It’s a beautiful Fall day and the beaches are looking pretty darn nice from the web cams. I leave my house at 11:15 and the water is still smooth. I get to the parking lot and still it is smooth.

It’s not even noon yet but it feels like mid-afternoon. I’m still in that “I can’t believe I’m getting into that water” mindset. I know this point of view - this dread - is all an illusion. I even reflect on the fact that I know it’s an illusion and how every time I actually get in the water it is great and then I just can’t get my head around how it can’t be real. All signs point to misery. Oh, other than the fact that it is a spectacular late morning here and the sun feels great. The sun is sparkling on the water. Waves are gently peeling just off the shore. Yeah, it’s absolutely miserable.

I get to the beach and the tide is low. It’s probably just under a foot and it’s still got a couple more hours until it hits a -1.2. There is so much sand here. I wonder how long it will last. My first couple of Winters swimming here, there really wasn’t that much sand loss but the last couple of years pretty much swept the beach clean. It all comes back though. You just have to keep showing up here and it will all come back. I do see a little more of the Jupiter rock today than I did about a month ago. Give it a month or two and I might just see nearly the entire rock.

I walk towards the water and the wet sand feels warm at first and then quickly gets colder once the water washes over my feet. Hmm. It does feel colder than my last swim on Monday. I start to walk out towards the surf. There is still a lingering northwest swell in the water. Like Monday, it looks bigger towards Salt Creek than it does right here but it is definitely smaller than Monday overall. I walk past a few breaking waves and I dive in. Oh yeah it’s a little chilly but I just let the cold pass like a wave of energy through my body. Ok I’m good. I’m going to survive. It really doesn’t take long for my body to stabilize.

It is definitely colder than Monday no doubt about it. It hasn’t exactly plummeted but at this temperature, every degree is magnified. I’m guessing it is 60ish. The cold appears in my mind’s eye as a sort of dark blanket. My body compensates and relocates my blood away from my extremities. I begin to feel a semblance of warmth. I don’t know how to describe it other than it feels dark. It’s not a bad dark. It’s warmth. How bad can it be?

As I swim south, I can feel the rise and fall as the waves pass underneath me. In fact as I swim past the main surf break, one feels as though it is just about to start breaking and I watch it crash just a few feet to my left. I start to swim just a little further out now to put a little more space between me and the whitewater.

The surface of the water is a lovely dark dark blue that is so smooth. Below the water it is a lighter blue. There are plumes of clouds from the sand being tossed around by the passing waves. Then half way down the beach, it briefly gets really clear. This lasts for just about 50 feet or so but it’s like a pool right here. Then it’s back into the dust storm.

Waves are breaking over my big rock on the south end of the beach and again I try to put space between me and those waves. It is super cool out here though. The low tide exposes a bunch of rocks here that are usually under water and steep angled waves come and break over them. Today is definitely not a good day for exploring the point. I can really see the angle of the northwest swell coming from that direction. I have to wonder what was that storm like that initially blew these waves into existence.

I turn around and head north. The temperature can’t be that bad because I don’t really get to feeling any colder. I feel good. I swim across the entire beach and it goes by pretty fast. There are several thick trees of kelp along the way. One of which I nearly get lost inside.

At the north end I can see the surfers at the point break of Salt Creek. I watch a couple take off on an incoming set. I look down the length of the Strand and it looks so nice. It is so very peaceful on this Thursday afternoon. Hardly anyone is here.

I head back south to finish things up. Soon it is time to head to shore and with the low tide I don’t notice how shallow I am until I am literally lying on the sandy bottom as small waves roll over me. I have to smile at this. Can I just stay right here? My inner five year old could lie here a lot longer.