Sunday, September 21, 2014

Today's swimmers were Niel, John Hampsey, Jon Harmse, Sylvia, Yvonne, Dale (!) and Pete Kelly (!!).  The water was 62 degrees, flat with some small surf.  It was overcast with a very slight breeze.  We all decided to swim the buoy line, either all or part.  We all started going east, towards Fossil Point and doubled back.  When Jon and I crossed under the pier the sun came out and the wind picked up. By 12:30 whitecaps were starting to form so our 11 AM start time got us done while the conditions were nicest.

niel

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Mark is tapering for his first Olympic distance tri this weekend in San Diego so he wanted to swim just the left side of the buoy line.  He got a bit more than he planned.  There was a steady east blowing parallel to the beach that created a strong current and chop. The water was a welcome 65 degrees so we had nice conditions to work in. Heading upwind was a real slog. The return trip was faster but still very bumpy. 

Good luck to Mark next weekend  AND

a high five and good luck to Sylvia Glenn. She is part of a women's relay team that is the first to attempt the Anacapa Channel crossing.  

Destination:  Anacapa Island to Silverstrand Beach, 12.5, or more, miles

                     First women's relay to swim a SBCSA channel, in addition to 

                     60+ Hot Mermaid-Babes!  no little old ladies allowed (Sylvia is 77!)

Jump off time is scheduled for 2:00 AM, Friday, September 19th.

You can track their progress at  www.sbchannelswim.org/tracking.html

niel

The Dawn Patrol In Ventura

I was in Ventura this weekend for the West Coast Conference of the Surfrider Foundation.  I got out at about 6AM on Saturday and Sunday and swam in water that felt like the very high 60's.  Those of us from San Luis Obispo to Humboldt were loving it, while the members from Huntington Beach to San Diego and Hawaii were grousing about the cold conditions. A San Diego member told me they has seen 77 degree water earlier this summer.

Saturday morning my buddy Brad paddled with me so I headed out past the pier and down the beach. My navigation was all over the place.  There was a 3 foot long period swell and in the pre dawn light all I could see when I look up was water and dark sky. The pier is well lit, including an illuminated flag pole on the seaward end, so finding my way on the return leg was easy.  I had not been swimming at this time of day in many years and I had forgotten how beautiful it can be. 

I was on my own Sunday so I did a loop around the pier. I floated for a while at the end of the pier. The sky was lightening and getting red in the east and there was enough light to see the outlines of the early surfers on the break at the point. 

niel

Wednesday Evening, September 10, 2014

Niel, Mark, Kim, Sylvia and Yvonne swam the buoy line in 64 degree water.  We strarted towards the creek and came back under the pier to the other end of the line and back. There was a steady breeze out of the ESE (?!?) that was strong enough to make a current and chop run parallel to the beach.  It seemed like it took twice as long to swim east to the last buoy as it did to come back.  

niel

Sunday, September 7, 2014

The fog and low clouds cleared off just in time to give us sunny skies and calm conditions for the start of our swim today.  The water was 59 degrees, colder than it has been in two months but still warm for Avila Beach. Niel, Sylvia, Duke, Tom, Rick, Amy and John Hampsey were joined by four new swimmers today, Stephanie, Walt, Joyce and Marcy.  I want to thank them for joining us and acknowledge the efforts of our regulars in supporting the new swimmers.  I planned a staged route of .5, 1 and 1.5 miles to accommodate everyone's ability and familiarity with cold water ocean swimming.  We grouped up at .25, .5 and .75 miles, which was at the last buoy near the creek mouth. From here Niel, Duke, Rick and Tom swam to the Poly Pier and the rest of the group headed back. A breeze out of the SE came up on our way to the Poly Pier and made it a real ocean swim across the chop on the way back.

niel

Wednesday Evening, September 3, 2014

Avila was sunny and windy.  There was a strong, steady breeze out of the SW. The ocean was 63 degrees and had a head high chop. All of the bait fish, birds and other critters seem to be in San Simeon because they are not here.  Mark and I started west and turned to the end of the pier from the mouth of the creek.   The water was warm but the chop was tough, just the right size to break over your head. From the end of the pier we swam to the second buoy and came in. 

niel 

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Today's swim started off with the presentation of a special trophy to Jon Harmse by Duke for his performance in the Santa Barbara Aqua Bike two weeks ago.

Look closely at the trophy, it's special and so is the story behind it. You will have to ask Duke or Jon.  

It was a pretty emotional moment for Jon so the his trophy's special feature came in handy.

We enjoyed a fabulous swim today in very friendly water.  It was very warm on the beach, the water was 62 degrees and we had a large group of swimmers.  Swimming today were Yvonne, Sylvia, Dave Van Mouwerik, Rick Marina, Niel, Amy, Kevin Watkins, Sam, Duke, Breanna, Carolyn, John Harmse, John Hampsey and Pete Kelly and his daughter. Rhonda rented a SUP and kept us company which was great.  We combined distance and a bit of an adventure swim today. The adventure part was to swim down the beach until you could touch Fossil Point.  Pete and his daughter turned around at the last buoy.  I think that everyone else made a touch on the point.  We swam back along the beach to the first buoy at the pier. Niel, Dave, Sylvia, Carolyn, John Hampsey and Amy continued under the pier and went down the buoy line to the creek and back.  Our total route was a mile and a half. There was a wide range of abilities and speeds in the group today so my total time shows how much time we spent regrouping and also just enjoying floating in the warm water. The wind went from 0 to small whitecaps in in the time that it took us to shower off, so we got out of the water just in time. 

niel

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