Another one of those days where I didn’t plan on swimming, but come noon, I look around myself and everything is wet and wonderful and different and just a little terrifying.

There is supposed to be a significant northwest blow through this evening and into tomorrow morning which usually means a drop in water temperature. It would be great to get another swim in before that happens. However surf is just a little on the larger side today and predicted to build. It is only 4-6 now at Strands. I used to swim in 4-6 foot surf without thinking much about it. Then I had a couple swims where the surf report said 4-6 but what I saw in the water sure looked bigger.

Although it can be hard to tell from the web cam, I don’t see any particularly large or well overhead waves rolling through. That said, the scenery today does look ominous. There are clouds over the water and a pretty good south wind blowing that makes things appear uninviting. Do I really want to do this? I mull back and forth for several minutes but decide to just go for it.

I’m a little nervous about surf conditions and I try to just relax my entire body and surrender to the swim. The interesting thing that happens next is that I feel better on several different levels. I’m stressed about multiple things today and not just the surf. As I relax and give my self over to the forces that be, I feel better equipped to face all of these challenges. This is also my sign that I really do want to get into the water regardless of the conditions. Besides, I’ve had so many calm and beautiful swim days recently, a more tempestuous atmosphere should be a nice and interesting change.

As I exit my front door a little after 11:15, it is sunny and warm here. Looking north west toward the Strand, I see clouds in the air. This doesn’t look like fog or marine haze, but real honest to goodness clouds. As I approach the parking lot, it is grey and dreary here. There is a wide swath of cloud centered over the shore and spread out west and east. I can see far out west where the clouds give way to blue sky and there is a parallel line on the ocean surface like a farmer’s tan separating dark blue water from grey.

The breeze is stronger here and it’s cooler than it was at my house or in my car. Also of note, the showers are closed for maintenance. OMG, what am I going to do? Fortunately a sign reminds me of the showers down the stairs. I just hope this is simply routine maintenance and they are not making any significant changes to the showers here. I consider myself a sort of connoisseur of beach showers. Many of the local beaches around here have more modern looking showers but I like this one the best. Yeah there is a little rust here and there but it has great water pressure and the water keeps spraying well after you take your hand off the button.

I head down the stairs a little more quickly than normal. I’m eager to see how the surf looks and get myself through it sooner than later. It doesn’t look so bad but it is bigger surf than I have swam in for quite some time. Maybe a year. The waves are breaking further out than they do on the calmer days I have become used to. I see lots of white water covering the shallows. There are some surfers out but it looks like conditions are deteriorating. Wind is supposed to be picking up and changing direction soon. It already looks pretty bumpy out there.

As I start to walk out into the water, a set of waves come in that just don’t seem to want to stop. By the time the set passes, I am fully wet. I start to swim and I dive under a wave and then try to get a good buffer between me and the shore. I must say the water feels comfortable. It’s probably no more than a degree above my last swim but that degree makes all the difference.

The ocean feels fully alive today. I feel like I’m being tossed this way and that. There is some turbulence on the surface from the breeze and some deeper energy moving periodically eastward. I’m continually having to right my trajectory by repointing myself seaward.

My mind is obsessed over the entire swim about the intensity that I imagine the last two minutes of this swim will bring as I swim back through the surf. I’m sure it will be fine. It better be fine because I’m pretty certain that there will indeed be a last two minutes at some time or another.

I get to the south end of the beach and I’m carful as I inch my way behind the big rock to make sure I don’t end up between a large wave and that rock. I tread water here for a little bit and watch the building waves approach long before they curl. I rise and fall several feet as each one passes. I try to snap a picture in each direction as I hobble over the crests.

Time to swim north. I just love this landscape. It may be more on the stressful side but it is certainly different from my last several swims. Wakes feel like they are bouncing way up high from every direction. The clouds look dramatic and the water is a deep, deep blue. The light comes and goes and comes back again.

A little over half way up the beach, the sun appears to be winning. The clouds are still here but I can see the direct light from the sun right over me. Suddenly my visions of the waves on my final swim to shore do not seem so dark. This ocean’s frown turns to a smile. Certainly it would not harm me in any way - not in broad daylight. Stress gives way to joy as the sun intensifies. All will be well.

I’m swimming further out than I have in a while and I swim through some thick stalks of kelp. Everything goes black. The leaves from the seaweed cover my eyes. My arms reach forward and I push down on the floating vines but there is so much vegetation that other vines float back up right into my face. I pause and lift my head to chart a course of least resistance through the wandering trails of kelp.

There is not much to see below the upper few feet of the water. It’s dark and there may also be some red tide action here. I’ve been reading some local news posts about recent bioluminescence in the south county waters. It’s cloudy even up at the top. I’m getting all my vitamins and minerals today.

I get to the north end of the beach. The sun is shining and reflecting off of the wildly moving surface of the water. The ocean seems electric. I watch the large breaking waves crash on both sides of the point in front of the lifeguard tower. I turn around and head back for the finish. Time to meet my destiny.

I’m super far out so I aim myself slightly inland but I’m careful not to enter the shallows prematurely. Once I am right in front of my target house, I turn 90 degrees and start heading to the shore. I can see a larger wave coming from behind me. I can see it breaking to the south but the crest still holds and feathers right behind me. I slow myself so that it passes over me before it breaks.

I don’t see another coming so I put my head down and swim quickly but calmly enough to keep some air on reserve. I look up every several seconds to see how close I am to shore. The houses on the bluff look so far away but I know the tide is coming down so I am probably closer than it appears. Smaller breaking waves roll over me and soon I pause and let my legs dangle. I feel sand and know I am home free.

What surfers that were here when I arrived are all gone now. It’s looking much more blown out than before. Later in the evening, the week’s water temperature forecast title reads, “Might Want to Break Out the Booties.” Suddenly my memory of the water feels just a little warmer.