Saturday, August 3rd, 2024

At 7 am Niel, Tom Israel, Paula, Matt and Jodi were ready to go for a swim. It was a beautiful morning in Avila, sunny (!), 58° with a mild SE breeze, a bit of chop on the 55° to 56° water.

For the lack of another plan we swam to the first crossbars, doubled back and to Fossil Point.  

When we arrived at the first crossbars the sun was gone and visibility was limited. We thought we could see the Avila Pier for the swim back.  We swam parallel to the beach to Fossil Point and back to the first buoy     

Paula, Matt, Tom, Niel in front and Jodi at the 1st crossbars.

If you looks closely you can pick out the egret perched at the water in the middle of the crossbars. There were 2 egrets seaward of us stalking the kelp and an otter towards the shore checking was we were doing in the neighborhood.    

Paula, Jodi, Tom and Matt at Fossil Point. 

Afterwards Tom shared his homemade plum/apricot, chia seed fruit leather.  What a nice post swim treat.

I'm planning on swimming tomorrow at 11. It would be nice to see the sun.

niel

Friday, August 2nd, 2024

Tom's Swim Report - 

I arrived at 915 AM and there was low hanging fog but it wasn't all the way down to the water so the visibility was good for swimming. Air temperature was 62, and the water was up from Wednesday's 53,  at 55°. There was a very slight breeze that created a little bit of a bump on the water but mostly glassy and calm.  It was a nice swim.   The picture is after my swim. 

Thursday, August 1st, 2024

 Cold and Bumpy -   

Today is August 1st and the water temperature was 53°. The water is usually around 60° at this point in the summer. The water temperature had been falling for a week and in spite of what Tom's toes were telling him I was trying to will the water back to a normal summer temp in the high 50's.

I was cold while swimming Tuesday and decided to bring my winter weight wetsuit today, was glad of it and didn't feel a bit wimpy. 

At 6:45 Avila was foggy, gray, still and 53°. The surf was 2+ feet and the water glassy. I waded in, felt the chill and decided to do two triangles.   

 

Half way into the swim things got bumpy. The wind had not come up and the bumps didn't build up to much before I was done. Tom had some real swell and chop yesterday, so maybe the bumps were from a storm somewhere. 

I'm swimming Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 11.

niel  

Wednesday, July 31St. 2024

 Tom's Swim Report - 

Heavy marine layer, 59° air temperature, with a decent breeze. That was Avila at 915 AM. See picture below. There was a pretty good chop on the water and a swell of about 3 feet. The water felt 53° again, which means Niel will tell me that it is 55. Those were the conditions on the last day of July. 

Tuesday, July 30th, 2024

Cold and Short -

The only constant this year seems to be change.

Yes, the fog and flat water were the same this morning but the water temperature was 54° - 55°, so we suddenly have winter swimming conditions.  

Tom and I are competing to see who can post the most photos of fog. 

Fog and cold combined to make a traditional buoy line swim sound like a good idea. I got out at the end of two laps because my feet were feeling cold.

There were two otters cursing the length of the beach in the surf line. They were probably checking to see if crab was part of the morning buffet.   

This past week two seals have washed up on Avila Beach. The Marine Life Rescue folks say these two had experienced an encounter with a shark. The lifeguards say there have not been any recent sightings of sharks. And, the rescue folks have been seeing an unusually high number of seals with symptoms of domoic acid poisoning, especially for this early in the summer.  The water at Avila does not have the red brown yucky cloudy appearance associated with a plankton bloom so there is or to learn about.

I'm planning on swimming on Thursday and Saturday at 7 AM and on Sunday at 11 when I will hopefully catch some sun.

niel    

Monday, July 29th, 2024

It was a similar day, but different. Air temperature was 60° when I arrived at 915 AM. There was a heavy marine layer, and there was a slight breeze that created a bump on the water. More of a bump than I have seen in weeks. The water temperature dropped 2° from yesterday, down to 53° if my toes are to be believed.  It was a good morning swim.  I spoke to one of my dog walking friends, who is here several times a week and is a reliable source… She said there has been two seals that have washed in the past week or so.  One down by fossil point that was decapitated and the other down by the creek mouth on the west side.  Definitely something going on out there. 

I don't know. At noon yesterday I was comfy in the water and measured 58°. Tom's toes are usually pretty accurate.....

and decapitated seals, but no sightings of the landlord......

niel

Sunday, July 28th, 2024

The beach was gray and cool when I arrived but with glassy, flattish seas but while I was swimming the sun came out, the wind came up and the water became very bumpy.  The air temp went from 61° t the upper 70°'s and umbrellas started flying down the beach. I spoke with Sue and Tom, they has swum out to the Avila Rock. They said that there was a seal next to the pilings at the end of the Avila Pier that was acting strangely and should be avoided. A lifeguard told me that in the past week seals had been rushing up onto the beach and generally acting unusual. I decided to stay a good distance from the end of the pier and any distressed wildlife.      

I decided that a clockwise loop to the Poly Pier and a swim in along the pier would be nice and not involve the end of the Avila Pier. What I did not consider was how this route swims in a building summer wind. I came around the kelp patch at the reef and realized that I would be swimming 1,200M into a building chop all of the way to the Poly Pier.  Ah, so meditative.  

The water ran warmer and colder but was generally 57° - 58°.

 

Two views from the end of the Poly Pier    

Even the last bit along the west buoy line was bumpy. When I got out there were whitecaps at the end of the Avila Pier.

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

niel 

 

Saturday, July 27th, 2024

 

End to End With Friends -

                                                                                                                                                                      Jodi, Matt and Niel got in at 7. There were dense gray clouds but unlimited visibility. The air temp was 56°, the water was 58°, flat and glassy. What waves there were were 2 foot +/-.  A pod of dolphins swam along the east buoy line while we were getting into our gear.

Jodi and Matt were interested in duplication my Thursday route so we swam down the buoy line to the first crossbars, back to the Avila Pier and to the other end of the buoy line and out to the end of Fossil Point. There is a wide channel through the kelp to reach the first crossbars.  

Matt, Niel and Jodi at the first crossbars.

Paula and Ilene were going to get in at 11 and do 7,000M. It would be nice for them if the wind does not come up. They are training for a 10K in a reservoir near Ft. Collins, CO. in September (?).

I'll swim at 11 tomorrow.

niel

Friday, July 26th, 2024

 We call it fog….

... when the marine layer is thick and low. See picture. 

 The air temperature was 60° when I arrived at Avila at 9 AM. Once I got close enough to the ocean where I could see, it was glassy and calm. The water was 58° in most spots, with a few spots of 59.  The west side had an unpleasant scent to it, so I stayed east. By the time I got out at 10:30, the sun was starting to burn through.  It was a nice morning Swim. 

Thursday, July 25th, 2024

End to End - 

Today I swam an extended buoy line to the first crossbars on the Poly Pier on the west and to Fossil Point on the east. I'd never done this swim before. When I began I was thinking that I'd swim the west buoy line and continue past the 4th buoy past until I encountered too much kelp. It turned out that there were large gaps in the kelp and I swam all of the way to the first crossbars. I reversed course, swam to Fossil Point, and swam back to the Avila Pier.    

At the first crossbars

As much of a view as I had of the Avila Pier from the first crossbars.

Fossil Point. I was trying to catch the back of my head in the foreground.  

I got in at 7:30. The fog was coming and going. It was 59° with 58° water. Still smooth and flat with no surf.

I'll be at the group swim Saturday morning at 7 and swim at 11 on Sunday.

niel

Wednesday, July 24th, 2024

 Tom's Wednesday Swim Report -

Just when I thought the weather might never change, it has changed. The air temperature was 73° when I arrived at 9 AM. Clear blue skies and glassy flat water. The water temperature was mostly 58° with spots of 57 and 59 scattered around.  Beautiful swimming conditions. 

Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024

 

I waited until the end of my swim to get a photo of the 

sunrise, but this was the best Avila had for me today. 

The swimming conditions were great and makes me wonder how we do this in the winter......In 4 months I'll know.

For today I had 56° air, 59° water, no wind, no sun, no waves, no boats, clean water. The only snag is the warm water is causing the Bull Kelp to begin dying so I would swim into drifting rafts of kelp that had broken loose from the bottom.  A small price to pay for not sharing a lane. 

I've a busy morning Thursday but I should get in around 7.

niel

Monday, July 22nd, 2024

Tom's Monday Morning Swim Report - 

What you see is what I got… conditions remain similar to what they have been for the last couple weeks. Heavy marine layer, 59° air, 58° water, flat calm and nice swimming. 

Sunday, July 21st, 2024

Summer Swimming Arrives in Avila Beach - 

At 11 o'clock it was 61° in Avila and the sun was just beginning to burn through the clouds. It would be around 80° at 1:00.

The water was 58° to 59° and smooth with the mid-day wind chop just starting to pick up. The 'surf' was an occasional 2+ footer.

Paula and Alan got in at 10:20 to do a 6,000M training swim.  Paula and Ilene are doing a 10K swim in a reservoir near Ft. Colling , Co. in September and need to be getting some distance in. 

Niel and Jeff got in at 11 and did a neighborhood tour for an hour and a half. With the sun out the water felt really friendly.   

This route was 1st buoy on the east, 4th buoy on the east, end of Avila Pier, 4th buoy on the west, 1st buoy on the west, end of Avila Pier, end of CP Pier, to the 2nd crossbars, to the 4th buoy on the west, to the 1st buoy on the east and in.

Jeff and family are flying to N.Z. on next Sunday so we'll see him again in another 11 months.

I'll be swimming at 7 on Tue., Thurs, and Sat and at 11 next Sun.

niel  

Saturday, July 20th, 2024

It was a fine morning for a swim. Avila was calm with dense low cloud cover with visibility of a half mile.  It was 55° and the water was clean and 56°- 57°. The surf amounted to an occasional 3 footer.   

NIel, Kelsie, Paula, Tom I., Jodi and Matt got in the water at a late 7 o'clock. The plan was to swim the east buoy line, to the end of the Avila Pier, to the last buoy on the west side, check out the visibility and make a plan. We swam to the second crossbars and to the end of the pier staying between the pilings, which is the closest it gets to having lane lines at Avila.  The tide was high enough that we could swim over through the third crossbars instead of having to go around.  Then to the end of the Avila pier where Paula, Kelsie and Matt went in and Jodi, Tom and Niel swam to the 4th buoy, to #1 and in.   I had 3,848 M in 1:31.       

The water was glassy for the entire swim.

Matt, Jodi, Tom I., Kelsie, Paula and Niel at the last buoy on the west side.  

Crabs for breakfast at the second crossbars

Jeff and I will swim at 11 tomorrow.

niel