I’m out the door at 8:30 this morning and I’m in a hurry. I haven’t even pre-made my coffee. What?! Winds are already at 10 knots. It’s from the southeast so there isn’t any chop, but it is supposed to rise dramatically in the next couple hours and possibly turn onshore. So I want to get it while the getting is good.

Just before I leave, I walk my dog Ocean through Pines Park and I have a good view of the water and all the way north to the south side of the point. I can see the wakes of water moving north and it looks very much alive but still worthy of a swim. There is a good bit of blue sky but also clouds in the distance and according to the forecast, the blue sky is temporary.

As I pass over San Juan Creek and look out at the main Doheny surf break, the water looks like it hasn’t changed. It’s all ruffled up but not choppy. Turning the last bend past Blue Lantern, I can see that cloud bank off in the distant northwest. I like this. I’ve had some great sun shiny swims and now I get to experience something different.

I park and head down the stairs and all the way I like what I see. It is indeed a different day today. I’m wondering how things will be with the cold water. Yesterday was intense and today will likely be about the same without the psychological assist of the uninhibited sun light. It’s Saturday and I tell myself it’s no big deal if I can only do a partial swim. If I want, I could probably fit in a run later on. But maybe, just maybe, I can actually get a full swim in this madness.

I get to the beach and put my feet in the water. No change. Oh wait, maybe it’s warmer? No…no…perhaps colder. Oh who knows? All I know is that the water has that bite to it typical of colder water that tells you that we have left the upper 50’s and into something a little more challenging. I’m guessing it’s 55 or maybe 27.

There is a small group of beginner surfers out just about where I’m heading out. They look like they are enjoying themselves and catching terrible waves but having fun on them nonetheless. Surf is up just a bit from yesterday but not by much.

I say hello to the surfers as I am walking out and then start swimming once I am just a few feet inshore of them. It is beautiful here. The light is slightly dimmed from the scattered cloud cover which seems to be closing in. The water is still clear but not quite as much so as yesterday. The water is also freaking cold.

Once I am well past the surf, I start to feel the cold shock response that I have not felt in a few weeks. I guess I adapted to the upper 50’s and now I have to go through this all over again while I adapt to this new level. Oh adaptation cannot come soon enough. I feel a fatigue and shortness of breath that I know will pass in about a minute or so. It does but I still feel like my skin is being aggressively electrocuted. This finally passes just short of the middle stairs. Oh now this is good.

At last I feel warm. That feels really weird to say but it’s true. I know it’s temporary. Why can’t it last forever? I want to remain right here in just how I am feeling right now. I’ll swim to the south end and then turn around for a quick trip to Three Arch Bay. Alas, I know that is a dream. Sure, I could wear a wetsuit and do it but what fun would that be?

I can feel the turbulence in the water. It’s pretty mild but this is not yesterday’s buttery smooth swim. It feels like the light changes every few minutes as the clouds rearrange themselves. One moment it is bright and seemingly sunny and then I feel like I am swimming into some kind of tarp covered enclosure.

As I approach the south end I notice how close I am to the handful of surfers down here. It’s not big here by any means but it appears to be the better break today. I am super close to my turn around point and I can see small waves breaking right on my landmark rock. I turn westward to get past this outer break and soon I have arrived at my first stop.

There are Pelicans flying about and the end of the point is a sort of blur thanks to the glare of the morning sun. It is lovely here. I wade here in awe of the beauty and of the cold. How much further can I go? I honestly don’t know. I’m fine right now but less fine than I was 5 minutes ago and I wonder what trajectory I’m heading in.

Well I will say this. The southern current is really pushing me along. I am somewhat amazed by how quickly it seems I have made it back to the little lifeguard hut two thirds up the beach. Those northern bathrooms are still a ways away but this is not impossible. I’m just gonna keep going because I can.

The intensity of the cold is escalating and I’m really ambivalent about my immediate future plans. I so want to get in a full swim but I don’t want to be stupid. I stop to assess my position. The bathrooms are closer but I’m not there yet. Oh look! There is a lobster buoy just up ahead. Since the big holiday swell, I have not seen many of these at all. This entire coastline was littered with them all Fall. Well, let’s just swim to the buoy and take things from there.

Here I am at the buoy. The bathrooms are closer now. I keep swimming and mull over the situation. I stop again and I am practically there. I’d say I am just about 50 feet south of them and on any other day I would keep swimming but today I’m calling it. This is far enough. I think I can get full credit for this swim with the bonus points I picked up at the buoy.

As I swim back south to my final destination. I am delighted to see the kelp beneath me pass underneath. That current is not strong enough to stop my south bound progress. I’m pointed a little more sharply towards shore than usual. If I feel like there is going to be trouble, I want to be close to shore. In fact, soon I stop to look around and notice I am in chest high water. That boosts my confidence and I keep swimming south.

It really is such a lovely morning. It is so different from yesterday’s swim. I can already feel the wind picking up. Yesterday it felt like the sun would never leave (and I didn’t want it to) and today it feels like a storm is just on the horizon (because it is). I love this diversity. They are both a completely different beautiful.

I make it to my backpack and do I stop to dry off and put on warmer clothes? Of course not. Instead I walk probably three fourths of a mile in wet trunks and a stiff breeze. I have no good reason for this nor am I advocating this behavior. I know I mentioned in yesterday’s post that the cold shower seems to reduce my shivering on the way home. I apologize for that misinformation. There was plenty of shivering in the car.