Sunday, February 27th, 2022

A super day at Avila Beach. At 10:30 it was warm, 70+° with thin high clouds and a gusty offshore wind. Up next to the wall it was very comfortable. The water was 53°. The surf was larger than it has been, occasionally 6+ feet, but not as large as the west facing beaches were seeing.  See Tom's report from Cayucos below. 

Niel, Tiki and Jodi were ready to swim. I picked a route that would be shorter so we could take a bit of a break after the last couple of swims, but that didn't work out at all. We got in at 11.

Getting out through the surf was just a matter of timing. I have a nice memory but no photo of Tiki ahead of me disappearing through the curling lip of a 7 footer to pop out on the backside already stroking towards the next one. She will kill it at the Jr. Guards qualifications next month. The large swells were moving us around and the wind put a nice chop on the water. I starting to feel a bit used when I arrived at the end of the Cal Poly Pier and then saw the push we would be working into coming in along the pier.

This is at the second crossbars. You can tell the size of the swell by looking at the water levels along the pilings. That is Tiki on my left and directly ahead of me there is a dot just below the crest of that swell that is Jodi. When we regrouped at the second crossbars everyone was about how this leg felt that it was never going to end. 

A post swim photo of the wind blowing the tops off of the waves. 

The swell was supposed to start building around 1 o'clock but seemed smaller at 1 than it had been at 11.  

Tom 's Report from his and Sue's swim in Cayucos;

Man, the surf was pretty effing giant at Cayucos. I can't recall the last time I was in surf that big. Getting out was challenging, getting in was a serious project.  The power of the ocean was on full display.  We navigated in and back out as needed to arrive safely back to shore.  Wild! 

I'll be back on Tuesday at 8.

niel

Saturday, February 26th, 2022

Conditions were much like yesterday, at 7:30 the air temperature was 33° and the water 52°. The sun felt nice and warm, there were thin high clouds that would thicken up as the morning went on but hardly any wind and small surf. There was a swell coming in but it wasn't making any waves. More curiously, with the obvious swell from the S and SW we all experienced an offshore push on the legs between the piers.

The Pismo Lifeguards were there to start their training. Nice timing with the conditions!

Tom and Sue did a lap around the Avila Rock. 

Jodi, Tiki and Niel got in at 8.  Jodi's plan was to swim from the end of the Avila Pier over and back between two spots on the Cal Poly Pier. First we went to the second crossbars and then to the end of the CPP.   

Happy Birthday Tiki!

When we arrived back at the Avila Pier from the second crossbars Tiki's mom was on the end of the pier to wish her a happy 18th birthday. How great is that? 

In this photo she hasn't seen her mom yet.

Wow, there is Mom and it is my birthday!

Niel, Tiki and Jodi at the end of the Cal Poly Pier.

We were in the water for 89 minutes and we all were beginning to 

feel the water temperature by the time we got out. 

Jodi and I will swim tomorrow at 11. 

niel

Friday, February 25th, 2022

 Make Up Swim

I didn't swim Thursday and early in the day it was too cold to ride so I went to Avila to swim. At 7:30 the air temp was 33° and the water was 51°.  There were two people in red and green caps who I didn't recognise swimming along the west side of the beach just behind the break so I figured I could swim too. It has been about a year since I swam in this combination of temperatures. The surf was small so it was easy to wade out.  I swam hard out along the pier and just decided to keep up that pace for what would be a shorter than usual distance. I had a great swim pushing the whole time. It felt warmer when I got out and it the showers at the lifeguard shack had been heated it would have been perfect!

I'll be back tomorrow at 8 AM. It should be a bit warmer.

niel

It was cold this morning, in the low 30's. Tom and Sue swam around the Avila Rock.   

From Tom:

That is a great picture! It wasn't quite that cold. The conditions were beautiful. Clear blue skies, glassy water with a slight bump to it.  Sue joined me for the swim. We went around Avila rock.  All around nice swim!

I will be swimming Saturday morning at 8.

niel

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022

 

It started to shower as I was approaching Avila Beach and was raining when I got in the water at 8. It never rained hard but showered on and off and had some sunshine in between. Tom was there at 9 and we both had a good time. The air temp was 43° but felt warmer, there was no wind, the water was 54°. It doesn't really show in the photo but there was a real mix of swells of different sizes and periods out of the south/southeast.  It was kind'a like swimming over a lumpy mattress. 

I felt a need to swim to the end of the Avila Pier. Once there I went to the end of the Cal Poly Pier, in along the pier, back to the west end of the 'buoy' line and to where I began. 

It was sunny when I got out and with only a little breeze so getting changed was comfortable. 

I'll be back Thursday at about 8:45. 

niel

Sunday, February 20th, 2022

The Avila Dolphins were a bit thin on the ground (sand) today. Tom and I were the only yellow caps out there. Duke is out with a bad back, so was Jodi. Tiki, Stephanie, Leslie, Pat and David were MIA. I didn't see Maria and and Heidi sharing their usual muffin after their early morning swim, but the more wintery conditions weren't encouraging hanging out.  At the beach it was 56° with a solid gray sky, no sum and no warmth. No fog either but a hazy sun and a slight breeze. It was not sitting out weather but a fair number of holiday weekenders were making a brave attempt at a nice day at the beach in their coats. The water was 56° and almost glassy.       

Tom had gotten in about 9:30 and swam over to and about the Cal Poly Pier.

I decided to do a Poly Pier loop. 

I met up with my guard seagull at the reef buoy.

Spit Redeemed - 

I was pretty grumpy yesterday about my first experience with Quick Spit. My goggles fogged up immediately and I spent my entire swim in my own fog bank. No amount of rinsing or real spit would keep them clear. The manufacturer had provided two methods for applying Spit, so for today I tried the Other Uses option. What a difference!  Today my goggles were perfect, no fogging at all, just put them on and go. No rinsing, rubbing or fooling around. 

GH Sports carries it.        

I'll be back Tuesday morning at 8. 

niel

Saturday, February 19th, 2022

 

Out on the Avila Pier at 7:45 getting a 54.4° water temperature and checking out what the fog was doing.  Avila was a sunny but the fog was moving and our hole in the gray was getting smaller. The air temperature was 36° and the water was pretty flat with the usual small surf. 

Jodi and Niel decided to pull their proposed route in closer to shore, not go to the end of the Cal Poly Pier, and reduce the chance of getting fogbound. We did a loop around the Avila Pier and found that the fog had moved further offshore so we swam over to the second crossbars on the CPP, along the pier to the third crossbars, back to the end of the Avila Pier and in for 3816M. 

I was trying some new anti-fog on my goggles and was all over the ocean because it didn't work for spit (that is a brand hint). I'll try again tomorrow and if I'm still lost in my own fog I'll give the bottle to Duke because he likes the stuff.  

Niel and Jodi at our second stop at the end of the Avila Pier.

Jodi and I and hopefully Duke and Pat will be back to swim tomorrow at 11. 

niel

I got in at 8 and Tom at about 9. We never saw each other but we did see our cars so we know we were there. Besides we'll be in the blog. 

At 8 it was 36°. At 9:30 it was 74°. All sunny with an offshore breeze and a mixed bunch of swells to make the swimming interesting. I measured a water temperature of 55° from the pier. There were colder and warmer spots out there. Tom with no sleeves estimated 53° to 54° so maybe a farmer john feels about two degrees colder than a full price wetsuit.

The swells put up quite a resistance as I swam out along the Cal Poly Pier, enough to cause me wonder if the had lengthened the pier and to consider reconsidering my swim plan. Things got easier after the turn and I stopped thinking about going short. The swells were not slapping my hands but they were sure torquing me around until it smoothed out as I was coming back to the Avila Pier along the buoy line. Somebody didn't put the lane lines in today!

I'll be back at 8 on Saturday.

niel
 

Tuesday, February 15th, 2022

 Niel and Tom got in this morning. Duke was sitting out with back problems.

There was no fog at Avila, just patchy high clouds and an offshore wind. The same 2 to 3 foot surf and clean water.  A 47° ait temp and 56° water. I got in at 8 and Tom at 9. Tom and I met along the buoy line on the east side of the pier for a quick hello. I'll call this route the Buoy Line Triangle - Plus because I push the ends of the triangle out further and swim around the reef buoy which puts a lap over 1600M instead of the 14 - 1500M I'd cover if I stuck to last summer's buoy line. I do not know if the harbor district just drops the buoys kind'a where they usually are of if they use GPS. The placement seems somewhat random so maybe next summer's buoy line will be a mile.

Tom and I will be back on Thursday morning. I'll get in about 8:45 and Tom more like 9. Or if I see him on the beach we could swim together.

niel           

Sunday, February 13th, 2022

 It was just Jodi and Niel at 11 today joined by Kris, a drop in from the Simi Valley who swims at Carpentaria.  She joined us one Sunday last summer. Duke and Pat were MIA. Tom, Heidi and Maria swam earlier. 

It was a beautiful day at Avila with superb swimming conditions. At 10:30 the air temp as 70°+, the water was 57°, flat, almost glassy and exceptionally clear.  The only downer was a personal watercraft that cruised all of the way in to the surfline on each side of the pier. Too bad it wasn't summer with the lifeguards on duty to send him packing.

We opted for a shorter than usual course, swam out to the end of the Avila Pier, looked around for Mr. PWC, didn't see him anywhere and headed over to the end of the Cal Poly Pier. We swam in along the pier, back over to the Avila Pier and in. Coming in along the Avila Pier I could clearly see the bottom at 15 to 20 feet. 

Niel, Jodi and Kris at the end of the CP Pier.

Duke and I will swim at 8 on Tuesday.

niel 

Saturday, February, 12th, 2022

'Let's Swim Over To That Boat'

Jodi gets the prize for suggesting today's route. There has been a rumor that on some of his swims Tom Lorish has gone west of the Cal Poly Pier to The Far Side and into the pleasure craft anchorage. Jodi suggested we swim over there today and so we did and had a new adventure.

Jodi, Niel and Tiki swam out and over to the second crossbars on the CPP. Tiki needed to swim short today and headed back from there. Jodi and Niel looked west and Jodi said 'let's swim over to that boat' and so we entered The Far Side. We swam to our first boat and continued with that plan with the idea of swimming a circular route that would take in some or most of the boats in the anchorage. This made our swim a bunch of short legs. Our route circled about half to 2/3's of the pleasure craft.  Some were anchored too far out and others were way west most of the way to the Port San Luis Pier. The distance worked out nicely.  We were stalking Tom but didn't see him. He may have figured out our plan. 

At 8 the air temp had been 41°. It was sunny with a dying offshore breeze and felt like it would warm up quickly. The water 55.5°, still nice and clear and pretty flat. There was three foot plus surf with nice gaps to get out through.  Avila looked like a summer weekend thanks to the nice weather and a 3 day weekend. 

Niel and Jodi on The Far Side

Tomorrow will see Niel, Jodi, Pat and Duke swimming at 11. Maria, Heidi and Tom should be out there earlier.  John, Jonny and Amy will swim late afternoon. 

niel

Thursday, February 10th, 2022

Wow, we slept with the windows open last night and it was 20 degrees warmer this morning than on Tuesday. I got up, watered the plants, did a ZOOM meeting and headed to the beach.

At 8:45 the air and water temperatures were 55°.  Totally sunny and calm with our usual 3 to 4 foot surf and several small swells on the water to make the swimming more interesting.    

I was on my own. I got in at about 9 and did two extended triangles. The swells didn't look like much but on the legs between the end of the Avila Pier and the mouth of the creek the surface had enough character to made me think about what I was doing.  Wonderful swimming conditions.  Tom got in closer to 9:30.

Tom and I ran into each other near the mouth of the creek. This happens often enough that I think he is stalking me. He swam over to and along the CP Pier while I complete my triangles. We got out at the same time.

I like this photo of me and Tom as Ra, the Egyption god that has the tall crown with the sun disk above his head.

I'll swim Saturday morning at 8.

niel 

Tuesday, February 8th, 2022

I go in at 7:50, got out at 9 as Duke was getting in. He was later than planned because he had trouble getting into his new wetsuit. Tom didn't get in until 11+. It must have been too cold for him at 9.

All of the conditions were as they have been except the air and the water were colder at 33° and 53.5°. The swimming was great. All of the legs seemed shorter than they usually do.  

I swam over to the Poly Pier, out and around to the reef buoy and back to the Avila Pier.

Duke was going to do a U Burner and go for a ride.

I do not know what Tom's plan was. 

Look, he is holding the camera behind his head.

I go part of my hand, part of my head and the CP Pier.   

This worked better but I could have gotten my feet centered on the reef buoy.

I'll be back on Thursday at 8:45ish.

niel

Sunday, February 6th, 2022

 

First the conditions; At 8 the air temp was 34°, the water 54°, sunny, cloudless, an offshore breeze small waves with an occasional 3 to 4 footer. Nice clean water. The air temp would have increased about 15 degrees by the time we got out.  

The Swimmers; Niel and Jodi got in at 8 and swam a bent triangle with the west leg stretched out around a anchored sailboat. We had a great swim which left us charged up for our busy mornings to follow.  Heidi and Maris got in about 9. Tom got in about 9:30 and Duke, Pat and David would get in at 11.    

I'll be back at 8 on Tuesday.

niel

Saturday, February 5th, 2022

 It was Jodi, Jacki, NIel and Tom in the water at Avila Beach this morning. Jacki had not been in for quite a few weeks and swam along the 'buoy line'. Niel and Jodi swam out to the end of the CP Pier, to the second crossbars, over to the end of the Avila Pier, hooked around the reef buoy and came back to our starting point. Tom and I met as he was just starting out down the 'buoy line' to do the route I did Thursday, so we will have close to the same distance today.    

It was sunny and clear with the offshore breeze just starting up. The water was nice and clear with an occasional 2 to 3 foot wave. At 8 o'clock the air temperature was 38° and warming up. The water temperature was 54°, swam more like 53°, except there were some cold spots that got my attention. 

Niel and Jodi at the end of the Avila Pier 

Tom on his way out as we were heading in

Jodi and I will swim tomorrow morning at 8AM. Other early birds and anyone who hasn't gone to bed yet is welcome.  We'll probably go a bit shorter than today as we both have things to do later in the morning. 

Duke, David Cheney and Pat (?) will swim at our usual time of 11. 

niel

Thursday, February 3rd, 2022

This was another solo Thursday for me. I walked out just as Tom was walking in so we spoke for a minute. We got mobbed by all of the dogs on the beach, they seemed to find us to be the most interesting things to sniff and get pets from. Maybe Tom had some treats stashed in his rash guard?  

At the end of the Cal Poly Pier

I got in just before 8. The air temperature was 38°, the water 54.5°, the offshore breeze was just starting up, the water was nice and clear and the surf was small enough that it could almost be ignored.  I don't know why but my feet were extra cold when I got out. I need to find out if there is something like seat heaters that I can put in my UGGS and plugged in. 

I'm swimming Saturday AND Sunday at 8.

niel

Tuesday, February 1st, 2022

Three Old Men Go Swimming -

Duke and I were getting ready a bit before 8 when Tom surprised us. He is usually a 9 to 9:30 swimmer but had a morning meeting.

He was on a mission so he showed us how to get going, get in and stop standing about talking. Tom headed out to the end of the Avila Pier and that was the last we saw of him in the water.

The water was 55° and the air 56° but there was a gusty offshore wind that didn't feel too friendly and was making things a bit choppy. 

Duke and I swam around until we decided we had had enough fund and got out. 

I saw Tom, of the sleeveless wetsuit, while he was changing and he looked cold. The wind on his bare arms was tough.

I'll swim on Thursday morning at 8:45.

niel