Monday and Tuesday, December 9th and 10th

Monday Swim Report from Tom Lorish:

Tom swam Monday morning and texted: The Conditions at Avila this morning were pretty much the same as they were on Sunday. No picture needed.  

Tuesday Swim Report by Niel:

This morning's swim was a cold one. At 7 the air temp in Avila was in the mid 30's. There was a constant offshore breeze that had put a chop on the water. It was clear and sunny. The surf was the same 3+ foot sets with lots of space between them for entries and exits.  I think the water temperature was 47° - 48°. It was colder close to the beach. 

I had a very nice swim but there was no sunlight at the showers and the concrete put a freeze on my feet.

I'll be back Thursday morning. 

niel   

Sunday, December 8th, 2024

 

Avila Beach had thin high clouds with the sun coming and going, and hardly anyone else on the beach today. The temperature was 60° and there was no wind so it was comfortable and the water was glassy. The surf was 2 to 3 foot and easy.  

I spoke to Tom Lorish. He had swum around Avila Rock and said that the water was really beautiful out there, and still cold. .

Stephanie Popp joined me. Due to a football size hole in her wetsuit her last swim was short. She has a new, complete, wetsuit now and was planning on staying in longer.   

Niel and Stephanie at the 4th buoy on the west side. 

We swam #1 to #4 and back on the west side. Stephanie went in and I did a triangle. I'd estimate the water temperature as 49 to 50°. The NOAA buoys off of Diablo Canyon and Santa Maria are recording water temps of 55 to 56 so the persistent offshore wind in Avila is keeping our swimming clean and cold.      

I'll swim Tuesday and Thursday at 7. Holiday stuff is happening so I may swim even earlier on Saturday.

niel 

Saturday, December 7th, 2024

It was another beautiful morning at Avila Beach. We had decided to get in at 7:30. It was 39°, clear and sunny with a light offshore breeze. There were sets of 3 to 4 foot waves but there were big gaps between the sets.  I'd guess the water temperature was 49° - 50° with a colder spot at the end of the Avila Pier and a big drop around the #4 buoy near the mouth of San Luis Creek.  

NIel, Jodi, Tom Israel and Paula were joined by Andrew, who was visiting from Alameda. Wayne, who is from  Seattle, was there and swam the buoy line. 

Andrew would swim bareback. We did Tom Lorish's Fog Route because if would have plenty opportunities for people to do swims of different lengths.          

Andrew walking in

Tom Israel, Jodi and Paula

Jodi, Paula, Tom and Niel at the end of the Avila Pier.

There was no swell, just the micro wind chop.  

Andrew at the end of the Avila Pier. 

We began by swimming along the buoy line on the east side of the pier from the #1 to #4 and back along the line to #1. Then out and back along the pier to #1 on the west side. Paula and Andrew went in from there. Jodi, Tom and I swam west to the #4 buoy, back to #1, around the pier and in.

I'll swim tomorrow at 11.

niel

Friday, December 6th, 2024

A Tom's Toes Swim Report -

915 AM arrival. Beautiful morning at Avila. 62° air temperature, blue skies, and a steady breeze blowing from east to west.  The ocean was pretty agitated. With the bump from the breeze going east to west and the swell coming in from the south it was bumpy stirred up water.  The water temperature was about 50°. It was a good morning workout Swim. 

Thursday, December 5th, 2024

 Suds and Sunshine -

I got in at about 7:40 today. It was sunny, 58°, with beautiful swimming conditions. There were long gaps between the 4'+ sets of waves, the water temperature was sub 50°, more like 48° at the end of the Avila Pier.  The swimming was wonderful.

The group swim will be Saturday at 7 and I'll swim Sunday at 11.

niel 

Wednesday, December 4th, 2024

Tom's Toes Swim Report - 

Foggy and 48° - air and water.  9:15 AM arrival. The water was glassy with a 3 foot wave breaking right on shore. Beautiful conditions, chili, and good swimming. 

That wave sure looks clean.

Thanks Tom,

 niel

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024

 

Avila Beach was 45° and gray this morning. There was a light wind and the surf was up some with 4 foot sets. I decided to do Tom's fog route, which is back and forth along the buoy line with legs around the pier. I spent some time working through the surf and didn't pay much attention to the water temperature. Once I started swimming my estimate of the temperature started at 50° and kept getting revised downward. When my guess at the water temperature was 47° to 48° I was feeling cold and got out. 

I could be off on the water temp. I had a very lean dinner last night and I may have started out short on calories and just ran out of fuel.

I had a good swim,. Getting out through the waves required working out and in until I could sprint out during the lull between the sets and hope to not get caught by the first waves of the next set. It was fun. Coming in my timing was perfect and I swam directly to the beach.     

I'll see how things are on Thursday.

niel 

Monday, December 2nd, 2024

Tom's Toes Begin December

High tide and a beautiful day at Avila this morning.  51 degrees air temperature, sunny and clear, with a decent swell kicking up 4 foot set waves.  The water temperature was 49°. Excellent way to start the week. 

Sunday, December 1st, 2024

Niel and Jim are Smiling While Swimming 

At 11 AM Avila Beach was clear, calm, 70° and sunny. The water was 50°, which is usually not anything to be happy about but after weeks of water temps in  the high 40's°, 50° was welcome.   It helps that the water has been super clean. The surf was up from yesterday with 3+ footers that carried some energy but getting in and out was just a matter of timing. There was a enough of a swell out of the SE to make things interesting. The wind didn't start up until 12:30.      

Jim will travel back to San Jose today and may be back in the water here the week of Christmas. 

No rain is predicted for the coming week so I'm planning on swimming at 7 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and at 11 next Sunday.

niel

Saturday, November 30th, 2024

 A Short Cold Swim, With A Great Sunrise -

It was a beautiful morning in Avila with a specular sunrise. It was 46° with a light offshore breeze. The surf was 2 foot +/- and the water is very clean.

Yesterday Tom's Toes told him the water temp was 50°, about the same as I had found on Thursday. Jim watches the buoys and opined that the water temperature was probably still around 50°. We planned to swim the length of the Poly Pier and to come back to the end of the Avila Pier and possibly go around the reef and back along the buoy line. 

While we were wading in we knew the water wasn't 50°. At the first buoy we were thinking 47° - 48° and shortened our planned route.     

Niel and Jim at the Poly Pier 

We agreed to go ahead and swim from the third crossbars to the end of the Avila Pier and coming in from there was likely.  At the end of the Avila Pier there was a very short conversation and we headed to the beach. 

I pushed my self into the temperature for the whole swim so 2000M felt like a good effort.

Jim and I will be back tomorrow to swim at 11. 

niel

Friday, November 29th, 2024

Tom's Toes Swim Report - 

Beautiful morning at Avila. Blue skies, scattered clouds, air temperature 55°. There was a slow moving 2-3 foot wave rolling through, and the water was beautiful translucent glacier green. Swimming was excellent in 50° water. 

Thursday, November 28th, 2024

 I'm Ready for Second Helpings -

Jim and I swam this morning and earned second helpings at dinner. We got in about 15 minutes apart and I didn't run into him in the water. 

The conditions at Avila were; 40°F and sunny with a light offshore breeze putting an offshore wind chop on the water.  There were 2' waves with very clean water. The water felt plenty cold but not as cold as it has been so the temp was maybe 48° to 50°.  Just because it had rained earlier in the week I decided to not swim close the the mouth of the creek. swam to the end of the Avila Pier, to the third crossbars, the end of the Poly Pier, to the reef buoy and back along the buoys. 

The wind chop was larger further offshore but was never much trouble. From the end of the Poly Pier to the reef buoy the chop and wind did push me to the right. I was OK when I got out but didn't want to spend more time in the water so a water temperature in the high 40's seems about right.

I'm planning on swimming Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 11.

niel 

Wednesday, November 27th, 2024

Tom and Jimi's Birthday Swim - 

Gorgeous day, warm(er) water, and an excellent swim around the rock for my birthday!  It was 57° air temperature when I arrived at Avila this morning at 9 AM. There was a slight offshore breeze hollowing out the 2 foot waves and dimpling the water.  Neptune was smiling on my birthday and gave me a nice gift of a 2° increase from the 48 degrees it has been for the past couple weeks.  The water clarity was excellent as was my birthday swim around the rock.  And if you're so inclined, I encourage you to play Little Wing and or Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix in honor of his and I sharing a birthday! 

Tuesday, November 26th, 2024

Rained Out - 

Winter has arrived. 

I'm sitting out today. Since noon yesterday more than 1.5" of rain has fallen at my house in San Luis Obispo, which is enough to push up the creeks and raise the bacteria levels in the water..  Thursday is a maybe, Saturday is more likely.

niel  

Sunday, November 24th, 2024

Beautiful Conditions for a Swim to Avila Rock - 

Avila was 58°, sunny and still with waves you could jump over and very clear water. I saw Tom Lorish,  he said the water was 48°. Jim and I agreed with 48°, except for the colder spots. 

Jim suggested that it was a great day to swim to the Avila Rock and he was right, it was gorgeous out there.    

Garmin still has no satellite imaging for their maps. 

Video of Jim and Niel at Avila Rock

https://youtu.be/b7ZD_Y3h9NM

Monday and Monday night we may get 1.5" to 2" of rain which would be enough to keep me out of the ocean Tuesday morning. I'll check the rain gauge first thing Tuesday morning and decide.

From The Way Back Vault - 

   The Avila Dolphins at the Alcatraz Sharkfest sometime between 1992 to 1995

                                           Duane, Tricia,  Niel, Kit, Paula, Rick, Charlie

                         Doug, Big Steve, Laurie, Marta, Steve Mowrey,  Fabian, Jackie  

Friday, November 22nd, 2024

Tom's Toes Swim Report - 

Beautiful morning at Avila. 56° air temperature blue skies and scattered clouds. The water was bumpy, rolling, with a small 2 foot wave. The water temperature remains at 48°. Water clarity was excellent. Good morning vitamin!

 

Thursday, November 21st, 2024

I wads late and got in at 7:30. Jim was wading in as I finished getting my stuff on. I was already cold. The water felt warmer than it had on Tuesday at about 48°.  It was sunny and calm. The waves were up to 4+ feet and starting to carry some power.  I waited, jumped over a number of waves and caught a lull so I could swim out without duck diving the surf. I turned left at the first buoy and headed east. Half way to to #4 I ran into Edward. He was in town but I was not sure if I would see him today. Two weeks ago he had enjoyed his first Alcatraz swim. The tide was going out and the water from the back bay was 57°.  

At the first buoy on the west side Jim caught up with me. I was cold, he was done and we came in together.      

Garmin is not providing a satellite background today.

I'll be at a pop up event in Cayucos on Saturday so I won't swim in the morning.

If the rain isn't too heavy I'll swim at 11 on Sunday.

niel

Wednesday, November 20th, 2024

A Tom's Toes Swim Report - 

Clear blue skies and cold water! It was 51° when I arrived at Avila. 915 AM. The water was calm and glassy with an occasional 2 to 3 foot wave. My to tell me it was 47°.  Apparently blog master Niel had a memory lapse because 47 is not a record low. It was just last year, in the spring of '23 we logged a couple of days at 45°.   Any colder than 45°, and will start seeing Wim Hoff out here.  It was a good morning Swim. 

Tuesday, November 19th, 2024

 A Water Temp Below 47° - Some Kind of a Record

Niel and Jim at the first crossbars on the Poly Pier

At the second crossbars on the Poly Pier.

While Jim and I were getting ready to get in he mentioned that he had been watching the water temperatures at the NOAA buoys drop and he expected the water to be very cold this morning.

Well, OK. It was still a beautiful fall morning, 40° and calm with glassy water and 2 to 3 foot waves.

I proposed a route that would give us opportunities to adjust our route if we were getting cold.

I was OK getting in until my face hit the water. Yikes!  Swimming down the buoy line I tried to put a number to the water's temperature and only came up with 'probably never this cold before'.

We kept moving to the first, and second crossbars and then to the end of the Avila Pier. There was an additional one degree drop in the water temperature mid way to the end of the Avila Pier, so 47°-?. Jim went in from the end of the pier and for some reason I continued on to the 4th buoy.  I was feeling the cold everywhere when I got out. With my new booties my feet have never been cold but they were today, so it had to be below 48.

My new little eight dollar thermometer has been a bust, it is not readable in the water, even if I remove my goggles so I'm back to the Tom's Toes method until I find a better instrument. 

Jim and I will swim at 7:30 on Thursday and at 7 with Jodi and Tom Israel on Saturday.

niel

         

Sunday, November 17th, 2024

I spoke to Tom Lorish as I was sitting on the beach. He was hurrying back to his car after his swim. He'd enjoyed himself but he was shivering and needed to get warm. I didn't get a toe temp from him. 

Jim joined me and we got in just after 11. It was 62° and sunny, the surf was down to a few feet and there was a strong and gusty offshore wind. I measured a 49° water temperature but Jim and I both thought it felt more like 47 - 48. 

Jim was getting over some kind of bug and went back from the Poly Pier while I swam to the end of the PP, back to the Avila Pier and in. I hadn't thought about the wind when I planned today's route. The further I swam out along the Poly Pier the rougher it was. When I turned to head to the Avila Pier a wave hit my head and I knew I was going to be swimming into the offshore wind chop until I got to the beach. This was a very mediative experience.        

Jim and Niel at the second crossbars on the Poly Pier.

I'm planning on swimming at 7 on Tuesday and Thursday, Saturday at 7 is a maybe, but 11 on Sunday is solid.

niel

Saturday, November 16th, 2024

Someone Put the Washing Machine On Freeze Cycle - 

On this beautiful sunny morning Tom Israel, Jodi and NIel had a cold and physical swim. Before getting in the air temperature in Avila was 34°, is was clear, beautiful and sunny. There was a strong and gusty offshore wind. The surf was down some since yesterday, we had 4 foot waves with an occasional pair of 5 to 6 footers.  The period between the waves is shortening and they are carrying more power, so they are becoming more like winter storm surf.       

Tom and Jodi voted to do the swim I did on Thursday, but in the opposite, clockwise, direction; the east buoy line to the end, to the tip of Fossil Point, to the end of the Avila Pier, over to the second crossbars on the Poly Pier, to the 4th buoy on the west side of the Avila Pier and along the buoys to our starting point. 

The plot is what I got by doing a swim with my watch on 'Run'.  The time was 1:20 and the distance the same 3,200M as Thursday.  The water was 48°- 49°.

It was rough everywhere, either because of the swells or the wind chop coming off of the beach.  There wasn't a 'easy' leg. 

Tom, Jodi and Niel at the #1 buoy at the start of our swim. 

https://youtu.be/TRgiRsq3Bz0

I shot a video of us bobbing in the swells off of Fossil Point.

It does not want to load to the blog so click on the link above.   

I looked back through my records and in the 4 swims a week I did from May to October I logged two swims with a water temperature of 60° and none above that.  It was a cold summer. 

I'll swim tomorrow at 11. 

niel 

Friday, November 15th, 2024

 Tom Lorish and the King Tide -

The king tide is here! Blue skies with scattered clouds and a strong cool offshore breeze.  It was 54° at Avila when I arrived at 905 AM.  The swell was kicking up and the king tide had the water running all the way up to the stairs on the east side and under the yacht club on the west. The water was 48° and it was a wild swim. When I got out there was 3 surfers ripping it up on the waves. After I dried off I got some pictures.

Tom - Thanks for the great photos of Avila with ridable surf. It is a rare sight.

niel  

Thursday, November 14th, 2024

 A Beautiful Morning and a Great Swim -

I got in my 3200M this morning, and was motivated to swim hard by the 49° water. At 7 it was sunny and calm with an air temperature of 38°. The waves were down some since yesterday with a few 4 to 5 footers mixed in with the 3+'s. There were several long period swells outside of the surf line that made swimming interesting.   

This is off of Fossil Point. The swells were bouncing off of the point so the one behind me was heading offshore, to the left. The next one would be heading to the right, so I was getting rolled in both directions when I was swimming across them.

We are having king tides which will last into the weekend. At 7:52 AM Avila had a high tide of +6.36'. The wash from the waves was coming over the berm and carrying half of the way to the back of the beach.  The swim out to the buoy line seemed to take twice as long. 

I'll swim at 7 on Saturday and 11 on Sunday.

niel   

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