It’s been a full morning of meetings and I’m finally able to head to the beach at 11:45. It is a beautiful clear sunny day.

Last night my camera miraculously turns back on and seems to be working normally except that the front screen which I never use is dead. I’m pretty sure the camera still needs to be replaced but I’m gonna give it at least one more day before sending it back to the manufacturer.

I get to the Strand and there is a slight breeze blowing but the water looks relatively mellow. I wouldn’t call it smooth or glassy. There is just a little bit of texture on the surface.

The air is right on the edge of warm and cool. As I walk down the stairs I move back and forth between the ecstasy of direct sunlight and then a cool breeze under shade.

Looking out onto the water, I can tell it is likely going to be on the clear side today. I can see dark patches scattered throughout the water which are the submerged rocks that are always there but not always so visible as they are today.

Once I reach the sand, it is as though I have been transported into some tropical wonderland. Blue sky, warm air and clear water here in the shallows. There are a few boats floating not so far out. One is particularly closer to shore and has a red diver flag.

The water temperature feels exactly as it did two days ago. It’s cool upon initial immersion but not malicious. Then it gets warmer as I pass the surfline or what one would consider to be the surfline on most days. The surf is pretty small stuff today - almost flat - so there really isn’t much in the way of a division between surf and no surf.

I head south and boy the water is super clear. I think it is the clearest it has been in months and easily one of the clearest days of the year. This entire swim is like some sort of guided under water tour excursion.

I pass over patches of individual rocks here and there and then over large islands of kelp covered rock and then through a sea of white contoured sand. The reflection of the light through the bouncing ocean surface shimmers on the bottom and makes it look like some kind of electric disco dance floor.

I see lots of Bass and I can easily make out the Lobster cages sitting on the ground but I don’t see any Lobster.

I come within a few feet of that diver boat and I don’t see anyone on the boat but I see a snorkel just a little further offshore from me. I continue to swim and then see something large floating on the surface and have a brief freak out before I realize it is a diver in some kind of camouflaged designed wetsuit. He or she is just floating there motionless like a lifeless mannequin. There is a scuba shop on PCH that I pass on the way to and from here that has a mannequin that I swear has this exact same wetsuit style and it always stands just outside the shop door. Did I see it today? I can’t remember. Maybe this is it. Maybe it’s not a mannequin at all.

I pause to take a picture - it doesn’t seem to mind or take any notice of me - and then I continue onward.

On clear days like today it always seems odd to me that what I am seeing now is always here regardless of the visibility level. Most days whatever lies below is a complete mystery and I imagine it to be much deeper than it actually is.

I’m heading toward the end of the swim and I intend to finish up right at the ramp. The tide is lower than it has been over the past several swims but it is still on the high side (about 4.5) and there is very little surf so I’m not worried about treacherous surf on rock scenarios. I wonder what else I might get to see here. However once I am just a little bit further inshore from where I have been swimming, the water clouds up and now I can’t see hardly a thing.

I soon make my way to dry sand and then make my way up the ramp toward the stairs. My camera held its power over the whole swim but now it is acting weird and I power it off. I have not been able to turn it back on since. Back to the manufacturer it goes.