Where are you Buoy?

I left the house just a little after 7. It’s been a while since I have left so early on a workday, but I don’t have any more meetings this morning and there is no sense in waiting. Based on the last couple weeks, I don’t expect it to get any warmer or sunny today and the water is fine right now.

I get to the parking lot and the environment here is quite serene. It’s quiet. The ground feels warm beneath my feet. Although visually, things look arctic, it is actually very comfortable. I’m wearing a t-shirt and overshirt and feel pretty good.

As I walk down the stairs I am enveloped by the sound of surf and a wide expanse of blue water and a sky with varying shades of grey. It’s good.

It’s just past low tide which hit a -0.4 about a half hour ago.

As I descend the asphalt ramp, I see three other swimmers standing in the shallows. It looks like they are tip toeing through rocks. I’m not sure if they are coming or going but soon see them swimming off into the northern distance towards Salt Creek. It seems like all the other swimmers I see here start their swims in the water at the base of the ramp. While that is certainly the most direct route to the water, it is riddled with rocks all year round and I prefer to start a couple hundred feet north where there are no rocks except for this last February/March. The exception is super high tide when the beach is unpassable. Then I go ahead and start at the base of the ramp because I’ll just swim over all of those rocks anyways.

As I walk on the beach to my spot and let the water lap over my feet, the temperature feels good. It is cool but has no bite. My excitement mounts for the swim ahead.

It looks like the sand has filled in a touch since Sunday. There is still a slope of rocks leading to the boulders at the base of the bluff but it is a noticeably smaller slope. My prediction is that things will be back to normal by my next swim on Friday though I am willing to be wrong.

I stash my pack fairly low on the rocks, exchange my shirts for goggles and head out. Surf is still on the smaller side today. There is nothing big predicted over the next several days. The water is by no means glassy but, to quote the surf report, the bump is manageable.

I do walk into an exposed rock on the way out but it is just an island here in a sea of sand and due to the low tide, it is pretty far out.

I start the swim. It feels good. I have a lot more energy than I had Sunday. The water feels just a lick south of neutral on my skin. If I focus on the feel of the water it does not feel cold or uncomfortable but as my mind wanders out to sea, I sense the lack of warmth every now and then. That all said, I welcome this with open arms over the physical assault of 54 degree water. Bottom line - this is a good place to be right now.

I surrender to the soft blues and greys that surround and encase my entire body. As I look beneath the surface, the water is a light blue and I see the dark shadows of rocks pass underneath me. I lift my head for air and am often met with a mouth full of water and I swallow the ocean and then gasp for a full breath. I gaze at the uneven texture of the water. It fluctuates from concave divets to small wakes that reflect the grey sky above. One moment I see a dark splotch that appear smooth and unmoving - a sort of black hole drawing in the water around it. The next moment, the surface is a mirror reflecting the brightness of the sun that wants to penetrate the clouds above but just cant.

I can tell how the water yearns for the sun. It is so ready for its light to pierce through and illuminate the kelp stocks near the floor. Then again, that’s probably just me projecting my desire for sun onto the water. I’m sure the water is fine and unmoved with whatever light it is given. Oh man when will we see another sunny day. I’ve been watching the ten day forecast and do not see any hope ahead.

As I am nearing my northern turnaround point, I pause to take in the view. I see what looks like an orange buoy south and inshore of me. This excites me. I’m expecting to see the jr. lifeguard buoys anchored any day now. I don’t know why they give me such joy but they do. That orange buoy might as well be the equivalent of a sunny day and many more to come. I plan to find it on the way back.

Well I eventually turn around and I am not seeing any buoy. What happened? Was it a mirage of some kind? My theory is that it was one of those open water swimming flotation buoys that I see the other swimmers here use. It was probably those three swimmers I saw earlier heading back to shore. No matter, the buoys will be here soon.

I begin to make my way to shore and notice that my camera is in video mode and filming. Argh! I must have neglected to put the camera in photo mode on my last pic.

I swim in and grab my pack. The temperature is just on the border of comfortable. Yeah I’d be more comfortable if I dried off and put on a shirt but it seems more trouble than its worth and I do enjoy the bare elements against my skin.

I get home and I have four minutes of video footage of bubbles in blue formless water from my camera facing the ocean floor. I stop watching after 20 seconds. There’s probably a great shot of a school of Eagle Rays passing underneath me and I’ll never know.