Sky, Clouds, Water, Surfers and a Seagull

Oh what a swim today. It was one of those days that looked like it was gonna be a run of the mill swim. Conditions looked even possibly iffy, and then this sequence of natural events unfolds in a way that is slightly unique to most days of the year and I feel so fortunate I was here to experience this.

Just to set expectations, I did not see any whales, sharks or dolphins. I just saw sky, clouds and a lot of water and some surfers…oh and a Seagull. Sounds like any other day right? Stick with me here. It was not.

I left at 8:45 and just before leaving, I’m noticing through the web cam how fuzzy the beach looks. It’s not at all socked in but I keep expecting to refresh the cam view and find it greyed out. It’s been like this now for at least an hour and this is similar to yesterday’s conditions where it got foggy and stayed foggy but not too foggy.

I’ll just go and if it turns out to be too foggy, I’ll come back or maybe try swimming super close to shore, but I’m pretty sure it will be fine.

As I approach San Juan Creek, Capistrano Valley looks pretty darn dense. You really can’t see much. I can see the shoreline at Doheny but not much beyond that. As I stop for a red light at Del Obispo, I check the web cam again, as if that is going to change anything, and I can still see the beach. Well ok. Let’s proceed.

The lantern district is looking pretty gloomy. That’s ok. I can appreciate gloomy. This town never looks ugly to me. I round the bend for the final straightaway towards Selva and for all I know everything north of Niguel Road has been reclaimed by the fog and snatched away into an alternate universe never to return to this reality again.

I turn onto Dana Strand Road and soon enter the Strand parking lot. I can see the Ritz but I’m searching for Monarch. Is it still there? Oh there it is. I can just barely make it out. BUT I CAN see it. That’s all I need. If I can see it from here, I can see it from the water and if I can see it from the water then I will know where I am. I like to know where I am when I am in the water.

I scan directly west and there is no horizon, just a formless grey mass of vapor, but I can see enough water and well past where I will be swimming.

This isn’t like looking out onto impending fog and wondering when everything will disappear. The fog is already here now. We are in the fog. It just isn’t as dense as it is most days. I could totally be wrong, but I just don’t think visibility is going to get any worse. Besides, it is low surf and high tide so I can swim close to shore without issue.

I walk down the stairs and the water that I can see looks nice and smooth. When I get to the shore, there is no crack in the horizon between water and fog letting in light today. The seam that separates water from air is sealed shut today so tight that you can’t even see the seam itself.

It’s a 4.8 foot tide right now and it should hit a 5.5 high just about the time I am finished. I am looking north and there is a 6 to 10 inch mini-bluff of sand where the water has eroded away a ridge line along the shore - another sign that Fall is here.

The water feels not quite as cold as yesterday as it hits my feet. It is cool for sure but lacks the bite it had before. This sensation persists as I enter the shallows. Today just might be more cozy than yesterday.

I’d say the surf is up a notch which still isn’t saying much considering how small it has been. With the higher tide, it breaks right on the shore. I walk through one of these waves and I’m all of the sudden waist deep. And then another step and I’m chest deep. I’m hardly 10 feet away from the sand but figure I might as well start swimming.

I had settled on swimming south today. Thinking I might need to stay close to the sand, the Strands side of the point is a better option but I’m reevaluating this decision all of a sudden. Like I noticed above, I can see Monarch and I don’t think things are going to get any worse. I’ve already swam south the last two days and I have a little extra time today so North I go.

I still want to stay reasonably close to the shore. And wow, the water is indeed warmer today. It’s not warm, but it is comfortable. No cold water ruminations today. I’m calling it at 65. I don’t feel the warm and cool spots I have been the last couple days but it’s consistently “refreshing.”

I’m getting close to the point. It’s grey and foggy all over above the water but pretty clear underneath and most importantly it is comfortable. Honestly it looks pretty cool. I love the fact that I can be out here on a day that makes it look so uninviting but the experience from the water is spectacular. Almost every day of the year you have some variation of sunshine and overhead marine layer but it is not often when you have this fog and even less often when the visibility of the fog allows for a swim.

I cross over the point. There are lots of lobster trap buoys out here. I want to stop and take a picture of each of them but realize I am out here to swim and not to catalog the buoys. I just love buoys.

I get a little further into Salt Creek and look back onto the Strand and see an almost golden light penetrating the top of the bluff and radiating off of the surrounding fog. It looks like an almost smoky brown, which sounds ugly but it’s not. Then looking north I see just the faintest touch of blue over the golf course. Hey, there are the Laguna hills. They have not been swallowed by oblivion after all. And what is going on with that one house? It looks like it is shining. Ooh I like that.

I keep swimming and notice what looks like the orb of the sun hiding behind the clouds above. It is shining and reflecting silver off of the top of the water. I have to stop and investigate this.

I look back and see what looks like some sort of cosmic event taking place. There is fog all around but it is glowing from the penetrating sun and a line of the sun’s rays forms a path on the water that extends from the cliff to where I am. Is it inviting me to come closer? The water seems to part on either side. Is this some kind of eclipse? Will it be pitch dark in a few more minutes? Is there anyone left here besides me? What about the dolphins? I’m guessing they were probably the first to be raptured.

Up north that blue patch has expanded and there is a solid hole in the sky. Where else would I want to swim to? Lets go further into that blue sky.

I’m getting closer to the Monarch Beach Club and it is starting to look sunny - SUNNY. Just how much did the Waldorf Astoria have to pay for this? I suppose with their rates they can afford it. Has it been like this here all week? Maybe I should have eaten at the Salt Creek Grille instead of the Wind and Sea last night.

Monarch point is surrounded in blue. No fog there. I can see waves breaking in front of the beach club and notice the same sand erosion there that I saw below the asphalt road at the Strand. I’m a fair way’s from the club but it looks so clear. Maybe it is just the contrast I am noticing with the fog behind me.

Well it is time to turn around. As I swim south and face the beach, it looks so vibrant. Those green shrubs look so green. That sand looks so golden brown. I feel like I’m watching color TV after watching black and white forever.

I look just underneath the surface of the water and there are fish swimming just in front of me. They don’t seem to be bothered by me at all. They don’t look like the usual translucent Corbina but are darker in color. It’s hard to tell. They could be translucent but made darker by this bright light.

I keep swimming and I’m closer to shore than usual. I can see the sand pits and then the bathrooms and then the small lifeguard tower and finally the snack shop. I stop and look ahead toward the point and it’s like staring back into the black and white TV. The surfers all look like pitch black and featureless figures on a grey ocean. From here I am parallel to the breaking waves they are riding.

It’s odd because although I am swimming away from the blue sky I am swimming toward a bright cloudy and misty sky. The sun shines silver and white onto the black water. I swim past the silhouettes of the surfers inshore of me. However now as I look at them from the west, I begin to see their color.

I see another surfer farther out. Why is that surfer sitting so far out? He is parallel to me and if anything breaks where he is at then it is going to break on me. That would not be terrible given the size of today’s surf but I’d prefer to avoid it. Oh wait. It’s not a surfer. It’s a bird - a seagull.

I swim up fairly close to it and it just stays there probably wondering what the stupid Human is doing this time. He soon flies away. Probably more out of boredom than fright. I hope. A beautiful bird dark against the bright white sky.

Welp I’m well back into Strands territory now and whatever color I had at Salt Creek is gone now. The water is still as comfortable as it has been the entire swim if not more so. I can’t believe what a great hour this has been.

I get out of the water and head back to my car and drive home. Less than an hour later I look at the Strands web cam again and I can’t see a thing. Totally socked in now.