Browner Water Today Than Yesterday For Tiki Swim

Man, the ocean is brown again.  Really brown. Visibility nothing. My eyes are stinging after swimming the pier.  Without the color issue, the water was flat and great for swimming. Mild current running south noted at my stop off the end of the pier. Probably low sixties-felt chilly the whole way. 36 minutes and 20 seconds for the trip.  I don't feel like writing because my eyes are stinging.

Pier Swim Brown Water Again

No pictures, sorry. The algae water was light brown today. I thought that it would be cleaner but it's hanging on.  Chilly water. I stopped briefly about 60 yards off the end of the pier at 21 minutes. There was a mild current running south. Surprise-I saw a guy-a swimmer in a wet suit swimming around the pier. He was right next to the pier-way too close. He must have gotten in after me. I didn't see him after that. I guess he was fast and got in quickly and left. 
The water was a bit choppy out far, and swimming in was against the sideways flow of the chop. 
Not too much to say about the water/swim today.  As I was walking across the sand geting ready to enter the water, a Dad with a young boy said to me, "This is golden.  This is too good to be true.  This is great."  He and his boy had been enjoying the water.  I agreed with him, of course.  Nice to see a good Dad having fun with his boy and loving the beach.  And the water was pretty chilly too.  I guess Dad and son were tough.
My time was 38 minutes-four minutes slower than yesterday. Interesting. It was the chop. I felt good-no pains, good wind, plenty of energy left.  Maybe I will do that Tiki Swim this Sunday??

Wed Pier Swim Brown Water Dissipating

No pictures because I planned on brown water and no swimming today.  I talked to a friend at work and he went out on a sailboat out of Newport Beach this past Sunday, Sept 18th.  He told me the brown water was an algae bloom. I had thought something like that but thought that the water needed to be warmer for algae growth.
I drove by the Oceanside Harbor and there were a few dozen surfers waiting for waves-a good omen. I parked at the Pier and also a few dozen surfers waiting for sets of waves.  The water color had improved significantly. The water close in was clean blue and the water gradually got light brown as I swam out toward and past the end of the pier.  It was clear, blue, clean water for 50 yards from the sand.
I actually saw a swimming stingrau about four feet underneath me pretty close in. The stingray was small-about 8-10 inches, but the tail hiding the stinger was long-about 9 inches long.  I was surprised that the little ray had such a long tail.  Of course it didn't bother me at all but it was neat to see.
The water was chilly-I never got used to the water temp throughout the entire swim.  The water, besides the light brown color, was absolutely beautiful today. Well-formed waves, great for neophyte and novice surfers, were breaking close in, with a size of 1-3 feet.  The water was flat and calm.  Great for swimming.  I had a nice swim.  Flat water, no chop, chilly, and I hit the end of the pier at 18 minutes (about 50 yards past the end), and I hit the beach at 34 minutes-4 minutes faster than my best time!  I was quite happy with 34 minutes.  I'm thinking about that TikiSwim this Sunday but undecided now.  It's expensive.
Enough for now.

More Brown Ocean Today-I'm Out

I'm Out Until I See Some Blue Water!

Brown Water Oceanside Pier Swim Sunday

Yuck! I am tired of the brown ocean. I prefer my ocean blue. The waves were non-existent to 2 feet but the ocean was a choppy mess.  The current was running south and east.  I swam out and it took me 30 minutes to get to my spot off the end of the pier a ways.  I was fighting current and chop.  Then, on the way in, I felt like I was fighting nasty chop that inhibited forward progress.  The brown water was all the way around everywhere.  Not many people in the water at all.  My time for the one mile pier trip was 50 minutes. Very slow for me.  The water is just weird and uncooperative currently.  Let's hope for a change soon.