Wednesday Evening, August 27, 2014

Niel, Mark, Kim and Lauren swam this evening. It was clear and warm at the beach. There were some large (for Avila) sets, maybe 4+ feet sometimes and the water was a fabulous 65 degrees!  There were some pelicans and other birds diving for fish but no bait balls. This was Lauren's first try at swimming in the ocean so we kept it simple. We took our time getting out through the surf and swam to the first buoy. At the third buoy Lauren and Kim headed in. Mark and I swam to the last buoy and back, so we did a 1/2 mile. The water was very comfortable.  

niel

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Very clear 62 degree water. Dave Van Mouwerik, Niel and Tom Lorish swam a CC triangle. Jon Hampsey and Amy swam the buoy line and Sylvia did her own swim as usual. Rick and Rhonda arrived a bit late and didn't swim but stayed to visit. 

niel 

Wednesday Evening, August 20, 2014

We enjoyed another beautiful evening swim in Avila. It was a bit windier than usual but it was sunny and warm with 62 degree water.  The ocean was pretty empty; no fishermen, no birds to speak of and just a couple of seals. Niel, Rob, and Marian swam while Stephen and Kelly waited on the beach.  Kelly was Rob's ride to the beach 'cause he was still waiting for the repairs to his truck to be completed so he can return to Arcata before school starts on Monday.  It's quite a story but the result is that Rob has slipped in three swims with us rather than the one that he initially thought was possible.   
We swam the triangle clockwise because Rob wanted to and going clockwise at this time of the day would not have us swimming directly into the setting sun.  There was more wind than is usual for this late in the day so we had some chop to deal with, but the water was so nice. We has a great swim and covered just over a mile. 

niel

Sunday, August 17, 2014

It was just about as good as it ever gets at Avila today; no fog, no wind, sunny and warm, almost no one fishing from the pier, no birds or bait balls and 61.5 degree water.  Except for one guy in a pleasure boat it would have been perfect. Swimming today were Rob, Rick, Niel, Duke, Angela (this makes 3 times!), Jon and Gerry Gross.  Rob had a more adventurous drive up from the wedding that he attended in Manhattan Beach Saturday night but he persevered and made it to Avila to swim with us before continuing to Arcata.  Rob wanted to do something traditional so Duke, Rick Jon, and Niel joined him to swim the triangle counter clockwise. It was really nice in the water so we spent plenty of time at the turns.  We covered just short of a mile in a casual 40 minutes of swimming and visiting while enjoying the water. On the leg from the end of the pier to the end of the buoy line we had a power boat come barreling around Fossil Point and head in towards the beach as if he was going to shoot the pier but he spotted us, throttled back and headed back out to sea.  
Once back on the beach Duke went back out to swim with Angela along the left side of the buoy line and Gerry came by, got in, and swam the buoy line on his own for 45 minutes. 
After our showers there was plenty of benchracing conducted on the beach before next weekends Santa Barbara tri and aqua bike. We'll see how the talk holds up two weeks from today.

niel

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Wednesday evening celebrity swim-in.

Swimming tonight were Niel, Mark, Lynn, John Siegel and Rob. It was nice to see some faces that we have not seen in a while.  John and Lynn have just been absent but Rob now lives in Arcata so this was a treat.  The water was 63 degrees (about 10 degrees warmer than Humboldt Bay where Rob is swimming now), some current and chop but not bad.  We swam down to Fossil Point and back for a very pleasant short mile. 

niel

Sunday, August 10, 2014

It was gray and calm at Avila Beach this morning but the came out just as we were getting into the water.  Niel, Rick, Jon Harmse, Duke and Eric had a route of about a mile planned.  There water temperature was 62.  There were a lot of kelpy bits and a seal or two in the water and a few pelicans but it was pretty empty.  We planned to go to the end of the Avila Pier, over to our usual spot at the cross bracing that is a third of the way along the Poly Pier and back to the beach.  On the leg to the Poly Pier Eric and I were to the left of Jon, Rick and Duke.  This was Eric's second ocean swim with us and he made the simple mistake of picking up the wrong set of cross bracing on one of his siting and heading for a spot farther left along the pier.  I swung over to pick him up and both groups started back to the beach at the same time.  Once we were back on the beach Duke and Angela went out for a swim along the buoy line.  Rhonda joined us for the post swim bench racing. (Any car people out there remember that term? What's the multi-sport equivalent?)
I'll be back Wednesday.  Gott'a go ahead and get more spoiled by this warm water while it lasts.

niel

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Here is the view from my sand chair this evening .  Avila Beach was sunny, breezy and a very nice place to unwind after a busy day.  I was not swimming because I'm too much of a water wimp to get in without my wetsuit and it will be a few days yet before my poison oak clears up enough to make the wetsuit a good idea.  But, the beach was nice and relaxing all the same. Someone should have been in the water.  It was 62.5 degrees and choppy but not whitecapped.  It would have been a nice swim.  Perhaps Sunday.

niel

Sunday, August 3. 2014

I was late getting to the beach and did not swim but we did have 5 regulars and a new friend join us.  The conditions were nice; there were high clouds and a slight wind, small waves and flat water.  There was some sailboat racing under way so the swimmers stuck to the buoy line. Duke and Angela did the left side of the buoy line.  Gerry Gross and Sylvia did buoy line laps on their own.  John Hampsey swam to Fossil Point and down to the creek. Eric came down from Paso Robles to join us for the first time.  He was out there with John but I'm not sure how far he swam.  The estimated of the water temperature were from the high 50's to the low 60's. 

niel 

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Avila Beach was grey and overcast at 10:30. Sylvia was waiting for me on the beach.  I measured a water temperature of 63 degrees so it is holding up nicely.  Interestingly, Sylvia says that the water temperature in Santa Barbara has been running about the same as it has here.   http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=ntbc1
The ocean south of Point Conception is normally 6 to 10 degrees warmer than what we see here.  We are definitely getting the better end of that deal!  Looking back through my records I find that I have not recorded a water temperature at Avila Beach that was below 57 degrees since the beginning of June with half of those reading at 60 or above.  Some summers we have not seen the water temperature break out of the 50's so this must be close to a record for high summer water temperatures.
Back at the beach, Ali and Brett joined Sylvia and I in swimming the triangle clockwise.  Brett si a Poly grad, working in SLO, living in Atascadero and is going to do the tir in Monterrey.  This was his first (?..almost?) swim in the ocean.   He did really well, had a great time and will be joining us again for more ocean fun.

niel

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A Therapeutic Swim

I'd had a long day with a lot of driving and a meeting in the middle, but really felt that a swim would be good so I dragged myself to the beach.  Wow, it was warm, crowded and the water was 65 degrees!  It was not as windy as it had been in San Luis Obispo but the wind at Avila couldn't seem to decide what direction was right for it.  Anything direction between the SW to the east was being tried.  Ali and I swam down to Fossil Point and back.  We covered 9/10's of a mile in a casual manner.  The water was even warmer by several degrees down towards the point so we were stopping and just enjoying the water.  You can tell from the plot that swimming into the late afternoon glare made navigating a challenge.  When we got out I felt great, completely rejuvenated and looking forward to dinner. 

niel

Sunday, July 20, 2014

We had a great swim today.  The water was 63 degrees, no birds or seals and just a little wind until later.  Swimming today were Niel, Sylvia, Rick, Duke, Gerry Gross and Ali. We were joined today by Craig, who is from Las Vegas but visits Santa Maria and swims in a pool. Today would be his first ocean swim.  There was a yacht race under way so we had to select a route that kept us close to the buoy line.  There was a catamaran anchored half way between the east end of the buoy line and Fossil Point.  We agreed to swim the buoy line with a swing out and around the anchored cat added on.   Sylvia and Craig stayed along the buoy line and covered about .6 of a mile.   When we regrouped at the last buoy we could see an otter on the edge of the kelp bed not too far off.  He did not find our prowess in the water to be worthy of a comment.  When we began swimming west along the buoys there was some chop to deal with.  Ali dropped off when we returned to the pier, leaving Niel, Rick and Duke to swim under the pier, down the buoys to the creek mouth and back.  The chop was rougher on the west (windward) side of the pier.  We covered a total of 1.24 miles.  When we got into the water from the creek on the west side of the pier it was really warm.
We had a really nice swim.

niel

Sunday, July 13. 2014

Avila Beach was warm, calm and sunny with a water temperature of 60.5 degrees.  We had a big crowd today; Niel, Rick, Duke, Sara (who was visiting Avila from the bay area), Ali, Kurtis, Jon, Stephen, Mary, Will and Dan.  We swam the triangle clockwise at a fast pace.

Dave Van Mouwerik Swam the Semana Nautica 10k today. No results posted at this time.

Rob swam a fundraiser in Humboldt Bay today. This was a tide aided 4.5 miler.

You can see a news clip about it here
http://kiem-tv.com/video/swimmers-take-bay-benefit-local-non-profit
and see Rob doing his famous chicken dance.  Watch for his post about his swim.

I'm interested in doing the Santa Cruz 1 Mile Rough Water Swim again this year.  It is on Saturday August 2nd.  $35 before July 25th.  This is a Masters swim so if you want to enter, get some of the great swag they give away and to have a time posted you need to be a member of Masters and do the swim without a wetsuit.  There are always some people who don't enter and go with the rubber.  The water temperature in Monterey Bay has been 58 -59 degrees so this would be a good year to do this swim.  I'd do it as a day trip from SLO and car pool.   

http://www.pacificmasters.org/comp/openwater_meetsheet/14cruz1M.pdf

Interested?  Email me at ndilworth@charter.net

niel

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Avila Beach was showing off today.  When I arrived a little after 10 Avila was a sunny hole in the clouds and fog that extended from the hills behind the port all of the way around to Fossil Point.  There was just a little hint of wind out of the SE and the water temperature was 61 degrees.  NOAA had predicted large surf at the south facing beaches, which includes Avila, but an occasional 3 footer was the biggest wave to be seen.  Niel, Dave VanMouwerik, Amy and John Hampsey decided to do a swim along the buoy line and to not mix in with the yacht race that was forming up off of the end of the pier.  The wind was shifting around, making things a little choppy, but the water was nice and we had a great swim.

niel 

Friday, July 4, 2014

Duke showed for the 8 AM swim to Pirate's Cove but was the only one present, leaving him to swim at 9 with Niel and Rick.  We planned to swim out to Avila Rock and back, which is a 1.5 mile swim.  There was heavy overcast or low clouds that was staying high enough to not be considered fog.  Visibility was about 2 miles.  There was an occasional breath of wind that would die away, the sea was glassy and the water temperature was 59 degrees.  The swim out to Avila Rock was nice; smooth, warm (for Avila) water and not much of a swell so siteing on the rock was pretty easy.  When swam around the rock and grouped up at the south end we found that we needed to swing farther left to clear the kelp beds which put us on a line to the end of the Avila Pier, so to the pier we swam.  At the end of the pier Duke threw down on us.  He had planned on doing the 3+ miles to Pirate's Cove so he proposed swimming over to the Cal Poly Pier before returning to the beach.  This would make our 1.5 mile swim into a 2.5.  Well, the sun was breaking through and the water was so nice that Rick and I went along.  Rick and I swam directly back to the base of the Avila Pier, which was 2.3 miles while Duke went under and down the buoy line enough to ensure that he made his 2.5.  The water temperature was very even the whole way with no cold spots. 
We will all be back this Sunday.

niel

Wednesday Evening, July 2, 2014

Bonnie Zaikowsky and I swam this evening.  The wind was still up, out of the SW and making small whitecaps. The water was 60.5 degrees.  Again, quite a few people fishing from the pier but no sign of the birds, seals, dolphins or other predators that usually follow the smaller fish. Bonnie had swum with us before but had not been in ocean in 2 years so we planned on swimming out to the first buoy and then down the line to see how it was for her getting back in the ocean.  It turned out that she had difficulty getting relaxed enough to breath easily.  We stopped and talked but when we reached the second buoy she decided to go in and play in the surf and work on getting used to the water.  I'd done a lot of meters that morning in the pool so I was happy with a half triangle.  The chop put an edge on the conditions but it wasn't bad and the water temperature was great.  At 6:30 the wind had died away, the ocean had glassed off and it was a beautiful evening.

niel