Thursday, November 12th, 2026

Amusing the Water Gods - 

On Tuesday I had some complaints about he pesky small chop, so today the water gods served me up some of the real stuff to reinforce how easy Hillary and I had it on Tuesday.  It was full stormy conditions today. The surf was 4 to 5 foot with smaller waves packed in between the largest swells, with chop on top. It doesn't look too bad in the photo but it was tough to figure out how to swim in this mix.     

The water temperature was 67°, the air temp. was 62° and the tide was coming in.

Inside the buoy line the waves were all stacked up on each other. They weren't large but it seemed like they were just seconds apart. I turned right at the #1 buoy and did a triangle. That felt like enough.     

Saturday's swim is rain dependent. If we get close to an inch on Friday the water will be buggy and I'll sit out.

For Saturday Surfline is predicting 16' - 18' waves on the west facing beaches and 6' - 8' for Avila.  

niel

 

Tuesday, November 10th, 2026

Avila Gets Physical - 

The water temperature was 68°, the air was 63°, it was sunny and calm. The water was nice and clean and the largest waves were 6' +/-. High tide was at 9:21. The wash from the waves was already carrying over the top of the berm.

We planned to swim between the Avila and Poly Piers.  

Our first time at the end of the Avila Pier

The Santa Lucia wind came up when we were halfway to the end of the Poly Pier. The wind was strong and out of the NNE. It gave us a nice push to the Poly Pier but the rest of the swim was banging into a fast moving one foot chop. I'd say that the leg from the Poly Pier to the Avila Pier was the most work, but it was work conducted in warm and clean water. With the offshore wind the chop gets smaller the closer to shore so we could look forward to smoother water as we approached the finish. We hit a nice gap in the surf and did not need to time the swells on the way in. 

I'll swim at 8 on Thursday and with the group swim at 7 on Saturday, unless it rains more than a half inch on Friday. 

niel 

Saturday, November 7th, 2026

Winter Conditions With Warm Water - 

It felt wintery this morning in Avila Beach. At 7 AM it was sunny and 43° with an offshore wind that had me putting up the hood on my parka. The water was 66° and the surf was up with 6'+ sets an hour before high tide. The wash was over the berm and carrying to the sea wall in places. Niel, Paula, Jodi, Hillary and Avery decided to swim a loop to the Poly Pier. 

After walking across the cold sand the water felt wonderful. We timed out sprint through the waves and grouped up at the first buoy, swam east to #4, around the reef and to the end of he Poly Pier. 

Niel Jodi, Paula, Avery and Hillary looking at a school of fish. 

I forgot to post this photo of Duke on Thursday. We managed to meet while I was at the showers. H would get in the water later that morning.  

The water was bumpy but not as big as it was on Thursday, still, with the wind offshore and the big swell coming in the swimming was 'confused'.

Afterwards it was great to have a warm and sunny morning. A lot of people had come to the beach to see the high tides and there were a number of other swimmers in the water along the buoy line.

I'm planning on swimming on Tuesday with Hillary and on Thursday at 7, and possibly on Saturday depending on how much rain we get at the end of the week. 

niel        

Thursday, November 5th, 2026

Lumpy Water and Uphill in All Directions - 

Before sunrise the wind was gusting to 20+ MPH in San Luis Obispo and was booming when I arrived in Avila Beach. The wind was offshore and the water was well trashed. The air temperature was 63°, the water was 67°, the water was very clean (see the photo) and the surf was 4 foot plus.   

Two triangles would give me a exposure to all of the available options for swimming in chop. It was messy but not very difficult. 

I'll swim Saturday morning at 7.

niel

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026

Jim and Niel Visit Avila Rock - 

It was a nice day for a swim out into the ocean, as opposed to staying near the beach.  For me, being at Avila Rock feels like really being out in the ocean, even more so than being at the end of the Cal Poly Pier. The water conditions looked favorable for getting out there this morning. It was 53° with nice cottony white and gray clouds. The surf was up to 5' and the water was 68°. with a combination of wind chop and a mixed swell. It wasn't big or pushy but it was challenging to find a tempo that allowed for smooth swimming. 

Jim and I got out through the surf and swam to the end of the Avila Pier, took a last look at the conditions and began the 1,000 M +/- swim to the rock. 

Niel and Jim at the Avila Rock with 

the rock in the right-hand background.

While I was at the showers Duke rode by. 

I'm planning on swimming at 7 on Thursday and Saturday morning. 

niel 

Saturday, October 31st, 2026

Our Not Quite Fall Halloween Swim - 

68° ocean water on Halloween is very not normal but five of us braved the tropical conditions and went for a nice swim.

In deference to the late sunrise we got in at 7:20. It was cloudy and felt stormy, and it even sprinkled a bit while we were getting in. It was 56°, there was a light offshore breeze, the surf was 2 to 3 foot and the water surface was lumpy. 

   

Paula, Jodi, Tom and Jim
Niel

Jim, Niel and Jodi wore full wetsuits, Paula wore a Farmer John and Tom went bareback with his 1.5mm jammers. 

   

We decided to do four triangles starting at the #1 buoy this time, swimming the largest (#4 buoy) and to the smallest (#1 buoy) triangles. 

We never saw a sunrise but it was still really nice out there. There were almost no birds but Paula saw a 8" fish near one of the buoys.

 

The lifeguard towers have been hauled to the back of the beach to their winter locations and the swim line buoys will be pulled out soon, so we will be back to undirected swimming for the winter. 

Unless it really dumps and rains an inch or more tonight I'll swim at 7 on Tuesday and certainly on Thursday and Saturday. 

niel

Thursday, October 29th, 2026

More Memories - 

Tuesday's conditions were memorable and today was more of the same except for the cloud cover. The air temperature was 55° and the water temperature was 68°, there was a light offshore breeze and the surf was 2 to 3 foot with nice clear water.  

During my swim on 10/26/25 I measured a water temperature of 57°.

Today's water temperature data from the Poly PIer is 68° +/- .5° at depths of 1M to 12M.

That is mind boggling. 

I saw two gulls while I was swimming. It is becoming pretty empty feeling out on the water, except for the two shark encounters in Cambria and Oceano.  There were no injuries.  

A lot of structural repair work is being done to the 

pier ahead of the big waves and extra high tides that are expected this winter.   

Sand dollars left at the showers

I'll swim on Saturday morning at 7:15.

niel

Tuesday, October 27th, 2026

68° Water!

This was a memorable swim. The water was immediately comfortable. The visibility was as good as it gets, the surf was 2 foot and there was a small chop.      

I swam one lap. Duke rode by, saw me at the showers and stopped to chat.  He was going to swim after his ride.     

I'll swim at 7:15 on Thursday and Saturday and go back to 7 after the time changes on Sunday. 

niel

Tuesday, October 20th, 2026

Tuesday Morning Bumps - 

This morning the water temp was back up to 66° to 67°, there was a steady offshore wind that put a decent chop on the water, the waves were the same, with 2 to 3 footers with a occasional set of 4+. It all made for some very comfortable swimming in variable conditions.  

I didn't have a route planned this morning so I just got started and kept changing my mind about the next leg of the route as I went along. I had a nice push from the chop out to the end of the Poly Pier, a bit of a slog across the chop to the end of the Avila Pier, a bit easier going back to the Poly Pier and finished up with steadily diminishing bumps the closer I got to shore. 

I'll be getting in the water at about 8 on Thursday.

niel

Sunday, October 19th, 2026

Tom L's Sunday Swim -

Half marathon, then a gorgeous swim around the rock.  That was my morning at Avila. To clarify, I navigated the half marathon parking situation, then I swam around the rock.  The water was glassy calm and 60+ degrees. There was a 3 foot wave rolling in and the swimming was excellent.

Saturday, October 17th, 2026

The Best of Fall Continues - 

Niel, Katie, Tom, Paula, Jodi and Hillary

Sunrise at the end of the Avila Pier. 

Swimming this morning were Niel, Hillary, Paula, Katie, Tom and Jodi. At 7 AM the air temperature in Avila Beach was already 64° and it felt like it was going to be a warm day. The water was 63°- 64° with a light offshore breeze. The surf was 3 to 4 foot. 

Today's route was to the end of the Avila Pier, to the end of the Poly Pier, in along the pier to the second crossbars and to the end of the Avila Pier.  Tom and Paula went in. Niel, Hillary, Katie and Jodi swam to the #4 buoy, back along the buoys to #1 and in. 

Niel, Jodi, Tom (hidden by the piling), Paula, Hillary 

and Katie at the #2 crossbars on the Poly Pier. 

The sun was starting to feel hot and the air temperature was in the 80's when we got out. 

For the after swim there was Blue Fin coffee and bench swimming at Hillary's VW bus.

This coming week I'll swim at 7 on Tuesday, 8 on Thursday and 7 on Saturday.

niel

Thursday, October 15th, 2026

Pier to Pier, The Other Way -

It was a beautiful morning today. I got lost enjoying the sunshine and warm water and swam a long route between the Avila and Poly Piers so it was different kind of pier to pier swim. I swam from the end of the Avila Pier to and back from the end of the Poly Pier and the third and second crossbars.

It was a bit chilly getting started. At 7 AM the air temp was 47°. The sand felt cold on my bare feet. The water felt fine but the water temperature was all over the place with cold and very warm areas. I'd guess the average was 62°. Out past the end of the Avila Pier there was a  mixed SSW swell. The surf was 3 foot with one 4 footer.  I had the whole bay all to myself, I didn't see many birds or anything else out there. 

It was warm and sunny at the showers. This was a gift of a swim and a great way to start my day. 

I'll be back Saturday at 7.

niel

 

Tuesday, October 13th, 2026

Warm Water and Cold Toes -

The water was 62° this morning and felt really nice. The water and the sunshine felt good, however, at 7 AM, the air temperature was a chilly 45°. There was no sunshine at the showers and bare feet on the wet concrete was cold. 

The surf was 2 to 3 foot with an occasional 4 plus footer.  An offshore wind came up as the sun rose and the water got bumpy. The water temperature varied a lot, vertically the top 12 inches were colder.  Horizontally there were patches that were several degrees colder.

Our weather is predicted to be in the low 90's by Friday so I'm looking forward to Thursday and Saturday.

niel 

Sunday, October 11th, 2026

Tom L. Does a Winter Swim - 

Heavy thick clouds, 5.8 high tide, a wind chop, and 4 foot set waves.  All that added up to storm conditions. The ocean was rocking and rolling with a strong current running from Southwest to Northeast.  All that and a large pod of dolphins meandering inside the buoy line on the east side. It was an excellent day to be swimming in the ocean. 

Saturday, October 10th, 2026

A Martini Swim - 

We had been talking about doing a Martini Swim while the water was still warm and today turned out to be the day.  The course is shaped like a Martini glass and covers about 2.4 miles, which coincidentally is the distance for a full Ironman swim. The World Championship Ironman at Kona was held today so we added a nod to those folks who swam 2.4 miles this morning in stormy waters with box jellyfish before riding 112 miles and running a marathon.

In Avila Beach at 7AM we had an air temperature of 63°, a water temperature of 65°, a 5.6' high tide at 10:04, no wind, glassy water, several SW swells and 3 foot surf with an occasional sneaky 5 foot set. The water on the east side of the Avila Pier was still stinky like it was on Thursday. 

We got in the water at 7:10, timed getting out through the waves and gathered up at the end of the Avila Pier.      

The Martini Swim

The Avila Pier is the stem of the glass and the glass is the triangle

 drawn by the end of the Avila Pier, the  Avila Rock and the end of the 

Poly Pier.  One Martini is about 2.4 miles. One in and out and three laps 

around the glass will make this a 10 to 11K swim.   

 

From the left: Hillary and her video tow toy, Tom Israel, Niel 

and Paula with the Avila Rock behind Paula. 

Niel, Tom, Paula and Hillary at the end of the Poly Pier.

This coming week I am planning on swimming on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7.

niel