I left a little after 6:00 this morning. Skies are overcast - it’s June.

I start with a 6.5 mile run through the harbor and I am back at my car about 7:35. I change into my swim trunks and head down to the beach. It’s still overcast and doesn’t look like that is changing any time soon but it does seem like there is more luminosity in the sky today. It’s pretty bright and almost feels partially sunny even if I don’t see blue sky.

I’m still thinking about sharks and I don’t see that changing soon. Fortunately it’s not something I am agonizing over or anything, it’s like a dull ache. I’m also wondering what the surf will be like. The swell is supposed to have grown since yesterday morning. The surf report isn’t reporting anything big for Strands and Salt Creek but over the last few months when there is a south swell I notice much larger numbers reported for trestles and when I get here it often looks closer to those numbers.

Well it’s nothing worth stressing over I realize when I get to the shore. In fact it is smaller than yesterday for sure. Either that or it is super lully and in between sets. Anyways I get in the water and there really isn’t any white water worth diving under.

The water feels the same as it did yesterday which is really quite nice. I’m gonna say 63ish. I’m very comfortable the entire swim. The water is still dark with red tide except for the southern edge of the swim near the cliffs below the headlands.

Throughout the entire swim, the thought of sharks dominates my thoughts. While I place these thoughts firmly in the “fear” category, I find them oddly soothing. It becomes a focal point that I can nestle myself down into. Whenever I notice the fear rising, which is often, I just move my attention to my breathing and settle in. I really can’t do anything but surrender to the fear of the shark because I really can’t do anything if a shark comes up and bites me. I mean there are some possibilities like whacking it in the nose with my camera stick, but all I can do is play with these scenarios in my head. I have no idea what it would really be like to be charged by a shark and how I would react and if I would even have any time.

So all I can do is swim forward and settle into my breath and my stroke. If I want to make any forward headway, those are probably the two best things I can do. This becomes an active exercise in surrender because the only other thing I could do is retreat but here I am in the water - I will not retreat.

It’s a nice swim. I have quite a bit more assistance as I travel north since both the little wind and swell are coming from the south today. As I reach the northern end of the swim near Salt Creek, the Cosmic Creek inflatable planets start to come into view. They look like they are much further out than they were yesterday. Also, Mars looks like it is drifting into open space and has traveled a ways from the neighboring planets.

I’d really like to swim to Mars but I don’t have the time or energy right now. The surf contest is already well under way and I can hear the announcer listing off the names of the surfers for the next heat. At least I think that’s what they are doing.

I turn around and head home. Boy this water looks so dingy. It could be crawling with sharks and I’d never know. Hmm. I’m starting to like this red tide.