Sunday, April 14th, 2019

Spring Conditions and COLD

There were offshore winds all week and by checking the NOAA station at Port San Luis I could see the resulting drop in the water temperature every day. I measured 53 degrees in very shallow water in the surf line and guessed that we would find 51 degree water outside the breakers. The breakers themselves were mild compared to last week with 2 foot waves with an occasional 3 footer. A fog bank was well parked over the beach with no sign when it was going to burn off.  No sun and a low water temperature would mean a cold swim. The water was clean and flat there was no wind. The NO BOATS buoys were back for the summer, perfectly scheduled for a swim with poor viability. 

The lifeguards were training, at this point swimming out to a boat with their gear.

 We decided to swim a triangle along the buoy line, out to the end of the pier, to the opposite end a\nd back to our starting place, with the option of altering course if the it was too cold. 

I don't know who did this swim. The visibility was fine for the route
that we planned but this looks like I was really lost in the fog.  

Jim, Emily, Jeanne, Teresa and Tom finding out how cold it was.

Tom , Heidi and Niel did the basic triangle for just over a mile. Jim, Emily, Teresa and Jennie added another lap and half mile down the east part of the buoy line. Amy and John swam the buoy line.

My guess's and Heidi's watch had 51 degrees beyond the surf line and colder, about 50+/- near the end of the pier where there is a lot of up-welling.

Tom, Teresa, Emily, Jeanne and Jim at the end of the buoy line towards Fossil Point.

Afterwards mochas on the beach helped chase the chill.

niel

Sunday, April 7, 2019

We had all of the parts of a summer day at the beach today: an air temperature in the low 80's, a water temperature of 55, the back end of a big NW swell wrapping into the south facing Avila Beach and making occasional 5' to 6' breakers, no wind and a crowded beach. The lack of recent rain had allowed the water quality to clean up so we had a full list of options for where to swim. 

Niel, Tom, Jim, Margarite and Teresa swam out to the end of the Avila Pier, over to the Cal Poly Pier and back to the beach. Tom, Jim and Teresa finished up with an additional loop out around the end of the Avila Pier and back in to add a half mile to the distance in my plot. Heidi, Mackenzie and Emily swam out to the end of the Avila Pier, towards the Cal Poly Pier, around an anchored boat and in to the beach.

Margarite, Teresa, Jim and Tom at the end of the Avila Pier.  

Tom at the Cal Poly Pier

Jim and Margarite at the Cal Poly Pier

Teresa at the Cal Poly Pier

Niel at the C.P. Pier

Give Tom the camera and you get toes

and a couple of underwater art photos. 

We have a dry week coming up so next Sunday should be another nice one.

niel

Sunday, March 31, 2019

We had a perfect spring break day at Avila Beach; sunny, warm, an offshore breeze, small surf and flat, cold water. The beach was not crowded at 10:30 but by 1 PM it was packed. 

I recorded a temperature of 53 degrees in the surf line from the pier and there was a 2+ degree drop when we got out past the waves. The lifeguards are back for the start of the season and were do some training near the pier when I arrived.  

Swimming today were Niel, Tom, Jim, Teresa, Heidi, Amy, John, Jonny, Duke, Marguerite and Maria. 

Niel, Tom, Jim and Teresa got in first and swam to the end of the pier then parallel to the beach to Fossil Point and then doubled back along our outgoing route. We covered 2.33K or just under a mile and a half.

The second group swam out to the end of the pier and over to the buoy at the reef and doubled back. This was about one mile +/-.

Jim and Teresa at the end of the Avila Pier

Same location with Tom's opinion of the water temperature. 

Niel agrees. Jim is in the background.

Niel with Fossil Point in the background

Teresa and Jim ready to start the swim back to the pier.

There is a chance of some rain or showers next Thursday but I'm hoping that it will not keep us from getting back to our regular Sunday swims.

niel

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Avila Beach was sunny, about 70 degrees with no wind and occasional 4 to 5 foot waves. I measured 53 degrees off of the pier in the surf line, it was 2 to 3 degrees colder past the break.

On the beach today were, John, Jonny, Amy, Niel, Tom and Jim.  Tom, Niel and Jim got in first and swam to the end of the pier, over to where the last buoy would be and retraced our route back for a total of just over a mile. Getting in and out through the waves required some timing to avoid getting washing machined. John, Amy and Jonny swam out to the end of the pier, about 300 yards toward the last buoy's location and in to the beach. The water was cold everywhere but noticeably colder next to the pier.

Tom getting in

Tom and Jim at the end of the Avila Pier

Tom's water temperature estimate

I agree

Tom's turn with the camera

niel

Sunday, March 17th, 2019

I was swimming in Santa Cruz (see previous post) so Sunday's Avila Dolphins blog is by John Hampsey 

Sunday   March 17, 2019

After being mostly empty for months, the beach was crowded as if it were a June day. The lifeguards were back. The air was warm, with full sun and a light breeze. The ocean rolled in with steady sets of 3 foot waves. Beyond the surf line, the sea was generally flat, but with hypnotic undulating swells. The lifeguard said the ocean temp was 51, but farther out it dipped toward 49. The water was remarkably clear and pristine, and we all sensed the swim was going to be fantastico.

13 entered the water and eventually broke into two groups. Group A swam to the end of the pier, then back-tracked before heading south to Fossil Point. That group included Duke, Phil, and seven others. Group B—Amy, Maria, Jonny, and myself—headed to the end of the pier then swam diagonally SE to the reef buoy. Short of the buoy, for no particular reason, Jonny and Maria and I relaxed on our backs in a Buddha float. Toes in the air, face in the sun, eyes closed, we forgot where we were and who we were. Amy, unwittingly at first, swam into the Buddha halo and joined in our mesmeric back float. Time passed without measure... ... before we finished our swim back to the pier and the beach where it was hot water funneled down the wetsuits for all, followed by coffee and camaraderie on the noon beach.

Swim A – 1.2 miles   Swim B – .9 miles

--John Hampsey

Sunday, March 17th, 2019

2019 Will Swim For Food

Stephanie Roberson and I did our Will Swim For Food swim today. We were swimming with the Sunday Morning Santa Cruz Pier Open Water Swim Group. The route was a 1/2 mile out and back for a mile total. It was a beautiful morning. The air temperature was 49 degrees at 9 AM with a water temperature of 51 degrees. There was no wind, a slight swell and small waves breaking on the beach. The water looked nice and clean. The Sunday group has a paddler who accompanies the swimmers and sets the turnaround point.  After a 3 hour drive getting in the water was especially nice. 

Stephanie, arrived and parked on the pier.

Getting out the thermometer

About to read the water temperature.

On our way to the get in. Stephanie brought one of her ducks from a previous WSFF

The group and Michael, the swims organizer and paddler is in the yellow shirt.
You can't tell from the photo but about 4 or 5 of the dozen swimmers went bareback.  

Stephanie at the start with her orange buoy.

Michael on his way to the turnaround.

Stephanie

 

At the turnaround. 

 

Stephanie, buoy and her gold duck.

Selfie coming in with Stephanie in the background.

Getting out. What a beautiful day.

Done, money raised for food banks and a lot of fun had.

niel

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Hi, I'm Niel, I'm an ocean swimmer and I haven't been in the ocean in six weeks.

Yikes! That what it felt like today, the first Sunday in a month and a half when I was both in town and it wasn't raining. The rain itself in not a problem but every time we have had a storm it has pushed the bacteria levels in San Luis Obispo Creek and Avila Beach out of the comfort zone. We had rain this past week on Wednesday/Thursday and Saturday night.  104 is the State of California's upper limit for safe contact with the water and this past Thursdays samples tested in the 1000 to 1100 range.  10X over the safe limit is too risky for me. 

It was dry(ish) this morning so went to the beach just to sit in the pale sun and to listen to the ocean. The water temperature was 53.5 and the water was silty.

Next Sunday is looking like a swimable day. If it is, I won't be at Avila. Stephanie Robenson and I will travel to Santa Cruz to do the Will Swim For Food around the Santa Cruz pier. This fundraiser for local food banks was scheduled for Sundays in January and February and this is the first opportunity that the water could be clean enough to get it done.

niel

Sunday, February 24, 2019

I was out of town for the first swim at Avila Beach in many weeks, so this post is a combined effort by John, Heidi and Amy.

On Mon, Feb 25, 2019 at 2:06 AM John C. Hampsey <jhampsey@calpoly.edu> wrote:

Sunday Feb. 24, 2019

The Avila Dolphins had not been back in the sea for four weeks due to the constant rains and subsequent high bacteria count. But today was gorgeous in every way—sunny sky, air temp of 66, the water clear and pristine. The surface was choppy in places and there was a curious rip current swirling like a sea-creek from the middle of the pier to the midpoint of the beach.

Swimming today were Theresa, Paul, Duke, Maria, Heidi, Jonny, Pete, Amy, and myself. There was a comic element to our entry into the sea because the winter storms had reconstituted the ocean floor and, after wading in about fifty yards, we were shocked to be on a sandbar standing ankle-deep. Folks from the shore believed we were walking on water.

Our swim route took us 1/3 of the way along the Avila Pier before we turned south. Eventually, we split into two groups. The larger group continued to fossil point, followed by a return to the middle of the pier and back to shore.  (see Heidi’s gps map)

Group two—Jonny, Amy, and I—pivoted near the reef buoy and headed out to the end of Avila Pier. Although the water was a manageable 54 degrees near shore, farther out to sea the temp was a chilling 51 degrees, which meant we were all a bit jaw-frozen and claw-handed by the last leg of the swim. No matter, we were ecstatic to be back in the water and have our souls renewed. Swim distance—one mile. Swim time—45 minutes.
 
Afterward, lollygagging with our coffee in the bright sunlight, our hands and bodies warmed up quickly. It was a fantastico swim and day.
 ---John Hampsey

Perfect recap, John! You didn’t mention that you mistook Jonny for me and thought, in dismay, that I had “gone on.” Nor that I was so cold I had trouble ordering coffee! But you captured the stunning essence. 

Conversation between Jonny & Heidi near the pier, clearly representing how hypothermia impacts brain function:

Jonny:  Where’s Ed?

Heidi:  What?

Jonny:  Were’s Ed?

Heidi:  Who’s Ed?

Jonny:  Edmond.

Heidi:  Hmmm. I don’t know what Jonny is talking about.  I think I will put my face back into this frigid water.

Jonny:  I think I will dog paddle.: