Thursday, June 25, 2009

Bath water? ...in June???

Beach: Klode
Water temp: 58 (am), 72-80???
Waves: none
Current: none
AM Crew: The Patriarch, Senor Loco (James), Steve, Capt'n
PM Crew: Synergie, Capt'n
Water Clarity: (am) clear, (pm) tree pollen and other gunk near shore, very clear out a bit
Next Swim: Friday 6AM Klode

C-r-a-z-y!! That's the best way to summarize today's swimming adventure. The unscientific toe test this morning was so numbing I was nearly convinced that this morning's swim wouldn't happen. But The Patriarch's thermometer this morning read 58. Being hard to argue with technology we decided to pull on the wetsuits and give it try. It did take awhile for our faces to acclimate this morning but when they did The Patriarch and I did manage to log a Klode South Beach to Sewer pipe swim.

Despite the frigid water temps this morning, James was determined to swim without a wetsuit. And that he did...out to around the stair case and back from Klode's south beach. (approx. 1 1/4 miles round trip) The achievement was so crazy that I hearby dub James the nickname "Senor Loco". As crazy as The Patriarch and I can be sometimes, James' feat this morning was absolutely c-r-a-z-y!

But wait, this story gets crazier! For anyone who took a glance at the colored lake temps map this afternoon you probably saw the "purple" water color indicated for the Milwaukee shoreline. As I've never seen this I couldn't resist the temptation to return to Klode this evening. Could the water temp really be near 80?

Similar to Tuesday evening's non-wetsuit swim the water was calm and littered with tree pollen and helicopters. The toe test at Klode's south beach indicated a much warmer temp than this morning but nothing that felt like 80. Upon entering the water it became clear where this morning's cold water went....while the surface water was pleasant the water about 1-2ft below the surface was considerably colder.

Swimming out about 100-150 meters from shore was absolutely astonishing...the surface water actually felt warm against my face. The 80 degree water indicated by the water color map was indeed true! In all the swims I've done in Lake Michigan I don't think I've ever experienced the feeling of warm, bath like water, against my face.

I've got my fingers crossed that this water hangs around for a bit so everyone can enjoy it!

Future Swim Opportunities:

Friday: 6am Klode

Saturday: Pleasant Prairie Aquathon
http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1664503&assetId=F7FA88C1-1317-4CC0-AF2B-A6B4FA7351EB

Sunday: Klode to Big Bay Swim (...time is negotiable. Interested??? Let us know what time you'd like to start. 9am? 10am? noon?)

-Capt'n

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I would like to join the Sunday swim. Would prefer an earlier swim (9am or 10ish), but would be open to later times.