January 19, 2011 Camp Pendleton 21 Area Beach

With my neck hurting from muscle spasms, I wasn't able to swim for some days but I drove down to the beach called Del Mar on Camp Pendleton, CA. There was a warning out for high surf but the waves were no bigger than 4-5 feet sets intermittently. There was a strong chop to the water and the choppy water past the breakers was a good three feet, I'd say.

The water temp seemed a bit warmer, perhaps 60 degrees. All I did was get in and lie on my back to kick out past the surf zone. I have only been in that water there several times so I don't know the conditions well at all. I came in after hanging out about two-hundred yards from the beach. So, I got my water fix in without torquing my neck more. Thank goodness for Flexeril for muscle spasms.

I had been swimming at this Del Mar Beach at the 21 Area on Camp Pendleton about five months ago. At that time, I swam maybe a quarter to a half-mile along/parallel to the beach. It's a hard beach to keep track of your direction while swimming so I'm not a big fan.

Several years ago, approximately 2002, I participated in a triathlon at this beach, which began with a 1.2 mile ocean swim. I remember this swim well because the water was extremely big, rough, powerful, and dangerous. I knew that I would have a swim advantage but would do poorly in the other sections of the triathlon. As it turned out, the lifeguards on jet skis were kept very busy doing water rescues repeatedly. They were racing to swimmers unaccustomed to rough, ocean water, grabbing them to hang on to the jet skis, and dumping them inside the big waves, only to rush out to rescue another person.

When I finished the swim, I stayed for a bit in the surf zone, grabbing onto swimmers having difficulty getting their feet on the sand, pulling them to firm sand with a strong grip, then grabbing another swimmer, just assisting people to gain a foothold. It was quite an exciting swim. Unfortunately, after the event was over, the word was passed that a man had drowned out there past the surf zone, while swimming parallel to the shore. He was found grabbed by another swimmer as the swimmer noticed him just lying face-down while everyone else was swimming by.

As a result, there are no more ocean swims there; now the swims are shorter and held inside the protection of the boat basin, well inside the rock jetties.