Tsunami View Oceanside CA Fri Mar 11

So, the tsunami increased the water level a bit in Oceanside, CA., and the waves were more of a continual surging of rough water than formed waves. I went to the beach on base to look to see if it was safe to swim. They had the beach closed for safety but I took a few pictures of the water. It was too rough to swim without fins and a swimmer's safety vest but I would have been in had the beach been open.

Next I drove to the Pier and the water was too dirty to swim. There were a few dozen surfers trying to find a wave in the rough surge and a variety of lower socioeconomic characters socializing in groups at the beach. I took a few pictures and had no desire to go in the water.

Camp Pendleton Beach Swim

So, after taking two days off due to dirty water, I went to check out the water quality at the Del Mar 21 Area Beach on Camp Pendleton. The water was much, much cleaner than just a half-mile south in the city of Oceanside. This is because there is a very long rock jetty that extends out from the southern boundary of Pendleton, blocking the dirty water flow north to a great extent.
The current generally runs north to south in Oceanside. The water was cold, maybe 56, and I swam a bit just back and forth about 150 yards from the beach. A few kids with families played knee-deep in the water. No surfers seen. The tide was low but still there were waves to a solid three-feet high crashing hard in the surf zone. This beach is tricky. While it may look very calm, a powerful 2-3 foot wave can hurt you here. One hit me yesterday when I wasn't paying attention and it actually hurt my head, neck, back area.
So, my swim was probably only 600 yards total but it felt good to get back in. No fins. No webbed gloves.
I sure do swim slowly! Damn! Need to be about 50 pounds lighter, with bigger hands and feet.
No pictures today.

Dirty, Nasty Oceanside Beach Water Today

I'm home and kinda' grossed out by the water today. I feel like I have a hair stuck in the back of my throat somewhere from the water. They are dredging the Oceanside Harbor and spraying the water and dredge stuff back onto the beach farther south to replenish sand. But, how long will this go on?

I swam out a few hundred yards today and the first 70 yards or so smell and the water is gritty, nasty, and blackish like a mud puddle. Yuck!

Where do I swim?

I can't resort to a pool, can I? I'm wild. I need the space out there.

Harbor to Pier Swim

Today the game was to swim from the Oceanside Harbor Beach to the Pier. I went around past the Pier and in to the beach there. The water was warmer than usual. No fins. No webbed gloves. I had the ocean to myself except for a sailboat, kayak, or two or three.

Oh, note the out-of-control urban runoff into our beautiful ocean. Yuk! Swimming through the ocean currently is like swimming through a churned up sandy, dirty, silty mess. I have my hepatitis shots!

The city is currently also dredging the sand in the harbor and spraying it south down the beach to replace eroded sand. That's why the dredges and machinery are visible in the pictures.