Sunday, April 1, 2012

Nobody went swimming today.  I got there about 10:30, checked out the water conditions and  settled in to catch some sun and enjoy the waves from the beach.   The water was 51.5 degrees.  It was muddy but it was tough to tell how much was due to rain runoff as opposed to the large surf.  The biggest waves of the morning were larger than these and part of a set that came in while I was out on the pier.  They broke just inside the buoy line (!) and sent up a wall of spray that came up and over the pier and soaked me from top to bottom, so I got wet today without having to get in the water :-)  The weather looks real pleasant this coming week so we look good for Wednesday evening at 5:30.

niel

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

This was the first Wednesday evening swim of 2012 with John, Rob and Niel getting the water. The water temperature was a more typical 54.5, sort of, but more on that later. There was no wind and the water was clean but there was a strong current running parallel to the shore from west to east. There were sets with 5 to 6 foot faces separated by smaller waves so getting out was going to take some timing. With the recent rain and concerns about water quality none of us had been in the water in a while. Rob was feeling a bit out of practice at getting acclimated to the cold and was not sure how long it would take him to get his chill going or how long he wanted to stay in, so we planned a shortish swim and he started wading in while John and I were still getting suited up. John and I waded in and waited for a break in the surf. The large surf hurried up Rob's getting wet and we all arrived at the buoy line at the same time. It was low tide and with the surge from the surf this was not a day to swim under the pier so we were going to stay on the east side of the pier. We swan directly out to the end of the pier and then towards the last buoy on the east side. As I was swimming out I was thinking how much more comfortable 54.5 degrees was than the 50 to 52 we had been swimming in since December. It was cold but my face and feet didn't feel frozen and I didn't have an ice cream headache. Then about 100M before the end of the pier the water temperature took a 2 to 3 degree drop. When we grouped up at the end of the pier a 'wow' was about all anybody said before we got moving. The big swell meant that we had to use a landmark on the cliff to keep our line to the buoy. The swim back along the line to the pier required some extra work to push into the current. Getting in to the beach was also a matter of timing. We had moved inside of the buoy line to wait out the large sets with John about 40M farther in then Rob and I. I thought that the sets were laying down when two jumbo sized waves rolled in. Rob and I swam out to get out of the break zone while John had to go under and hug the bottom. That turned out to be the thrill of the evening. We had an easy swim in in the lull that followed. After all of the flat water we have had since December this was the most real ocean swimming experience for us in months.
This was a short swim but with the conditions we were in the water for 29 minutes.


There might be some rain of Saturday so watch Rob's blog or the Central Coast Open Water Google Group for a final decision on Sunday's swim.


Rob has Friday's off for a while so if anyone wants to get in a TGIF swim he's your buddy.


niel

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Too much rain last night = poor water quality so no swimming today.  Rob and I are planning on swimming on Wednesday at 5:30.  There is a 20% change of rain predicted.   Watch the blog for updates.


niel  

Sunday, March 18, 2012

There was no swim today.  Rob and I felt certain that the runoff from the weekends rain would have degraded the water quality at Avila so we stayed out.  We did take a field trip to the 'new' beach near the Dinosaur Park that Rob has been scouting as a possible swim spot.  There are rocks on both the right and left ends of this small beach so today, with its minus tide, was a good time to plan a route in and out from the beach.  Once out we could swim parallel to the coast to either the north or south and double back, for a total of one or two miles. The surf was a mess but a clear channel was visible.  This beach is open directly to the dominant swell and wind so it will be a good spot only on a calm day.  If it checks out we will be able to have a bit of an adventure swim in our own backyard. 
Neither Rob and I are able to make this Wednesday's swim, but plan on being at Avila next Sunday.


niel

Sunday, March 11, 2012

We finally had some different weather but it ended up with nobody swimming today.  It was gray overhead and cool and damp on the sand, with even some occasional spitting mist coming down. The water was still flat, clean and almost surfless.  The water and the air were both 49 degrees.  Rob and I were the only ones to show and he is still trying to rid himself of a very determined virus that has applied for resident status in his body.  With only myself to get in the water with the gray and the cold I didn't make it.  Rob and I visited for an hour and moved on to other Sunday activities.
Rob has scouted a beach south of the Dinosaur Caves Park that looks like a possible spot for a swim.  We will scout it out and maybe schedule a swim there.
With the change of time Wednesday evening swims are now possible.  It will be wet, cold and gray the week but with the new weather pattern we may see a rise in the water temperature!  Watch Rob's blog and this post for when we begin the Wednesday evening swims.


niel    

Sunday, March 4, 2012

There were a lot of people on the beach today but only a few swimmers.  It was warm, almost hot and calm with no surf but the water was again 50 degrees.  There were several large dolphins swimming along the buoy line on the east side of the pier and two pelicans diving for snacks. Sylvia decided to sit on the beach with the Sunday paper so Ed and I were the only other ones there to get in the water.  We swam to the last buoy on the left, came back and crossed under the pier and went two buoys on the right side before turning back to the pier.  While we were out there a breeze from the East picked up enough to set up a small chop.  There were some colder spots that made sure that I never got adjusted to the temperature.  Afterwards we warmed up against the wall.


niel

Sunday, February 26, 2012

It was sunny, warm and windy at Avila today.  At 10 AM the breeze out of the NW had already put a chop on the surface.  The water looked clean and there were occasional 5+ foot waves.  Rob and I had a short debate out on the pier as to whether my thermometer read right on 50 degrees or was actually 49 and a fraction.  I've been in when it was 48 and 49 and wasn't going to be setting any personal records today so I was voting for 50 degrees. 

Susan James was with us today as was Chad and Duke.  Rob is still getting over whatever it is that has kept him out of the water for the last week and he decided to be our beachmaster today.  We decided to start out along the buoy line to the left and to confer at the last buoy on the rest of the route.  Getting out was not as chilling as I had expected.  It did not feel any different from 52 or 53.   I had to dive under a series of waves on the way out and that both hurried up my getting completely wet and gave me something other than the water temperature to think about.  At the last buoy we decided to swim to the end of the pier and come in along the pier.  The leg to the pier was directly into the wind and chop and was a change from the pool like conditions we have been having.  Swimming got tougher when we got close to the end of the pier and became exposed to the full push of the wind and current.  The swim in was easier.  We got out 25 minutes after we started.

At the showers there was lots of warm water to share to take the edge off of the wind so everyone was smiling when we got back to our stuff on the sand.

niel

SLO County Ocean Water Quality Testing Update

Hey guys I have a water quality monitoring update for you all. For the last year I've been keeping up with the local Surfrider folks as they work towards improving water quality monitoring in the county. We recently had a small victory in that the county now shows the actual numbers from their testing as opposed to just pass/fail. When you go to the SLO County Ocean Water Monitoring Results Page you can click on various testing sites and get detailed information on water testing results.

Below I've included the test site at Avila Beach between the creek mouth and the pier. Can you spot the rain storm?



And this is why we call off swims when it rains after long dry periods!

Unfortunately as you can see the County only tests on Mondays, sometimes Tuesdays which doesn't do us a whole lot of good since we swim during the weekend. The SLO Surfrider chapter is working on setting up a lab in Avila where they can do their own testing to supplement what the County is already doing. It's not up and running yet but it sounds like they're almost there. If any of you would be interested in being sample takers let me know and I'll connect you with the Surfrider crew. Once everything is in place it'll give us some extra data that we can use to continue to make sure the water we're swimming in is clean and safe. I'll keep you guys updated as things progress.

Rob D.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Avila was sunny, warmish and a bit windy today. There was a breeze out of the SW and a small, high frequency (real close together) chop and a west to east current. The water temperature was 53 and there were occasional sets of head high waves. The low sun angle and the chop made it difficult to look toward the ocean. Duke, Rob and Ed swam. Sylvia was comfortable in the sun and I my right shoulder is acting up again. The boys went straight out and turned left down the buoy line to the last buoy. They swam to the end of the pier, making a half-triangle and came in . Rob was towing his Go Pro video camera (mounted to a kickboard) and you can check out some video of today's swim here.

Avila Swim Feb 12th 2012 from Rob Dumouchel on Vimeo.

niel

Sunday, January 5, 2012

We had six swimmers today.  Niel, Duke, Sylvia, Ed, Amy, and Casey.  Conditions were just like last week, and for many weeks before.  Looking back, I measured a water temperature of 53 on December 4th and it has not been that high since.  In December and January of 2011 the water temperature was 54 and 55 degrees.  Our current weather pattern and the resulting cold ocean temperatures do not usually show up until April or May, so I have no idea what we will see this spring.  

In any case, water temperature aside, the swimming conditions have been wonderful; flat and windless with clear water and small waves.  While these pictures may look like ones from previous posting I did take them today.  We have had two months of one beautiful Sunday after another at Avila and it is going to be a bit of a shock when real stormy winter weather finally returns . 

Four of us swam the triangle route clockwise today.  Sylvia swam the east side of the buoy line. Casey go in but was having unsolvable goggle problems so he bailed.  There were occasional larger sets of waves when we were getting out and I could feel the larger ones passing beneath me as I was swimming down the buoy line.  At these water temperatures no one felt like hanging out in the water and visiting so when we reached a turning point we waited just long enough for the group to gather up before heading out on the next leg.  I could feel an occasional push from the larger waves on the leg from the end of the pier back towards the creek.  When we finished at the pier there were some large waves coming through so we passed on crossing under the pier and swam in on the west side.  We were in the water for 39 minutes and covered 1-1/4 miles.


niel   

Sunday, January 29, 2012

It was another beautiful day at Avila Sunday, sunny and warm but not hot, no wind, and no sea life to be seen in, on or above the ocean. The only condition that was not perfect for swimming was a water temperature that seem stuck at 52 degrees. We had 8 swimmers today; Niel, Rob, Sylvia, Amy, Duke, Roberto, Ed and Casey. We decided to just do a mile along the buoy line starting left and them back , under the pier, on to the creek and back to our starting place. I had 33 minutes in the water.


niel

For more pictures check out the Swim Avila Facebook page!

Also... don't forget to check out the new Central Coast Open Water Google Group for swim information in Avila and other places around the area

Sunday, January 22. 2012

Concerns about the water quality after the heavy rain caused us to cancel our regular swim today. Rob suggested that we do some beach cleanup instead. I liked the idea of giving back and improving our playground so we met at the usual spot at 11 with buckets and gloves. Duke was already there hoping to swim after his run. Disappointed, he settled for a nap until Angela returned from her run. Chad came by and said hi before going out on his run. I did check the water temperature and it was still 52 degrees. There had been a big high tide of +6.2 at 9:32 which combined with the large waves to send water all of the way to the sea wall. At 11 the waves were still large with 6 to 8 foot faces but not rideable. Rob and I walked the beach and collected a couple buckets of plastic trash, toys, cigarette buts and general junk. Kris and I had lunch on the beach and finished up as the cloud cover was moving in.
By next Wednesday our now familiar anomalous weather pattern of clear skies, offshore winds and warm temperatures will be back in place so next Sunday should be another beautiful winter day at Avila. Enjoy it now before the drought hits.




niel

Bonus Announcement:

New Google Group for Open Water Swimmers on the Central Coast!

I set up a Google Group for local open water swimmers to use to talk swimming and set up swims locally. The idea is to pull swimmers from more than just our regular Avila Dolphin crew so please forward it along if you have friends that swim elsewhere like Lake Lopez and Morro Bay. My friends in Orange County use this program to coordinate swims and it has been really successful for them.

The group is located here: http://groups.google.com/group/centralcoastopenwater and there is a link to join on the right hand side of the page.

Rob D.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

It was a little cool at Avila with partial clouds, but it was completely still with flat water conditions.  Surf was in the 2' range, the water was clean and 52 degrees with just a few birds and maybe one seal to be seen.  Swimming today were Ed, Rob and Niel.  There was a jet ski practicing tow-in surfing at the end of the beach  by Fossil Point so we decided to start on the other (west) side of the pier and see let the conditions decide the route.  We swam out to and down the buoy line to the last buoy at the creek,  turned and continued to the end of the Avila Pier.  At this temperature it takes me about 10 minutes to get 'comfortable' to where I start thinking more about swimming than how the water feels on my exposed skin.  Next week I want to ask Rob (no wetsuit) how this works for him.   The jet ski left while we were grouping up at the end of the pier so we decided it was OK to swim to the end of the buoys on the east side, close to where the jet ski had been.  Once there we regrouped and swam along the buoys back to the pier and in to the beach.  We were in the water for 36 minutes and covered about a mile.  After we got out the sky had cleared and it was nice and warm on the sand.


niel

Sunday, January 8, 2012

It was beautiful at Avila today, warm (70+) with a mild offshore breeze and unlimited visibility.  The tide was ebbing, the big waves were gone leaving just a small swell moving towards the beach.  The water was 52.5 and still kind of murky from the big swell earlier in the week.  It was Rob, Sylvia and I on the beach today.  Sylvia elected to soak up the sun and read the paper so Rob and I got our gear on and waded in.  The water was biting at my ankles and hands and I took my time getting out, with plenty of looks over to Rob, he of the non-wetsuit persuasion, to see how he was doing.  We got going, met up at the first buoy and kept going.  With the tide up and not much swell it was a good day to visit Fossil Point so we continued past the last buoy and swam parallel to the beach until we were bobbing in the waves 75M from the point.  At some point between the last buoy and the point I had gotten as comfortable as I was going to get.  My hands and feet were cold and my face was numb but my arms, legs and core felt OK.  We agreed to swim from the point to the end of the pier.  When we regrouped at the pier I was still feeling about the same, not getting any colder yet, so we pushed on to the last buoy at the creek and came back along the buoy line, under the pier and in.  We were in the water for 53 minutes and covered a mile and a half.  Afterwards the sun on the sea wall was almost too warm, which was just about perfect. 


niel  

New Year's Day, January 1, 2012

Four of us swam at 10 o'clock today.  It was sunny, clear, in the 60's and calm at Avila this morning.  The water was 53 with small surf.  There were no birds or other ocean life to be seen.  Swimming were Sylvia, Niel, Susan James and Ed.  We swam out along the west side of the pier and around the end.  We came back along east side of the pier to the dock.  There was a plan to climb up on the dock, from there onto the pier and to jump back in, however the coating of barnacles and mussels on the rungs of the ladders made a barefoot assent impossible.  So, we decided to do a longer swim with no vertical element. We swam to the last buoy in the line on the east side and back along the buoys to the pier and in.  We were in the water for 33 minutes. 
Duane Leib was waiting for us when we got out.  He came by to pick up some inspiration to get back in the water once he has completed rehabing his shoulder after surgery in November.

We will be back to our regular 11 AM start next Sunday.


niel