Embrace!
Left the house a little before 10 this morning. Skies were overcast. When I got to the beach parking lot, the skies were still grey but had a brightness to them that made it feel like they could burn off any minute. The ocean surface was clean.
As I make my way down the stairs, I can see some waves slowly rolling in. There is a South swell expected to fill in over the weekend and into early next week. It maxed out Teahupoo in Tahiti a couple days ago. It’s in Hawaii now, and we should see the peak here next week.
On the beach the water feels about the same as it has for the last 10 days. The lifeguard tower posts 65 degrees.
I wait out a couple waves and let them break in front of me before jumping in and starting the swim. The water is a turquoise blue today beneath the grey sky. As I make my way South, the water temperature is constantly fluctuating from cool to warm, cool to warm. Best thing to do is to embrace the cool. Though that warm does feel nice. I’m embracing…embracing! Oh it’s warm now…damn it now cold…embrace!
At the South end I take a few pics of the cliffs. Doesn’t look like they have had any noticeable structural changes since Wednesday, but at least I have documentation.
I turn around and head North. I’m focusing on my breath - on the sound and feel of the air passing in and out of my lungs and mouth and through the water.
As I approach the Green Monster zone, I try to spot it but can’t catch a glimpse. I head in the direction where I know it is. I know I am getting close but where is it? I stop and look around and bam! It is just West of me. I swim around it and as I head back South it feels like the sun might just be making an appearance. On my way back to finish up I see a small group of jr. lifeguards swimming to Ricky Bobby.
I paddle my legs on my back through the surf as I head to shore. I attempt to get a good shot of a wave and set my camera to “Burst” mode where it will take several shots back to back. I feel pretty confident I got at least one good one. Then I review the photos in the car, all are terrible. Just a mess of murky bubbles.
