Wednesday, November 13th, 2024

Rock 'n' Roll Swimming. 

The water was moving at Avila this morning. It was 52° air temperature and clear blue skies when I arrived at 845 AM. There was a decent size swell kicking up and the water was running over the berm and almost all the way to the stairs on the west side.  The 48° water was rocking and rolling. If this swell keeps up into the weekend during the king tide, it should be pretty interesting. 

Tom Lorish

Tuesday, November 12th, 2024

Jim and Niel got in at 7. It was 52° in Avila with a strong, gusty offshore wind. The good news was that NOAA had canceled their warning for 10' - 14' waves on the west facing beaches beginning mid Tuesday and lasting though Wednesday. Those waves would have probably been 7 or 8 foot at south facing Avila Beach, so we got a break and just had the wind chop to make the swimming interesting. 

Jim thought the water felt like 47° when we got in. I thought it was about the same as it has been. It turned out that the offshore wind had caused the water closest to the beach to be colder than it was further out. My new thermometer read 48° along the buoy line and a ' warmer' 49° at the end of the Avila Pier.  

We did two triangles because in windy conditions this route will provide the opportunity to swim six or more directions across the chop. We began by going west and swimming the first triangle counter clockwise, and the second clockwise. 

We had a great swim. Jim's shoulder called time out at our second pass by the 4th buoy on the east side so he went back to #1 and in. I continued around to complete the second triangle.       

Are we having fun yet?

Jim and NIel at the 4th buoy. 

Seven swims in November, all  with water temperatures of 48° to 50°.

Jim and I will swim on Thursday at 7.

niel

Monday. November 11th, 2024

 Feels More Like Winter - 

Heavy marine layer and rough water swimming.  It was 55° when I arrived at 915 AM. The water was mixed up, choppy, bumpy, and had a swell producing 3 to 4 foot waves. The water temperature was 48°. My toes tell it like they feel it. It was a good morning Swim. 

Tom Lorish

Sunday, November 10th, 2024

 

Hey, that green cap is Stephanie Popp in the water at Avila Beach!

I think it is over a year since she has joined us for a swim. In that time she has married and had a daughter. The whole family was at the beach today. With the water temp below 50° this was not the most favorable day to get back in after more than a year on the beach, especially with a desert plate size hole in the lower back of your wetsuit, but Stephanie was game and made it to the third buoy and back.  I heard that Santa is bringing her a new wetsuit so I'm sure that she will be back before another year is up.

After starting with Stephanie Jim and I swam over to the first crossbars on the Poly Pier, out to the second crossbars and over to the end of the Avila Pier. The air temp was 69°, there were occasional 4+ foot waves mixed in with the 3 footers. Jim and I thought that the water was warmer than yesterday but it is hard to tell how much of that was the warmer air and sunshine compared to yesterday's 7AM swim. Tom's Toes thought it was still 48° while Jim and I were thinking 49°+.

I'll have my replacement thermometer for Tuesday's swim so we'll see how well the instrument and the mind agree.

Swimming east from the Poly Pier towards the end of the Avila Pier the chop picked up. Jim and I decided to swim to the 4th buoy and back along the line to #1. The further east we went the rougher the chop became. 

The photo has all on me and a peak at Jim when we were at the 4th buoy before we headed back to the Avila Pier and got out. A bit of timing made getting out 

between the larger waves easy.   

Jim and I will be back Tuesday and Thursday morning to swim at 7. 

niel 

Saturday, November 9th, 2024

Saturday morning in Avila Beach was sunny and beautiful with the promise of a very cold swim. On Friday Tom Lorish's toes had estimated a water temperature of 48°. His toes are well calibrated so we would have a cold swim.

My previous thermometer broke and I'm still waiting for the replacement to arrive. I expect to have the it on Tuesday and I'll find out what it thinks of my guesses about the water temperature. 

Jim, Niel and Jodi would be swimming. We planned to do two triangles because it would offer lots of options for distance and time based on the how cold the water was. The surf was 2 to 3' with some larger swells. The water is nice and clean. Given the moderate size of the waves there was a surprisingly amount of swell outside of the surf line.         

Niel, Jim and Jodi near the 4th buoy on the east side. 

We swam out and grouped up at the first buoy. The consensus was 48°, could be lower, depending on how it felt after a bit of swimming. Except for the water's temperature the swimming was great. The water felt like 48° until our second pass by the creek mouth when we swam into a patch of water that was at least 1 degree colder. That made the rest of the water feel 'warmer' for a bit.     

From the end of the Avila pier Jim went in and Jodi and Niel completed the triangle.

It is so nice to be able to be in the sunshine when we are changing at the showers. Heading back to the cars we saw the Saturday morning cold water immersion group bobbing out there just short of the surf line. I cannot imagine just hanging there in the water.

Jim and I will swim tomorrow at 11. 

niel 

Friday, November 8th, 2024

Tom's Toes Say - 

It was clear skies at Avila this morning. I arrived at 845 AM and the air temperature was 57°. The swell was gone as was the cool breeze. The water was glassy with a small roll and still quite chilly at 48°. Excellent morning vitamin. 

Thursday, November 7th, 2024

 34 & 48

It was a cold swim this morning.  At 7:15 it was 34° in Avila. It was clear with a great sunrise and a light offshore wind.  The surf was down with just a mild swell on the water. Yesterday Tom Lorish's toes told him the water was in the upper 40's. I swam out to the end of the Avila Pier and the exposed skin between my goggles and cap was feeling a brain freeze. I was also feeling colder around my shoulders and upper arms, so I'm agreeing with Tom, today the water was 48°, maybe 49°.    

It was nice to have the sun out when I was at the showers and the air temp was rising quickly. Tom Israel was there with his dog so we talked swimming vs mountain bike crashes. He (separated shoulder and broken ribs) has not tried swimming yet but his shoulder is feeling OK and his ribs are healing. He hopes to be back in the water with us soon, but when I told him what today's water temp was I think he refigured his plan.  

I'll have my replacement thermometer for next Tuesday's swim so I see how it agrees with Tom Lorish's and my estimates.

Jodi and I will swim Saturday morning at 7 and I'll swim Sunday at 11. 

niel

Wednesday, November 6th, 2024

 The lighting is so beautiful this time of year…  see picture. It  was 61° air temperature when I arrived at Avila at 845 AM.  Wispy clouds streaking across blue skies.  The November light was gorgeous.  The swell had dropped off quite a bit and there was a slight breeze blowing off shore. The water temperature was colder than on Monday, checking in at about 48°.  When it gets under 50 the duration of my swims start dropping accordingly…  48°, about 48 minutes.  Nevertheless, it was a beautiful morning swim. 

Tuesday, November 5th, 2024

It is Getting Physical Out There -

In the last two weeks the water at Avila Beach has transitioned to full winter conditions. 10 days ago the water temperature dropped to the bottom of the 50's and shows no signs of warming up. In the last week the swell has increased and we now have 4+ foot waves.      

The waves don't have the power of storm surf but these were breaking in 5' of water so they looked plenty large when I was standing there working my way out.

There will be king tides the 15th, 16th and 17th.         

Paying attention to timing the surf kept me from paying thinking much about the water temperature so it wasn't until I was swimming down the buoy line that the idea of 49° to 50° water became part of today' swim.  The air temp was 43°, there was no wind and the water is very clean. I could feel the swell everywhere along my route and it was adding quite a bit of vertical to the water near the reef buoy.  

I have a new pair pf 3mm Patagonia surf booties that are the warmest ones that I've had. They also have the most durable sole of any of my previous booties and look like they will stand up to getting in and out of the surf. 

 

I'll swim Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

niel

November 4th, 2024

Tom Lorish Goes Big - 

Big high tide and a good size swell. Winter conditions have arrived at Avila.  The high tide and big swell had the water running past the lifeguard tower number one on the east side.  Air temperature was a pleasant 60° when I arrived at 845 AM.  The water temperature temperature was 49, 50°.  The air clarity and lighting were gorgeous.  Beautiful day and excellent swimming. 

Sunday, November 3rd, 2024

It was a very nice day at Avila. It was 64° with an offshore breeze. There was almost nobody on the sand. The water temp felt like it was up a degree or two to maybe 52° and the water was nice and clean. The surf was 2 to 3 foot and there was a short period SW swell.  

I saw Tom after he got out. He had swum with 5 of the CP women's water polo team. He say's it is fun getting the willing out into the big pool.  

I swam a tour of the water between the Avila and Poly piers. The bumpiness increased with how far offshore I was. On the leg to the end of the Poly Pier the swell was really trying to push me towards shore but it was nice to have the help on the next two legs.     

The Monolith  ?

The point where I turned from the Poly Pier back towards the end of the Avila Pier. 

When I passed the creek mouth on my way back to the west buoy line the water warmed up and added a bad taste/smell. The tide was falling so some yucky water from the estuary was probably being pulled out into the ocean.  Phooey.

I'll be swimming Tue., Thurs., and Sat at 7 and next Sunday at 11. 

niel

  

Saturday, November 2nd, 2024

 The water temperature was 50°, why are these people smiling?

Jodi and Niel do have a 'special' sense of what is fun.  We got in at 7:15, a bit later than usual to catch more of the sunrise, but there was heavy overcast and light rain so the sunrise didn't happen until after we got out. It was 52° with a light offshore wind, the surf was 2 to 3 feet and there was a SE swell that would put some vertical movement into our swimming.

Jodi had an idea for a route that we had not done before: from the first buoy swim along the buoys to #4, to the end of the pier, to #4 on the west side, towards the pier along the buoy line to #3, to the end of the pier, to #3 on the east side, along the line to buoy #2, etc. until we had hit all of the buoys. The swimming was nice and smooth, the water was clean and the distance and time was about as much as we wanted in 50° water. I'm glad we got this route in now. The lifeguards are done for the season so the swim zone buoys will be pulled out and stored until spring, so we will have to rely on our own sense of direction until then.  

The sun was breaking through when we were at the showers which is always welcome.

I plan on being back for more at 11 tomorrow.

niel 

Friday, November 1st.., 2024

 Cold Toes!

Beautiful first day of November at Avila.  Blue skies with wispy scattered clouds. A Chilly breeze blowing south, southwest was hollowing out the 3 to 4 foot waves rolling in. The air temperature was 59° when I arrived at 915 AM and the water was temperature was 50, maybe even 49.  Between the waves and the high tide the water was getting up close to the wall. It was an excellent morning vitamin. 

Tom