Shifting Sand

Finally another solid swim window appears in this crazy January. The swell and winds are down and it is a beautiful, albeit cool, day. I leave on the later end at about 11:15 after getting some necessary work out of the way.

The surf report says the waves are 4 to 6 feet which REALLY means they are between 3 to 9 feet based on some recent experience. However, today’s swell is receding and not growing and the webcam does look tame with plenty of surfers in the water to give me a decent perspective on size.

I get to the parking lot and the air temperature is in the mid 50’s but it is extremely pleasant.

Once I get to where I have a good view of the beach, I feel like the ocean is shouting up to me. “Come and enjoy!” I’m coming I’m coming but damn you look cold.

The tide is low. Probably just a tad over a foot. I see lots of rocks on the beach. Way more than normal but there is plenty of room today to lay my pack on the rocks. What is different is that there are large rocks protruding from the shallow end of the water right where I usually start my swims. Usually I enjoy a nice wide berth of rock-less sand all the way past the surf line. However, there doesn’t look like any better place to take off from so I am just going to have to deal with these rocks.

As has been the case for the past couple weeks, the waves are breaking way outside but today they don’t look particularly big.

I make my way into the water and start working to negotiate these rocks right in front of me. I let a few small waves roll over and then I kind of spider my way over them and find a couple patches of sand to walk through until I get to thigh deep water and I start to swim because swimming is definitely easier than walking here.

I’m swimming through smaller breaks. Swimming…swimming and then I feel sand as my hand paddles downward. I stop and notice that I am now in shin deep water. I’m at least 100 feet from the dry shore. There are no rocks at all around me now. From here the surf looks like where it should be if I were standing at the edge of the water. It is as if the beach decided to grow a second shore. Actually I think that’s exactly what it did. It feels almost comical to stand so tall out of the water here so far from the bluff.

I resume a walking position until I am waist deep and then go back to swimming. Here I am past the surf. Also, there were some really nice waves I went through with great ridable shape. It feels good to be out here on this beautiful late morning with a fairly calm surface and no freaky waves to worry about on the swim in.

I’m heading south and there is no water visibility and the water feels colder today. We have had some firm onshore winds the last couple days and colder water was in the forecast. Still - it is good.

I let myself relax into this cold. I wonder if the cold will catch up with me today. I have not been bothered by the cold at all the last several swims all the way to the end of the swim. So we shall see how things go today.

When I get close to the southern end it seems like the water becomes extra cloudy as if there are billows of grey expanding and collapsing beneath me. Since we have had so much rain recently I immediately wonder if this is runoff and ponder just how contaminated this water is. I’m sure it will be fine. This tail I am starting to grow seems weird but I hear that some humans actually do have small tails.

I feel pretty far out because I am. There is some surf out here but its not scary like last Friday. I soon turn around and am happy when the water starts looking more blue. Still no visibility though.

I’m getting colder and colder. I feel fine and watch my thoughts erect these horror scenarios. It amazes me how I can freak myself out. I watch each thought and try to unroot myself from belief and as I do I feel better. I try to find that stillness in the cold that I have been finding lately. That place where the boundary of flesh and water dissolves and the movement of the body falls into synchronicity with the movement of the current. The mind becomes dark in a good way - like free floating in space with no gravity.

Well it becomes time to head on back. I try to keep swimming until I am practically lying on my belly on these in shore rocks. I am so very close to dry land, but I am literally crawling and rolling over these rocks to just make these last few feet. I’m sure I look ridiculous. There is a guy walking on the beach in front of me and he stops to look at me. He’s probably wondering if he should call for help. Physical or mental help I’m not sure and maybe he isn’t either.

I do eventually make it. I towel off, put on some layers and make my way back to the car. Wow what a great swim.