Existentially Cold
I left just a little bit after noon today. The sky is overcast and it’s about 60 degrees out. It’s been a few days since my last swim. It has been rainy here in Dana Point and yesterday I thought I’d allow one dry day to clean up the water quality. Conditions are pretty good today for a swim even though I technically don’t have time but as I look at the surf forecast over the next few weeks, it’s going to be on the larger side and I want to take advantage of the days that I can.
When I get to the parking lot the water looks smooth. I head down the stairs and arrive at the beach with a low tide and getting lower. There is some surf out there breaking at the same spot it has been for the last couple weeks about one to two hundred feet out.
Pines Park
I take my usual pics from the shore and my battery indicator says 87%. Now I start to make my way into the water and the indicator falls to 5% and the camera shuts itself off. At this point I have owned three of this exact model of camera and I’m not surprised. Whatever. I’m filling in this post’s pics with some recent photos from my runs in Capo Beach.
I start to walk out into the water and perform this sort of rock dance that I am sure is not pleasant or even entertaining to watch. Its about knee deep and the floor is covered with medium to large sized rocks that I can’t see. Soon it becomes clear that swimming will be the best way to make progress.
It feels like I swim and I swim and swim until I get to the main surf break. I can’t feel the bottom but pause a moment to catch my breath. I take a few more strokes and suddenly the bottom is sandy and returns to thigh deep and I walk some more. Finally I get past the surf. Through all of this I immediately notice that the water has warmed just a tad. I can tell because while it is cold, it is not existentially cold. I don’t feel compelled to repeatedly chant “oh my god.” It’s just cold and cold is great. It’s not a return to December but 59 suddenly seems pleasant.
It’s a great swim the whole way. As usual my body does get colder but fear never really enters the picture - which is nice. The water remains pretty smooth and I can feel it undulating beneath me. It seems like I feel it pushing me as I swim south and also as I swim north. Go figure. There is a rising swell due to peak some time later tonight and I enjoy the gentle rising and falling as I approach and then crest each building wave.
The water is pretty cloudy. Perhaps it is still recovering from the rains. I did check the online water quality report and there were no yellow dots at The Strand so I guess I’m ok? Then again the samples may have been taken Friday before the rain. I ran through Doheny yesterday and the inshore water had a pale, dirty grey look to it. Yuck.
I wrap up the swim and the last three feet of getting out of the water is like a mine field of slippery invisible rocks that I manage to negotiate. As I look down the beach, I can tell he tide has lowered considerably since I got here. I carry my pack to the top and shower and then enjoy the ride home.
