Friday Afternoon Oceanside Rough Water Swim

Since I'm working on improving my ocean swimming without fins, today was the roughest water yet, I think, that I swam in without them. As always, the guessing game with the currents was one I played today. Either way that I would have swum, north-to-south or south-to-north, I think would have been the same. The chop of the water was big-2 feet-and I swam against the current as it turned out. I could see the taut fishing lines of the fishermen on the pier being pulled northward but the surface of the water and the breeze were moving southward. So, which way to choose. I went south-to-north. I was going against the chop on the way out, against the current on the portion north past the pier parallel to the beach, and half-way against the chop on the way in.

I liked the rough swimming where one has to play the chop and waves to guess the right time to breathe and the correct side to breathe on. Sometimes you pop out of the water almost like a dolphin when you catch your breathing time just as a wave pitches you upward. It's fun. I didn't swallow any sea water today, so no puking. Also good.

I approximate that the swim took me about 40-45 minutes in a lower tide. Not great but ok for me. I'm not looking to set any speed records anyway; I just like a little danger and excitement and uncertainty in my life to help me appreciate living.

The water was warm, visibility was about 8 feet, and only a handful of surfers were aattempting to find a wave with any shape at all to catch a short ride on. Often it's better to be a boogie-boarder with fins-there's always something you can catch that way. So, a good training swim and I'm thankful for the proximity of the ocean as always.