Sunday, May 16, 2013

We had eight swimmers today.  The wind was strong and offshore so it was holding up the faces of the waves nicely but it had also pushed the water temperature down to 54 degrees.  Swimming today were Casey, Bob, Tom, Leslie, Brad, Catalina, Robert and Duke.  I was stuck on the beach when I found out that I had forgotten to bring my wetsuit.  No, I waded in and declined to go without a wetsuit.  Catalina is from Bakersfield and had come over today to swim with us. The group swam about 1.4 miles in 45 minutes, unless you were Brad or Casey, in which case you finished quite a bit earlier.  The rout was east to the end of the buoy line, to the end of the Avila Pier, over to the point 1/3 of the way out along the Poly Pier and then back to the buoy at the creek and along the line and under the pier to the starting point.  It looked like a really nice swim.  
 We will be swimming Wednesday evening at 5:30 and I will definitly remember my wetsuit.. 

A big congratulations to Ronda Marina who finished her first full ironman today at Ironman Texas.  She was bib number 1712 and finished in 12:12:28.

niel

Wednesday Evening, May 15, 2013

This evening Byron, Mark and Niel were joined by Mary Ann and Chandler.  Chandler is a senior at Cal Poly and Mary Ann is a recent grad and is teaching at San Luis High.  There was chop and a strong current driven by a steady wind out of the SW.  The water temperature was 57 degrees.  Nobody felt like going large so we decided to start a clockwise triangle and see how we felt about the conditions  and the distance.  We grouped up at the first buoy and headed off along the beach.  Chandler and Mary Ann were fast swimmers so they and Byron went off of the front with Mark and I as the caboose.  The leg from the end of the buoy line to the end of the Avila Pier was directly into the wind.  This leg was the roughest and the most work.  At the end of the Avila Pier Mark went in while the rest of us headed to the end of the buoy line at the creek.  This leg was across the chop and was easier but still some real work.  The finishing stretch along the buoys came with a nice push.  We covered 1.1 miles in 37 minutes.

Avila Beach didn't look like its usual self with all of the preparations for the stage finish on Thursday.   Looks like it will be a great show.


niel  

Sunday, May 12, 2013

We did some distance today.

I've been wanting to do this route for a while and today turned out to be the day.  The conditions were right for doing something a bit adventurous with just a mild wind from the east, 59 degree water, not much of any surf or swell and plenty of support.  Sylvia and Yvonne went out early on their own and down the buoy line to the east.  I lost track of them once the main group got in the water.  The main group was Niel, Rob, Marta, Susan, Duke, Tom, Amy and Casey.  For company we had Allison on her little kayak, Byron and Sharley on Allison's tandem kayak and Mark on his big gun surfboard.  We went out on the east side of the pier, grouped up and swam under the pier and down to the last buoy at the creek.  We then swam over to the Poly Pier and along its length to its seaward end.  From there we came back to the end of the Avila Pier and in along its length to our starting point.   We covered 1.65 miles in a total time of 57 minutes,  about 10 minutes of which was spent reforming the group at the turns.  If you look closely at the plot of the swim you can see that I swam the length of the Poly Pier under the pier.  I enjoyed swimming between the pilings, looking at all of the sea stars and critters clinging to the pilings.  The water was a bit cooler under there in the shade but it was also better swimming  because the pilings flatten out the water's surface.   
Thank you to Rob and Allison for bringing the boats and to Mark for being with us on his board.

Casey would like to swim to the rock off of Fossil Point next Sunday.  That is a 1.5 mile swim and the rock is 1/2 mile offshore.  Going out there will depend on the conditions, adequate support and enough interest.  I'm in if the day is favorable.  Anybody else interested?    

niel

Wednesday Evening, May 8, 2013

We had very nice conditions tonight.  It was sunny and windy at Avila Beach when I arrived.  There was a strong wind out of the WSW that was pushing a strong current and wind chop that was running right to left almost parallel to the beach.  The water temperature was 59 degrees.  Swimming tonight were Niel, Byron, Mark and Marie.  We decided to go out along the pier and to do the left half of the triangle and then see if anything else was tempting.  When we got to the buoy line Marie decided to stay and play in the surf so there were three of us to continue to the end of the pier.  When we stopped and grouped up I could tell that the wind was going down and the water was flattening out.  The rest of the swim was done in improving conditions.  We were all so relaxed when we got back to the pier that we called it a great short swim and got out.  The water was almost glassy when we were walking up the beach.  1200M in 28 minutes.  

niel

  

Sunday, May 5. 2013

Swimming In Storm Conditions

Avila Beach was a real surprise today.  Everything looked like November in a storm.  The sky was grey with low clouds and the ocean was a complete mess.  There was a steady, strong and gusty wind blowing onto the beach from the SSW that had created chop and wind waves that were combining with the surf to make water conditions just like a winter storm.  The water temperature was 57, so at least it was not cold.  Niel, Tom, Leslie, Kurtis, Steve and Rodney were willing to have a go at a swim while Sylvia, Yvonne and Rick would watch.  We started with the idea that swimming the left half of the buoy line would probably be enough in today's conditions.  I found that getting out was the most changeling part of the swim.  You had to push hard to get out through the waves & chop, but they were so close together that both breathing and ducking was difficult.  Once out we formed up and headed along the buoys to the east.  This was some of the  most changeling water that I have been swimming in.  The photos don't do the conditions justice.  The waves at the buoy line were head high with a surface that was made up of chop and smaller wind waves.  The big waves were not breaking this far off of the beach so I could just swim and ride up and down with them, except for the occasional combination of conditions that would both dunk and half flip me over.  At every good dunking I would stop and then try a different combination of breathing and timing.  Rodney was not comfortable in his wetsuit so he made a wise choice to go in.  The rest of us made it to the end buoy and back to the pier in about 25 minutes.  The swim in looked formidable but was straightforward.  I guess having everything trying to push you onto the beach really helped.   I had a great time being out there messing with these conditions.

niel  

Wednesday Evening, May 1, 2013

59.5 Degrees!
Wow, what a nice surprise and I can't explain it.  The water temperature at the port was 57+ late in the day but there was no reason to expect it to be this warm at Avila Beach.  It was also sunny, windy, choppy and there was a strong current, all out of the SW.  There were no whitecaps but the water was really moving.  There were some 2 - 3' waves and a lot of surge. Tonight's lucky swimmers were Rob, Brad, Niel, Mark, John and Kurtis with Allison on her big red kayak.  We went out directly to the end of the Avila Pier, it was choppy but not bad because we were on the lee side of the pier (the shop flattens out going through the pilings).  The water temperature changed around a bit but it was mostly warm.  The leg to the end of the buoy line at the creek was a different deal.  The chop was close together and the current was pushing us to the east so this leg had a couple of challenges to deal with.  From this point we swam back to and under the pier.  Mark and Niel went in while Rob, Kurtis, Brad and John continued to the east end of the buoy line and doubled back to the pier.  Mark and I covered about 3/4 of a mile while the rest of the boys did 1.2.
I know of no reason why the water temperature would stay this high, but we'll see what Sunday brings. 


niel  

Sunday, April 28. 2013

Avila Beach had a couple of surprises for us this morning.  First, it was gray and overcast, not sunny like San Luis Obispo, and the water temperature was up to 56 degrees.  IT was calm and the water was glassy.  Allison said that there had been a lot of jellyfish in the water when she and Rob were there Saturday evening but there were only a few to be seen around the pier pilings this morning.  These are the small (3 - 4" dia.) flat ones. I have seen them at Avila in large numbers but not for many years.  We had 11 swimmers today; Marta and Susan James had come over from the valley along with Niel, Rob, Sylvia, Amy, Leslie, Tom, Monte, Jennifer and John Hamsey.  Accompanying us were Allison on her kayak and Mark on his 10' surfboard.    We did the triangle route clockwise.  Niel, Amy and Jennifer came in from the end of the pier. The rest of the group completed the triangle.  The complete route was approximately 1.1 miles.  

niel

Wednesday Evening, April 24, 2013

Avila was calm and overcast. The water was flat but there was an occasional set of waves. The water temperature was 54 degrees.  John, Niel, Rob, Mark and Byron got in the water.  Rob was kicking with his fins and hand place.  Niel, Mark and Rob swam half of the buoy line while Byron and John continued on to do a triangle and a half, for a total of 1.6 miles.  Rob stayed in and played in the surf. 

We wll be swimming Friday evening at Lopez and Sunday at 11.

niel  

Sunday, April 21, 2013

It was a beautiful day at Avila Beach today; sunny, warm and almost no wind.   The water temperature was 52 degrees.   Swimming today were Amy, Susan, John H., Rob and Sylvia.  Rick, Rhonda and I kept to the beach.  We have a complete buoy line now so the thing to do was to swim the buoys.  The group made the circuit in 35 minutes.  The lifeguards were training, in and out of the water, back and forth along the beach, and on and off the Harbor Patrol boat.  Having them here was handy when a gentleman on a jet ski strafed the buoys. Perhaps he thought that they were set up as a slalom course?  The Harbor had a conversation with him and then left the area at a low speed.  Thanks guys!

We will be swimming Wednesday evening at 5:30.

niel

Wednesday Evening, 17 April 13

It was sunny and breezy with cold water.  The same story that we have been hearing for a while. The water temperature was 51 degrees.  The wind was out of the west, the water choppy, but the wind was going down with the sun so conditions were improving.  Byron, John Segal and  Curtis swam.  Rob had one of his very rare times when it just didn't feel right to get in the water, so he sat out with Allison and I.  It is a good thing to listen to those voices.  Byron is working on stepping up his distance and wanted to do about a mile and a half so the boys set out along the length of the pier.  From there the route was to the end of the buoy line at the creek mouth (and yes, we have buoys along the west side of the pier now), east along the buoy line to and under the pier, reverse course and go west back along the the buoy line to the creek, back to the end of the Avila Pier, then to where the buoys would end on the east side of the pier and finally parallel to the beach until they arrived back at the pier.  That was a triangle route and a half, or 1.7 miles.  Everybody looked tired, happy and cold.  We saw a whale, a seal and a otter from the beach.  We'll be back Sunday.  The weather should be beautiful.  Byron wants to do another 1.5+ on Sunday so be ready to do some distance if you want to hang with him.

niel 

Sunday, April 14, 2013

We had real open water conditions for today's swim; cold water and lots of wind.  It was sunny and comfortable up near the wall where we were sheltered, but the wind was strong, steady and out of the SW, the same as earlier this week.  I measured a water temperature of 52 degrees at the usual spot on the pier but the wind and the current made it both feel colder and produced some upwelling in places that for a real temperature drop.   Swimming today were Casey, Rob, John H., Byron, Amy with Allison paddling.  Sylvia, Niel, Sharley and Rick stayed on the beach.  The group did a triangular route clockwise on the left hand side of the pier.  At the end of the first leg Casey bailed and got on the kayak with Allison.  He was wearing a farmer john wetsuit which just wasn't enough for a 0 body fat triathlete in today's conditions.  He couldn't get comfortable enough to get his face in the water.  Byron said that the the second leg to the end of the Avila Pier was like wrestling a bear, throwing yourself into the current and chop and trying to get somewhere.  Everybody came in along the pier.  The water near the end of the Avila Pier was much colder.  I've noticed this several times before.  It must have something to do with the wind direction and how the resulting current reacts with the end of the pier, causing deep water to be pulled to the surface.  By distance this was about a half mile swim, by effort it was easily equal to twice that distance. 
Rhonda arrived at the beach after the swimmers were out of the water, completing a training  run to Avila from their home in Arroyo Grande.  She covered 20 miles in 3 hours and looks ready to kick butt in her qualifying tri in Texas.

We will be swimming Wednesday evening at 5:30.

Thanks to Rob and his GoPro for the pictures.

Hey, I needed some additional style in my life so I ordered a new, colorful band for my Road ID.  $5 and no more plain black!  
With my order came a coupon for $1 off for up to 20 other orders by friends, so get yourself a colorful wristband for your Road ID or one of their nice lights for your running shorts or bike.

At www.roadid.com

Coupon Number: ThanksNiel26103478

The coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order placed by 05/14/2013.   

niel  

Quick bonus update for Friday night... we had a great crowd! 8 swimmers (Rick, Byron, Rob, Penny, Jason, Kim, Bridget, Judy), 1 SUPer (Danilu), and 2 waiting for us on the beach (Rhonda and Allison). Of our 8 swimmers 4 were out for the first time this season, or in some cases ever! Due to heavy wind and lots of chop in the water the group kept inside Mallard cove. Some did 2 big triangles, others did 1 1/2.

A lot of Friday night regulars have races, concerts, and other places to be this week so I'm not sure that we'll have a swim this coming Friday. If you want to go out get the word out on the Open Water email group and we'll see if we can't get you some partners. We should be back to normal the week after.

Rob D.

Wednesday Evening, April 10, 2013

The ocean was a bit messy this evening, perfect for a real ocean swimming experience.  It was sunny and clear with a gusty wind out of the SW.  The ocean surface was a mix of small chop and wind waves.  The water temperature was 53.  Swimming this evening were Niel, Curtis and John.  We went out on the west side of the pier, turned right and swam parallel to the beach towards the creek.  This would turn out to be the leg with the toughest conditions.  I wasn't swallowing any water but the current was strong enough to make me think I was in one of those endless pools.  The buildings along the shore just weren't moving much.  Everybody was enjoying themselves enough that at each stop we decided to do more so we wound up doing the triangle route covering 1.1 miles in 38 minutes.  The water felt significantly colder than 53 degrees.  Maybe a combination of the wind, current and wave action was pulling up water from the bottom.  As we were approaching the pier on our  last leg Rob caught up with us.  He had be delayed at work but made it to the beach.  He had his hand plane with the GoPro camera attached and was doing some body surfing. 


niel

Sunday, April 7, 2013

We had some great ocean swimming conditions today!  There was a gusty offshore breeze that was doing a good job of messing up the water.  It was also blowing the tops off of the 3 to 4 foot sets that would roll in.  It was sunny and cloudless and almost too warm next to the wall.  The water temperature was 54 degrees.  We had a nice turnout today; Marie joined us for her first Sunday swim after three Wednesday evenings swims with us, Rob, Byron (congrats!) Sylvia, Duke and Angela, Niel, Brad and Tom and Leslie Lorish, who are familiar faces that we have not seen in too long of a while.  We swam out, duck diving under the surf (if was a day to wear your cap over your goggles) formed up mid-way down the pier and swam east parallel to the beach to the end of the sea wall.  When we regrouped everyone was happy so we headed to the end of the Avila Pier.  We got spread out along this leg but once we got back together Sylvia, Leslie and Maire elected to go in along the pier while the rest of us swam towards the mouth of the creek and back parallel to the beach, under the pier and in. With the swell it was a little dicey passing under the pier.  Byron got kissed on the ankle by some barnacles.   We spent a lot of time visiting when we were in a group so I'll call this a Sprint and Gossip Swim.  We covered 1.2 miles in 45 minutes.

niel 

Friday, April 5th 2013 at Lopez

It was a windy one on Friday night! The wind speed toggled up and down throughout the course of the evening but it never stopped. We had 4 swimmers (Rob, Penny, Brad, and Byron) and one land locked kayaker. We brought the kayak out but it was so windy Allison would have had no chance to actually keep up with the swimmers in the water.

The group started by swimming to the north corner of Mallard Cove. We negotiated the rest from there. Byron and Brad swam to what I'll call Dead Branch Beach (that has a nice ring to it yeah?) while Penny and I swam about a third of that distance. When we all turned around to swim back that's where things got interesting. The wind was really blowing outside the cove and there was a lot of chop to contend with. The wind was coming across us at an angle and you had to aim about 30 degrees to the right of where you wanted to in order to hold the line you wanted. It was pretty fun and challenging. Once we made our way around the point to get back into Mallard Cove the wind was at our backs and the swim in was much easier.

Afterwards we hung out a little bit while the sun went down and the wind whistled through the tops of our bottles. Not a bad way to end the work week :)

Rob D.

Wednesday Evening, April 3, 2013

We had some weather and water conditions this evening.  There was a steady wind from the SW so the water was choppy and there was a combination of low clouds and fog that looked like it could close in on our patch of beach.  We had four swimmers;Rob, Niel, Marie and Mark and Allison with her big red kayak to keep us company.  This was Mark and Marie's third ocean swim so we decided to go out along the pier and left along the beach and plan the rest of our swim once we grouped up about halfway down the beach.  I arrived too late to get a water temperature but it felt like it was still in the mid 50's, throwing in a correction for it feeling colder due to the lack of sun and a steady wind.  When we grouped up down the beach we decided to swim to the end of the Avila Pier.  We talked this over a bit since this leg would be directly into the chop which would be a new challenge for Marie and Mark.  They were game and we had Allison along as backup so off we went.  They did fine and were actually all smiles when we arrived at the end of the pier.  Having 'conquered the chop' Rob and I were able to offer them some tips about how to be comfortable in rough water and to not swallow too much ocean.  The sun came out as we came in along the pier having covered 3/4 of a mile in 33 minutes. 

Friday's Swim at Lopez Lake; Check the Central Coast Open Water Google Group for carpooling opportunities.  The swim starts at 6PM.

niel