Friday, May 5th, 2023

 

Tom's Friday swim report: after all that gray earlier in the week, it was nice to see blue skies this morning at Avila. It was 57° air temperature when I arrived at 9:30. There was a slight breeze that added some bump onto the water. My toe-mometer reading was 51° water temperature.  It was a good morning swim.

Thursday, May 4th, 2023

 I got in at about 7AM. It was 52° with a light wind with broken clouds. The sun would gome and go. The water was 50° - 51°. 

I couldn't get a picture that shows the surface conditions correctly. There were multiple swells from 1 to 3 or 4 feet out of the SW. They were smooth, long and close together so the swimming was up and down all of the time. There was definitly a push but it was not choppy so the swimming was easy. When I'd breath I could be 3 or 4 feet above the surface or looking at a wall of water and no sky. 

I had a great hour plus in the water and will be back Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 11.

Tom's new schedule is to swim Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday.

niel

Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023

 

Tom's Tuesday swim report: there was a cold breeze and it was gray again at Avila this morning… It was 55 when I arrived at 936.  Whatever rain there was had come and gone.  The water was bump, bump, bump, chop, and more bump and chop!  It was that kind of day swimming at Avila this morning.  The water temperature was 48, 49 again…  I am longing for the 52 degree tropical water to return!  I'll be back swimming again on Friday and Saturday. Hopefully the water will be warmer then. 

Thanks Tom,

I'll swim Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

niel

Monday, May 1st, 2023

Tom's May 1st Brrrr, swim report: it was breezy and gray when I arrived at Avila this morning at 9:30. The air temperature was 54, but with the breeze it felt cooler. The sun would eventually break through when I was just finishing my swim. The swell had picked up quite a bit since I was last here on Saturday.  There were consistent 4 foot waves with the occasional five footer.  They were straight up and down bone crushers. The water temperature had dropped below 50° again, my toes calling it 48-49. It was a wild day of swimming.  

Thanks Tom.

I'm not swimming tomorrow. I'll be back on Thursday at 7.

niel

Sunday, April 30th, 2023

Sunday started out gray, 59° and almost dripping but the sun cam out just as Pat and I arrived at the end of the Cal Poly Pier and made it a beautiful 70° day. And the water was warm out there, I measured 11.5°C/52.7°F at the end of the CPP. It was more like 51° on the east side of the Avila Pier. There was a wind and a strong current with some bumpiness out of the SW so Pat and I decided to start buy swimming out to the end of the CPP and then riding the current back to the Avila Pier. 

After getting out of the showers the wind off of the fog bank felt chill. I tucked in on the sand close to the wall and out of the wind for lunch.

I'm not swimming Tuesday and may have to skip Saturday. Check Thursday's post. 

niel    

Saturday, April 29th, 2023

I was surprised to find Jodi waiting for me what I arrived. She has been benched while doing PT on her shoulder. She now a conditional (as in "don't screw it up") permission from her PT to swim if she keeps her shoulder motions within specified limits.  She swam the buoy line while I went around the Avila Rock.  I didn't see her after I got out. I hope she did OK because it is great to have her back. She hopes to continue swimming on Saturdays and Sundays.

Stephanie will be swimming on Tuesdays and Thursdays so my total solo days may be over. 

Niel and Jodi getting in.

It was very gray but the clouds were high with no fog so the visibility was good. At 7 the air temp was 52° and the water was a consistent 10°C/50°F.  There was no wind. The surf was 2 to 3 feet. Starting out along the Avila Pier it was bumpy and got more so when I turned towards Avila Rock, but about 2/3's of the way to the rock it flattened out and stayed smooth for the rest of my swim.  It was nice to be able to relax on the way back. 

I have not been out to the rock in a while. I feel like I'm really out in the ocean when I'm out there. The end of the Cal Poly Pier has some of the same feel but you are next to a huge built thing so it doesn't feel as wild. It is early enough in the summer that the kelp was not thick so I cut through it instead of swinging way out and going all of the way around.

I'll be back tomorrow at 11. 

niel

Tom's Saturday morning, swim report: well, it was all happening at Avila this morning. Lifeguard training was in full swing, the Pale kai boats were out, there were numerous single person, outriggers out, and there was me swimming.  Despite the 55° air temperature and thick marine layer when I arrived at 9:45, the beach was filling up with humans.  The water was calm and glassy with a two or 3 foot swell rolling in. My toes tell me the water temperature was 50°, with sections of 49, most notably, at the end of the CPP.  The swim was a good morning vitamin.
 

Friday, April 28th, 2023

 

Tom's Friday morning swim report: it was gray and somewhat foggy at Avila when I arrived at 9:45. The water was glassy and calm. Air temperature was 53, and the water was about 52. I had a couple of the Cal poly Water Polo  girls with me, so I decided to take them around Avila Rock.  Beautiful morning at the swimming.   

Thursday, April 27th, 2023

 

Stephanie and I had a great swim today. There was thick fog in Avila Beach at 7 AM. The air temperature was 49°, it was calm, the water glassy and the surf small. We decided that swimming around both piers was a good fog plan. 

The water was noticeably warmer at 51°F but there were some cold spots that felt like less than 50°. 

Stephanie feels that she has her cold water swimming chops back and plans on swimming at regularly at 7 on Tuesday and Thursday mornings with me. It is a great way to get ready for whatever your work has for you that day.

I'll be back at 7 on Saturday and 11 on Sunday. I'll miss Tuesday morning due to a early meeting.

Tom will be switching his work day swimming from Thursday to Friday. 

niel    

Tuesday, April 25th, 2023

 

I arrived a bit early and got in before 7. Avila had heavy overcast that was dropping down to become fog and lifting again. The air temp was 44°, the water was 49° and felt colder, especially on the east side. It looks like we are not done with the 40's just yet. There was no wind and the ocean was glassy with a nice rolling swell out of the S. Great swimming conditions, just too cold.   

Garmin seems to think that I wanted to go all steelhead and swim up the creek.  

niel

Tom's Tuesday morning swim report: what a difference a day makes… Yesterdays blue sky turned to gray, the minuscule swell picked up to about two or 3 feet, the smooth water surface turned bumpy, and the water temperature dropped one or 2°.  The air temperature was 52° when I arrived at 9:45 and it was foggy and gray.  My toe-mometer  told me the water temperature was 48 or 49… It felt particularly colder over on the west side. (I thought it was colder on the east side)  It was an excellent morning vitamin.  I will no longer be swimming on Thursdays as I now have a part-time job. I will be back on Friday.   

Monday, April 24th, 223

 Tom Does A Make Up Day -

Tom's Monday morning swim report: 

It was another typical spring morning at Avila. The air temperature was 57° when I arrived at 10 AM. The water was flat with a very minuscule swell. Blue skies, and a very slight breeze. The water temperature was about 50° with a few spots of 51. It was a good morning swim. 

I'll swim tomorrow at 7.

niel

Sunday, April 23rd, 2023

It was almost like summer at Avila Beach today. It was sunny, comfortably warm and windy.  When I arrived at 10:15 it was clear and 55° heading to 70° at 1:00. There was a NW wind that had not yet but would blow out the swimming. 

I was the only swimmer today. I got in at 11 and was surprised about how not completely freezing the water was.  I quickly relaxed and got comfortable and only thought about the swimming conditions. 

It turns out relatively is everything. I measured a water temperature of 10°C/50°F, which used to be cold but after the last few months felt quite comfortable.   

Swimming was very physical today. At 11 when I was heading west along the buoys the was a good chop on the water and a real push from the west. It was easier swimming south out along the CPP but the chop got bigger with every 100M further offshore until it was quite bumpy.   

I turned east and rode the push to the reef buoy. It was less work swimming with the chop and current but the chop/swell was bending me every which way. My low back started to get grumpy with the strange twisting. 

Turning back west and swimming along the buoys to the Avila Pier was a slog but I would soon be finished.

I'll be back Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7 for some nice flat water and hopefully more water temperatures in the 50's.

niel

Saturday, April 22nd, 2023

 

It was a beautiful Saturday morning at 6:30 when Stephanie, Pat and Niel got in. Pat had a pizza making class in AG at 9 so we were starting a half hour early. The air temp was 54°, it was clear with a few high clouds and just a slight breeze. With two warm but windy days since my last very cold swim I did not know what to expect for a water temperature. Today the water was 9°C/48.2°F, still quite cold but better than the previous Thursday's 8°C/46.4°F.

We decided to do two triangles. Stephanie is still getting her sea legs back and would probably go in after one triangle. Pat and I planned to do two or more based on how we were feeling.   

Pat, Stephanie and Niel at the 4th buoy on the left.

Other than the water temperature the swimming conditions were wonderful. Stephanie cam in at the end of the first triangle and Pat and I called it good at an hour.

I'll be back tomorrow at 11.

Tom is at USC this weekend coaching the Poly women's water polo team at a meet. 

niel 

Thursday, April 20th, 2023

This was a cold one but I had a great swim.

At 7AM plus the air temp was 54°. It was clear with scattered high clouds and windy. There wasn't much of a chop but there was a nice swell from the SW.  The water temperature was 8°C/ 46.4°F so the full freeze effect is back.     

I swam the west buoy line, over to #2 on the CPP, then to Fossil Point and back to the east buoy line.

At Fossil Point. 

Tom's Thursday swim report: 

It was a beautiful morning at Avila when I arrived at 9:15. Blue skies with wispy clouds. The air temperature was in the low 60s. There was a breeze blowing from east to west, which was the reverse of Tuesday. So I'm thinking, the air from earlier in the week was going back to where it came from. Despite the breeze, there was only a slight wind bump on the water and a decent swell. The waves were peeling off nicely providing a fun ride for the long boarder in the picture. My toes report that the water temperature was a brisk 47°.  A beautiful morning swim.  I won't be swimming this weekend as I will be down in Los Angeles with the Cal poly women's water polo team for our league tournament at USC. Back on swimming on Tuesday.  

Saturday morning Stephanie, Pat and I are swimming at 6:30 so Pat can be in AG at 9.

I'll swim at 11 on Sunday.  

niel

Tuesday, April18th, 2023

 

This morning was a beautiful time to swim at Avila. At 7 0'clock it was sunny and 42° with a slight wind. There was some small chop on the water. The surf was 2 + feet. I had a great swim doing two big triangles. I cut some corners which left me short of 4,000M. The water temperature was 9.5°C/49°F. I thought that with the wind we've had it would have been 46 or 47. 49° is still really cold but if anything, this winter's water temperatures have taught that things are relative.  I'm actually looking forward to water in the low 50's.     

Some clouds came in and the wind died while I was swimming so my second half was smoother.  I got into it and pushed to the finish. 

Tom's Tuesday swim report: 

There were blue skies and scattered clouds at Avila when I arrived at 9:30. The air temperature was about 62 and there was a slight breeze going from east to west. Along with the breeze, there was a small swell that added a bit of a bump and roll to the water. My toes tell me the water was 49° with spots that were 48.  My prediction/wishful thinking for a couple extra degrees of water warmth did not happen. Nevertheless, it was a nice morning swim. And, I forgot to mention, there were several dolphins frolicking out just passed the Avila pier. Always cool to see them!  

I need to do some water sampling early Thursday so I'll be getting in closer to 7:30.

Pat, Stephanie and I will swim at 6:30 on Saturday so Pat can be in AG by 9. 

niel

Sunday, April 16th, 2023

Tom's Sunday swim report: heavy marine layer again today. It was about 54° when I arrived at Avila at 9:45. The water was smooth and glassy. My toes tell me the water was 49°.  I swam on the west side in search of warmer water...  and found it...  maybe.  Hard to know for sure, but when I got back to the Avila pier it definitely felt colder. Excellent day of swimming. I am expecting another couple degrees of warmer water by next Tuesday

Niel's Swim report - 

When I arrived at 10:20 Avila was a cool feeling 53° and very gray with thick high clouds. There was a hint of wind which had put a ripple on the ocean. The surf was small and lifeguard training was happening on the east side of the Avila Pier.

Swimming today were Niel, Pat and Shawn who has recently moved to the area from Santa Cruz and had not been in the ocean since September.    

Our plan was to swim the west buoy line to the end. Shawn elected to do some laps of the buoy line, not knowing how he'd do with the water temperature. Pat and I swam over to the CPP at Crossbars #2 and to the end of the pier. At this point we found that the wind had come up and there was a one foot plus chop on the water out of the SW. We swam with the chop back to the end of the Avila Pier. The chop and swell had me stopping a couple of times to look for the boat that had caused the larger sets that rolled under me but it was just the chop combining. It was lot's of fun with the wind and chop following but at the end of the Avila Pier we decided an hour had been enough and came in. Especially because following the original plan and swimming back to the #2 crossbars and back to the buoy line would have been across the chop both ways.

I measured a water temperature of 50° with some cold spots.

It will be nice if Tom's water temp predictions are right. 

Pat and Niel at the end of the CPP

Next week I'll swim Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings at 7 and Sunday at 11.

niel