Yelling at the Camera

Partly cloudy skies here in Capo Beach this morning. I head to the gym for some elliptical torture. By the time I am done, I can’t think of anything I would rather do than get in the water.

I leave the house at about 10:00. I’d say the skies are about half clear. Lots of blue but it feels a little dim.

As I pass Doheny I notice that there is quite a crowd of surfers out in the water. There is a swell peaking today. It’s not big but it is something, which is more surf than has probably rolled in here in a couple weeks. Also it’s Saturday.

When I get to the parking lot at the Strand, there are more cars than usual. All my favorite spots are taken. I probably have to walk another 20 or 30 feet to get to the stairs. Perhaps I’ll indulge in an extra square of chocolate later to reward myself.

The lifeguard hut is reporting 69-71 degrees. Oh yeah. That’s the stuff.

I walk down to the water and it feels very agreeable.

I get to my usual entry point and I begin my journey. I’m heading north today and plan to go as far as the northern Salt Creek bathrooms below the golf course. That was the 30 minute point of last week’s swim.

The water feels absolutely great but it’s much murkier than last week.

All throughout the day’s swim, the mood of the light shifts about every five minutes. Sometimes the sun finds blue sky and it’s all bright and summery and then it gets lost behind the clouds and the light goes flat.

As I head towards Salt Creek I have a clear view of the horizon. The water moves up and down in front of my face. It’s not particularly bumpy today but not smooth. It’s good. It’s alive.

Every now and then I check my trajectory towards the point. Soon I can see the entire Salt Creek expanse from the lifeguard tower to the snack shop to the Monarch Bay Club House and all the way out to the end of Monarch point.

There are a lot of people on that beach - much more than The Strand. That’s probably because there is a lot more sand and overall beach chair real estate.

I make a couple stops on the way to those northern bathrooms to swear at my new camera and take some pictures. The moment water hits the screen it becomes almost unusable. I guess “waterproof” means it will survive the water but not exactly work. I do get it to work but only after repeated verbal abuse.

It takes me about 40 minutes to get to last week’s 30 minute turn around point. It takes time to demoralize and pour out my litany of disparaging remarks upon my camera. If I don’t do it, who will? Believe me, it needs to be done.

I turn around and make my way back. Now I have the beach to look at.

It is definitely time for a new pair of swim goggles. These ones are starting to leak quite a bit. I have probably had these for about two years now and the rubber edges that seal to the face are torn in places.

I eventually get a glimpse of Big Bob buoy and try to aim myself in its direction.

After a while I pause to see how much closer I am to Big Bob. I am just in shore of it and I see someone lying on a surfboard right by it. I take a picture of him and it looks like he is taking a picture of me at the same time. His camera must be better than mine. I don’t hear any yelling.

I proceed to wrap up this swim. A set of waves comes just as I reach the shore.

I position myself right in front of them and take a couple shots just before getting pummeled by the lip. They are small enough that this is more fun than frightening.

I stand myself up and make my way to the asphalt ramp. The air feels pretty much perfect here.