Surf’s Up
Left the house a little after 8 with partly cloudy skies and temperature in the low 60’s - pretty nice. According to the surf report, its about 4-6 feet. For this area that is not huge but larger than usual. I’ve found that the surf report sizes can differ from reality from beach to beach. I’ve seen a greatly anticipated swell roll in with very minimal impact at the Dana Strand and I have seen mediocre size reported while large waves are pumping at the strand. So you just never know until you get to the water. Each beach is positioned uniquely and has different features (reefs, points, underwater canyons, etc.) that will react differently to swells coming from different directions and varying wind conditions.
I get to the beach and there is a small breeze but the water looks relatively smooth. Again, the surf report made it sound like surf conditions would be bad all day due to a south wind. However, here it really isn’t too bad and as the morning progresses I see more and more surfers heading into the water. Lots of surfers at Doheny especially.
The water feels pleasant on my feet as I walk to my starting point and I can tell it’s gonna be comfortable. I set my backpack down, and head in. Yep, not bad at all. I head out past the surf in between sets. I dive under a larger outside wave just before it breaks and feel the shock wave of it crashing. It’s good. One thing I have noticed is that it is much less stressful to deal with higher surf when the water is warmer. Each potential stressor (temperature, surf, wind) adds up on a sort of stress index. So higher surf and comfortable water provides a less stressful experience than high surf with cold water. I do tend to be a somewhat anxious person I think and really find this whole experience of regular ocean swimming to be incredibly therapeutic. First, it brings the stressors and my reaction to them into my direct awareness, second it teaches me the value of relaxation. It shows me that my reaction to stress is largely self manufactured. Therefore my ability to withstand stress can also be trained and really it is relaxation that serves as the primary lever. When I see my thoughts begin to careen paranoia and allow myself to pause and relax, I feel relief. At any moment I can get out of the water and remove myself from the stress altogether. I have a sort of agreement with myself: it is totally ok to get out early if things get too stressful but I have to at least get in.
I watched a great documentary on netflix last night called Hold Your Breath: The Ice Dive. It was about this Finnish free diver woman who claimed the world record of swimming the farthest under ice. It was really amazing. She said, when you are relaxed, cold is just cold but when you are not then cold is freezing.
The swim today was good overall. It got sunnier as the swim progressed. Heading south, the glare from the sun was strong. I could feel the undulating surface of the water as the waves rolled in. On the north end of the swim, there was a yellow lifeguard rescue boat that was really close to me. I’m not sure what it was doing. There were more buoys out today so maybe they were anchoring those. As the boat would drive by its wakes would really stir up the surface.
On the swim back to shore I just missed the previous set so I didn’t have to contend with much surf. Lots of small rocks on the sand today and the floor seems very uneven - perhaps a result of the larger surf. My dad meets me as I’m walking back to my backpack. We take a small walk to the lifeguard tower at Salt Creek. Looks like there is a surf competition underway and the conditions are good. The report posted on the lifeguard tower says the water temperature is 62-64. Nice.
