Saturday, February 11th, 2023

 

I had a great swim this morning. When I got in at 8 the conditions were the same as they have been all week except that there was no wind. There was a large swell but no chop. The water temperature is hanging at 10.5°C/50.8°F, (the 6 inch thermometer I take in the water with me is calibrated in centigrade) and the air temperature was 45°. NOAA has a high surf advisory posted but Avila wasn't seeing much. There were the usual 3 foot waves with 4++ foot sets of three waves mixed in. Getting in and our was just a matter of timing the sets. There was a big south swell out there which kept pushing me towards the beach but it was fun to feel the lift and drop rolling by.  

I have a lot to learn about how ocean swells work. At the end of the Cal Poly Pier the peaks and valleys of the swells had sufficient energy to find the bottom 1000M offshore and were rising and falling 4 to 5 feet on the pilings, but when the reached shore they made a 5 foot wave that didn't have much energy. Sometimes waves this size just want to grab you and toss you back on the beach but these had size but not much power. 

Today a loop down the beach, around the buoy at the reef and then out to the Cal Poly Pier seemed like a predictable 3200M swim that would not turn into 4000+M like my Tuesday and Thursday swims earlier this week.

It is cold but the water is very clean and clear and even tastes nice which makes getting out here in the winter worth while.

The showers that were predicted showed up as I was getting changed. 

Tom's Report -

It was raining on and off from Los Osos to Avila… But when I turned off onto San Luis Bay Drive, suddenly there was blue sky. The magic of microclimates.  Avila was sunny, blue skies, with scattered clouds at 10 o'clock when I arrived. The streets were wet so must've rained earlier. The air temperature was 49, and the water was 50.  There was a pretty good swell, pumping through and a bit of a chop on top of that. All in all, a wonderful day of swimming.   

Gear Report -

Tom and I and several other swimmers prefer Aqua Sphere goggles. The are a swim mask that comes in three sizes. I like them because they are very comfortable, give me a big field of view when I pop my head up to look for landmarks and the big skirt covers up my sinuses so I do not get a ice cream headache from the cold water. 

Sine the 90's they have come in a hinged plastic case that was great for keeping them from getting mushed or scratched in by bag.  I recently purchased new pair and they now come in a very nicely designed paper box with no case. I'll be hanging onto my old cases.

I'll swim tomorrow at 11. I'm expecting a couple of guests to join me.

niel