Missing Swimmer Oceanside CA

Just saw this newspaper article of another missing swimmer from last night. That was the extremely rough day at the beach here.


http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/oceanside/article_f97ba881-21e6-5096-abe0-152652c05a73.html

Memorial Day at Oceanside Pier

The beach was just a mess today. The water was very stirred up and not too clean; kelp broken loose and drifting in chunks and small pieces. Lots of people on the sand. By the way, my last picture, taken from the pier, shocked me afterward. Where did our sand go? Years back, there was lots of sand on the Oceanside beach and the sand area was much, much bigger for beachgoers. Seeing this picture really struck me. The water temp was listed as 65! Wow! Must be a record high temp for the year. The water was rough, still a south current, but not as strong or as rough as yesterday. I started to swim out but the waves and water was such a choppy, rough mess that I got turned off and was wavering between swimming and not. I tried to body surf a few waves. I was swimming out, diving under rough waves as usual, when I almost knocked myself out. The water was a good three feet deep and I dove without much force under an incoming wave and got knocked silly. Did I hit my head on the bottom? Did I hit my head on a big rock? Not sure. The force knocked my teeth together, jarred the titanium bar in my cervical spine, gave me a headache, made me dizzy, and knocked me for a loop. I got out, feeling about an inch shorter. Maybe it's time to take a few days off from the beach and wait for smooth water.

Memorial Day Weekend Sunday ROUGH WATER Swim

Sunday afternoon was interesting. I went to swim and the water was very, very rough, with a ruthless current running south. Red flags were posted to limit swim areas and yellow checkered warning flags were posted at other areas. The breakers were one on top of the other and hardly anybody ventured into the water. I jogged up and down the area studying the water movements before getting in. I decided to go in about two hundred yards north of the pier, to allow for time to swim out before the strong current pulled me into the pier pilings.

I had an old pair of fake Duck Feet fins that are a bit too large for me. Mistake. I chose to wear these fins because my Churchills are about to break any day. I thought that since it was so rough the Churchills might break. One strap is so cracked and deteriorated that it will break soon. Also, both fins have deep cracks in the blades such that the blades may snap off under pressure. Well, I should have worn my Churchills.

I could not get out past the breakers. I was pulled south so fast that I had to give up on kicking out past the big waves before I hit the pier. Very disappointing.

At least the lifeguards left me alone. No unnecessary rescues or loudspeaker orders. I was thankful to them for that. Once I approached the pier about fifty yards away, I abruptly turned toward the beach and came in. The power of that water never ceases to surprise me. But, it was a worthwhile attempt nonetheless. Monday is another day with possibly another swim. We'll see.

SwimOutlet.com

If you need swim gear, SwimOutlet.com is a great on-line business for purchasing. I have used them a few times and have been very satisfied. I just wish I had more extra money to buy more neat items from them.

Top Gun Showing Oceanside Amphitheater at the Pier

So, I hear for the 25th anniversary of the film "Top Gun," the city is showing the film to the public outdoors at the beach amphitheater. I went down for a swim before sunset and took a few pictures of the area before people started arriving.

My swim was from north to south; it was difficult to determine which direction the current was running outside. Inside the inner break, the water was running south, so I went that way. It was rough and choppy, and the swim around the pier gave me a good workout. I lost another pair of goggles coming in through big waves throwing me around. I think that next swim I'll try my Duck Feet fins instead of my trusty Churchills. The Churchills will be breaking any day now. That first picture of the old, blue house is the house where a scene from "Top Gun" was filmed. They are planning to move it to a different location intact eventually.