Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Monday Pier Swim
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Dolphins and Cold Water at Oceanside Pier. Also Connor Stotts Beach Rescue Link
Well, no pictures today. The water was much calmer than yesterday but the warm water of recent days went somewhere else today. Surfline.com has the temp as 63-65 but at 6 or 7 PM it was colder than that. I'd guess 59 degrees. When your face hurts when you get in the water, for me that's 60 or below. Before I got in I caught sight of about 4 dolphins swimming on the north side of the pier. I got in there and was hoping that they might stick around near me but I didn't see any signs of the dolphins while I was in the water. I just swam around the pier with fins and gloves, and the swim was nice but chilly. It was a nice swim otherwise.
I heard about this rescue of some kids from the rip at the same beach. Guess I just missed it.
Beach Rescue Oceanside CA
I heard about this rescue of some kids from the rip at the same beach. Guess I just missed it.
Beach Rescue Oceanside CA
Double Oceanside Pier Swim Saturday
About 5:30 PM Saturday I parked a few blocks from the beach, near Pappy's, and walked the Pier area to check out the direction of the water currents and take my pictures. There was a big crowd at the Pier, more than usual because the city had rented out the Amphitheater to a religious revival organization.
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.
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.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Rough Water Friday Oceanside Pier 5 PM
Still we go on with the warm water-I don't remember water warm like this for years. However, Friday there was a freshness to it, a subtle change from yesterday. The appearance made one think that the water would be colder, crisper, and invigorating. Instead, it was a rough slog through 2-3 foot chop all the way around the pier. I wore my fins and gloves-or else I'd still be swimming out there now. I had to kick like heck, even with the fins, to swim. I kinda' like these swims, though. I like most of the swims. My favorite swims?I love the rough, nasty, cold winter swims with big, white waves that kick you around pier. And conversely I love the peaceful, flat swims with the water glassy and clean. And I love all those swims in-between with the water somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.
Today as I swam out I had the chop hitting me on the left side of my body so that breathing to the left side was a face full of water. Then, swimming back in on the north side of the pier, 'Guess What?' the chop was again hitting me on the left side of my body-giving me a face full of water when breathing to the left. Surprising-the whims of the ocean and tricks it plays on us. Always something different and unexpected can be found out there. We just have to visit and see what awaits.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)