Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Still no wetsuit required!

Itching for a lake Michigan swim fix I ventured down to the Klode beach late this afternoon with wetsuit in hand. With the cooler air temps the last few nights and the cooler water conditions experienced early last week I was half expecting the lake temps to have begun their downward plunge. Much to my surprise the water temp was actually warmer today than it was last week!

There was a slight down side to the conditions tonight though...3 of the 4 Klode beaches are covered with washed up seaweed. Remarkably, south beach remains completely clean....which I'm sure there's a good theory to support why, but I'll save that for another day.

The water at south beach as well as just off the other Klode beaches was for the most part clear to slightly cloudy. With the setting sun behind the bluff, the shadows of the trees and the glare of sunshine in your eyes made it difficult to judge the water clarity. The water was certainly blue and no where near the murky brown The Patriarch and I encountered last Thursday.

My adventure (...or what turned out to be my first adventure this evening...) took me from South beach north up to the garage and back. A little tired yet from the Ironman I decided to come back ashore after about 25 minutes. With the water temp considerably warmer than the air I must admit it was a bit a struggle to pull myself out.

Upon arriving back at my car I was surprised to hear a few familiar voices. Jessica, James and Josh had just arrived to head out for a swim. Following later would be Kimberly. All 3 ventured out for a 30 minute swim without wetsuits...leaving me onshore contemplating whether or not to log a 'double dipper'. After a few minutes I conceded and charged back into the water....after all, the water was warmer than the air. :)

My second adventure took me south from south beach down to the 'sewer pipe'. With the sun tucked completely behind the bluff there was no longer any doubt regarding the clarity of the water as the sandy lake bottom could be easily seen in 10 feet of water.

Itching for another Lake Michigan fix Jessica and Josh are again planning to swim from Klode Thursday evening at 5:30pm. (...of course it goes with out saying that the Patriarch and I will be there!)

Hope to see you then...if not tomorrow! :)
-Capt'n

1 comment:

Josh said...

I don't know where 5:30 came from, I thought we were talking about closer to 6:00...I'll add a comment if I hear anything.