Stuff on the Surface

I’m leaving the house at 6:30. It’s the Friday after Thanksgiving and I have a lot going on today but it’s been almost a week since my last swim on Saturday and if I leave now and don’t dilly-dally, I should be back in good time.

The sky looks blue but there is a ever so thin layer of cloud cover throughout. It has a sort of light blue tint to it as if it is liquid and the light softly penetrates it and gives everything a soft and subdued tone.

I’ve been watching Surfline for the past hour waiting for the morning surf report. We had a decently sized swell peak yesterday and I’m curious if the surf is still big. Hard to tell from the web cam. I’m surprised there are no surfers out yet. It is light and many have the day off. Well nothing screams crazy surf and I have to go. I am happy to see the water temperature is up a degree from 57 to 58. Of course this could mean nothing. I won’t know for sure until I am in the water which should be in about 30 minutes.

As I pull into the parking lot, I have a clear view of Catalina Island behind a thin screen of haze on the horizon. The soft light reflects on the water right in between myself and the island and makes it look almost as though there is a covering of low clouds resting on the ocean surface.

I can hear the surf clearly as I walk down the stairs. Once I have a view of the shore, I see a pod of dolphins heading south just north of where I am walking down the asphalt road. Once I am on the beach, a larger set of waves roll in. They have pretty good size and the dolphins are jetting off the lip of the waves and into the air. Wow. I rarely see dolphins this time of year and even more rarely see them playing like this. It is super cool. As I watch the faces of the waves peak, I can see the full bodies of the dolphins under the water just behind the front of the wave. Of course the dolphins zoom in and out of sight so quickly that I don’t manage to catch any of this on camera.

I must say the water does feel a little warmer on my feet than it has in the last couple swims. The white water coming into shore is tinted brown so there must be some red tide in the mix. The tide is just about to top off at a 5.8 and the water are coming right up to the rocks.

I walk into the water and the waves are still coming in. The size is just about at the height that starts to make me feel uneasy but I am fully committed now. As I wait for this set of many waves to finish, I am getting pushed further and further north and I eventually go back to the sand and restart from my usual spot. I am completely wet so that part is over with.

Ok it looks like the set has passed so I quickly walk out and then dive into a smaller wave and start to swim. I focus on getting a fair ways out until I feel confident I am past anything that might break out here. My goggles are all fogged up. With the haze on the horizon and the dim blue light all around me, I don’t think I could identify a wave if it was right in front of me. I pause and try to unfog my goggles. It looks like I’m right about where I want to be.

I have to say the water definitely feels warmer today. It is cold but I don’t feel like I am riding some sort of crazy precipice of hypothermic oblivion. I feel good. Then when I am almost half way down the beach, I start to feel oddly warm. Not warm from some weird physological reaction to the cold but actually warm from warm water. What is going on here?

I keep moving and this swim is so peaceful and terrifying at the same time. I can’t completely get my mind off of the waves and the knowledge that I will have to make my way through them before I finish. I tell myself that there is no way to avoid the shore if I ever want to finish and I do indeed want to finish. I’ve done this countless number of times and everything always goes fine.

As I peer in front of me I can see a glowing light coming over the headlands. It is the rising sun. Everything looks so blue and soft - the air, the water, and the clouds. I wonder what happened to the waves. From right here it seems like waves don't exist.

I’m getting fairly close to the end of the beach and start to see these dark shadows in the water as if from large kelp trees. Then I feel “stuff” on the surface and right myself to have a look around. I am in the middle of this disgusting foamy muck on the water. Yuck. It looks like I can backtrack just a bit and then head further out west to avoid all of this. I do that and it works for a while but I eventually swim into this stuff again and it starts to look like I either need to swim right through it to the end of the beach or swim way way way out to avoid it. I decide to turn around. Neither option seems attractive. I am a ways from my usual end but maybe I can make up by going further north today.

I see a surfer down at the southern surf break and hear some hollering. It looks like there is a good sized set rolling over the rock that I usually swim to.

I head back north and the water cleans itself up but loses its warmth as well. I think that foamy mess may have been what was warming up the water. The water was also full of muck below the surface as well. I could see all sorts of stringy little gross things. Yum.

The water becomes effervescent in patches and the temperature drops a couple degrees. Then I emerge into clearer blue water and the edge of cold eases. All in all, the cold is totally fine today. Dexterity in my fingers feels stable and I just don't have that sense that something isn't quite as it should be.

I can see the cliff face below the Ritz getting closer. I see birds flying slowly south and I stop to take a look. There is a small fishing boat further out and there is a flock of birds flying all around it.

The clouds look like they are right on the edge of liquid and vapor. It looks like a second ocean hovering above us.

I can see the bathrooms just ahead but today I plan to swim to the lifeguard tower to make up for the distance I lost on the south side. I keep swimming and I can see the waves breaking in front of the point at salt creek. The waves look pretty big and I hear a lot of hooting in excitement.

I have pretty much arrived due west of the tower. I can see the angle of the water sloping upward to the west here. I watch the waves break and spray water backwards as surfers scramble to either catch or avoid the next wave in the set.

I turn around to head back. The remainder of the swim goes pretty quick even though I swam further north. I'm thinking of the waves but taking all of my concerns with a grain of salt. I'm sure this will be just fine.

I start to swim to shore and keep looking over my shoulder for waves. Nothing of note seems to come. I make it all the way without much disturbance.

I'm super cold but I can make it to the shower up top ok. There is a small flock of Sand Pipers as I step up onto the little road. I shower and put a couple layers on. At the car it looks like I am making good time. I just need to keep my feet from shaking uncontrollably.