The wind was blowing south, the inside rip currents were running north, and the outside movement of the water surface was moving southeast. I checked my other indicators: I watch the people in the water to see which way they are facing to hold their positions; I study the surfers to see what direction their surfboards are facing, how they are paddling to hold their positions, and which way are the waves breaking; I look at the lines of the fishermen on the pier to see where the water is pulling their lines.
I watch any sailboats to observe the motion of their sails; I look at jet skiers going back and forth to check for outside currents as the jet skies hit the waves.
Saturday I decided that the outside water had reversed its current from the previous several days and was moving south. I decided to swim south, and entered the water just north of Surfrider Way. The chop was small-one foot or less; the surf zone was rough; and there was a 2-3 foot gradual swell of the water out past the breakers. Water temp was 67-a bit cooler than yesterday-it felt good. Because of the overall appearance of the water, I wore fins and webbed gloves for safety. The swim around the pier was fine, and I had some extra energy at the end so I decided to reverse and do a round-trip swim. Also I didn't look forward to getting out amidst the crowd of evangelists pressuring beachgoers.
Swimming out was neat. The tide was moving in and I confronted a growing swell. It was fun to try to time my stroke to hit the wave at the height of the swells and jump out of the water a bit to catch a big breath. Reaching out for the arm stroke was like punching a hole into the oncoming waves-fun. I smell the oily, greasy bait smell on the water as I swim closer to the end of the pier. My field of vision is a dull, gray blur with no visibilty at all. I feel like I am totally alone, stroking and kicking hard, seeing nothing, but happy in my cocoon of ocean. My peripheral vision catches glimpses of a blue, cloudy sky and I use the slowly setting sun as my direction finder to keep on course.
As I swam past the end of the pier the second time, there was a bit of a southerly current that I swam into-but nothing strong. I got tired the last one-fourth of the swim and was pretty much beat when I exited the water. I am writing this Sunday morning and I paid for the long swim with lots of neck pain last night that kept me awake a long time. As you readers know, my cervical spine is fused at C5, C6, and C7, so my neck doesn't rotate and turn very well. But, in the end, it is a pain worth earning, as the swim was a fortifying experience for me.
