Water and Water and Water

I wasn’t sure if I was going to swim today. The weather forecast calls for temperatures above 70 from tomorrow through the next few days so why not take this colder day off? However, when the light comes out and I see it shining on the water through the web cam, everything looks so perfect. It’s also entering the 60s at 9:00. I really can’t think of a compelling reason not to swim today.

So I’m on the road at about 10:15. I make a quick stop at the Capistrano Beach post office and I’m at the Strand parking lot by 10:40. The water looks super smooth and there are no clouds in the sky with the exception of some light haze far on the horizon. I can feel the sun on my shoulders and it feels downright warm out.

I head down the stairs just a wee bit anxious for the cold water but not too much. I mean how can it be any colder than Saturday? Winds have been calm and it actually got warm yesterday afternoon. I try to just settle into my breath and the scenery around me, and the scenery around me is indeed good.

Tide is lower than it has been on recent swims. It’s probably just a bit over 2 feet. The surf is breaking a bit further out than usual which is pretty typical for Winter. There are some nice waves but it is not too big - just the way I like it. I walk into the water and it gets deep fairly quickly and I swim under a couple breaking waves before getting out past the surf. Wow it really is feeling like January is here.

As I start to swim south, I feel like I am far from the beach but I can see the waves breaking fairly close to where I am swimming. Pretty quickly I start swimming through some warmer spots. Ahhhh. Yes. About two thirds down the beach I hear what sounds like squeaks or maybe a human whistle. It is hard to tell and I pause to look around me. I see surfers just inshore of me and a pack down at the south end of the beach. That south end looks like it is firing surf - much more active than the mid-beach break.

I keep swimming in that direction and the water does become more turbulent fairly soon. I can see lines of swell breaking pretty far out not too much further south than I am so I start to angle more westerly. The closer I get to the end, the more I sharpen this angle and eventually I am just west of my turnaround rock.

I look around me in all directions. I see the dark rocks below the headlands just south of me and Monarch Beach at the northern extreme of the visible coast. Then there is that lifeguard tower and the Ritz right in between. Looking west there is water and water and water.

I turn and swim back up north. I think I can feel the current pushing me forward. There are more warm spots and some damn cold ones as well. All in all I feel great over the entire swim today. There are lots and lots of kelp trees that I pass and become entangled in on the way to Salt Creek. Something about this kelp looks like Winter kelp. It’s color is not as vibrant. Also the water around it seems kind of cloudy. This is the kelp that eats nails for breakfast. It’s in it for the long haul. Someone has to keep watch over these waters through the Winter. It seems like it is their sense of duty that keeps them upright.

I’m close to the northern end now and I see leaves of kelp sticking up just a few inches above the water’s surface. Their dark complexion contrasts with the golden color of the point in the distance that separates everything on this side from the beautiful Three Arch Bay on the other side. As I wade here now, Three Arch is there and probably just as beautiful as it was the last time I swam there.

The water here on the northern half of the beach is certainly more gentle than the south side today. I turn around after reaching the bathrooms and it feels like the remainder of the swim rolls by pretty quick. A curlew greets me as I reach the shore. I can feel pits in the sand here in the shallows. It is still all sandy bottom but I feel like it won’t be long now before the Winter rocks begin to emerge and make this last part of the swim a little more interesting.