Lopsided
Well it has been exactly a week since I have last been in the water. Some would say I should wait yet another day to allow 72 hours since the last drop of rain but I’m sorry I just can’t. There is a good chance of rain tonight which may end up blocking out more swim days so I want to get out before that happens not to mention it has been a week. Did I already say that?
Conditions look nearly perfect. Just a little wind and it’s not completely freezing outside. It’s a fairly hazy day but lots of blue sky. The buoys are reporting slightly warmer temps in San Diego and Camp Pendleton. Oceanside reports 59. Nice. But not so much to the north in San Pedro where we have 56. I’m expecting 57ish at The Strand which is cold for sure but probably warm enough to endure a full swim.
I get to the parking lot and I can feel the sun on my neck and it feels real good but I admit I am cold as I walk down the stairs. There is a group of women coming up the asphalt road in St. Patrick’s day garb which is fun to watch. They are very much in the spirit of the holiday. Good thing my overshirt is green.
Sand erosion at North Beach
The tide is only about 3.5 and the water is almost coming to the rocks at the bottom of the bluff. Looking at the large Jupiter rock near the base of the asphalt road, I can definitely see that more of the rock is exposed today. This is ok. It won’t be long now before the sand starts to rebound. Speaking of sand, I ran to North Beach in San Clemente on Saturday and there was a 6 foot wall of sand where the shore was eroding. I had never seen it so dramatic.
I head into the water. There are lots of medium sized loose rocks in the shallows. However, thankfully, the bigger fixed rocks on the floor are still completely covered in sand so it’s nothing worth complaining about. There is a good amount of texture on the water and the surface looks grey as if the hazy clouds above are draining it of its color. The waves are pretty small but there are waves. I start to swim pretty soon since I am in a trough that brings the water up to my neck. I swim through a couple waves and I think I must be past the surfline and then I see some slightly larger waves breaking further out. I also notice that I am now in thigh deep water and stand up an lean into the broken waves.
I resume swimming westward until I am confident I am past all the commotion. The water temperature is about what I expected. It’s cold and I can feel the pressure of the cold in my neck and lower jaw. I envision myself breathing out hot hot air and let that imagined heat thaw my jaw. I have an excellent imagination.
I’m swimming south and I am pretty sure I am swimming into the current. About every 20 seconds I feel like someone is giving me a push. The water is pretty darn cloudy. It’s not nearly as bad as Doheny/capo but I hope this is healthy. I’m sure it is. Right? Oh and speaking of Capo, I was walking my dog Ocean in Pines Park on Friday just towards the end of all the rain last week and the water was black. No exaggeration. The breaking waves looked like the dirty snow that collects on the side of the road - not gonna be swimming down there for a while.
The whole swim is pretty great. There are moments when the haze drifts and I can see and feel the full force of the sun shining down on the water and it’s precious. There are large flocks of Pelicans flying high above the headlands. I holler out and ask them to come on down for a visit but apparently they have some other place to be. Whatever. I am the only human in the water that I can see today - at least on the Strands side of the Ritz. This all feels very lopsided. If you take this mass of water - just the part where I swim - and overlay it on the other side of the bluff, there are thousands of people living and breathing and going about their day. If only they knew what I knew.
Ok, just a little unrelated side note here. My sister, who was in town last week left me the remainder of her carton of oat milk as I dropped her and her husband at the airport. I’m having it now with my coffee and I must say it is quite good. However it is 20 more calories a cup than the soy milk I usually use. Perhaps I can allow myself this indulgence.
On the way back north just past the little lifeguard hut, I notice that I have drifted pretty far out and am attempting to swim through some very thick kelp. I’m literally getting caught in the vines as if it has gained sentience and is trying to keep me from leaving its grip. I try to swim around where I can but it is nearly impossible in places. I am setting a course to bring me closer to shore and hopefully out of this maze.
The cold is just on the border of the intensity that I can bear pretty comfortably. Using the term “comfortably” loosely. It’s all good. It helps to clean my body and mind of the muck that has accumulated over the last week. I feel very alive and elated. It’s so good. It’s even better as I recollect it here in warm clothes.
As I am making my final swim to shore a wave comes down on top of me at just the right angle that pushes me down under the surface and literally rips my goggles off of my head. It takes a bit to notice that my goggles are gone. I almost resign myself to their loss since this has happened to me a few times and I never am able to find them but then I see something floating in the white water about 20 feet west. Is it goggles or seaweed? I get closer and it is my goggles. I am so happy. Reunited and it feels so good!
As I walk back and head up the asphalt road, there are two women that begin talking to me. They are very sweet. Unfortunately I have not yet gained control of my jaw movement or flow of thought and I ramble like some kind of inebriated crazy. One says that I made her St. Patrick’s day. Isn’t that so nice? I thought I made my own day while I was out there and had no idea that just by swimming out in the ocean I was somehow providing joy to someone else I did not even know.
