Rained Out

I've been craving some salt water for several days now, but we actually have been experiencing 'rain' in Oceanside. Rain here means dirty water runoff from the creeks and some street drainage that flow into the Pacific. That keeps you out of the water. The rule of thumb is 'wait 48 hours' after rain to swim/surf.

It's  kinda' like when you were a kid, and every adult warned you to 'wait 30 minutes' after eating to go in the water at the beach. "You'll get cramps and drown." Of course, no kid ever waited 30 minutes, and the deadly cramps never occurred. 

However, you will get a sinus infection in dirty water. So, I wait. 

Today is Saturday the 15th, a sunny day. Tomorrow I will return to my 'salt water fix.'

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

SATURDAY 4 pm Rough Water at the Harbor

Medium tide with lots of rough white water surgy waves one on top of the other. Little interval between waves. Current pulling south fairly strong. 56 degrees F per Surfline but the water felt warmer than that. 

7 surfers struggling to get  out to the 3-5 foot poorly shaped waves this afternoon. I saw several decent rides. I'm always amazed at how the surfers paddle through the incoming surge and actually get through to  the bigger sets. Tough, wiry guys. 

I kicked out and around here and there, being pulled toward the south rock jetty. I didn't have much wind. 

I couldn't get out to the big stuff today. Even if I had had the wind, I don't yet have the confidence again yet. 

I decided to get out and I walked north to the north jetty. I kicked around and tried to get out but half-heartedly. Ended up kicking easy and drifting south a bit before I called it a day.

Cold is good for me. 

A couple of photos. Hot  coffee is nice afterward.

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

Cloudy Day with the Water Getting a Little Rougher

Thursday late afternoon at the Harbor. A little chillier, 2 foot visibility, waves 2 to 4 foot swells. Several surfers but the shape was poor, closing out.

I liked the roughness of the incoming  tide smashing me at the distance out from the sand with the surfers. I'm still needing more wind but I felt good and got some nice kicking in for 15-20 minutes.

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

OCEANSIDE HARBOR BETWEEN THE TWO ROCK JETTIES

Below I include a photo of the stingray hit the next day.

Again yesterday, Friday, the tide was super low, and I had a great relaxing swim all by myself! The "all by myself" is crucial to me. 

The water was warmer. Get right in, no need to gird your loins first. Surfline quotes 57 F but no way. More like 64. I should buy a little thermometer (waterproof). I have always used the 'face freezing time' to gauge water temperature. 

Sand crabs are here again. The ones that live inside the round shell; remember the examples in the natural world that follow the 'perfect ratio,' the 1.67 thing, and the Fibonacci numbers. {1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,etcetera}.  The crabs live in that type of shaped shell.

I saw many of them yesterday, along with lots of sand dollars. I gave some to a dad who had a little girl with her plastic yellow bucket for collecting. 

I love that stuff. A complete, unbroken sand dollar with its 'flower petal' design on top hits a good place in my brain. 

My breath is returning gradually--my wind. I feel some leg muscles again. Adelante!

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

STINGRAY HIT AT LOW, LOW, LOW TIDE

Today, Thursday, late afternoon, I had an extremely pleasant 20-minutes of moderate kicking in the calmest water that I've enjoyed in many years.  

No waves, and the tide was way out there. I collected a bunch of sand dollars and left them on the ledge near the shower. I took 3 good ones home for my collection. I didn't see any little kids to give them to.

Finally, for the first time ever, I got stung or brushed and stung a few times on the area of my right heel.

It doesn't hurt much at the instant of stings, but as the minutes pass, it hurts more and more. By the time I got home I was hurting big time and limping. Now, as an experienced beach guy, water safety & survival instructor, military lifeguard and Scuba guy, I know that soaking the foot in a HOT bucket of water for a few hours mitigates the pain. I'm soaking now--no pain.

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