Left the house about 10 this morning. The skies were mostly sunny and the air was cold.

I’ve got an extra shirt on today but it has turned out to be beautiful out. The morning started off much more cloudy and now most of the clouds are gathered well off the coast.

When I get to the parking lot, it feels a bit warmer out than it did at my house but I’m keeping all my layers on until the last necessary minute.

As I walk down the stairs, I’m making an effort not to think about the cold water. I know exactly what’s going to happen down there and I know my mind well enough that until what happens happens, it will only promote lies of horrible suffering.

I can see line after line of incoming surf as I descend. When I was watching the web cams earlier, it looked as though there was some good surf.

When I get to the sand, the surf is definitely way up from where it was Saturday. It’s not huge, but there are some good shoulder high faces.

The tide is beginning to come down from a 4.7 high.

The moment has finally come and it is time to get wet. All morning long I have been debating on whether to swim today or tomorrow. It is supposed to be a little warmer tomorrow, but the fact is that today is beautiful and I have the time and it is not like a couple degrees is a game changer. Today will not be the coldest day that I swim. Sometimes it is best not to over think these things and just get in the damn water.

I get in, let a set of waves pass and then make my way out in earnest. It’s fairly uneventful. It’s cold but nothing I’m not expecting.

The surface is fairly smooth but there is a lot of movement over the water. I can feel myself rising and falling as the waves roll by. I am also feeling propelled forward every now and then by the current.

The water visibility is very poor. I don’t see one glimpse of the ocean floor the whole swim.

When I get to the southern end of the swim, there is a larger set of waves breaking against the rocks at the bottom of the cliff.

I turn around and head back north. I expect to feel myself swimming against the current now but I still feel propelled - not sure why.

As I head north, because I always breath facing the horizon, I can now see the waves rolling in.

It is a peaceful swim. The cold is definitely cold but I seem to handle it without much inner drama. I try to just relax into it.

About half way through the swim my left calf starts cramping up. This lasts for a good while it seems and is pretty unpleasant.

I make my final turn and begin my swim back to where I started. As I turn toward shore, it seems like I am out a little further than normal today.

I get caught in a set of waves just before the beach. The waves are breaking farther out today. I dive under a larger wave and its lip comes down just as I go under water. It slams me onto the sandy bottom and spins me around a couple times. It’s good. However now my calf decides to start cramping which is making it difficult for me to advance what little distance I need to get to so I can stand and start walking which usually alleviates the cramp.

One final wave shoves me to the bottom again and I feel my back pound against the sand. I get up and am soon clear to get back to my stuff.

As I towel off, the beach is beautiful. The sun is shining from the south and there is a nice set of waves that I watch break in front of me.