Neat afternoon at the beach

The air temp was 82 at my house in Oceanside today.  The water temp was 56.  Visibility was a few feet and the ocean was flat beyond the breakers.  The north side was 1-3 feet but the south side had some nice 4 foot waves which brought a bunch of surfers out there.  There was a moderate current all over to the north, for a change.  It didn't sink in until I was having to exert a continued effort to swim from the north side of past the end of the pier to the south side.  Then I had to keep a swim effort going to keep the current from bringing me back to the pier. Very different conditions today.  There were lots of beachgoers because of the unusual warm temps today; we had a summer feeling to the day.  A good 34 minute swim.

"The first time you quit is the last time you try."

Oceanside Rough Water Swim

This afternoon at about 1:00 PM I had a 33 minute swim around the Pier. The day was beautiful. Temp outside 80 degrees.  Surfline.com has the water temp at 56-58 degrees. It was a little colder than that. I'd guess 54. My face hurt for ten minutes getting into the ocean and into the swim.  My legs were actually really quite cold after ten minutes.  After that I was good.  The ocean visibility was nothing.  The water was a nice greenish-blue color but not clear.  There was a decent chop of 1 foot to 2 feet in the water past the end of the pier.  No currents to deal with.  My goggles are done, I guess: the AquaSphere Kaiman. They are too foggy and cloudy.  Any recommendations?
I felt good coming in; my air was there and no pain issues.  There was a lineup of surfers at the south side riding some nice 3 foot waves.  The waves were smashing in pretty hard.  Once again a wave smashed me and I lost a swim cap.
I found several nice shells after getting out.  Gave some to a couple of little girls. I gotta' watch that. I probably gave their Mom a heart attack.  Too bad...
Getting into my car & changing afterward I met the new, young meter enforcement guy for the parking.  He's somewhat lucky; one of the senior citizen meter readers just retired.  I asked him if it was as bad as the TV show "Philadelphia Parking Wars," and he said, "That's my life every day."  I was surprised that it would be rough at the beach but he said same, same.  Still, not a bad place to work, eh?
Good swim day.


"The first time you quit is the last time you try."

Damn! Cold & Rough Oceanside Pier Water Today

I have to fix my camera's date; these photos were taken today, the 26th, by yours truly.

My saying at the bottom of my posts is applicable today: "The first time you quit is the last time you try."  Well today in the early afternoon, there was not one swingin' di** in the water.  It was cold, colder than the 56-58 reading by surfline.com. I give it a testicle & weenie shrinking 54 degrees.  And rough and angry, just like myself as a teenager.  I could not get out past the surf.  The surf was 3 foot pounding waves one after another without much of an interval between them at all to catch one's breath.
I lasted an embarrassing 6 minutes from the time I was waist high and swimming out until the time I turned around, headed toward the beach, and was able to stand again.
I didn't have any air today, and my mind was weak; well, it's always weak, but today it was weaker than usual.  The current was pulling me to the south-about 100 yards in those 6 minutes.
The ocean doesn't look bad at all in these photos, and indeed in real life watching them from the sand. However, they were bigger and nastier than they appear; you just have to be IN it to appreciate what Mother Nature is throwin' out there.  Nevertheless, I tried, and that counts enough for me today.


"The first time you quit is the last time you try."

Oceanside Water Temp Today 54-56 Degrees

The water today was 54-56 degrees but felt on the low side of that range. It made my face hurt for about ten minutes, which is a good indicator for me. It was cold.  About 100 yards before I finished my swim on the south side of the pier the water the water warmed up, which was nice.  My hands were frozen and it was hard to keep my fingers closed.  We had a beautiful, clear sky with a lovely shining sun.  However, the ocean was agitated.  The whole swim was in a two-foot chop.  It wasn't really clean, but ok.  Visibility about 3 feet.  Only ten surfers or so in the area.
My swim was 30 minutes at a very low tide.  Afterward I found several good seashells for the collection.  For a $2.00 parking fee, it was well worth it.  Good pier swim.


"The first time you quit is the last time you try."