Saturday, May 25th, 2024

A Martini Before Breakfast

Sometimes the swim choses the route. This morning Tom, Jodi, Paula, Ileane and Niel set out to swim to the Avila Rock and back. It was low tide so the rock was easy to see and navigate to. To the rock and back is about 3,000M and everyone was looking for about 4,000M so we would do an additional loop along the buoys to finish up. 

The water was very flat and glassy. It was cold, in the low 50's, getting started but out towards the rock it warmed up several degrees to comfortable.  When we grouped up at the rock we decided to swim directly to the end of the Poly Pier and to do a Martini Swim. The route is shaped like a martini glass which is where the name came from.  At 1,500M the swim from the Rock to the end of the Poly Pier is one of the longest legs in the Avila Swimming Playbook and with this morning's smooth conditions it was a great opportunity to swim this route.   

 

Paula, Niel, Tom, Ileane and Jodi at the Avila Rock.

A friend of Tom got this nice drone shot of us at the Avila Rock.

  

The water was colder west of the Avila Pier, back to the low 50's. It had been sunny but the sun was gone behind the clouds making it feel more chilling and maybe the water was just colder.  

This was a great swim. I had been thinking about doing a Martini Swim for some time, waiting for the conditions to become more favorable, so this morning was a nice surprise from the swim gods and my swimming buddies.

Seven people have done the Three Martini Swim, which is out along the Avila Pier, around the Martini glass three times and back in along the Avila Pier for a bit more than 10K. 

I'll swim tomorrow at 11. Paula, Ileane and Jodi will swim tomorrow morning at 7. I'll swim at 11.

niel