Memorial Day Swim in the Rain

On Memorial Day Sunday the view from the Avila Pier towards Port San Luis was of a wet, gray windy and very wintery scene. The water temperature was down to 53 degrees and there was a steady wind out of the SW pushing a 1+ foot chop with occasional whitecaps and 2 to 3 foot swells.

The view of the beach was even stranger; there were a few people strolling on the beach but Tom and I were the only people who had set out our chairs. It began raining as we were getting suited up and continued until after we both had left the beach. 

We set our stuff under what cover there was to try and keep it dry.

We were staying on the left side of the pier because San Luis Obispo Creek had put up some uncomfortably high bacteria numbers on Thursday. 

The plan for today's swim was to go out to the end of the pier, to the 4th buoy, along the buoy line to the 3rd buoy, back to the end of the pier, in to the 2nd buoy and along the line to the first  buoy and in. 

The water was 4 degrees colder than our last swim two weeks ago and I felt the chill wading in. The leg to the end of the pier was a lot of work, even though we were in the lee of the pier there was a strong current in towards the beach and one of those nasty 1+ foot chops that is not big enough to lift you over it but big enough to break over your head. 

Niel and Tom at the end of the Avila Pier

At the fourth buoy Tom got some pictures of the swimming conditions and captured some raindrops hitting the water. 

We had a very physical swim and a great time. Each leg had a different set of conditions to deal with and with the chop there wasn't an easy leg, even with a following current.

niel

Sunday, May 12th, 2019

This Sunday Avila Beach was just about the same as last Sunday except for the lack of clouds. On the Avila Pier at the buoy line the water temperature was 57 degrees and there was a slight wind and chop out of the SW that felt like it would build as the day progressed.

Conditions are getting to be more like summer with it sunny at Avila and the fog hanging on the west facing beaches at Shell and Pismo Beaches to the east and over past the port and headlands to the west. 

Duke, Anne Marie, Niel, Tom, Sara photo by Leslie

Leslie selfie with the group

Tom with Peter Kelley, The Walrus.

Peter does his own swims at Avila, year round and bareback

Tom, Leslie and Teresa getting in. 

Duke and Anne Marie, her third swim with us

Sara, last in the water with us last summer.

Duke and Leslie at the end of the Avila Pier

Teresa, the same spot. Getting bumpy beyond the pier.

Tom and the Avila Pier

Three photos of me with Duke, Leslie and Teresa

Duke, Leslie, Teresa and Tom at the SE end of our route

The water getting more cloudy but is still unusually clear

Today's route was an M for Mom.

niel

A 5th of May Swim

The Sombrero Swim

Avila was grey and overcast and several of us ran into a light rain shower on the way to the beach.  The air temperature was about 60 with a gusty breeze, the water was a surprisingly warm(ish) 57 degrees, a number we had not seen since last November. There was a small wind chop out of the SW that would develop over the next two hours. The water was still exceptionally clear.

This heron was in this same spot last Sunday and seems to have found the surf fishing here to its liking. 

Tom's route was to make the plot the outline of a sombrero and it didn't turn out too bad.
Today's group was Niel, Jim, Tom, Maria, Jonny, Teresa and Emily. Anne Marie arrived as we were getting in. I believe that he did a short swim on her own. 

Jonny, Tom and Maria at the first buoy.

Emily, Teresa, Jim and Jonny at the first buoy

At the forth buoy on the left of the pier Tom wanted to take advantage of the clear water for some underwater photos. It is tough to get a group of buoyant, neoprene clad swimmers, all underwater to pose.

Underwater selfie by Tom 

Jim, Jonny, Emily and Maria at the end peak of the crown, at the end of the Avila Pier.

Teresa, Tom and Jim at the same spot.

niel

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Today was one of the best swimming days at Avila Beach that anyone could remember. There was no wind, the water was as flat as the ocean gets, the water temperature was 55 degrees and the visibility was exceptional. Not being able to see your feet when you look down into the water is not unusual in the summer. Today we could see the the anchor for the buoys sitting on the bottom, 20 feet below. 

We also had a Heron doing some surf fishing. 

We had two groups and two routes today. The 11 o'clock group was Niel, Duke, Teresa, Tom and Sue. They swam Tom's Fortune Cookie Route starting on the west side of the pier covering 2174 M. The plot does kind'a look like a fortune cookie.  Anne-Marie joined us for her first swim at Avila and was happy to go out to the first buoy and come in.
The 11:15 Group was John, Jonny and Clara. They swam out to the end of the pier, to the east end of the buoy line via the buoy at the reef and back along the buoys to the pier before coming in. 

Sue and Tom at the end of the Avila Pier. 

The rest of Tom at the end of the pier
Tom tried to get an underwater shot of me but all we got was a green square. 

Niel and Duke at the end of the Avila Pier. Photo by Tom.

The only blue sky was saw today.

 I was off the back of the group for the rest of the swim so I didn't get any more pictures.

The Fortune Cookie

niel

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Easter Sunday at Avila Beach

Today was about as different from the foggy cold of last Sunday as it could be. Avila Beach was clear, warm and sunny with small surf and clear 53 degree water. There was the hint of a breeze starting to show up which figured in later during the swim. 

Niel, Tom, Leslie, Duke and Emily swam out to the first buoy, around the boat in the photo above, to the end of the Avila Pier, over to our usual spot part way along the Cal Poly Pier, back to the first buoy and in for about 1,840 M. As we rounded the end of the Avila Pier we found the the wind has come up and we were swimming into a small wind chop. The chop increased as we got closet to the Cal Poly Pier giving this leg a bit of a treadmill effect. coming back was just a bouncy push. 

Tom and Leslie getting in. 

Tom at the first buoy.

Emily and Tom at the end of the Avila Pier

Niel

Emily

Self portrait of Tom's finger and toes 

Duke and Leslie at the Avila Pier

Tom, Duke, Emily and Leslie at the Cal Poly Pier. 

Amy, John and Jonny swam out to the first buoy, around the boat, to the last buoy on the left, back to the end of the Avila Pier and in for a .7 mile swim.

niel