New Plans for the Dolphin's Swim on New Years Day

The weather has changed our plans for an early swim on New Years Day.  We had planned on jumping in the water at 9 on Thursday, HOWEVER, the weather forecast is for frost that morning with temperatures around 30 degrees, which is too cold for me!  So, let's plan on swimming later in the day at 2:30.  It should be about 50 degrees and sunny by then, still wintery but not frozen, with water temperatures in the upper 50's.   Avila will be crowded but hopefully most of the Polar Bear swimmers from noon will have left and there will be some parking. As always, our swim plan and route will be determined on the beach by current conditions. 

niel

Sunday, December 28,2014

I was not at the beach so this report is by John Hampsey.


Swimming today were Pete, Rick, Tom, Stephanie, Bo, Amy, Dale, and myself. Niel was on vacation. Pete went in first and did his heroic bare-back swimming. The rest of us entered by the pier and swam south along the imaginary buoy line to just short of fossil point. The day was sunny, with a stunning blue sky and light wind. The water was clear and, according to our arterial Galileo thermometer, 57 degrees. Though the waves on shore were fairly small, there was a strong chop and current out at sea, especially as we headed from fossil point out to the end of the pier. At times my body felt toboggan-like crashing down between the chops of water. We stopped to gather at the end of the pier, except for Amy who apparently entered some kind of Zen-Proteus state and was about a 1/4 mile beyond the end of the pier when we hollered her back. Next we headed north toward the creek. I seemed to be the only one who thought the water smelled a bit funky the last 100 yards or so. Then, with the wind and current at our backs, we sailed back to the pier and walked out of the sea like gods. It was a great swim. The distance was 1.3 miles; exact swim-time unknown. 

Sunday, December 21, 2014

 It was a nice day for a swim at Avila Beach; sunny with high clouds and a 10 to 15 MPH offshore breeze.  The pier was closed because of the predicted high surf so I did not get a water temperature but the station at Harford Pier was reporting 61 degrees. There were occasional shoulder high waves between the 2 to 3 footers.  Dale and Sylvia watched our stuff while Stephanie, Niel, Rick, Tom and Amy headed out through the surf, swam down to the end of the sea wall and then to the end of the pier.  Amy and Stephanie headed in while Tom, Rick and Niel doubled back along our route. 

Kevin Watkins was out body surfing on the left side of the pier.  That is Kevin between Tom and Sylvia. 

I won't be at the beach next Sunday but Tom and Rick will be there to swim.

On New Year's Day,Thursday January 1, 2015, we will jump in the water at 9AM in order to avoid the crowds for the Avila Polar Bear Swim at noon.  The water should be warm (for Avila in January) but wear whatever is comfortable.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

There was high thin clouds and it was kind'a cool at the beach.  The waves had been big yesterday but were down to an occasional 4 to 5 footer today.  The pier was still closed so I could not get an 'official' water temperature but the NOAA station on the Harford Pier had been reading 61 - 62 degrees over the last day.  This is crazy warm for Avila Beach at this time of the year.  Last December I recorded one 56 degree reading with the other four being 53.  That is 8 or 9 degrees colder than this year!
The water looked OK but concerns about bacterial contamination after the heavy rains on Thursday evening keep us out of the water. My Blue Water Task Force volunteers collected their usual beach and creek samples on Thursday so we would have had some data to base our concerns on but a power outage in Avila Beach from Thursday evening until late Friday shut down the incubator at our lab and ruined all of the samples. The County will sample Avila and all of their other sites tomorrow.  Their results will be posted Wednesday at http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/health/publichealth/ehs/beach.htm.  
Niel, Dale and Rick sat on the beach and enjoyed the view. Rhonda, Jon and Roxy joined us.
Rain is forecast this coming week so we may not be getting in next Sunday either.  

niel 

Sunday, December 7, 2014

We had very nice swimming conditions at Avila Beach today.  Thin high clouds, no wind, almost flat conditions, 3 foot surf and an amazing water temperature for December of 61.5 degrees.
Swimming today were Niel, Stephanie, Tom Lorish, Amy, Dale, Rick and John Hampsey. While the water in the ocean was very clear the recent rain has created toilet like conditions in San Luis Obispo Creek (http://www.surfrider.org/blue-water-task-force/chapter/34) so we stayed on the east side of the pier, well away from the creek mouth. 

We covered 1916 M in a very relaxed 49 minutes, the warm conditions encouraging everyone to hang out at the turns and enjoy floating in the water. 

We have photos in the blog now because Santa came early with a Ricoh WG20, a very nice little waterproof camera.  Credit for my selection of this model goes to Rob, who having killed about half a dozen cameras of this type documenting his swim adventures found this model to be the most durable. 

niel

Sunday, November 30, 2014

A Short Swim With a Lot of Vertical Distance

The sky was bright with an occasional shower. It was warm, about 65 degrees with a water temperature of 58.  There was a strong and steady wind out of the SE, small waves but a closed packed wind chop that was running to 3+ feet. Sylvia watched our stuff, Pete body surfed and Stephanie and I tested out the swimming conditions. The buoys have been taken out so our route was going to be approximate.  When we started swimming out I found that I had underestimated the conditions and it was rougher than I had thought.  It took some work and punching through some waves to get out against the chop and wind.  Once we turned parallel to the beach it was not as hard but very messy swimming with no organization to the surface of the water.  I was not swallowing any water but the swimming conditions were as messy and changeling as I have experienced.  I was warm and comfortable so it was just a matter of figuring out how to make progress in these conditions.  I kept stopping in order to stay connected with Stephanie because I would completely lose sight of her if I got more than 20' away.   We both had a lot of fun on this swim and this was a nice accomplishment for Stephanie who has only been swimming in the ocean for a few months.

niel

Sunday, November 23, 2014

The Boat Swim

Pete, Niel, Duke, Rick, John Hampsey and John Harmse swam out to and around a sailboat that was anchored a short ways beyond the end of the pier. Pete made his own way out and back. The rest of us swung by the two remaining buoys, out to the boat, towards the mouth of the creek, back under the pier and in.  The total distance turned out to be just over a mile. The water temperature was 58.5.  There was a gusty offshore wind that died away after we got out leaving the ocean glassy and the beach warm and sunny. 

niel

Sunday, November 16. 2014

The T is for Tom Swim

Duke, Pete, Dale, Niel, Tom

Stephanie was already out in the water

Thanks to Leslie for the photos.

The water temperature was 58 degrees.  There were high clouds so the sun came and went.  It was comfortable with the sun out and cool without It. At 10:30 there was an offshore breeze off of the beach.  It moved into the west as we were swimming and then died away to nothing.  Pete Kelley did his own swim. Stephanie and Dale swam the buoy line and Duke, Niel and Tom Lorish swam a route by Tom. His birthday is coming up and he wanted to see how well he could swim his initial.  It came out pretty well and was fun.  Not sure how we will do a D or N or S for Sylvia..... We added a little distance on the end by going down to the buoy and back.

Ignorie the time and distance information. This was not a 20 k swim.  I thought that I turned off the GPS at the end of the T but it tracked me all of the way back to town.

niel

Sunday, November 9, 2014

We had 13 swimmers today. We started out under low overcast with visibility changing from 1/2 mile to well over a mile.  The water was 59.5, flat, clear and glassy.  Swimming today were Pete Kelly, Sylvia, Yvonne, Niel, Dale, Rick, Amy, Tom Lorish, Stephanie, Tom Hampsey, Tom Harmse, Ali and Diego.  Most of us went out and left down the buoy line. One group swam out towards the end of the Avila Pier and the second swam the triangle. This was Diegos second ocean swim and he was up of a half mile so I stayed with him out and back along the left side of the buoy line and then swam around the pier by myself after seeing him in to the beach.
Once we were out of the water the overcast cleared off so we had a nice sunny day to relax on the beach.

This was Yvonne's last swim with us. She is leaving tomorrow to move to Michigan.  We'll miss her.
  
Duke was not with us today because he had some kind of event to do on his bike involving fondue.   ;-)

niel

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Avila was sunny and comfortably warm. There was a light wind out of the east and 2 - 3' surf with an occasional 4+ footer.  The water was 60 degrees.  Swimming today were Niel, Lloyd, Tom Lorish, Stephanie, Rick and Pete Kelly.  Pete did his own swim. The rest of us went down to the last buoy where Stephanie returned along the buoy line while Rick, Tom, Lloyd and Niel completed the triangle.  We had the beach practically all to ourselves afterwards. 

niel 

Wednesday Evening, October 29,2014

We had nice conditions for the last evening swim of the season.  Avila Beach was sunny with a slight breeze out of the SE. The water was nice and clear, with small surf and a temperature of 60 degrees.  Niel, Lloyd and Mark started on the west side of the pier, swam the buoy line to the creek mouth and then to the end of the pier. Mark headed in along the pier at this point while Niel and Lloyd completed the triangle.  The water was several degrees colder on the east side of the pier.  We watched a beautiful sunset while we packed up.  It will be just Sunday's now until Daylight Savings Time returns.

niel

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Avila was the standout place to be today.  The wind which was so strong in San Luis Obispo and along the coast was just a mile offshore breeze in Avila giving us excellent swimming conditions.  The water was 60 degrees and there were occasional sets of head high waves but there were long breaks between the big sets so getting in and out was just a matter of timing. We had a big crowd today featuring some familiar faces that had not been at the beach in awhile.  Big Steve Snyder, the original Avila Dolphins Beach Master and Paula Dooley joined Sylvia, Niel, Rick, Rhonda (not swimming), Amy, Dale, Tom Lorish, James, Stephen, Mary Jane, Ali and Pete Kelly. We all went out to the first buoy and down the line to the left.  At this point we split up into a group that was going to swim back along the length of the buoy line to the creek and another that was going to the end of the pier and then to the last buoy at the creek. Most of us managed to meet up at the creek before finishing off our swims. 

This Wednesday, the 29th, will be the last evening swim of the season and next Sunday will be the end of Daylight Savings time so you will get to sleep in an additional hour before getting up to go to the beach.

niel 

Wednesday Evening, October 22, 2014

Avila was warm (warmer than San Luis Obispo) summ and breezy. The pier was still closed so I could not get a water temperature but the NOAA station over in the port was report 65 to 66 degrees. It might have been that warm at Avila.  Lloyd, Mark and Niel swam a clockwise triangle.  The swimming conditions were great and I was wonderful to be out in the water. 

niel

Sunday, October 19. 2014

It was a beautiful day for swimming! The water was clean and 65.5 degrees!  A west wind was picking up so surface conditions were getting choppy.  There was some boat traffic and the Pali Kai Outrigger Canoe Club was out near the end of the pier so we decided to do variations on the buoy line. Yvonne did the left half.  Duke, Rick and Niel got out front with Amy, John Hampsey, Stephanie and Dale a little farther behind. Pete Kelly swam his own route.  There was no swell like last week but the chop was larger and swimming on the windward side of the pier was kind'a messy, but, it was warm and sunny and beautiful on the beach afterwards. Hard to complain for October.

niel

Wednesday Evening, October 15, 2014

Niel, Sylvia, Mark and Yvonne swan this evening. The water was 64.5 degrees and choppy.  There was a wind out of the SW that was making the flags stand straight out.  We all started on the west side of the pier.  Sylvia and Yvonne did the buoy line while Mark and I swam a three legged course that got easier on each leg. 

niel