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

Friday, October 9th, 2026

Heavy marine layer, 5 to 6 foot set waves, and high tide.  It was my weekly bareback swim.  The air temperature was high 60s and the water temperature was low 60s. The combination of a decent swell and a 5.6 high tide had the water pouring over the berm and running high up the beach, all the way to the wall at the old stairs in front of the Inn at Avila Beach.  It was an excellent morning swim.

Tom L.

Thursday, October 8th, 2026

Even Warmer Than Yesterday - 

At 8 this morning the water temperature in Avila Beach was 68°+, there was a very high tide and the largest waves that I have seen since last winter. The biggest waves were 5 footers. Hillary and I made getting out look easy. The waves laid down just as we were waded in so we walked out, swam over the crest of one big one and on out to the buoy line. We felt pretty Pro. 

We swam east, buoy to buoy, to #4. The water was dark and had a nasty chemical smell and taste.  From #4 we headed to the end of the Avila Pier to try and get out of the funk.

The end of the Avila Pier was clean so we swam to #2 crossbars on the Poly Pier, to the end and back to the end of the Avila Pier. 

Here we ran into two groups of guys doing their swimming qualification for Cal Fire. We came in with them along the west side of the pier.  The tide had turned while we were swimming and the surf was flattening out so getting in was simple.      

Niel and Hillary at the end of the Poly Pier.

There was no sun so from here we felt our way over towards the end of the Avila Pier until the pier could be seen in the fog.    

Hillary and I and whoever else wants to jump in will swim at 7 on Saturday.

niel 

   

Tuesday, October 6th, 2026

67° -

That is 19.5 C / 67° F on my thermometer.

Since 1992, that is as warm as I have known the water at Avila Beach to be.

At 7 AM the rest of the numbers were a 56° air temperature, 2 foot surf, no wind, overcast skies with fog coming and going, glassy water with a small swell and as I was leaving, CalFire  was unloading their PWC's for some training. I'm glad we did not wind up sharing the water.  

There were no rafts of birds off shore so I swam around the reef and out to the end of the Poly Pier.  I did not see any dolphins, otters or other mammals out there with me. 

I'll be getting in on Thursday at 8.

 niel

Saturday, October 3rd, 2026

The Fall Can Be The Best Time - 

Today was a summer day in October. Avila was again a hold in the early morning fog  with a light offshore breeze pushing the fog offshore leaving a cloudless sky and a nice sunrise.

At 7 it was 556° and the water temp was 64° - 65°, with a small swell, 2+ foot waves and clean water.  We decided to swim back and forth between the Avila and Poly Piers. 

Swimming this morning were Katie, Hillary, Jodi and Niel. The warm water and the sunshine made for very comfortable swimming conditions.   

Katie, Hillary and Jodi at the Avila Pier

Niel near the first buoy

Katie at the 4th buoy.

Niel and Katie planning the route 

to the second crossbars on the Poly Pier.  

When we were at the end of the Poly Pier there was a huge raft of birds another 1000M offshore that were feeding. We could also see dolphins that were getting in on the action. 

I will enjoy these swimming conditions as long as they lasts. 

I will be back at 7 on Tuesday, at 8 on Thursday and 7 next Saturday. 

niel

Friday, October 2nd, 2026

Tom L's Friday Swim Report - 

Foggy, glassy and calm. That was Avila at 9:30 AM. The air temperature was mid 60s, and the water temperature was low 60s. It was an excellent Friday morning swim.

In the unexpected and unfortunate side effects department: an explanation for all the dead birds on the beach.  As per animal rescue via one of the regulars I see, the dead birds are a result of the extended warm water. Apparently the birds cannot dive deep enough to get to the fish which normally would be closer to the surface but due to the warm water have gone to deeper depths, and they are slowly starving to death and washing up on shore.  I have seen these birds while swimming, and have wondered why they look so lethargic and do not move when I am nearby. And now it all makes sense. Nature being nature, if this trend were to continue long-term, the birds would work it out and go further north. Nature's window.

Thursday, October 1st, 2026

The Other Side - 

This morning Hillary and I did my Tuesday Nested Triangles swim on the opposite side of the pier. I've felt that the distances between the end of the Avila pier and the buoys on the west side was shorter than those on the east side.  Today was a good day to flip over Tuesday's swim and see what the difference was. The answer was that the route on the west side was 263M shorter.

Unlike Tuesday there was no offshore wind this morning so the overcast/fog was solid. The clouds were not down on the deck so visibility was good but gray with the buoys without colors or shadows disappearing into the flat light. 

For numbers we had an air temperature of 57°, the water was 63°- 64°, the surf was 2 foot +/- and there were no large groups of birds, one seal and no otters or dolphins.  There was a small SW swell.            

The swimming was nice and the water comfortable.  I've found a way to get my watch to upload to the Garmin app immediately: After stopping the app and saving the data, I go back to the watch face. When I want to upload the new data I open the Garmin app and hit the the buttons on my watch that is at 2 o'clock and open the event screen where you select Run, Pool Swim, Bike etc. As soon as any event screen opens the watch begins downloading to the app. No more waiting for an indeterminate time for the download. 

Hillary and the bus are back. She is holding a blue doggie toy I found in the sand that is going to join the other found sand creatures on her party boat with the GoPro camera. 

We'll swim Saturday morning at 7. 

niel

Tuesday, September 29th, 2026

Sunshine! -

This morning there was thick fog from San Luis Obispo to Cave Landing Road where it opened up to clear skies and sunshine.  Avila's offshore breeze was keeping the fog well off the land and creating a nice sunrise. At 48° it was a bit cooler than it has been, the surf was 2 foot +/-, the breeze had put some texture onto the water. The water temperature was 63°.   

My route looks a lot like a Yo-Yo but I'm calling this Nested Triangles. I began by swimming from the #1 buoy to #4, then to the end of the pier and returning to #1. Then to #3, the end of the pier and back to #1, then a third triangle by going to #2 and the end of the pier and back and finally from #1 to the end of the pier and back to #1 for a two sided triangle. The chop wasn't much but it was different enough on each leg from a buoy to the end of the pier so there were nice changes to the conditions.

The distance was the same as a Yo-Yo. Maybe I'll try this route on the other side on Thursday.

niel

Saturday, September 26th, 2026

Warm and Sunny -

It was a lovely morning in Avila Beach. The air was 58° and warming up, the water was 63° with warmer spots, there were blue skies and sunshine breaking through the clouds and a rocket launch from Vandenberg.

We had a new swimmer this morning, Kate Kate has just moved here from Michigan to teach at Poly and has been swimming in their big lake, yes, in the winter too. She joined us this morning, is new to swimming in the ocean and based on today's swim will be a regular on Saturdays.   

We did a loop around the buoys, Paula and Kate were ready to come in so we all called it a great start to the day. 

Niel with Paula and Kate

That's not a hiccup, we from the #1 buoy we swam out a ways to avoid 

crossing under the pier beneath where they are making repairs. 

The Cal Poly Ride A Wave fundraiser for the Poly Collegiate Rodeo Team was held on the west side of the beach on Friday and Saturday. The bleachers face the ocean and the events take place on the hard sand at the water's edge. 

This coming week I'll be swimming at 7 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

niel 

Thursday, September 24th, 2026

Swimming Around the Rodeo - 

I had a lot of Blue Water Task Force tasks this morning and I didn't get in the water until 9.

Tom Lorish got in at the same time but we each did our own swim.

At 9 AM the overcast was clearing, it was still calm, the surf was 2 to 3 foot, it was 66° and the water was 64°.  I swam short because I was meeting Tom Lorish and Duke Parmelly at 11 for pastries and stories. I stayed in close because the anchovies are in and with them are the waterbirds. There was a raft of birds offshore that extended from the far side of Fossil Point to almost the Avila Pier. Thousands, tens of thousands? I don't know. Avoiding the birds is a prudent thing to do. They use the water as a toilet and the bait fish attract seals, which will be attractive to sharks, so I avoid an area where everything is either eating or being eaten.       

With the water in the mid-60's it was very easy and pleasant swimming.    

This year the Cal Poly Collegiate Rodeo team is putting on their fall fundraising show in Avila Beach. The event will be at 4 on Friday and Saturday afternoons. They have set up bleachers for 3,000 spectators between the pier and the creek and it looks like a very professional undertaking. In the middle of the photo is the #2 lifeguard tower. I'll get a better photo Saturday morning.  

I'll swim Saturday morning at 7, then to Pismo Beach, north of the Grand Ave. ramp, for the Surfrider annual Hands Across The Sand protest against offshore oil drilling. 

niel 

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026

More of These Please -  

I had a very nice swim this morning. Things started out well, I felt relaxed and I never felt tight, tired, bored or anything other than enjoying being in the water.

Avila was gray with overcast skies, 59° and calm. The water was 61° to 62°, glassy with a SW swell and 2 foot surf.  

My plan was to swim over to and to the end of the Poly Pier and figure it out from there. I kept going around the loop and back to where I began.

At the end of the Poly Pier.

Here and at the Avila Rock it is far enough offshore 

that I feel like I'm out in the ocean.

I'll swim at 8 on Thursday and meet Tom Lorish and Duke on the Avila bluff at 11 for our occasional Old Guys Talking About the Ocean meeting.

niel