Not Getting Any Warmer

I left the house at about 10:15. The skies are mostly clear but there are a lot of wispy clouds in the distance. One of the Salt Creek web cams makes it look like there could be a fog bank lingering far off shore but I think that is just an illusion. It is fairly warm out - high 50s.

When I get to the parking lot, I can confirm that there is definitely no threat of fog. However, Catalina is not in sight at all today. These clouds give the atmosphere here a haziness that is stealing from the warm and sunny vibe I was hoping for. Well there is nothing I can do about this. Let’s just enjoy what we have.

Heading down the stairs I can feel a steady breeze in the air and the water has quite a bit of texture to it.

It is just an hour past an 0.5 foot low tide and it looks like there is plenty of beach today. It looks just a bit less rocky than it did two days ago. I don’t have to climb so much today to stow away my pack.

I head to the water and I’m trying to forge a path that avoids the boulders submerged just beneath the water in the shallows just a few feet from shore. I do my best and sort of stretch my legs over them and soon I start swimming.

Again, just like the last few swims, it is exhausting to get past the surf. It is very small but there is just wave after wave after wave and they don’t seem to let up. Looking at the timestamps on my pics, I think it takes me about 7 or 8 minutes. At one point after I had made quite a bit of headway, I stop to sort of rest and my feet don’t reach the floor. Then I take a few strokes forward and I’m in knee deep water. This is right where the primary waves break before they fizzle out and form a second smaller wave closer to shore.

Finally I’m where I want to be and I head south. The water is nice and fairly clear here, at least for a little while and then it grows cloudy again for the rest of the swim.

One thing is for sure - this water is not getting any warmer. I’m telling you Friday was pretty nice “relatively” speaking. Saturday was definitely colder and I’m sensing we have taken another small drop since then.

I feel like the current is with me but it just feels like it is slow going to get to the south end of the beach. I can see the waves rising as I near my turnaround spot and then they crash against the rock cliff. I don’t want to swim any further south but I’m basically where I usually turn around.

I head back and it doesn’t feel like the current’s resistance is too strong. However, I feel like it is pushing me west. Every now and then I look up and notice I am pointed toward the hills above Laguna Beach and not towards the Ritz above Salt Creek which is my sort of homing beacon. So I just keep righting myself.

It’s cold. I’m losing sensation in my pinky fingers and I think I am going to skip the northern leg of the swim today. Not long before I get to where I need to head back to shore, I come across a boat that is not far at all from where I am. I notice that I am damn far out. So I start to veer more sharply inshore.

This final bit feels like it takes forever. I somehow overshoot the point I am aiming for and then veer south again. Eventually…finally I get to the surf line. I am relieved.

Just about 10 feet from shore I come across the the battle line of boulders that seem to run parallel to the shore in front of my spot. I am just a few inches above them. This is also where the secondary wave builds. So I grab onto the rocks with my hands to keep myself from getting drawn out and pull my body closer to shore. A few more strokes and I’m home.