Thursday, April 4, 2013

Wednesday Evening, April 3, 2013


We had some weather and water conditions this evening.  There was a steady wind from the SW so the water was choppy and there was a combination of low clouds and fog that looked like it could close in on our patch of beach.  We had four swimmers;Rob, Niel, Marie and Mark and Allison with her big red kayak to keep us company.  This was Mark and Marie's third ocean swim so we decided to go out along the pier and left along the beach and plan the rest of our swim once we grouped up about halfway down the beach.  I arrived too late to get a water temperature but it felt like it was still in the mid 50's, throwing in a correction for it feeling colder due to the lack of sun and a steady wind.  When we grouped up down the beach we decided to swim to the end of the Avila Pier.  We talked this over a bit since this leg would be directly into the chop which would be a new challenge for Marie and Mark.  They were game and we had Allison along as backup so off we went.  They did fine and were actually all smiles when we arrived at the end of the pier.  Having 'conquered the chop' Rob and I were able to offer them some tips about how to be comfortable in rough water and to not swallow too much ocean.  The sun came out as we came in along the pier having covered 3/4 of a mile in 33 minutes. 

Friday's Swim at Lopez Lake; Check the Central Coast Open Water Google Group for carpooling opportunities.  The swim starts at 6PM.

niel






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