Check Out This Saturday Spray of Filth at the Pier

Just plain nasty black water piped from the mouth of the harbor and sprayed within 50 feet or so of the Pier. Gross. And a bunch of surfers and swimmers were in the water, mostly south of the pier, but the water was moving to the south.  Yuck!

"The first time you quit is the last time you try."  But it's ok to stay out under these conditions.

Swim Cancelled

I am cancelling this Saturday's 11 AM Pier Swim due to water contamination.  I just returned from the Pier and have a few photos of the dredge pipe.  It was not pumping now but I talked to a Lifeguard and he said that it had been pumping earlier Thursday, and he expected it to start again.

This is the pipe from which the Harbor muck that is dredged up will be pumped out onto the beach at the Pier-north side.

 A bit of a distance photo of the same outflow pipe.

Feel free to contact me.  Because of the interest, I would like to set up a swim soon after pumping ceases.


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

Saturday 11 AM Pier Swim. We will probably have to cancel

When I saw the dredging barge and pipes at the pier today I decided to call the Harbor.  The guy told me that they will be spraying the outflow of the harbor drege sludge just north of the pier;  it was supposed to have begun, and he expects it to be ongoing this weekend during Earth Day.
Yuck.  I would consider it cancelled. I will update if changes.  I will also go down there Friday AM.


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

Wed Pier Water Report: Bad for a Swim at 1 PM

 I wanted to get in the water to get an idea what it might be like for Saturday morning.  Let's hope Sat is better than Wed.  The water was on the dirty side, with a very strong current running NORTH.  The reverse of the usual direction.  It has also turned into a construction zone with the big, ugly, 2 1/2 foot diameter pipes for transporting the muck that they are dredging from the Harbor down to the Pier area.  I did not see any outflow today, but I am suspicious because of how dirty the water seemed.
I got in with a wet suit and fins and kicked out past the restrooms on the Pier and it didn't get clean out there.  I am going to call the City or Harbor to try to get some dredging info because I do not want to be in the beach when that muck is being pumped in--quite gross.
58-60 degrees per surfline.  4 foot ugly waves at 12 second intervals.  Not surfable really.  The water was not swimmable for a Pier swim north to south.  Perhaps south to north in cleaner water would have been ok.

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

Pier Swim Sat 11 AM

One mile fun Pier swim this Sat. 27th @ 11 AM.  Meet at pay parking lot on north side of Pier. Fast or slow, wetsuits or not, fins or not.

My plan to swim north to south in a big arc. Start at bottom of Surfrider or at the brick restrooms there, then out about 75 yards past the end of the Pier and arc in to land at the pink Oceanside Beach Club Building or Seagaze St.


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

Possible Swim This Saturday Pier Mile for Earth Day

This Saturday from 11 AM to 4 PM, Oceanside is having an Earth Day Green Celebration (whatever that is) at the Pier Rec Center.  How about a swim from north of the Pier a bit--between the brick restrooms and Surfrider Way and out in a big arc around the Pier.  Then we come in to hit the beach at between Seagaze Drive (the steep street) and the pink California Beach Club.  That should be a good mile if we don't arc it close to the end of the pier.  I've done it a hundred times.
Contact me, e-mail me on this site.  I want to put a maximum of 12 swimmers to avoid chaos.  I'm slow and slow are welcome, fins or barefoot are welcome, wetsuits or not are welcome.
We could meet at the pay lot on north side of Pier at 11 AM.


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