I left for the beach at about 9:45. It is 71 degrees outside and it is sunny and an all around beautiful morning. The last couple days have been warm and nice. I was hoping to get in the water yesterday but a one hour customer meeting became a 2.5 hour meeting and by the time it was over there just was not enough time left in the day to get everything I needed to get done and take a swim.

So today I am super ready. Also, it’s Friday which adds additional pull because nothing says weekend like the beach. That Friday swim makes it feel like the weekend has already begun especially with weather like today.

When I get to the parking lot there are a few more cars in the parking lot than usual. Maybe I am not the only one with this idea.

There are some high and hazy clouds off on the horizon but Catalina Island is super visible. The water looks smooth and I think I can see my name written all over it.

When I reach the sand, it is approaching a modest high tide. The water feels pretty darn crisp and I am trying to convince myself otherwise.

I get my stuff in order and settle my pack on the rocks and then head out into the water.

I walk until the water is about up to my stomach. Then I dive in. I try to sustain my exhale for as long as I can. There is something about a good steady exhale that takes the bite out of the cold. A surge of energy rushes through me. Am I glowing? Because I feel like my skin could burst off and perhaps expose some sort of super hero outfitted body with super powers. I wonder what they would be.

Every now and again I get freaked out by the cold. I wonder just what is the limit? At what point should I be concerned? In the late summer months of 2020 when I was first doing this I just assumed that at some point I was going to have to buy a wetsuit. I really didn’t want to. I can afford it but I like the direct contact with the water. It is hard to describe why, but I feel that it is giving me something on a deep level and I want all of it.

Then I watched My Octopus Teacher on Netflix and saw this guy free diving with no wetsuit in the 44 degree waters of South Africa. Then I discovered Wim Hof, the somewhat famous and endearingly eccentric Dutch cold water guru. I learned that swimming bare skinned here is very possible and people all over the world do it. However it seems like I am the only one that does it in Dana Point. I have never seen someone swimming in the Winter here with just a bathing suit. Even in the Summer most swimmers wear full body wetsuits.

If you google about swimming in cold water, it is not uncommon to come across discussion forums that basically say I should be dead. Posters claim that a half hour in the 50’s will lead to lack of consciousness. I don’t think they know what they are talking about or are familiar with anyone who does this. They talk with a mansplaining tone but with no credentials.

So sometimes I forget about octopus student man and Wim Hof and I wonder if I should be doing this. At times like these I like to google “alki beach swimmers” which leads me to this Seattle Times article about a group of folks who swim in the Puget Sound off of West Seattle without wetsuits year round. It’s not just a few but a whole bunch and the February water is in he mid 40’s. That is at least 10 degrees colder than here. They talk about these multi mile events that they do and so it’s not like they are just in the water a few minutes. They swim at least as long as I do.

I re-read this article this morning and it totally inspired and emboldened me. I love this quote of one swimmer who is asked how one acclimatizes to the cold, “Acclimatization requires five minutes of grit and a lifetime of patience.” I’m still working on that patience one.

So back to today’s swim, it’s freaking cold. I am clearly in the 5 minutes of grit zone. I’ve got that.

Eventually things warm up like they always do. It is super super nice here. The water is fairly clear and buttery smooth.

I turn around after reaching the south end of the beach and I still feel great. I swear that every now and then I feel warmth radiating on the surface of the water. I can definitely feel the water is cold but it is like someone has applied the topical nonvaccine like you get at the dentist before the actual nonvaccine shot. At least for me that never seems to completely mask the pinch but it helps. This 71 degree air is my friend.

About half way back up the beach I come very close to a boat. It looks like it is abandoned and there is a scuba diver flag on the boat so I am guessing its inhabitants are under water? Not much further when I am still relatively close to the boat I see a plume of bubbles rising from the depths. I can’t see anything below those bubbles but I am assuming that those are the divers. It is kind of eerie.

I continue on and I am still feeling great. It is usually right about here where the cold starts to penetrate my happy shell and adds an element of challenge to the swim. Not today. I’m good. I don’t know…is it the weather or that article about the Alki swimmers? Oh c’mon Alki shmalki, it’s the weather.

I do reach this spot just shy of my northern turnaround point that is darn right cold. Then on the swim back to shore, it feels like the temperature plummets in the shallower water. I’m guessing that is thanks to the waves circulating the water.

I’m on dry land now and I grab my pack. I skip the towel down thinking that on a day like today a walk back to the parking lot in the sun will do the job. This vision does not transpire. Half way back up the stairs I decide to towel off and put on a shirt.

When I get home I notice the air temperature is down to 65 and a cold front is on its way for the weekend. I would like to file a grievance.