Wednesday Evening, July 27, 2011

When I got to the beach at 5 there were still a lot of people playing in the water which is always a good sign which held up when I got a water temperature of 63. There was a gusty SW breeze and a choppy surface but no whitecaps. I saw only one pelican, no other sea birds, no seals and about 3 dozen hopeful looking bi-pedal carnivores on the pier. No one was having any luck. Swimming this evening were Ryan, John, Rob and Niel. We decided to start on the right side of the pier and to go down to the last buoy at the creek. If the water was comfortable and the chop manageable we would swim over to the Poly Pier and come back to the Avila Pier. When we grouped up at the creek it was all smiles. The water felt very comfortable and the wind was going down so we heard over to the second set of cross bracing on the Poly Pier. Once there we decided not to swim out along the pier for a ways and to head directly to the end of the Avila Pier. This leg is about .4 mile and with the wind on our rear quarter it was a opportunity to settle into a nice rhythm. From the end of the Avila Pier we aimed for the middle buoy of the three on this side, staying well away from the fishing lines trailing off of the pier. We came back to the first buoy near the pier and in. We covered 2200M in a slow 47 minutes. The water was so comfortable that we found ourselves spending a lot of time at the waypoint,s just laying in the water visiting.

Rob and I are doing the Santa Cruz Roughwater Swim on Saturday. You are all welcome to join us. This is a nice 1 mile around-the-pier swim and an easy day trip from San Luis Obispo. Masters membership required. No wetsuits allowed. Beach entry is $35.

http://www.pacificmasters.org/comp/openwater_meetsheet/11cruzrough.pdf

niel

Sunday, July 24, 2011

The fog and overcast was clearing at 10:30 and it looked like a great day was shaping up at Avila Beach. I got a water temperature of 60 degrees. There was very little wind but a current from the SW was keeping all of the moored boats pointing in the same direction. The water looked pretty flat but that turned out to be deceiving. There were many fishermen on the pier but I did not see anyone pulling anything in. While I was on the pier I saw no sea birds or seals. We had 9 swimmers today and did 4 different swims. Sylvia Yvonne and Ed, who was visiting from the southland, started first and swam about a mile along the buoy line. The rest of us; Rob, Niel, Kamber, Chad, Dale and Duke, started a few minutes later. I am doing the Santa Cruz Roughwater Swim next Saturday so I was committed to going without my usual wetsuit today and doing a mile along the buoy line. I was the first to start swimming, not being interested in prolonging my acclimation, and the rest of the group followed me down the buoy line to the left. I doubled back along the buoy line, almost butting heads with Chad, while the rest of the group headed to the top of the Avila Pier. I swam under the pier and down to the creek and back completed my tour of the buoys in 25 minutes. I got out just ahead of Sylvia's group. When Rob's group reached the buoy at the creek Rob and Duke decided to double back along the way then had come while Dale, Chad and Kamber continues along the buoys back to the pier. That route was about 1.25 miles while Rob and Duke did somewhere between 1.5 and 1.75 miles. Everybody agreed that the water felt colder than 60, except for a warm spot near the mouth of the creek. Rob and I also agreed that while swimming there was more chop and small waves than was apparent by the look of the water.

The beach had warmed up nicely and promoted several post swim naps on the warm sand.

Everyone is welcome to join Rob and I on Wednesday evening when we get in the water at 5:30.

niel

Sunday, July 17. 2011

It was a beautiful swimming day at Avila Beach today. The water was 56 degrees and clear. There was no wind and the surface of the water was about as flat as the ocean gets. There were only a few people fishing from the pier and before the swim I saw no seabirds or seals in the water. We did two swims today. Dale, Amy, Sylvia and Yvonne swam a triangular route starting left down the buoy line, continuing to the end of the Avila Pier, down to the buoy at the creek and back to the pier. Niel, Rob, Duke, Pete and Chad swam out to the end of the Avila Pier and headed over to the Poly Pier on a route that was roughly parallel to the beach. Except for one cold spot this leg was some of the smoothest ocean swimming I have had at Avila. Our route put us at the third set of cross bracing out from the shore on the Poly Pier. We swam parallel to the pier (I swam between the pilings which was cool!) back towards the shore to the second set of cross bracing which is our usual waypoint when we swim over here. From there we continued to the buoy at the creek and along the buoy line to the Avila Pier, under the pier and in to the beach. Rob had 2300M, or 1.4 miles, on his GPS and we were in the water for 55 minutes. The temperature on the beach was just about perfect for napping. Matt Farmer came by and chatted for a while. By 1:30 the wind had still not come up, the swimming conditions still looked great but it was getting hot on the beach and we were down wind from a smoker so we all packed up and got on with our respective Sunday's

niel

**For anyone that might be interested there's a good Masters Swimming open water race coming up in Santa Cruz on the 30th. It's 1 mile around the wharf and a lot of fun, this will be my third year in a row swimming it! You can read more and get the entry information here: http://www.pacificmasters.org/comp/openwater_meetsheet/11cruzrough.pdf Keep in mind that if you aren't a member of USMS you will have to sign up in order to participate in the event! - Rob D.

Wednesday Evening, July13, 2011

It was another warm Wednesday, our fourth in a row when the water temperature was warmer on Wednesday evening than it was on the previous Sunday. This evening the water was an even 60 degrees. Not quite the 65 or 67 of previous Wednesday evenings but still warmer than the 58 we had on Sunday. There was a big change in the conditions this evening as there was a stiff wind blowing out of the SW. The chop was a short foot in height and white-capping all of the way inside of the buoy lines. The only predators in sight were about 3 dozen fishermen on the pier. They were regularly pulling in silver fish about a foot long, possibly smelt. (What do you say Al ?) There were no pelicans, other sea birds or seals to be seen. It was Ryan and I swimming this evening. Given the number of fishing lines that the wind was trailing out far to the east of the pier we decided to go out on the west (towards the port) side. I was thinking of doing a box shaped route; swimming the length of the Avila Pier and then going over to the mid-point of the Poly Pier, back towards shore along the Poly Pier to our usual meeting point at the second set of cross bracing and from there to the creek buoy, along the buoy line to the Avila Pier. When Ryan and I met up at the end of the Avila Pier we found ourselves bobbing around in some pretty rough conditions. The leg to the Poly Pier would be almost directly into the chop and if the wind freshened any amount my original route could become more of an adventure swim than we were looking for. So, we decided to head to Fossil Point and come back along the buoy line. The swim with a following wind and chop was fun, with a couple of chances to surf down the face of a small wave. The leg back to the pier was a good workout with steady water breaking over your head. I found that breathing on alternate sides worked best. I was swallowing the same amount of water no matter which side I breathed on and breathing every third stroke meant fewer opportunities to take on water. This swim was about 1.25 miles and we were in the water for 38 minutes.

niel

Sunday, July 10, 2011

We had a big group and nice conditions at Avila on Sunday. It was sunny and clam with very little wind. The water was 58 and still looking pretty good. There were no sea birds of any kind to be seen, one seal and about a dozen fishermen on the pier. It is common for the people fishing off of the pier to attach a balloon to their line as a float. Today a group were using blue exam gloves instead of balloons so there was a whole series of blue hands waiving from the surface of the water. We started with a good sized group and picked up a couple more on the way. Starting out were Pete, Dale, Sylvia, Niel, Duke, Chad, Kimber and Bobby (from the SLO Tri Club). Just as we were getting in Jorge, who was visiting the area from Vancouver (?), at least Canada, joined us. He swims in lakes and was anxious to get in the ocean. With new people along we did the triangle route clockwise, as that route does not extend out past the end of the pier and would allow a swimmer to pick a shorter route to shore if prudent. Having fun and staying safe is always our first priority. We headed out and swung wide to the left away from the fishing lines from the pier, grouped up at the first buoy and headed down the line the the end. While we were regrouping we met a member of the Cal Poly tri team who was out for a swim on his own. He joined us for the rest of the route. We swam to the end of the pier, on to the end of the right hand buoy line at the creek, back along the buoys to the pier and in to the beach. Post swim beach conditions were perfect for a nap and the pull of the warm sand was too strong for some. Me, I went to Trader Joe's, where I ran into Dale, (are we like salmon, swimming upstream or something?), went home, got started on the ironing and watched the Tour. What a complete train wreck of a day! Crashes in wet conditions are one thing, unfortunate but an accepted risk, but having two leaders taken out bu a TV car is unbelievable.

niel

Wednesday Evening July 6,, 2011

67! That was about all anyone needed to know about Avila Beach last night. It was high tide and some very warm water had been pushed into the bay. there was a steady breeze out of the SE that was holding up a small chop and a strong current going in the same direction. The water was clean looking and there were no pelicans, fishermen or other feeding species in evidence. Rob, Niel and Ryan were swimming. We decided to do a big triangle swim; we started down the buoy line to the left and went all of the way to Fossil Point, came back to the end of the Avila Pier and then to the end of the buoy line at the creek. We finished up by coming back along the buoy line and under the pier. The water temperature was very even with some spots that were even warmer. We tended to spend a lot of time at the turning points just hanging out and enjoying ourselves. This swim was 2,350m and we are in the water for 52 minutes. The makes three Wednesday evenings in a row where we had water temperatures in the 60's, and temps back in the mid 50's on the following Sunday. Don't ask me to explain it, but I'll sure be back next Wednesday eveining.

niel

Wednesday Evening, June 29, 2011

There is something going on with Wednesday evenings. Last Wednesday we have amazingly warm 63.5 degree water. Sunday the ocean was back to its seasonal 55.5. This evening it was back up to 60! It was sunny and warm, breezy, blowing from the west, but not as windy as it had been in San Luis Obispo or on the coast. The water had small wind waves and some small chop from the SW but there were no whitecaps. Niel, John and Rob were joined by Kim and Lynne, both of whom had been regulars but had not been swimming with us in a while. We decided to do a counterclockwise triangle, starting on the right side of the pier. The swimming was a little bumpy but not bad and the water felt comfortable. At the end of the second leg at the end of the pier, Kim wanted to head in so we all swam in parallel to the pier to the first buoy in the line, dropped her off and continued down the buoy line to the last bouy and doubled back to the first buoy. While we were at the last buoy I notices a raft of sea birds about 150m farther out. There were some pelicans diving with them and several gray dolphins swimming back and forth through the birds. Seeing dolphins is always a nice thing but we reflected on our being close by at snack time so we got in gear and hustled our way back towards the pier. There were no birds or dolphins to be seen when we were getting out. We swam about 2000m and with all of the visiting we did at the turning points we were in the water for 44 minutes.

niel

Sunday, June 26, 2011

It was sunny, calm and comfortably warm at Avila this morning. The water was almost as clear as last Wednesday and a more seasonable 55.5 degrees. Sylvia and Yvonne went out early and were still swimming when the 11:00 group started. Swimming at 11 were Niel, Rob, Duke, Jerry, Kamber (who was a regular with us last summer and is back), Berto (a tir buddy of Duke's and his first time with us), Dale, Amy (who is a local triathlete but new to us) and her brother Bill, who was visiting from LA and is is also a triathlete. The plan was to do 1+ laps of the triangle route which would allow people to do the distance of their choice. Avila put on a great show for us by having a pod of gray dolphins met us as we swam out to the buoy line. They came within about 10m of our group and swam back and forth along the buoy line as we were working our way down to the last buoy on the left of the pier. We continued to the top of the Avila Pier, on to the buoy at the creek and from there back to the pier. At this point everyone headed in except for Niel, Rob and Bill who decided to go a additional 1/2 lap. We swam back to the last buoy on the left of the pier, to the top of the Avila Pier and in along the west side of the pier to the beach. The main group did about 1-1/4 miles, while the long route was 2800m, about 1-3/4 miles. I had us in the water for 64 minutes, but we spent a lot of of time reforming the group at the turning points.

Rob and I are going to swim Wednesday evening at 5:30. Next Sunday, the 3rd, Rob will be in Monterrey and I will be in Eureka. I wont be back until the 6th but Rob will be back for the 4th. Somebody should organize a Fourth-of-July swim and pot luck.

niel

Wednesday Evening, June 22, 2011

When I arrived at Avila Wednesday evening I thought that maybe I was here on the wrong day. The town was packed with people like it is on Fridays for the farmers market. But school is now out and it has been hot in other parts of the state, so I guess the summer crowds have finally arrived. It was pleasant and sunny, but not hot and even with the mild temperature there were a lot of people in the water. All of those people just bobbing around in the waves started a nice train of thought that was confirmed when I pulled up the thermometer and saw 63.5! I did a double take, confirmed that I was not reading 10 degrees too high, and started making plans for a very nice long swim. The Port, Diablo and Santa Maria buoys were all reading in the upper 50's at this time so I have no idea why Avila was 5 degrees warmer than everywhere else, but I'm more than glad to enjoy the gift. The tide was coming in, there was a slight breeze out of the SE and only an occasional wave over 2'. Rob had been in that morning and said that the water had felt warmer than last Sunday, but not in the 60's. Rob, Ryan and I swam out to the buoy line on the left side of the pier, turned right and went under the pier and down to the last buoy at the creek. From there we went over to the second set of cross bracing on the Poly Pier, back to the end of the Avila Pier, to the second buoy on the left side of the pier and back along the buoy line to the pier and in. This was 2.3K and we were in the water for 50 minutes. The only place that the water felt cool/cold was in the white water at the shore. Everywhere else it felt great, from pleasantly cool to way warm. Some summers we have never seen a water temperature in the 60's so this was an unexpected treat. I expect that the water will be back to a more normal temperature on Sunday.

niel

Sunday, June 19, 2011

It was gray, overcast and cool with a thick deck of clouds at Avila this morning. There was no wind and the ocean surface was either glassy or slightly rippled. The water was 55.5 and clear. We has a lone otter working the surf line who must of been finding some small clams or crabs to eat. There was no surf to speak of, just one wave large enough to get Rob completely wet and get him motivated as we were wading in. Sylvia and Yvonne went out early and did a long turn around the pier. Niel, Chad and Rob went out at 11 and swam down to the point and back. Without any sun the water felt colder than expected going out but became comfortable quickly. We swam 1.3K M in about 23 minutes. The sun broke through as we were finishing and by the time we had settled in our chairs it was sunny and warm on the beach.

We now have three buoys on each side of the pier, plus the single one our at the reef on the east side, so we again have a boat free swimming area defined near the beach. I'm giving Rob credit for the return of the buoys. About a week ago he sent a letter and a video to the harbor master that he shot after our Wednesday evening swim. It shoes a guy on a jet ski jumping waves in front of the yacht club. Glad we were already out of the water!

niel

Wednesday Evening, June 15, 2011

I had a meeting Wednesday evening and Rob was feeling recovering from his 8.2 mile race on Saturday so neither of us made it to Avila this evening. Did anyone else swim?

niel

Sunday, June 12, 2011

It was beautiful at Avila Beach today with excellent swimming conditions. It was sunny and comfortably warm with only a light breeze that was too weak to put any chop on the water. The water was 56 with very small surf. Swimming today were Sylvia, Niel, Susan James, Pete, Rebecca and Jerry Gross. Susan is from Bakersfield and swims with us when she is over here. Rebecca is from Fresno and this was her first swim with us. They are both going to do the Alcatraz Shark Fest later this month. Sylvia and Jerry swam the buoy line. The rest of us headed out to the end of the pier, turned right and swam over to the second set of crossbars on the Poly Pier, came back towards the mouth of the creek to the the last of the now 3 (!) buoys in the line and along the buoy line, under the pier and in. This was about 1.3 miles and we were in the water for 44 minutes. The wind never picked up so I stayed until past 1 enjoying the beautiful weather.

niel

Wednesday Evening, June 8, 2011

Rob, Ryan and I swam Wednesday evening. There was a stiff wind out of the WSW that had pushed up a choppy sea that was whitecapping in to the surf line. The windwaves were about 1' and 6' to 8' apart. I measured a water temperature of 55, but it would feel colder. Not knowing just how changeling the water conditions would prove to be we decided to swim straight out to the end of the pier, do an assessment, turn to either the Poly Pier or the creek and then come back parallel to the beach to the pier. Since we were swimming out on the downwind side of the pilings I was surprised at how much I was getting slapped around, so I began expecting 'real' conditions when we came out from behind the pier. We grouped up at the end of the pier, confirmed for a family on the pier that the water was cold, and headed for the creek. This leg was perpendicular to the direction of the chop and was quite bumpy. It took me a while to find a stroke and breathing tempo that let me breath easily so I could get some power into my stroke. The leg back to the pier was downwind and kind'a fun. We covered 1.46K in 24 minutes. I was sore in my shoulders, back and legs the next morning for all of the bending the chop put me through.

Rob is doing an 8.12 mile open water race in the Great Salt Lake tomorrow. Wish him luck!

niel

Sunday, June 5, 2011

It rained .75"+ at our house in the last 12 hours and I figured that the chances of dirty creek water contaminating our swimming routes was high enough that neither Rob or I tried to swim today.

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

It was just me and Ryan in the water on Wednesday night. I didn't bring a thermometer but the nearest buoy was running 49 degrees that evening, getting in the water that didn't feel too far off. It was definitely not warm! Ryan and I opted for a shorter swim and just did half a triangle on the right hand side of the pier. Out at the phantom creek buoy we saw the outrigger boats getting ready to launch from the beach and a seal sneaked behind us surfacing just long enough to check us out. There was a healthy current running left to right but it didn't really give us much trouble until we swam back down the length of the pier. It got a little bumpy and a little harder to swim through at that angle. We spent about 24 minutes in the water and swam around 1200m.

Earlier in the week I mentioned a night swim this coming Saturday, it doesn't look like the weather is going to cooperate. I'm going call off this weekend and to try and reschedule it for later in the month. I'll make sure to announce it here so everybody knows when it's happening!

Rob D.