Sunday, October 24th, 2021

"It's A Mess Out There" - Peter Kelley

The Walrus himself opined that today's water conditions were nothing that you would ever find in a pool. I thought that it was a mixture of adventitious and challenging but not pesky. 

At 10:30 the air temperature was 61°. There was very little wind. The pier had been closed in anticipation of the large surf that was to come with this evening's storm so I didn't get a water temperature but it swam like 56 or 57 degrees. There were also patches of red tide, which is weird for this time of the year, so just more strangeness. As for the messiness; the surf was much smaller than Thursday or Saturday but still had a good push. There were at least three different swells coming in from the SE, all with different sizes and periods, so the surface beyond the surfline was A MESS. With no wind the water had a almost glassy surface but there was no discernable pattern to the motion making it a good day to be able to breath on either, or both, sides and to be able to stutter step your stroke.  

We had a great group today. I was first to arrive. Duke did a ride by to let me know he was not going to swim, which I figured out because he was all kitted up in bike gear and sitting on his Colango, and was going to try and get in a ride before the weather arrived. David and Alex arrived. Alex had quit renting and bought a wetsuit and had a goal of swimming a few buoys today. Which she did, setting a personal record. Tiki arrived followed by Theresa, who is back in town for a few days. Spoiler Alert - She has accepted a job in SLO and is getting out of LA! 

        

I liked the idea of the two triangles in order to 'enjoy' the biggest number of conditions. 

The orange plot is my stroke count which is pretty steady except for at the start waiting for the group to form up, but my pace (blue) is all over the place because of the variations in the surface conditions. It was all a challenge but the leg from the 4th buoy on the west (left in the plot) to the end of the Avila Pier was directly into the waves and was a piece of work. Kind'a reminded me of running up a steep trail that was full of roots and rocks. Every stroke was different and no pace would fit.    

While I was getting ready the Harbor Patrol did a drive by inside the buoy line. 

Tiki at the first buoy.

Theresa at the same spot. 

Theresa, Tiki and Niel at the 4th buoy on the left. We are up on the swell here.

And a second later they are above me and the buoy is gone.

I figure that is 3 to 4 feet of vertical movement. 

David at the 4th buoy on the west.

8 AM swim report from Heidi:

Maria and I went for a swim at 8 this morning.  A beautiful overcast morning, conditions were good except for gross red tide.  We were surprised at this, resulted in a short swim today.  Icky taste, smell and irritated sinuses

I have work obligations Tuesday morning so the next time I'll be back is Thursday at 8:30.

niel