Race Across America Begins in Oceanside

Today's swim around the pier was with the slight current from south to north, and it was uneventful for me. The water had a chop of about one foot to it but that was about the extent of the negatives. The water was chilly and I swam a very slow, relaxed swim with my fins, just relaxing my neck and taking it easy. Funny thing that there were more surfers today than yesterday and today the surf was lousy. There were about a dozen on each side of the pier-in close because the smallish waves were breaking in close to the shore. We need more sand on our beach! The beach got too narrow somehow. Where is our sand?

So this upcoming weekend there will be a bicycle race with support vehicles leaving from the Oceanside Pier and racing across America. They have taken over the parking lot at the south side of the pier.

Sunday Pier Swim Oceanside Police Presence

Sunday afternoon there was a small, active police presence at the pier. Thank goodness. The drug addicts were few in number because the police were checking out at least one character shown in my photos. They could have done something about the man in the orange t-shirt who shouted continuously about religious dangers and threats to us all in both English and Spanish. He was certainly "disturbing the peace" and I took a photo of a cop car passing next to him that did nothing. So, everybody trying to enjoy the beach and pier had to hear this screaming God this... and Dios that...non-stop. Holy mackerel!

For the water it wasn't a great day-I'd say mediocre. The sky was overcast and I swam against the current around the pier, which was too difficult yesterday. I asked the lifeguard about any unusual currents or goings-on because they had a lifeguard boat close in to the beach slowly patrolling. Nothing unusual-just some boaters had been in too close. I watched the water first and knew that the current was running north but I had parked north of the pier and didn't want to walk by the screaming Jesus crazy guy, so I got in north of the pier and swam south. My new pair of goggles leaked on me continuously, which was annoying, and I took them off half-way through. Even swimming in I felt like I was going against the tide. It took me almost an hour for this swim.

Saturday Afternoon Ocean Swim Oceanside Pier

I had a great swim Saturday around the pier. The water was as clean as I have seen it in recent memory. It still retains that geen/aqua tint with the light blue that is so appealing to the beachgoer. The visibility was about eight feet, which sounds unimpressive per se, but around here is unusual and welcome to the swim-goggle wearer. It's nice to be able to see the bottom for a bit as one swims out.

As I parked above the strand, I was putting coins into the meter and a young couple just in front of my car was doing the same. They asked me if I had any extra change for a dollar, which I did; I always bring at least three dollars in quarters and extra coins in a little bottle in my car. I gave them four quarters for the buck, and then the gentleman told me that they were visiting from Canada on business and gave me a Canadian coin. This was very exciting for me, as I am usually the one giving money to people asking for it. The coin, he said, was a Canadian two dollar piece, called a Toonie, and it was considered to be good luck. It is a beautiful coin, about the size of our dollar coin, but is has two colors. It has a gold center and a silver outer perimeter. Look it up on Google; it is a neat coin. I will save it and use it for any good luck it may bring.

I took a quick walk to take pictures and observe the water. Then I wore my rash guard t-shirt and shorts with swim trunks. I recently downgraded from extra large trunks to large, although the large are a bit snug. So, some progress there. I wore two swim caps. Now I'm wearing two because I ripped my old one a week or two ago as I was putting it on in the water. In chilly water, about 58 degrees yesterday, the cap helps. So now I'll have a spare on my head if I rip another one.

The water was flat and great for a comforting swim. Inside, there were beautiful waves, well-shaped with long intervals between waves. Outside past the breakers was a gentle, mild swell or roll to the ocean that didn't detract from the flat surface for swimming. Really gorgeous out there. I felt good and did a round-trip, i.e., I swam around the pier and then swam back to where I had started. I got tired swimming back out on my round-trip, as the tide was coming in noticeably. Then my energy was low for the rest of the swim but I finished ok. When I was out off the end of the pier (I swim about eighty yards or so past the end) I had to keep an eye out for the jet skiers and the speedboats zipping by. As one swims far out there and boats or jet skies are near-not necessarily even that near, about 200 yards, one hears a whine or jet engine-like sound, almost a whistling sound. That's when I start picking my head up and looking around for safety. Since it's an oddity to see a lone swimmer, there is a tendency for the boats and especially the jet skiers to come closer to see what is that in the water. Often it is a lifeguard just checking for safety, which is nice.

My left calf cramped as I came in through the breakers upon finishing my swim but I caught a good wave and body-surfed it for a longer-than-usual ride. A really great beach swim day!

Oh, I forgot to mention the surfers. They were only about 18 surfers on both sides of the pier and conditions were great! They had plenty of room for all to find nice rides. I wondered where the heck all the surfers were on such a beautiful day.