An 11AM Swim on Sunday, June 7, 2020

I have not been swimming at our usual time on Sundays in order to avoid the crowds but I decided to give our traditional start time of 11 o'clock a try today. I enjoy swimming at 11 which allows me to have lunch on the beach afterwards and see some friends. 

Chad, Brittany (who would swim) and their son Avery arrived shortly after I did and then Tim also arrived. The three of us planned to swim out to the end of the pier, do a triangle and come back in along the pier for something a little over a mile. Teresa joined us at the end of the Avila Pier. 

On Thursday the water had been unusually warm, 58 to 60 degrees. On Saturday the wind had picked up and the water temperature had gone down to about 58, which was still very comfortable. I had planned for today's conditions to be the same but the wind had a different idea. It turned offshore Saturday night and by 11AM on Sunday the water temperature was about 53 - 54. That was bad for me because I had decided that with water in the upper 50's I could wear my tri suit. I had also decided to grab the older, leaky suit rather than the new one. I'm not sure what I thought that I was saving the new one for but I was cold during the entire swim. There was enough cold water moving around in the suit that I was wondering if the zipper had failed. So I pushed for the entire swim, never got comfortable, and tried not to think of that toasty Patagonia R3 that was hanging in the garage.     

The wind had pushed up a good head slapper of a chop that was at its worst on the legs from and then back to the end of the Avila Pier.   

Niel after getting out. Photo by Leslie.

Amy

I spoke to Leslie, she Tom and a some others had gotten in at 9:30. Her report:

We jumped in at 930. Went to the creek mouth and then thru the pier to fossil point. Back along the buoy line to the 4th buoy by the creek again then out around the Avila pier and then in.  So cold!!  My hands and feet were purple and numb and the reason I was sitting there was to warm up because I literally could not feel my feet when I was walking on them and I felt very shaky.  So... I got some Jelly beans for a fast sugar kick and hung out until my brain recognized my lower extremities again.

Then I saw John and Amy snd my day was complete!

John Hampsey and Amy also got in at about 11 but we didn't see each other in the water. I did get to visit with John for a while after we got out. I don't think I had spoken to him in 4 to 6 weeks. 

niel

Saturday, June 6, 2020

The Completion Backwards Swim -

Hillary, Niel, Tom and Teresa swam today at 9:30. Tom suggested that we do the same route as last Thursday, but in to opposite direction, just to see if it came out the same distance.  So, for the lack of a more inspired plan, that is what we did.  However, conditions were very different than on Thursday. Two days ago we had calm flat and warm water conditions. Today the water temperature was a couple of degrees colder and the wind started before we got in and was predicted to be 30 kts/hr this afternoon.  We swam an additional 56M today which seems pretty close to the 3404M on Thursday, especially considering all of the course corrections that today's conditions required.  

Tom and Hillary getting in. 

Tom, 

Hillary and

Niel at the 4th buoy.

Hillary, Teresa and Tom at the end of the Avila Pier.

Tom is reminding us where the second crossbars onteh Cal Poly Pier are.

I was starting to feel a bit bumpy.

Hillary pulling up to the Cal Poly Pier. Getting here swimming into this chop was a bit of work.Oddly, the current and chop were comming from the area near Port San Luis, 2 miles due west instead of out of the SW near the end of the breakwater. Our next spot along the course is the end of the CP Pier about 650M into the background.  

Tom and Teresa, being much faster swimmers, we swimming together and were probably halfway to the end of the CP Pier by now.

Hillary and Niel at the second cross bars along the Cal Poly Pier. 

Niel and Hillary at the end of the CP Pier. 

The conditions became rougher as we neared the end of the pier. 

Hillary and the Avila Dolphin GoPro Party Boat. Besides the camera there are two Caution Swimmer flags and a shark and flamingo hula dancers.

The orange donut is a Zone 3 Swim Safety Buoy/Hydration Station. It has a bladder inside which can be filled with water or energy drink and a bite tube flex straw and a pouch on top for a water bottle or...  

Hillary and

Niel back at the Avila Pier.

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I'm going to swim at 11 tomorrow and spend some time relaxing on the beach after the swim. 

niel

Warm Water Thursday, 6/4/20

Niel, Hillary and Tom swam at 9AM. Conditions were wonderful. The water was warmer than at any point since last summer, at least 58 or even 60 degrees. There was a lot of movement in the water, there was a definite current/swell/push from the SW, but no large swell or chop.
When Tom sent me his proposed route it made me think of the great pyramids at Giza, so this became the Egyptian swim. We swam out to the end of the Avila Pier, did the 720M leg to the end of the CP Pier, then in along the pier for 620M to the second crossbars, 615M back to the end of the Avila Pier, 400M to the last buoy on the east side of the pier and 315M back along the buoys to our starting point. The decending length of the legs was nice.
We'd planned for 2 miles and I clocked 3,404M which is close enough.

Tom doing a pyramid at the end of the Avila Pier. 

The end of our next leg, the end of the CP Pier, is above his left elbow 

and is 875M offshore.. 

Hillary and her pyramid at the Avila Pier

Niel, the same location.

Niel and Hillary at the end of the CP Pier.

Tom at the end of the CP Pier. Tom went off the front from here.

Niel and Hillary at the second crossbars.

Hillary and Nile back at the end of the Avila Pier 

Hillary at the 4th buoy.

Niel, Hillary and Niel's drink bottle back at our starting point. 

I'm going to wear my tri suit this Saturday. The warm water temperatures should fall back some once the summer winds pick up but I hoping that I won't be needing my surf suit again until fall.

niel


Photo dump of today's swim from Hillary's party boat GoPro

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

 Distance - Tom and I thought that we would do about 2 miles today but went a little long. The route was to the end of the buoy line on the east side, to a spot between Fossil Point and teh Avila Rock, back to the end of the Avila Pier, over to the thrid crossbars at the Cal Poly Pier, to the end of the buoys on the west at the creek mouth and back to our starting point. That is what I did and clocked 2.25 miles. Tom swam towards shore along the CP Pier to the second crossbars before heading to our starting point, so he did about 400M moer than I for 2.5 miles. 

Niel and Tom at Fossil Point. Sorry about the junk on the camera lense.

Conditions were flat and calm, water temp about 55+ making smooth swimming conditions.

Me at the Cal Poly Pier. 

Tom is much faster than I and wears a farmer john wetsuit so he gets cold waiting for me.

These days, after the first 1000M, he starts to feel the cold and goes off of the front and no longer waits for me to catch up.  My wetsuit is really tosty so I'm not getting cold.

Thursday Tom and I are going to visit the end of the CP Pier. 

niel