Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Wed Pier Swim Brown Water Dissipating

No pictures because I planned on brown water and no swimming today.  I talked to a friend at work and he went out on a sailboat out of Newport Beach this past Sunday, Sept 18th.  He told me the brown water was an algae bloom. I had thought something like that but thought that the water needed to be warmer for algae growth.
I drove by the Oceanside Harbor and there were a few dozen surfers waiting for waves-a good omen. I parked at the Pier and also a few dozen surfers waiting for sets of waves.  The water color had improved significantly. The water close in was clean blue and the water gradually got light brown as I swam out toward and past the end of the pier.  It was clear, blue, clean water for 50 yards from the sand.
I actually saw a swimming stingrau about four feet underneath me pretty close in. The stingray was small-about 8-10 inches, but the tail hiding the stinger was long-about 9 inches long.  I was surprised that the little ray had such a long tail.  Of course it didn't bother me at all but it was neat to see.
The water was chilly-I never got used to the water temp throughout the entire swim.  The water, besides the light brown color, was absolutely beautiful today. Well-formed waves, great for neophyte and novice surfers, were breaking close in, with a size of 1-3 feet.  The water was flat and calm.  Great for swimming.  I had a nice swim.  Flat water, no chop, chilly, and I hit the end of the pier at 18 minutes (about 50 yards past the end), and I hit the beach at 34 minutes-4 minutes faster than my best time!  I was quite happy with 34 minutes.  I'm thinking about that TikiSwim this Sunday but undecided now.  It's expensive.
Enough for now.

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