Yet another beautiful sunny morning here in Dana Point. Summers are definitely overrated. Fall is becoming my favorite season here. Both sunshine and warmer water seem more consistent. However it only takes one storm to knock out the heater and plunge water temps into the 50’s until April. Until that happens, every day is a gift.

I left at 10:30 and my weather app said fog might be in the cards earlier in the morning. No fog from what I can tell on the web cams though, but once I get a better view of the coast on the drive to the beach, there is definitely a fog bank somewhere further north. It’s hard to get a good read on its location. I glance again at the web cams (maybe not what I should be doing in the car) and both Strands and Salt Creek look clear. Once I am actually in the parking lot, it looks like that fog is further north and quite a bit off shore right now. Of course fog can move quickly so I’m hoping it all just stays right where it is or just burns off completely. There is no sign of Catalina today.

When I get in the water, I want to say it is just a hair cooler today but still pleasant. The water seems a little cloudier today until I reach the point below the Ritz. I’m swimming north and all of Salt Creek is very clear.

I’m using my older camera today - my first underwater camera I bought in July of 2022. The new one still has not been able to power back up and I will be stopping at The UPS Store on my way home to ship it off to its maker.

There is a boat with a diver flag on it just past the point. I don’t see anyone on the boat and I don’t see anyone in its vicinity. I do see a buoy, similar to the lobster trap buoys but a little bigger and there is an orange “bag” tethered to it. I’m assuming it belongs to the divers.

I’m swimming fairly close to shore. I don’t know what it is about the Salt Creek end but when I look at the beach walkers, the perspective makes it look like they are walking out here on the water. As I move north, my eyes are on that offshore fog bank. I can’t tell if it is getting any closer but it does have a sort of ominous look to it. I’m not worried about it. I can just get up and walk on the water here if it gets socked in.

I get as far as as the Monarch beach club and decide that is far enough. One of these days I really need to hunker down and check out Three Arch Bay. Today wouldn’t be a bad day for that but I’m just not properly motivated. Last night I watched the movie Nyad on Netflix and talk about motivation! Diana Nyad swam from Cuba to the Florida Keys, over 100 miles, in over 50 hours of uninterrupted swimming. It took several tries and many experts said it couldn’t be done and she was in her 60’s. Three Arch Bay is just a walk around the corner in comparison.

I wonder how one goes about putting together all of the logistics for a multi day swim like that. Sometimes I wonder about swimming to Catalina which is about a quarter of the distance that Nyad swam. How does one actually DO it. It’s not like registering to run the local Turkey Trot.

As I swim back south I move just a little bit further off shore and the water seems even clearer here and also more interesting. There is more kelp and fish where the shallower northbound trip was mostly sand and scattered smaller barren rocks.

I come accross a couple Pelicans that are just sitting on the water. I move closer to them but they up and fly away. The water tends to cling to the case of this camera in front of the lense more so than with my newer non-functioning camera and the pics I take of the sitting Pelican that flies away come out kind of horribly.

I am getting closer to that diver boat on this return trip and I see these flippers flapping in the air. My initial reaction is, “what in the world was that?!” It’s not a Dolphin or Shark. Was it a Sea Turtle? Enough of this nonsense. These are obviously diver fins and I get another glimpse of this where it becomes obvious that I am looking at man made fins.

When I get near the point, the landscape below the water becomes almost magical. There is a ton of kelp lining the floor making it feel like I am flying over forrest canopy. There are fish of all kinds and sizes swimming in groups everywhere I look.

Once I pass the point and have crossed over into the Strand, the water gets much cloudier. It is still relatively clear but just not as crystal clear and pristine as it was before.

I swim past my usual finishing spot and land just in front of the ramp. Well that was pretty fantastic