Saturday, April 5th, 2025

Beautiful and Cold - 

Niel, Tom Israel and Jodi got in the water a bit after 7. It was sunny, cloudless and 51° with a light offshore breeze. The surf was one to two foot and the surface was rippled. Based on Tom Lorish's Friday report we knew that the water would be around 50°. We planned a counterclockwise loop over to the Poly Pier and back past the Avila Pier and around the reef buoy.  This route would provide opportunities to cut the swim short if the water temp made that seem like a good idea. 

Jodi and Tom began remarking about the water temp as soon as we began wading in. With my wetsuit and booties I don't fully experience the water temp until my face and hands get wet.  When I began swimming my world was "definitly 50° or less". We didn't dally at the first buoy, swam under the pier and headed down the buoys to the west.  The water is still very clean with great visibility 

When we arrived at the second crossbars on the Poly Pier I was as comfortable as I was going to be.        

Out along the Poly Pier the water warmed up a bit so we were relatively happy at the end of the pier.  About a third of the way from there to the Avila Pier the temp dropped back down. I was the last to arrive at the Avila Pier. Jodi and Tom were all in for completing the original route so we headed off to the east and the reef buoy.     

Swimming in to the beach involved swimming until your hand hit the sand and then standing up.  The sun felt great and we were all pretty comfortable after the showers. 

I got a rub on my neck from my wetsuit on Thursday and despite taking precautions today I irritating it more, so I'll need to sit out until it is healed. I'm getting a spot on my nose zapped Thursday so I may be out for a week. 

A big note; the Avila Pier is now open out about half way to where the renovations have been completed. 

niel

April 4th, 2025

Tom Lorish Swims - 

Coolbreeze, blue sky, and a haze far off in the distance. I arrived at Avila at 910 AM. There was a cool breeze blowing from east to west that created dimpled water. The swell had completely dropped off leaving only 6 to 12 inch waves. The the water felt about 50° to me… Which means it was probably 51. I had a nice swim around the CPP. 

Thursday, April 3rd, 2025

The Point to Pier T -

This morning's conditions were just as nice as Tuesday's so I swam the route I was going to do that day: the end of the Avila Pier, to Fossil Point, double back and continue over to the Poly Pier and come back to the end of the Avila Pier and in. The air temp was 44°. It was sunny with a very light breeze. The surf was 2 to 3 foot, I only needed to jump over one wave to get out and start swimming. The water was flat and glassy and had a pronounced swell near Fossil Point. The water temperature is about 51° and colder in spots. The water is also very clean and clear. 

The conditions at Fossil Point 

 

The conditions at the Poly Pier. 

After 90 minutes and 3679M I was ready to get out and warm up. 

We'll see what Jodi and Tom want to do on Saturday morning. 

niel

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025

Tom Lorish Checks out the Avila Rock - 

Clear skies, glassy water, and a super low tide.  That was Avila at 830 AM. The air temperature was 48° and the water temperature was 52°. It was a good morning to swim around Avila rock.  There was a serious bed of kelp out there with no clear channel through, so I had to do about 15 yards of kelp crawling.  It was interesting out at the Rock - with the super low tide there was actually a pretty good wave of crashing over it.  Beautiful morning swim. 

April 1st, 2025

 Avila Rock - 

It was a beautiful spring morning, 44°, sunny and clear with a light breeze. The surf was 2 to 3 feet with an occasional 4 footer. The water looked really nice.  I got in a bit after 7.

The water felt pretty cold at the start and it took me a while to get 'comfortable', but even then it was colder than Saturday. I measured 51° at the buoy line and it felt colder further offshore.  There were no bait fish or seals and very few birds about except for the pigeons roosting on the Avila Pier. 

My plan was to swim from the end of the Avila Pier to Fossil Point and back and then over to the Poly Pier and back. It wasn't long after I'd left the end of the Avila Pier that I realized how flat the water was and that this would be a great opportunity to swim to Avila Rock, so I changed my plan and headed for the rock.  

It was low tide and the swells were washing over the rock. 

It was lovely swimming out there. There were some big swells rolling through but no chop and , clean, glassy water.  Out at the rock the otters kept an eye on me. There were chunks of Styrofoam hung up in the kelp, YUCH! I grabbed as much as I could and tucked it into the collar or my wetsuit. Coming back I did a long straight line to the first buoy and timed my way in between the larger waves. 

I'll be back Thursday, Saturday and Sunday

niel

Tom Gets Wet - 

Wet and wild at Avila this morning. I arrived at 930 AM to wet streets and a wild ocean. The water temperature was about 53°. The swell had dropped off from Friday, but it was still pushing 3 foot plus waves and the storm had created bumps and currents that were pushing all different directions. It was a good morning vitamin.