock - with the super low tide there was actually a pretty good wave of crashing over it.  Beautiful morning swim. 

April 1st, 2025

 Avila Rock - 

It was a beautiful spring morning, 44°, sunny and clear with a light breeze. The surf was 2 to 3 feet with an occasional 4 footer. The water looked really nice.  I got in a bit after 7.

The water felt pretty cold at the start and it took me a while to get 'comfortable', but even then it was colder than Saturday. I measured 51° at the buoy line and it felt colder further offshore.  There were no bait fish or seals and very few birds about except for the pigeons roosting on the Avila Pier. 

My plan was to swim from the end of the Avila Pier to Fossil Point and back and then over to the Poly Pier and back. It wasn't long after I'd left the end of the Avila Pier that I realized how flat the water was and that this would be a great opportunity to swim to Avila Rock, so I changed my plan and headed for the rock.  

It was low tide and the swells were washing over the rock. 

It was lovely swimming out there. There were some big swells rolling through but no chop and , clean, glassy water.  Out at the rock the otters kept an eye on me. There were chunks of Styrofoam hung up in the kelp, YUCH! I grabbed as much as I could and tucked it into the collar or my wetsuit. Coming back I did a long straight line to the first buoy and timed my way in between the larger waves. 

I'll be back Thursday, Saturday and Sunday

niel

Tom Gets Wet - 

Wet and wild at Avila this morning. I arrived at 930 AM to wet streets and a wild ocean. The water temperature was about 53°. The swell had dropped off from Friday, but it was still pushing 3 foot plus waves and the storm had created bumps and currents that were pushing all different directions. It was a good morning vitamin. 

Saturday, March 29th, 2025

 A Nice Morning With Bigish Surf and A Bait Ball  -

Niel, Jodi and Tom got in the water at 7:30. It was sunny, 48° and there was a steady offshore breeze. The surf was up with sets of 4'+ waves but there were good breaks in between the large sets. The water was 52°.

There was a large bait ball off of Avila, about as far offshore as the Avila Rock, so we made plans to swim the opposite direction over to the Poly Pier but by the time we were wading in the bait ball had moved over to the P Pier, so we switched to swimming the to Fossil Point.  We could see the sea lions diving on the fish and herding them to keep them together, which causes the whole feeding frenzy to move around.     

I was ahead of Jodi and Tom as we wading in. I saw a good break in the swell and committed. Before I was past the break zone the swell came back up and I needed to swam under and through a number of waves before getting past the break and out to the first buoy.  Tom and Jodi were caught inside and had to wait for the swell to go down.  We grouped up at the first buoy and headed east toward Fossil Point.   

When we stopped at the point the bait ball was back on our side of the Avila Pier and about 250M east of us. We could see the sea lions and otters diving back and forth and chowing down on the bait fish. So, we headed towards the shore, back the way we had come, towards the buoy line and back to the pier. At the pier we'd lost track of the bait ball and decided to swim to the 4th buoy on the west side and back.     

When we were ready to come in the surf was up so we swam to the second buoy on the east side which was far enough away from the pier for the surf to lay down a bit. We had no issues swimming in and managed to look like we knew what were were doing rather than just swimming in, committed to whatever thrashing we might receive from the waves. 

We will get some rain tonight and Sunday. I'll check the rain gauge in the morning to see if the water quality looks OK for a swim.

niel 

Friday, March 28th, 2025

Tom Lorish Draws Some Big Action - 

Big swell, big high tide: rock 'n' roll swimming at its best.  The high tide and the big swell combined for 6 - 8 foot waves that were pouring over the berm and water running all the way to the wall on the east side. The waves were rolling in fast with a short period between – it was a challenge getting out. But once out, the swimming was excellent. 

Thursday, March 27th, 2025

I got to the beach at 8 this morning. It was 57° with no wind, a flat ocean and 3 to 4 foot surf.

The water was 52 to 53 degrees and colder near the end of the Poly Pier.  Getting out was just a matter of ducking under the biggest waves until the gap appeared. 

I swam down the west buoy line and then went back and forth between the Avila and Poly Piers.

I was starting to feel the chill on the way back from the end of the Poly Pier so 90 minutes is about my limit until the water gets above 55°         

The light was so grey and flat that this was the most interesting photo  

I'll swim Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 11 unless the 'chance of rain' develops into something more serious. 

niel

Wednesday, March 26th, 2025

Tom Lorish's Good Morning Swim - 

Heavy marine layer, high tide, and excellent swimming conditions. The water was glassy and calm with a 4 foot wave rolling in. The water felt 52 to me, which means it was probably 53° accounting for the cool air and heavy marine layer.  Lovely morning swimming. 

Tuesday, March 25th, 2025

Rock and Roll Swimming - 

I got in at 7 o'clock. The water had my full attention from my first step into the suds.  The surf was made up of several different sets from the south and SE and all were 3 to 4+ feet high.  It was 20 minutes before high tide and the push from the tide had the waves stacked up onto each other and breaking onto the beach.  It was a bit of work getting out to the buoy line where the waves were not breaking and I could take a break. It was foggy to the west so I decided to swim back and forth along the buoy line with out and back loops around the pier each time by. Swimming parallel to the beach was easier but still very messy. The term Full Contact Swimming came to mind. I'm not sure how to define it but it seemed to fit today's constant battering by the water.   

When I had completed a full lap of the buoys and two passes around the pier I was done and came in. The sun had come out and on the outgoing tide the waves had halved in height.

I'd been so busy at the start getting out that I never started my watch, so I don't have a plot of today's swim.          

I swam about 1.5 miles in 75 minutes and felt like I had gone further.  It's too bad that I did not start my watch. I'd like to know how much vertical change it would have recorded. 

The air temperature was 54° and the water temp was up to 53°! I have not seen that number is some time.

I'll be back Thursday.

niel

Monday, March 24th, 2025

Tom Lorish's Morning Vitamin. - 

Beautiful spring morning at Avila when I arrived at 900 AM. Spring is springing and the crowds were flocking into Avila even on a Monday morning. They combine temperature was 111. The swell had picked up and was bringing in 3 to 4 foot waves. The water felt warmer than yesterday, but still right around 50°. It was a good morning vitamin. 

Sunday, March 23rd, 2025

There were several significant Gains at the beach today: It feels like summer, the lifeguards are working, the water temperature was up 1.5° since yesterday morning and it was 20° warmer (75 vs 55) at 11 o'clock that it was at 7:30 yesterday.

The  Losses were: In the past nine months peoples ability to read and comprehend the NO DOGS ALLOWED signs has not improved.  

I spoke with Tom Lorish after his swim. He said that the water was still cold. We figured that it would be one to two months before the water temperature would begin edging up. 

It was sunny and comfortable on the beach with a steady offshore breeze. There was a wind chop moving offshore. The surf was 2 to 3 feet and soft and the water was green and clean.       

I decided to visit the Poly Pier. I swam west down the buoy line and on to the first crossbars, out along the length of the pier and from the end of the P Pier to the end of the Avila Pier and in. Between the first ans second crossbars I had a small harbor seal follow me. Tom Israel and I have had harbor seals bump our feet when we were swimming at Olde Port Beach. I don't know if it is the same seal or if the young ones just want to socialize.  

At the end of the Poly Pier. I have not been here in a while. 

The swim back to the Avila Pier was a slog into the chop which required some attitude management. I felt good when I stood up at the beach. 

I plan on swimming on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday in this coming week.

niel     

Saturday, March 22nd, 2025

Colder and Shorter - 

There was a nice sunrise through some thin clouds this morning. It was 54° with a steady offshore breeze that made a chop on the water and pushed the aroma of bacon from the Custom House kitchen out over the water. The surf was 2 to 3 feet and easy to walk out through. We planned on swimming to the end of the Avila Pier and over to the end of the Poly Pier and to then come back by some route. 

Tom and Jodi getting in

 

The offshore wind had done what it will so there was a quick stop at the first buoy for us to agree that the water temp was sub 50° and that we would meet at the end of the Avila Pier and revise the route. 

(L to R) Jodi, Niel and Tom reconsidering their route 

after arriving at the end of the Avila Pier.   

We agreed to swim to the second crossbars on the Poly Pier and to recalculate the route at that point.  Once there the third plan was to swim to the 4th buoy on the west side, along the buoys to the 1st buoy and then out and in along the Avila Pier. Coming up to the 1st buoy I was wondering if anyone was thinking about bagging going around the pier and just going in, but I saw Tom start towards the end of the pier, so Jodi and I followed. It turns out that Jodi was thinking about going in so Tom dragged us both around the pier.

Coming in we swam past the 8 o'clock cold water immersion group bobbing in the wind and the surf. I believe that we both think that the other group is kind of nuts. 

Even with the wind it was comfortable in the sun at the showers and we warmed up quickly. 

I'll be back to swim tomorrow at 11. 

niel