Clearing the Cob Webs

Oh what a swim today! If that doesn’t clear out the cob webs, I don’t know what would. Today, all the numbers seemed to be lining up just right. At 10:00, my phone said the temperature was 68 and 66 at the beach. The shore looked lovely from the web cam and wind speed was mild and on the way down to 3 knots in the next hour. I’ve already swam 3 days this work week and was contemplating giving myself a break today but given these conditions, I had to ask myself why am I not on the beach right now this second?

So I exit my front door at about 10:40 and it does indeed feel warmer today than yesterday. As I drive down Palisades to Coast Highway, the water has a bit more texture than it did yesterday. Not so silky smooth today but not necessarily rough either. What I particularly appreciate is how the light shimmers on all of the little ripples. It’s quite beautiful.

When I get to the Strand parking lot, the water has this same texture and there is a good breeze blowing as I watch the palm fronds swaying in the trees above. I can’t seem to see quite as far north up the coast with the clarity and detail I was observing yesterday. However, Catalina can be seen quite clearly.

As I walk down the stairs, I can tell that today definitely has a different vibe from yesterday’s and also different from the one I expected to be here today. I basically thought today would be like yesterday but warmer (aka better). However this breeze, which is definitely stronger than what Surfline forecasted, is adding a significant cooling effect and the bumpy water that looks bumpier by the time I get down to the beach lacks that tropical summertime dream feeling it had yesterday.

Well I’m not calling off the swim. It is still a great day out even if it does not live up to the vision I had back at home. God knows I have swam in far more adverse conditions than this. The tide is quite low - a touch under half a foot. I put my feet in the water and it feels about the same as yesterday.

I hike up the shore to the rocks below the bluff to lay down my pack and then I head off into the water. The surf seems to have come down a bit from yesterday. It’s a shame because I’m only waist deep by the time I reach the edge of the surf line and I wish a wave would hit me to help get me wet because I am not feeling highly motivated to dive in on my own volition.

Well I know of no other way; so dive in I do and now I am wet. There is lots of exhaling going on as I try to regulate my body temperature in its newfound environment. It only takes a stroke or two to realize that these are different waters than the ones here yesterday.

Temperature is basically the same but there is a lot more movement on the surface. The current seems to be moving south - the same direction I am swimming now. Every several seconds or so I can feel a push of water roll over my head. I just roll with this movement and try to submit to the rhythm of the current. One thing I have observed about the ocean is that things are always easier if I submit. No amount of force is going to change the water’s behavior.

While I do love a nice buttery smooth ocean surface, this isn’t bad. I love the variety the ocean provides and appreciate how today’s water is different from yesterday’s and likely tomorrow’s. My inner temperature soon adjusts and I am just moving along down to the south end of the beach. The energy level here is high and I am trying to give my all to it.

I reach my turnaround spot and I can see the endless line of wakes moving south - right for my face. As I wade here below the headlands, I have to exert effort to keep my chin up and avoid the water’s seemingly strong desire to enter into my mouth. I take a few pics here and try to keep it short and prepare myself for the rougher ride north into the current.

The tone does indeed change as I work against the water but it’s really not that bad. I wonder if the extra effort might also be helping to raise my internal body temperature. The water doesn’t feel any warmer - that’s for sure - but I feel like I have some added protective armor. The dexterity of my hands (my internal canary in the coal mine) feels solid almost, almost, to the northern end of the swim.

This whole northern stretch feels like a dream now. A wild fever dream where colors and textures become dramatic characters of the experience. In my memory as I write this, I just see effervescent water swirling about below where the arms of kelp vines dance about reaching for me and sometimes making contact. Periodically there is a horizon line that seems to exist in a different world and timeline than what I see below the surface.

Briefly the intensity feels overwhelming until I can relax myself back into its flow. Eventually I lift my head to get a better peek of what is ahead of me and those bathrooms, my turn around landmark, are just ahead. I check myself and feel good to go. Just a couple minutes more and I turn myself around and once again, I am swimming with the assistance of the current. Also, given the low tide and my proximity to the shore, I have the assurance of knowing that I’m just a couple minutes from dry sand all the way home.