Monday, October 27th, 2025

Tom L's Monday Morning Swim Report -

The swell had dropped off and the fog was gone. Clear blue skies and a solid breeze blowing offshore - SSW.  There was a pretty big wind chop from the breeze that had me work harder than I have in a long time.  The leg coming back from the CPP was a workout. With the wind, the water felt about 56°.  Excellent Monday morning vitamin. 

Niel's Sunday Swim Report -  

I arrived in Avila at 7:20. It was 54° and I measured a 57° water temperature from the pier. It was sunny with fog out there moving around. The swell and surf seemed to be about like yesterday; some sets of 5'+ with 3 to 4 footers in between. I got ready to get in but when I was aobut head to the water an extra large (6'+) set came in. I tohught about it and decided that I was not feeling the need to start this swim with pushing the effort to 9+ just to get out to the buoy line, so I drove over to Olde Port Beach.   

Olde Port Beach looking towards the Poly Pier as I was walking in

The Olde Port Beach is west of Avila, closer to the port, and is more protected from this NW swell by the breakwater at the port. The surf was 3'+ and just sort of rolling in to the beach.  I walked out, swam to the Poly Pier, to the end of the pier and back the way I had come. Swimming out along the pier there was a swell and current to work into that turned into a nice push on the way back.  

At the Poly Pier

This coming week I plan to swim at 7 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and at 11 on Sunday.  

niel 

Sunday, October 26th, 2025

Tom's Sunday Swim Report - 

Super foggy and big water.  It was two hours before high tide when I swam and the water was already going up and over the berm… there was a lot of water moving at Avila this morning. It was a fun morning to Swim. 

Saturday, October 25th, 2025

 Niel's Sunday Swim Report -

Surf's Up!  This week Tom Lorish had the 'luck' to swim when the swell was big. Friday and Friday night the largest sets were touching the bottom of the pier which requires 7 to 8 foot waves. My swim on Thursday was not nearly as dramatic.  At 7 Saturday morning the surf was 4 to 5 feet with occasional larger sets. It was overcast and 54° with a weak offshore wind and comfy 58° water. Jodi, Niel and Tom I. were swimming.

A photo by Jodi from the pier. 

Getting out was all about timing. Jodi got it wrong by about 4 seconds and got rolled really good.  Tom and I pulled up at the #1 buoy and saw Jodi standing on the beach. We swam back in and talked for a bit. Jodi was going to sit this one out so Tom and I swam back out to the #1 buoy.    

The in and out swim

It smelled like bacon at the buoy line but no one was there with a Double Double for us.  

We left the #1 buoy and swam to the end of the pier, to the #4 buoy on the west side, to #1, back to #4, to #4 oonthe east side, to #1 and in. We had the surf mojo thing going and made our fourth easy looking trip through the surf.    

Jodi got this photo from the pier of Tom and Niel at the #1 buoy on the west side. 

Suds in the water at the buoy line is a sign of big surf.     

Tom and Niel at #4 on the east side.

Kevin Watkins saw us at the showers and said hi. I have not seen him in some time. He is volunteering with Operation Surf. 

I'll swim at 7 tomorrow so I can make a meeting at 11:30. If the waves are big and I'm not feeling the urge for combat I'll swim at the Dog Beach where the surf will be 2 to 3 feet smaller.  

niel 

niel   

Friday, October 24th, 2025

Tom's Friday Morning Swim Report - 

Super foggy, high tide, and thick powerful waves.  If it was not a king tide, it was at least a queen or a jack tide. The waves and tide were pushing the wash well past the lifeguard tower on the east side and almost to the stairs.  The swell was moving me all over. It was a fun morning Swim.    

The picture is looking straight at the pier, but it is so foggy you can't even see it.  

Thursday, October 23rd, 2025

Niel's Thursday Morning Swim Report -

Great shoulder season weather in Avila Beach this morning. I'd been out early collecting water samples along SLO Creek and Avila Beach for testing for bacteria and eDNA and got to the water at about 7:45. It was 52° and would be 72° when I go out. It was clear and sunny with a light wind. The swell was down to 4' +/- since yesterday and I had an easily timed entry.  The water was 57° and felt comfortable.  The swells outside that were smaller and shorter than those on Tuesday and seemed to be coming from the SW and SE.       

The swimming was great and a nice way to start my Thursday.  

I rarely have seen buzzards at the beach and 

have never seen them poking around on the beach.  

I'll swim at 7 on Saturday and at 7 on Sunday so I can make a lunch meeting at 11:30.

niel 

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025

Tom's Wednesday Morning Swim Report - 

Blue skies, scattered clouds, big swell and big high tide. The high tide and swell we're pushing the water right up to the lifeguard tower on the east side. The waves were nearly at the top of the pier at their peak. The water temperature is 56° and the swimming was excellent. 

Tuesday, October 21st, 2025

Niel's Tuesday Morning Swim Report -

This morning Avila was Braille swimming and a winter swell.  

At 7AM the fog was thick enough that I could not see the swim buoys from the beach, which made it difficult to judge the timing the waves but I was patient enough that I slipped out between the larger ones. The air temp was 51° and the water was 57°. There was a big, long swell outside the surf zone that turned was turning into surprisingly small 4 to 5 foot waves. 

The plot of my swim pretty much tells the story. I needed to be half way to the next buoy in order to see it. I couldn't see much of the shore and there was no glow in the fog to tell me which way was east, so there was a lot swimming and stopping and adjusting my route. 

I swam out and back along the buoys on the east side, went out and back along the pier and down the buoys on the west side. At #4 I could see the end of the Avila Pier so I swam to there and then felt my way towards #4 on the east side. I found a buoy just inshore of me and to my left so I swam to it, and found that it was the reef buoy and that I was in the kelp. I swam out the other side, to the #4 buoy, down the line to #1 and in. 

I'll swim Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 7.

niel 

Monday, October 20th, 2025

Tom Lorish's Monday Morning Swim Report - 

Big swell, big high tide and super foggy.  It felt like winter. The fog was thick and the swell and high tide were really pushing the waves up and over the berm and all the way up to the lifeguard tower on the east side. The water was clear and felt 54°. It was a good Monday morning Swim. 

There is a smudge 2/3 of the way up in Tom's photo. Tom said it was a large ship passing within spitting distance to the end of the Avila Pier in the fog.  niel

Sunday, October 19th, 2025

The Sunday Swim Report -  

There is a bomb cyclone in the Gulf of Alaska and the surf's up in Avila Beach.  The waves felt like winter surf: the 3 to 4 foot waves were very long, in sets of 2 to 4, had some power and were pushing a lot of water up onto the berm.  

The water temp was 57°, there were scattered clouds with fog offshore, the air temp was also 57° and it was calm. There were no birds or bait balls and the water was nice and clear. 

I got in at 10:30 and swam a Yo-Yo on the left side for 3,457M. Tom, Eileen and Paula had gotten in after me. They found me and caught me for a hello. The extra two degrees of water temperature was very noticeable and I was much more comfortable that I was on Saturday morning. Maybe I'm just acclimating quickly to the colder water......or maybe having to focus on getting out through the waves kept my mind off of the water temp. 

Tom, Paula and Niel

I'm planning on swimming at 7 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. 

niel

Saturday, October 18th, 2025

Niel's Saturday Morning Swim Report -

7 AM in Avila Beach. The air temperature was 46°, the water was 55°, it was clear with a moderate offshore breeze and the sunrise making beautiful colors behind Fossil Point and the Santa Lucia range. 

 With a clear sky it brightens up quickly and we had plenty of light to start our swim. 

 

Jodi picked today's route.  She likes to start strong so we got in on the west side and swam the 1000M straight shot to the end of the Poly Pier. At that point we were 'warmed' up and committed. We came in along the P Pier to the second crossbars, over to the end of the Avila Pier, kept going to round the reef buoy and returned along the buoys to #1 and got out. The wind put a offshore running lump on the water which gave each leg a different character. 

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

I'll swim tomorrow at 10:30. The day should be another nice one. 

niel 

Thursday, October 16th, 2025

 Niel's Thursday Swim Report - 

Avila Beach was beautiful this morning, 49°and windy. The strong offshore breeze had put a chop on the water which built up during my swim. The surf was 2 to 3 foot and the water was nice and clean. The water temperature measured 56° but swam colder because of the wind.  Because of the rain on Monday on Tuesday the bacteria numbers at the mouth of San Luis Obispo Creek had been 60X to 100X safe levels so I stayed on the east side of the pier.  

At the fourth buoy I stopped to greet another swimmer. Ty is training for the Morro Bay tri and was enjoying swimming at Avila Beach. 

My route took me over to Fossil Point, to the end of the Avila Pier, continued to the 4th buoy and returned to #1 and came in.     

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

niel

Wednesday, October 15th, 2025

Tom L's Wednesday Morning Swim Report -  

There's a whole lotta shakin' going on…  and what's shakin' is me after swimming in that 54° water.  Gorgeous morning at Avila when I arrived at 845 AM. Blue skies, clouds, and 52° air temperature. The water was clear and glassy with the odd 3ft wave. It was an excellent day after a rainy day swim. 

Monday, October 13th, 2025

Tom's Monday Morning Swim Report - 

Blue skies, a few clouds, and colder water. The wind of the past few days has really dropped the water temperature. My toes tell me it was 54° this morning. Water was clear and beautiful. It was a good morning Swim. 

Sunday, October 12th, 2025

 The Sunday Swim Report - 

David, Niel and Paula 

Today the weather at Avila Beach was as nice as yesterday with less wind. So still blowing steadily offshore but not as hard as on Saturday.  Out near the end of the Poly Pier there were whitecaps on the chop but it was less than a foot inshore. The steady wind had pushed the water temperature down another 2 degrees to 56°. It was sunny and in the high 70's with a few umbrellas cartwheeling down the beach.  The water was exceptionally clear and there were no birds.  

The water has not been this low of a temperature for 5 months and getting in it my feet felt colder and there was some shock to it on my face. The swimming was beautiful, we did a triangle and a half. With the sun behind me I could see my shadow down in the water keeping pace with me.

NOAA is predicting 3/4's to one inch of rain Monday night. That would kick the bacteria and surface pollutants in the creek way up and keep me out of the water on Tuesday. I'll make up my mind after I get up and check the rain gauge on Tuesday morning.  If we get an additional 1/2" on Tuesday I may be out on Thursday as well.  

I definitly plan on swimming Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 11.

niel 

Saturday, October 11th, 2025

The Saturday Morning Swim Report - 

The swimming conditions this morning were great except for the wind. The 20 MPH winds from my house in San Luis Obispo were blowing offshore in Avila Beach. Near the shore the water was rippled but did not have a chop. The air temperature was 60° and the water was 58° with warmer and colder spots.       

I saw this really strange light when I was taking the water temp from the pier. I'm looking east down the buoy line towards Fossil Point. It looked like there were cars parked on the Point with their lights shining out to sea but there isn't a road or beach there. People fishing for squid use a lot of lights..... I don't know  

I suggested that we swim to the point and check it out but by the time we were walking to the water the east buoy line had become a parking lot for pelicans so we headed west to the first crossbars on the Poly Pier. On the way to the end of the pier the wind built up the chop. At the end of the pier the chop was 12 to 18 inches with a strong push.            

Jodi, Tom I. and Niel at the end of the Poly Pier. 

The swim to the end of the Avila Pier was directly into the wind with the chop breaking over our heads. We hadn't done this kind of ocean swimming since last winter.  We swam around the reef buoy and the swim back along the west buoy line felt like a stroll. 

On the beach Tom had 400 more yards than Jodi and just one more minute of swimming with an identical plot. (I'm in meters so I couldn't play along).  Tom said that he had been swimming so easily that he sprinted the last 400 yards. 

My distance was half way between Jodi and Tom. I lost track of them in the chop several times so I don't know what king of fun they were having before I caught up.   

Paula and I will swim tomorrow at 11.

NOAA is predicting an 80% chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain Monday night and Tuesday, so my Tuesday swim may get rained out.

niel  

Friday, October 10th, 2025

 The Friday Morning Swim Report - 

Foggy, foggy, foggy. The water was glassy and calm when I got close enough to see it… The swell had pretty much dropped off and the water temperature was 58°. I stayed on the east side out of respect for the numbers that Niel and his team are reporting. It was a good morning Swim. 

Tom L.

Wednesday, October 8th, 2025

The Wednesday Morning Swim Report - 

Blue skies, a few clouds, and a slight breeze. Toes in the water at 9 AM. There was a slight bump on the water and my toes told me that the temperature was 58°. But, my calibration could easily still be off. It was a good midweek morning swim.

Tom L. 

Tuesday, October 7th, 2025

The Tuesday Morning Swim Report - 

At 6:50 this morning there was heavy overcast in Avila Beach. It was 56°, the visibility was a mile plus and it was spitting and damp. There was no wind. The surf was up a bit to 3 feet. The water temperature was 61° and I'd find pockets of red water out there.  

A Dolphin and a Blue Heron

Swimming from the reef buoy to the Poly Pier was the thought of the moment so I did the loop down the east buoy line to the reef buoy, to the end of the P Pier, in to the second crossbars, back to the #4 buoy on the west side and to my starting point. I had some pelicans strafe me to see if I was chasing up any bait fish. I wasn't so they left me alone. I didn't see any other life out there except a Gray Heron on the #2 crossbars.  

This was a nice swim. I started out somewhat creaky and not motivated but I felt better the more I swam and was ready for the rest of my day when I got out.

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

I've gott'a get in as many swims as I can in the 60 degree days that we have left. By Thanksgiving the water will be 55° or less and it will be my winter wetsuit and booties until May. 

niel   

niel   

Sunday, October 5th, 2025

The Sunday Swim Report - 

Sunday at Avila Beach was a beautiful day but was very changeable. At 11 it was sunny, cloudless and calm with an air temperature in the 70's and a water temperature of 60°. The surf was 2 foot and the water was clear. There had been whales offshore on Saturday so I scanned the horizon looking for more but did not see any whales, birds or baitfish. There were several large buoys of the kind that the yacht club uses to mark corners for a regatta so I elected to stay inside the end of the Avila Pier.          

At the end of the Avila Pier 

 

I swam a 'reverse' Yo-Yo course: out and along the west buoys to #4 at the western end. Then to the end of the Avila Pier and back to #4, the buoy line to #3 and to the end of the Avila Pier and back, and on to the same from #2 and #1. On my first trip to the end of the pier there was a large fog bank coming in over the hills to the west of the port. It wrapped around Avila Beach and over to Fossil Point and then dissipated leaving nothing but sunshine. While this was happening a SE swell picked up. The swell got bumpy and pushy but was milder the closer my route was to the Avila Pier. I had different amounts of chop and push on each of the eight legs of the swim so it was very changeable indeed.

As I was getting out a large bait ball had formed offshore out past the sewer outlet buoy.  Hundreds(?) of pelicans were feeding on what was probably mackerel according to a fisherman.  At one point the feeding extended over an area that was a half of a mile long.  I didn't see any other birds, dolphins or whales in the scrum. 

This coming week I'll be swimming on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 11. 

In case you did not get the email, this Friday and Saturday, 10/10 & 10/11, will be GH Sports Annual sale with everything in the store and online at 20 to 50% off.  

niel

              

Saturday, October 4th, 2025

The Saturday Morning Swim Report -  

Jodi, Eileen and Niel got in at 7 in Avila Beach and swam in flat, glassy, 60° water. The surf had gone down from 4 foot plus to 2 foot. The water was clean. The sunrise was beautiful. 

We swam a short course, Jodi needed get going to cover Saturday at work and Eileen had spent the last week in Kauai swimming in 82° water and wanted to ease back into Central Coast conditions.  We swam a triangle and out and back around the pier for an hour's swim.

I'll swim tomorrow at 11.

niel

Friday, October 3rd, 2025

The Friday Morning Swim Report - 

The swell dropped off, and the fog is gone. The water was glassy and flat and the swimming was good. The water temperature was 60° plus.  The blue herons were staked out at the cross beams of the CPP and there's a lot of sea bird activity out on the Avila pier.  It was a beautiful morning Swim. 

Thursday, October 2nd, 2025

 The Thursday Morning Swim Report - 

This morning Avila Beach was a big sunny hole in the fog and low clouds that had hung over my route to the beach from San Luis Obispo.  At 6:45 it was 53° and calm, the surf was about the same with the largest sets pushing 4 feet plus. The water was glassy but lumpy from the swells. The water temperature was hanging in there at 61° with one very much warmer spot along the Poly Pier.    

A Heron and the sunrise at the Poly Pier. 

I swam out and back along the Poly Pier. My back loosened up on the way out and the swim back seemed like it was shorter. This was a nice swim.     

I found my gap in the swells and got inside the shore break without messing about with the waves.

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

niel    

Wednesday, October 1st, 2025

The Wednesday Morning Swim Report -

Foggy morning at Avila… It was about 60° air temperature and the water had pockets of 58° to 60°.  There were 3 foot waves with the occasional four footer. It was a good morning Swim. 

Tom L.

Tuesday, September 30th, 2025

The Tuesday Morning Swim Report - 

There were scattered high clouds and sunshine this morning in Avila Beach.  It was 54° and the surf was up with consistant 4+ foot waves. The buoys were rising an falling on the swells and it would take some timing to get out between the big ones. I would feel the swell passing under me for my entire swim.

It is undeniable, the ocean has begun sliding towards winter conditions.    

The sunrise over Fossil Point from the end of the Avila Pier 

After a very comfortable swim on Sunday in the 61° water this morning the water felt like it was more like 58°, but I  measured a temperature of 60°, so I'm thinking the felt temperature was due to minus one degree for the lack of strong sunshine and minus another degree for an air temperature that was 20° lower than it was at 11 o'clock on Sunday. 

I'll accept the 'colder' water temp for this morning's sunrise. 

There should be more nice sunrises for the 7 o'clock swims on Thursday and Saturday.

niel 

Monday, September 29th, 2025

The Monday Morning Swim Report - 

Thick marine layer, some low fog and glassy water with a big swell. Signs of winter continue to show themselves… The berm on the beach is starting to form and there was a swell producing up to 4 foot +  set waves.  The water felt about 57° to me, which means it was probably 60°. Due to my unexpected weight loss, my internal water temperature gauge seems to be off by about 3°.     It was a lovely Monday morning Swim. 

Sunday, September 28th, 2025

 The Sunday Swim Report - 

There were low clouds but no drizzle in Avila Beach this morning. It was 68° and the water temp was back up to 61°.  From the pier I saw Tom Lorish backstroking his way in through the waves and spoke to him briefly when he was on his way to his car. He was feeling cold and thought that the water temperature had been in the mid upper 50's (57°). 

There was a good swell from the SW. The largest waves were 4+ feet and had some form.  I got in on the west side of the pier to avoid the numerous fishing lines on the east side. For the first time in a while I had to time my entry to the swells. The waves were breaking close to shore and didn't have a lot of power so it wasn't difficult getting out.   

I went west and meandered back and forth between the Poly and Avila Piers until I was at the end of the Poly Pier and then swam the 1000M directly to the base of the Avila Pier. Between the two piers there were areas of plankton bloom/red tide. Yuck. I'd hoped that we were done with that for this season.     

I'm near the end of the Poly Pier. They don't show up in the photo but I could feel each swell passing under me with a bit of a shove towards the beach. 

I plan on swimming Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7. 

niel