Takes Major Guts to Swim Off New Zealand

I copied this amazing photo taken by vetstreet of Adam Walker doing a swim that most of us couldn't even walk.  These Cook Straits are known for the presence of sharks. This photo captures one dolphin of a pod of dolphins that accompanied Adam for a while on his swim.  It was reported that a great white shark also accompanied Adam for an hour or so on the swim and that the bunch of dolphins kept the shark safely away from the swimmer. 
What strikes me is the body position and form of the swimmer.  His legs are high; his body above the waist is quite high in the water.  I wish I had some of that body position.

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

I Read a Great Post by Evan Morrison Yesterday

    
http://marathonswimmers.org/blog/2014/04/farallones-toughest-marathon-swim-world/


This post above has nothing to do with me but one can gain some insight into how far ladies can push themselves when self-challenged. 



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

Putting My Swim Blog on Hold for Now

      Just a brief note to blog followers that I am suspending my blog for the time being due to health reasons.  I hope to return here.






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

Oh my goodness. I felt salt water again--after a month.

 

 

I looked at the date of my last post--February 20th.  I swam with fins.  Well, apparently the fins don't help a guy with discs in the low back that like to move and, at worst, pop out of place.  That is what happened to me after my last swim and I spent days on my back regularly howling in pain.  Caution to readers: Don't rodeo.
Anyway, for the good stuff.  Today I needed to go to the beach because I, because I...well, I NEEDED it.
So I was surprised to see that Spring Break vacation has come to Oceanside.  The parking lots were 3/4 full and many more people than usual were enjoying a gorgeous 74 degree day.  No clouds, no wind, no crowds--just right. 
And the water was beautiful.  It was high tide and rising with a green-blue hue to the ocean.  Flat surface.  No current.  Water temperature was a warm 62-64 degrees. Wow! That's summer water.  The waves for the surfers were beautiful: a long interval between waves of 2-3 feet.  About 20 surfers were on the south side of the Pier today.  Plenty of room for more.
I had expected a chilling swim today and when I opened the trunk of my car I saw that I had forgotten my bathing suits that I usually wear.  I had to wear an old wetsuit--it's thin: 1-2 millimeter, I think.
No time was needed to adjust to that water temp.  I slowly swam out, watching to stay clear of surfers, and had to rest just past the break.  No wind.  I am sooo out of shape now.  I swam out for ten minutes or so and wasn't going anywhere.  But is was so nice just to lie on my back and feel that water.  My disc is still not right so the swim was just a mental health swim today. 
Gosh, why do I wait to get out there?  I hope to write another swim post soon.



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

Kicking About with Wetsuit & Fins

That top picture today is of an unusual sight--after I was out of the water I caught sight of a person swimming in--presumably returning from a swim around the pier. He looked like one of the thin, fit, triathlon people that I'm jealous of.  I ended that sentence with an obvious dangling preposition and it bothers me, but I don't want to rewrite it.  The water was a cold 58 degrees with an airtemp of 78 degrees today.  It was rough with three to four foot steady pounding waves very close to one another.  Just from the car I could tell that I wouldn't be able to get through it, so I went with fins.  That other swimmer must be pretty good because he got out on the south side--the rougher side of the pier.  Those good swimmers amaze me. 
I even had a mildly hard time kicking through the surf zone.  Out of shape.  The water was beautiful and clean.  Strong surge to the south.  More people than usual enjoying it.  I kicked it out for twenty minutes and called it a day.  Very nice.

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