Tuesday, November 16th, 2021

A Wonderful Welcome Back Day

I've been out of town and had not been in the water in a week and Avila put up a very nice day for my first swim. We had the Avila Hole which is more typical of summer, where there is a fogbank all around the horizon with Avila Beach in a sunny hole. There were high clouds and a very light breeze. The air temperature at 8AM was 55° and the water was 57°.  Duke had a 8 AM phone call and would arrive late so I swam on my own. 

Looking down the buoy line towards a fogged in Shell Beach 

I did a loop around the buoy lines and the Cal Poly Pier.

At the end of the CP Pier

I almost ran into Tom as I was swimming in and he was heading out.

Duke's car was next to mine and I saw him out near the end of the Avila Pier. 

I'll be back Thursday at about 8:30 for some more of this.

niel

 

Thursday, November 11th, 2021

Tom was the only swimmer today. He texted it was clear and sunny, the water was about 55 degrees and clear and a bit breezy.

niel

Tuesday, November 9th, 2021

 

It was either light rain, heavy mist or just totally dripping this morning. It wasn't really rainiing but everything was wet and getting wetter. The air temperature was 54° and the water was 56°. The surf was 2+ foot and there was a triple SE swell that made for variable swimming conditions.  I was on my own this morning.  Duke likes to put on his wetsuit at home before the short drive down the hill to Avila, but this morning the zipper gought caught in the couch and he couldn't get untangled in time to jump in with me.  I swam a couple of triangles with four lengths of the pier thrown in. 

The water was nice and clean but I was colder than I should have been, which was either a mental thing or having had just a salad with no protein and just some oil and vinegar for dinner last night.

My next swim will be next Tuesday so Duke is in charge until then.

niel

Sunday, November 7th, 2021

Sunday morning at 10:30 was bright and sunny, 67° with a steady offshore wind. The water was nice and clean and 57°. There was a 6.4' high tide at 10:44, so high that the buoy on the reef was under water, the beach was small and the swim out to the buoy line was extra long. The lifeguard towers have been pulled up to their winter locations and the swim buoys may be pulled out at any time. 

I got a photo of Tom walking back to his car after his swim. 

He must have gotten in at about 9:30. 

There were sets of nice swells that the tide was helping and the wind was holding up

making some of the most rideable waves you'll see at Avila Beach.

Maria and Heidi had swum before and were warming back up when I got there. Leslie, Niel and David would swim the triangles. Leslie had forgotten her wetsuit so she went bareback.

Tough girl! She did 1,700M and went in at the turnaround point. David and I doubled back on our route for a two mile swim. We both thought that it felt colder than the measured temp.

Unfortunately I had left the belt that I wear to hang my camera on at home and couldn't bring the camera along in the water so I couldn't get a photo of Leslie out there gloriously with no wetsuit.     

 I'll swim Tuesday morning at 8.

niel

Saturday, November 6th, 2021

 

Sorry, your pool can't compare to my ocean. What a great place to swim.

Avila Beach was 47° at 7:30 heading up to a noon temperature of 70°, in November.

The water temperature was 56° and felt colder at the end of the Cal Poly Pier.

The water was nice and clean with surface conditions what were messy but great for swimming. From the Avila Pier I saw three different swells. One from the west (? bouncing off of Fossil Point? I have no idea how this was happening), the second from the SE and a third from the SW. The SW swell was the largest but none of these were big. The ocean did not look chalgening from the beach but once in the water there was a lot of movement to deal with.   

At 8 it was Leslie and I. We decided to do a loop that would have options to drop off if we got cold or whimpy. 

Leslie and Niel at the end of the Cal Poly Pier

Stephanie had gotten in after us. We met up as we were getting out.

And Tom getting in.

I'll swim tomorrow at 11. Duke will be out of town. Leslie is planning on being there.

niel

Thursday, November 4th, 2021

 Another day when the beach was all Tom's. He says the swell was up and the tide high. The water was about 57° with excellent swimming.

I will be there at 8 on Saturday.

niel  

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021

I was beached due to a stomach bug and Duke chose to ride so Tom was the only swimmer this morning. He texted that the surf was up but not as big as last week and that conditions were beautiful. 

niel

Sunday, October 31st, 2021

Beautiful Conditions, A Large Group and a Visit From The Walrus. 

At 10:30 is was 62° in Avila beach with clear, sunny skys, no breeze and a flat 58° ocean with 3 foot surf. The water was very clean with better than usual visibility. 

I had not seen Heidi and Maria for many months. The had done their swim earlier and were soaking up the sun and sparkling air.  

We had a big group today which included Hillary, who has been swimming at Avila but had not made it at our times in over a year and Omayra, who swims in the Aquatic Park in San Francisco and was visiting the Central Coast.  The rest of the group was Niel, Jodi, Duke, Tiki, David, Alex and Pat.  I planned a route that would accommodate our range of abilities and interests.  

Hillary, Tiki, Omayra, Jodi, Alex and David

Tiki, Omayra, Jodi, Alex and David with Duke and Pat behind them 

Hillary with her crew at the last buoy on the left; The Float, Ducky (who has a thermometer in his belly, and the Avila Dolphin Party Boat with Sharky and a Wahine in grass skirts on either side of the GoPro.  

David, Duke, Jodi and Pat and Niel at the last buoy on the right.

Hillary's video of today's swim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZowaKQF91s&authuser=0

We had a Halloween visit from The Walrus himself, Peter Kelley.

Goo goo g'joob

Tom texted that he went in early and swam around Avila Rock in excellent conditions.

Today was the last day of the season for the Avila Lifeguards.Thanks to all of them for watching out for us this year.

Duke and I will swim at 8 on Tuesday.

niel

Saturday, October 30th, 2021

It was a very gray morning in Avila Beach with thick low clouds, no sun, no wind and an air temp of 58°. I measured a water temperature of 58° but with no sunshine it would swim a degree or two colder. There was 3 foot surf and a nice swell farther out and east of the Avila Pier.  Jodi, Tiki and Niel got in at 8 having planned a longer swim that had several drop off spots built in; the last buoy at the creek, the second crossbars on the Cal Poly Pier, the end of the Avila Pier, the end of the CP Pier, to the last buoy in the line on the left and back along the buoys to the Avila Pier and in.           

We met up with Leslie and Stephanie off the end of the Avila Pier.

Jodi, Leslie, Stephanie and Tiki

Leslie and Tiki went short while Stephanie joined Niel and Jodi 

and headed to the end of the CP Pier.  

Jodi, Stephanie and Niel at the end of the CP Pier

The flat gray light and the swell made navigating harder, requiring some complete stops to find my landmarks but the water was really nice.

Tom's car was there but I didn't see him in the water.

 

I'll swim tomorrow at 11 with Duke, Jodi and whoever else shows. 

niel

Thursday, October 28th, 2021

 IT was nice and sunny and warm at Avila this morning. The air temp was 63 degrees at 8AM. The pier is still closed so I could not measure the water temperature but in the water felt like 55°, meaning it felt more like 54° wading in but I did get more comfortable after a 1/4 mile so probably 55°. There was a gusty offshore wind putting a good chop on the water. There was an occasional 4 foot wave so getting out was just a matter of waiting.    

Duke went to the right of the pier to do his U Burner route and I got in on the left, turned right at the first buoy and went under the pier. Duke and I managed to swim right to each other near the second buoy.  

I did my triangles for two miles. I got a text from Tom. He and Sue swam out around the Avila Rock and back. Their leg back to the beach across the chop must have been interesting.

I'll swim Saturday morning at 8 and Sunday at 11. 

niel

Tuesday, October 26th, 2021

I had a work appointment this morning at 8:30 (how did I schedule that ?!?!) so today's swim report is by Tom.   

The wind was offshore. Water temperature about 56° - 57°.  A big swell made it hard to get out and challenging to get back in. No sign of Duke.

Jodi, Leslie and Theresa will swim at 5PM on Wednesday.

I'll swim Thursday at 8:30.

niel

Sunday, October 24th, 2021

"It's A Mess Out There" - Peter Kelley

The Walrus himself opined that today's water conditions were nothing that you would ever find in a pool. I thought that it was a mixture of adventitious and challenging but not pesky. 

At 10:30 the air temperature was 61°. There was very little wind. The pier had been closed in anticipation of the large surf that was to come with this evening's storm so I didn't get a water temperature but it swam like 56 or 57 degrees. There were also patches of red tide, which is weird for this time of the year, so just more strangeness. As for the messiness; the surf was much smaller than Thursday or Saturday but still had a good push. There were at least three different swells coming in from the SE, all with different sizes and periods, so the surface beyond the surfline was A MESS. With no wind the water had a almost glassy surface but there was no discernable pattern to the motion making it a good day to be able to breath on either, or both, sides and to be able to stutter step your stroke.  

We had a great group today. I was first to arrive. Duke did a ride by to let me know he was not going to swim, which I figured out because he was all kitted up in bike gear and sitting on his Colango, and was going to try and get in a ride before the weather arrived. David and Alex arrived. Alex had quit renting and bought a wetsuit and had a goal of swimming a few buoys today. Which she did, setting a personal record. Tiki arrived followed by Theresa, who is back in town for a few days. Spoiler Alert - She has accepted a job in SLO and is getting out of LA! 

        

I liked the idea of the two triangles in order to 'enjoy' the biggest number of conditions. 

The orange plot is my stroke count which is pretty steady except for at the start waiting for the group to form up, but my pace (blue) is all over the place because of the variations in the surface conditions. It was all a challenge but the leg from the 4th buoy on the west (left in the plot) to the end of the Avila Pier was directly into the waves and was a piece of work. Kind'a reminded me of running up a steep trail that was full of roots and rocks. Every stroke was different and no pace would fit.    

While I was getting ready the Harbor Patrol did a drive by inside the buoy line. 

Tiki at the first buoy.

Theresa at the same spot. 

Theresa, Tiki and Niel at the 4th buoy on the left. We are up on the swell here.

And a second later they are above me and the buoy is gone.

I figure that is 3 to 4 feet of vertical movement. 

David at the 4th buoy on the west.

8 AM swim report from Heidi:

Maria and I went for a swim at 8 this morning.  A beautiful overcast morning, conditions were good except for gross red tide.  We were surprised at this, resulted in a short swim today.  Icky taste, smell and irritated sinuses

I have work obligations Tuesday morning so the next time I'll be back is Thursday at 8:30.

niel 

Saturday, October 23rd, 2021

A beautiful morning is Avila Beach. At 8 o'clock the air was still and 47°, the water temp was up to 57° and the surf was big enough for the largest waves to shake the pier.

This committed Boogie Boarder was one of the three people in the water willing to go for one second of glory on an Avila wave before getting a spell in the spin cycle. 

I got out through the break cleanly. There was only one point where I wondered if I was going to get past the surf line without getting washing machined.  It didn't happen and once out I caught my breath and headed down the buoy line. 57° felt much more comfortable than the 55° we have had for the last weeks. There were several different swells happening and I felt them all when I swam past the buoy at the at the reef.  They were not breaking but it was almost like a carnival ride. At Avila the swell was out of the SW so the leg to the CP Pier was uphill, then pushy and lumpy the rest of the way.

There is a storm predicted for late Sunday. Currently a 30% chance of rain at 11 o'clock. The surf will lay down so the swimming could be good.   

I'm going to be there at 11AM to see if I can beat the storm and get in a swim. 

niel   

Thursday, October 21st, 2021

 Surf's Up

A large NW swell was making large waves on the west facing beaches this morning. In Avila Beach the surf was 3 foot with an occasional 4 to 5 footer. I didn't get a water temp but it felt like 55°. It was sunny and still with an air temperature of 56°. This all added up to a glassy but very lumpy surface. Duke and I met up a little after 8, he would do his sprint starting on the right side of the pier and I would do an out and back triangle starting on the left side. I'd go out and back instead of two circles to avoid swimming through the piers' pilings in this swell.  I was fortunate and timed my entry just right, swimming through the face of a couple of big ones, so if anyone had been watching I looked like I knew what I was doing.

Niel and Duke

On the way to the Avila Pier I thought I heard a seal barking, which turned out to be Duke trying to get my attention. We were only about 30 feet apart on out separate routes.

Tom was also out there this morning. I saw his car parked in its usual place and he later texted me that we passed new each other near the end of the Avila Pier but he couldn't get my attention. 

 

I'll be back Saturday morning at 8. Air and sea conditions should be similar to today's. On Sunday we should do OK getting in a 11.  The intense storm and southern swell on predicted for Sunday should arrive Sunday evening.

niel 

I was by myself and was colder in the water, probably because I got a bit chilled before getting in. Duke texted me that he would swim with Rick and Rhonda at Lopez lake today and Tom was a no show. The air temperature at Avila at 7:45 was 39°, there was an offshore breeze, colder than at home so I was a bit underdressed and got cold when I was out on the pier taking the water temp, which was 54.5°.  There were some 3 to 4 foot sets but there were large enough breaks in between them that getting out was easy. The water was really messy with a combination of swells from the SW and the offshore wind chop that were going in almost opposite directions making an interesting surface to swim in.  

I did my two triangles which gave me seven different exposures to the surface conditions (the conditions coming out on the east and west sides of the pier were different).  Some were easier than others but it was always messing with me.  

Looking from the end of the Avila to the Cal Poly Pier.  

 

The same view but with a wake from a jet ski in the left corner. Two guys who looked like lifeguards or harbor patrol and were all kitted out in matching wetsuits, helmets and cameras came bombing past me just as I stopped next to the pilings at the end of the pier. They waved but were acting like they had not expected anyone else to be in or on the water.

I'll swim Thursday morning at 8:30.

Sadly, this morning's Tribune reported that Ruddell's Smokehouse in Cayucos will be closing at the end of December. This is a huge loss to those who have come to Ruddell's for two decades for the their smoked meats. Two smoked albacore tacos on the beach is one of the best meals anywhere on the Central Coast. The building is to be demolished and the business and their food truck are for sale. 

niel