Muscle Memory
Another beautiful, bordering on perfect, day here in Dana Point. Conditions look very similar to yesterday and maybe a tad warmer. It’s crystal clear sunny skies out, no wind and 63 degrees. The beach through the webcams looks super nice and it’s a negative low tide.
I’m out at about 11:30 and when I get to the parking lot, I decide to leave my pack and all but my camera and goggles in the car. I just can’t even fathom needing warm clothing today. I plan to enjoy the sun on my back and all other parts.
When I’m down the stairs and the beach comes into view, it’s all just as perfect as I imagined. The tide is about a -0.5. The ramp to the sand is free again today and it looks like the construction work is now further down the beach. The lifeguard hut says the water is 58 degrees which sounds about right based on the day’s buoy readings but I have lost all faith in what the lifeguard numbers report. The scribes are absolutely interjecting their own interpretations here. This opinion is based on my conversation with a lifeguard last summer who explained his reporting “process” to me. But yeah, it’s probably about 58. At least I’m sure there is 58 degree water out there mixed in with some 60 and 57 degree water as well.
On my way to the water I talk to a guy who is also a regular swimmer here but not here to swim right now. We talk about how perfect it is right now and how not perfect it is forecasted to be over the next two days and he says he is planning to come back soon and swim while the getting is good. In fact as I write this, my computer says tomorrow’s low may be a record for April 4th.
I walk out into the water and head south. After I’m probably about 5 minutes into the swim, it dawns on me that I was thinking of swimming north today. It’s just become muscle memory for me to take that initial left turn and I forgot all about my plans to swim north. Well some other time.
The water definitely looks cleaner today which is nice. All in all it feels colder today I think. the colds of yesterday and today are the same but it just seems like the warmer patches are fewer and shorter today.
There are a bunch of kayakers at the south end of the beach. I take in the view once I reach the end. There is a bird that flies off a rock and comes right towards me. I take a picture but for the life of me there is no picture on my memory card with said bird. Don’t know what happened there.
I found the bird! It was super camouflaged and I had to zoom in quite a bit to find it.
I head back north and I’m reaching out for those warm swaths of water and not finding them. That’s ok. The sun sustain me. If I can just remain relaxed, the cold rolls right over me.
When I get to the north end of the beach, I see a bank of clouds forming to the north west. I’m wondering if it is fog. It has that low lying, dense and hazy look to it. For now, this beach looks as far from foggy as it can get.
I turn around and head south to finish the swim. The current is definitely flowing south and I can feel less resistance and more ease as I move along. It seems like I make it back pretty darn quick. Before heading to shore I pause and take a final look around me. Now I see clouds converging to the south west and it is absolutely fog. Still, it feels super bright and sunny here and I’m sure the fog will not overtake the beach before I’m long gone, if at all.
I start swimming directly east and it doesn’t take long before I feel the sandy floor brush against my finger tips. I stand up and walk in the clear and beautiful shallow water. I face south and the low tide terrain makes this place feel like a different planet with the exposed rocks that are usually several feet below water.
Once I am back on the asphalt road, it’s starting to feel a little misty. I look over the fence toward the water and the fog is coming in fast. Everything changes. It’s a cool walk up the stairs and on the drive home, the fog is super thick at the San Juan Creek river mouth. Just now I brought up the Strands webcam and it is just a solid grey canvas. Well it looks like my fellow swimmer missed his window. I know I certainly didn’t see this coming and I am so glad I made it when I did.
