Wednesday Evening, April 30,2014

It was about 80 degrees at Avila this evening.  The water was 55 degrees, which makes this another Warm Wednesday after Sunday's 50.  There was a steady wind out of the WSW and wind waves that were not quite forming whitecaps. I was by myself and swam the triangle counterclockwise. I covered just over a mile, enjoyed myself and with the current and chop got a nice workout.

There is no plot tonight because the FINIS Bridge software has lost its mind.  I gott'a say, the FINIS Hydro Tracker is capable of some nice things and is reasonably priced, but the device in in serious need of an updated version to make it more user friendly and the software is slow and prone to crashes. It would not let me log in this evening, even after changing my password and then removing and reloading the Bridge software I could not upload data to the FINIS website.  I'll see if they can fix this tomorrow.

niel

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Sorry that there is no route map today.  My Finis Hydrotracker showed up at the beach with a dead battery.

John Hampsey, Amy and I swam today in very spring like conditions.  It was partly cloudy with a light wind out of the SE that changed to SW. The water temperature was 50 degrees with occasional 4 to 5 foot sets.  There were only a few birds, no seals and not many people on the beach.  We swam the east side of the buoy line.  Amy and I headed in but John was having fun so he swam for another 10 minutes.  We warmed up quickly and visited on the beach for a while.  

niel 

Wednesday Evening, April 23, 2014

When I got to the beach I didn't see anyone I almost called it a day (no swimming alone!). I decided to wait a few minutes and watch the water as it was a beautiful day at the beach. Good thing I did, as a lady came walking up the beach who looked like she was a swimmer. Her name was Holly (if I remember correctly) and swims with the SF Dolphins. We hit the water and swam the buoy line on the left side of the pier. The water was cold (55* according to the web site) and conditions were pretty good as the wind died down right as we started swimming.

`Mark

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Sylvia, Yvonne and Niel swam today.  Rick and Rhonda enjoyed the view from the sand.  Avila Beach was foggy with the visibility coming and going. There was no wind and the water was flat. The water temperature was 53.5.  Sylvia and Yvonne were getting in as I arrived. They swam the left side of the buoy line and were cold when they got out.  With the fog the water was going to feel colder than on a sunny day.  Thursday's water quality results from the mouth of San Luis Obispo Creek were bad so I stayed on the other side of the pier and did a rough mile down to Fossil Point and back.  
You can see the results of the Thursday water sampling of popular SLO County beaches and SLO Creek by myself and other volunteers for the SLO Surfrider Chapter's Blue Water Taskforce at http://www.surfrider.org/blue-water-task-force/chapter/34.

niel

Wednesday Evening, April 16,2014

An Even Warmer Wednesday
It was just Sylvia, myself and all of that 59 degree water this evening.  Avila Beach was crowded, sunny, warm and almost windless.  There was a bit of a swell but it was not producing any waves over 2 to 3 feet.  There were a lot of people fishing from both sides of the pier but no signs of bait fish, no seals and only two pelicans.  We began by swinging out to the second buoy to avoid the fishing lines.  Sylvia swam laps along the buoy line on the east side of the pier while I did a triangle.  I cane under the pier and continued to my starting point at the second buoy.  Just as I was approaching the buoy I ran head on into Sylvia. What are the chances of that? I was siteing on the buoy and she was working around some kelp.  We both had a good laugh about how we managed to collide with the whole ocean to swim in.
We'll be back Sunday.

niel 

Sunday, April 13, 2014

It was just Ali and I today. The water was 54 degrees, 2' surf, with overcast skies that were breaking up.   The lifeguards were training on the left side of the pier.  This was the first day since early last summer that there were baitfish present.  Pete Kelly said that they were either sardines or Spanish mackerel.  The ones that I saw being landed on the pier were nice looking foot long silver fish and whatever they were the seals and pelicans thought that they were good eating.  All of the bait fish action was on the west side of the pier so we gave them some room by starting down the buoy line on the east side.  Ali decided to swim to the end of the buoys and turn back.  I swam to the end of the pier and doubled back the way I had come. The clouds had gone and the sun was nice but we had also picked up a strengthening SW breese.  My leg to the end of the pier was a slog into a building chop and the leg back was part bodysurfing.  By the time we were back from the showers there were whitecaps forming and by 1 PM the water was totally blown out.  I'm glad that we got in when we did.

I'm ready for another Warm Wednesday on the 16th.

niel   

Wednesday Evening, April 9, 2014

Warm Wednesdays are Back!

Last summer the water was almost always warmer on Wednesday evenings than it was on Sundays.  Last Sunday the water temperature was 52 degrees. This evening it was 58!
Sylvia and Yvonne swam without wetsuits and felt (no pun intended) that the water was truly 58 degrees.  Even in my wetsuit the water on my face and feet had lost the 'edge' that it has at 55 and below.   There was a gusty wind from left to right along the beach that was pushing a steady current and a chop that was just not quite big enough to start breaking.  We also have our buoys back. Yvonne and Sylvia did the east half of the buoy line.  I did to whole length, which at 1500 meters means that for this summer a buoy line swim will be just under a mile.

niel

Sunday, April 6, 2014

It was a beautiful, warm, clear day at Avila Beach.  The water was 52 degrees and the wind was light and variable, sometimes offshore, or from the east or west.  On the beach were Niel, Tom, Kyle, Rob and Ali.  Niel, Tom and Kyle swam down towards Fossil Point.  I wanted to stay away from the west side of the pier as Thursdays samples from the creek had tested very high for bacteria.  This was Kyles first swim with us. He will be working this summer either as a lifeguard at Avila or for CalFire so I hope that we see a lot more of him.  Kyle got out at the end of the beach and ran back. Tom and I doubled back on our course and covered 1450M.  Ali and a friend got in on their own and Rob got in and re-immersed himself after too long a time out of the ocean.

niel

Sunday, MArch 30, 2014

Avila warmed up nicely this morning. The breeze was offshore but variable. The water was 53 degrees with occasional sets of chest high waves.  Not many people on the beach but we do have lifeguards now on the weekends.  I wonder when the buoys will be back?  It was Sylvia, Yvonne and I today.  Sylvia is resting up from too much swimming and being sick. Yvonne thought that it was too cold for her to swim without a wetsuit so she waded in and ducked through a few waves.  She was all smiles when she got out.  I been out of town and out of the water for a week so my goal today was to get in and have a nice relaxing swim and see if I could get by body realigned after too much driving and poor beds.  I enjoyed a nice easy swim down  to the end of the seal wall and back which was just what I needed.  


niel

Sunday, March 23, 2014

What a difference from last Sunday.  After last weeks sun and crowds today was cool with clearing skies, no wind, small waves and nobody else on the beach.  The water temperature was 54.  Swimming today were Ali, Niel and Tom Lorish.  

We started out together along the triangle route going clockwise (as seen from the beach).  When we reached the end of the pier Ali came in along the pier.  She had not been in the water much lately and if felt colder than 54 degrees to me. Tom and I completed the triangle.  We were both feeling the cold when we got out, Tom more so as he wears a Farmer John.  We had a nice swim and afterwards it had warmed up enough that it was nice sitting up next to the wall having lunch.
I'll miss this Wednesday but I'll be back on Sunday.

niel 

Wednesday Evening, March 19, 2014

58 Degree Water!  Four swimmers, three routes, warm water, kayak support and a beautiful evening. It couldn't get much better.
The water temperature over at the port had been bumping up to this number the last day or so but I was expecting another 55 at Avila Beach this evening.  The last time we swam in 58 degree water was October 27, 2013.   The spring is usually when we see our lowest water temperatures, around 48 to 52, so I'm not reading anything into this, but we sure enjoyed it. What a difference a few degrees of water temperature make.
Sylvia and Yvonne swam the 'East Triangle'; down the beach towards the point, back to the end of the Avila Pier and in along the pier to the beach.  Mark and I swam out along the pier to its end.  This was Marks first ocean swim since last fall so he returned along the pier.  I did the 'West Triangle';  by continuing towards the creek mouth and returning back along the beach to my starting point.  We were fortunate that Allison needed some time on the water so she was here to accompany various parts of all three routes in her kayak.

I will continue to swim on Sundays but I'll be out of town for next Wednesdays evening swim. John Siegel will also be out of town so who will show on Wednesday evening?
Allison might join us again as soon as Sunday the 23rd and will definitely be with us on the 30th.
We should plan some routes that take advantage of having kayak support.  A swim to the rock off of Fossil Point anyone?

niel

Sunday, March 16, 2014

What a day at the beach.  I do not believe that I have ever seen Avila as crowded as it was today.  Beautiful hot weather in March, spring break and a large high tide at 10:30 made for a small beach and a lot of people.  
Swimming conditions were nice.  The water was 55 degrees with a strong east to west chop and current.  There was a long period swell that would produce head high sets once in a while. We did two swims today.  John Hampsey and Amy swam parallel to the beach, starting out on the left side of the pier, swimming east (right on the map) to Fossil Point, returning and crossing under the pier (in that swell they must have timed it well!), continuing most of the way along the beach towards the creek and returned, again crossing under the pier.  Their swim was probably just over a mile.  Niel, Duke, Sam and Katie swam over to the Poly Pier, to the end of the Avila Pier, then to where the buoy line would end on the east side if the buoys were out, and returned to the pier.  The leg from the Poly Pier to the Avila Pier was some extra work being directly into the current and chop.  The next leg was more technical, as the chop and current were coming across us, but we did have a nice push on the last leg.  We covered about a mile and a half. Duke, Sam and Niel all had gps tracks of this swim. We meet up at the turning points but do not swim as a pack.  The total length of the plots varied by over a tenth of a mile so there was enough difference in our navigation to add up to an extra 160 meters for someone.  I'm not sharing who had the biggest number!  One of the first things that I remember learning about ocean swimming is that the easiest way to get faster is to learn how to swim straight. 

The next swim is Wednesday evening, 3/19, at the same location.  In the water at 5:30.

niel

Wednesday Evening, March 12,2014

John Siegel and I did the first Wednesday evening swim of 2014.  We got in at 5:35 PM.  The water was 56 degrees with a current from east to west (left to right in the plot), so it was choppy going out along the pier, gave us a nice push on the way to the point and a bit of a slog coming back parallel to the beach.  We were in the water for 40 minutes and covered 1.2 miles.  I didn't get my gps turned off until we were at the showers.  It was very nice to get in the water after a stressful day.  John and I will be back next Wednesday for more. 

niel

Sunday, March 9, 2014

You will have to take my word for where we swam today because my gps showed up at the beach with a dead battery. 

Duke, Lee (from Fresno, he has jumped in with us before), Amy and Niel swam.  Rob and Allison enjoyed the beach.  Rick and Rhonda came by and  Byron and Sharly parked their bikes for a bit and visited.

We swam a mile and a quarter in 31 minutes. I'm trusting Duke and his Garmin on this. The water was 55 degrees and flat.  There was no wind and the waves looked clean.  The surf was 2 to 3 feet with an occasional 4 footer.  We swam left and parallel to the beach down to the point.  Duke, Lee and I swam back and connected with Amy.  She returned parallel to the beach while we swam to the end of the Avila Pier and came in along the pier. 

Wednesday evening swims begin this week.  We meet at the same location and get in the water at 5:30.

niel

Sunday, March 2, 2014

A combination of large surf, high tides and dirty water meant that there was no swimming today. On Saturday the Harbor District had closed the beach because of the amount of debris in the water.  The Avila Beach Pier was closed due to the high waves.  

From the Tribune  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bwMFX9bSpM

As for the quality of the water, after some light rain Thursdays samples from Avila Beach were tested for enterococcus bacteria and were well past the state limit of 104 organisms per 100ml. The results were 223 and 288 and are in the last column on the right.  

This water quality data is a result of the work by the volunteers of the local Surfrider chapters Blue Water Task Force.  We collect weekly samples from seven locations from the Cayucos Pier to Pismo Beach.  The samples are tested for enterococcus bacteria, which has been identified by the EPA as the best indicator of the presence of human waste in both fresh and salt water. The results are posted at http://www.surfrider.org/blue-water-task-force/chapter/34.

Beginning in April we will be starting a 30 week effort to collect additional samples from four locations along the last few miles of an Luis Obispo Creek.  Currently our samples from the creek are collected at the creek mouth where it meets the ocean.  This additional data will help identify how far up the creek high levels of bacteria occur and help identify the source or sources for the bacteria.

We could use some additional volunteers for this work.  If you are interested in partipicating contact me at nieldilworth@gmail.com.

Thanks

niel

Oupps! Fixed the image of the lab data AND

This is one of the BEST SWIMMING VIDEOS I have seen. You'll love it!

High Diving Giraffes.mp4 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-fn6JxI1bVrdm5kOVFWenFvT1k/edit?usp=sharing