A Bridge Too Far!! (cold water remains)

 Next swims: 

    M-F, 6am and 5pm; 

    Sat & Sun, 7am, 8am and noon  

Last swim: 6am Wednesday (and other, un-blogged swims)
Air temp:  70
Water temp: 54.  FIFTY-FOUR!  FIFTY-F-ING-FOUR
Waves: small swells out of the south 
Clarity: Not really

Kru: Tattoo Lady, Dragonfly, Showgirl, Mermaid Princess, Caroline (a new friend)

Shore Support: Linda the Lamprey, plus a group of screaming younglings

Suspiciously Absent:  the Wim Hoffers

Thumbs Down to the cold water.

tl;dr  the water is still f-ing cold, and the air was very foggy, but we swam anyway.

TTL brought her wetsuit, and I dug around in my car and found mine. Mermaid Princess had her sleeveless and sleeves.  Dragonfly went skin!

Twenty-feet or so from the water, we passed through the invisible wall of cold air and learned the truth:  in spite of last night's storms, the water is still cold.

With much, much grumbling and use of the f-bomb (okay, that may have just been me) TTL, MP, and I struggled into our wetsuits.  I initially declared that gloves and booties were A Bridge Too Far! but ultimately put on the booties, and was happy I did.

Dragonfly did an amazing 400yd swim, skin!

I trailed after TTL, doing the elementary backstroke until I finally sucked it up and put my face in the water.  She and I made it to the garage, where I handed her my barbie and I headed back.  She swam further.

By the time I made it back to the Klode neighborhood, I was feeling better and swam south for a bit.

I know that in early May, we would have been happy to have 54 degree water, but....... It's August, and we like our 70 degrees.  Nay, we deserve our 70 degrees.  <sigh>

Yep, it was foggy.

WTF!?! Cold Water Returns

Next swims: 

    M-F, 6am and 5pm; 

    Sat & Sun, 7am, 8am and noon  

Last swim: 6am Monday
Air temp:  70
Water temp: below 60
Waves: small swells out of the south 
Clarity: Who knows... I was just focusing on continuing to swim

Kru: Lt. MJ, Showgirl, Diablo on the early shift, and of course, three Wim Hoffers

MJ was about to leave at 6:02 when I rolled into the parking lot.  Given how cold the water was, that might have been a better choice.

We headed down the ramp, and encountered Diablo at the bottom.

"Wear two caps," he said.  If Diablo tells you it's cold, it's cold.

As we neared the water we could feel a wall of cold air.

A helpful Wim Hoffer came over to re-state Diablos' bad news-- cold water.

MJ said the (big fat lying) buoy said the temp was 69 degrees.  I can assure you, that is NOT the temperature.

Anyway, she put on her sleeveless wetsuit and I put on my usual, non-wetsuit-y stuff.  

"Sewer pipe."

And so we went to just short of the sewer pipe.  I was questioning my choices the whole way.  It's been so many weeks (months?) of skin-able water that it was hard to even wrap my head around how cold might be too cold to swim.

Back on shore it was fairly easy to warm up due to the warm air.  I did have the heat on in my car, and had some shivers once I got home.

We were only in the water 10 minutes.

New Most Awesome Swim Ever, Plus Sunday Biergarten outing

Next swims: 

    M-F, 6am and 5pm; 

    Sat & Sun, 7am, 8am and noon  <-- see Capn's previous post for Sunday biergarten details

Last swim: 7am Saturday
Air temp:  70-ish
Water temp: 70-ish
Waves: small swells out of the south 
Clarity: Good!

Kru: 7:am Diablo, Brick, Showgirl, 8am Kahuna, Blake, Sandy, Kim

Shore Support: the dudes operating the crane, tho if we get technical, they weren't on shore, either

Yes!! We were right on the beach where the crane is dropping rocks!

OMG, this morning's 7am swim may be my most fun, epic, swim ever, and this will be  a quick telling of this tale.

There were no cars or bikes when I got to Klode at 7ish, nor anyone on the beach, but happily, Diablo and Brick arrived on the scene.

The obvious swells out of the south suggested that swimming south was the way to go, but Brick hadn't seen the amazing new north rock pile.  That's not a landmark to be missed, so we swam north, feeling the push of the waves.

Brick detoured to the rocks, while Diablo and I continued north. 

I was thinking just to swim to the Two Cute Chairs, but once there, Three (Four? Five??) Piers beckoned.  These are truly the magic days of summer swimming, and if you've got a calm, warm day, you'd better make the most of it.

So looking back towards Klode, we saw a large boat on the horizon.  Rejoined by Brick, we kept swimming north. The boat became a barge, heading towards (you guessed it!) the new pile of rocks.

We went to 3-4-5 Piers, and THEN, went past it, off the edge of (my) world, and went to the sandbag shore.  We got out of the water, analyzed the concrete-bag shoreline, all the while, the barge with its pile of rocks got closer and closer to the new rock pile.

We explored the piers for a bit, discussed whether to swim on the shore side or lake side of the barge, and then set off on the return trip.

Near New/Old Mudslide an executive decision was made, and we started hugging the shore, ultimately getting out on the beach to watch the crane drop rock after rock onto the pile.  It was AMAZING!  Fantastic swimming PLUS heavy equipment!  Giant splashes of water!

Finally we got back in, and swam back to Klode, arriving at nearly 9:00.

Kahuna, Blake, Sandy, and Kim were the 8am shift, but they had missed the excitement and drama of the barge by swimming south.

PS. Be sure to read Capn's blog post about a Sunday Biergarten outing.

Beer Gardens & Beavers

Next swims: M-F, 6am and 5pm; Sat & Sun, 7/8am and noon

Last swim: 5pm Thursday August 5th
Air temp:  82
Water temp: 70
Waves: light chop from south
Clarity: Improving!  Frequently could see bottom
Kru: Itch, Wet Taco, Ziggy, Quinoa Salad, Capt'n

If you're a frequent open water swimmer you've most likely had an "encounter".  You know, when you unexpectedly encounter something while swimming that catches you off guard and images of sharks, alligators or sea serpents flash through your mind.  This was the case this evening when Itch and I unexpectedly came across the roots of 10ft+ tree bobbing in the water just offshore from the Silver Spring Downspout.  (a.k.a. Lauren's Golden Shower)  Funny thing about this encounter were the flash backs we had to last summer when Itch and I encountered a real live racoon swimming in nearly the exact same spot.  (...although last year's encountered occurred during a freak thunderstorm we got caught swimming in....)  

This evening's tree encounter does bring up an observation which has led to an interesting theory....after all, this blog was founded on the premise of "OBSERVATIONS, RAMBLINGS, RANTS, AND WACKO THEORIES"...  If you've been swimming along the Klode shoreline this summer you may have noticed quite a few trees that have either washed ashore or will soon be washing ashore.   You may have also noticed quite a few trees missing along the bluffs over looking the bay.   Why, why, why are all these trees disappearing from the bluffs and now washing ashore?  My theory is that this is the precursor to an oncoming invasion and inevitable colonization of Beavers along the shores of Klode.  These busy Beavers have been spending the spring and summer strategically pitching trees into the Lake so that they will provide ample building materials for their soon to be colony along the Klode shoreline!

Now, about the Beer Garden....Sunday, Sunday, Sunday....this Sunday (August 8th)!  A proposal has been made to follow-up Sunday's Noon Swim with a trip to the Estabrook Bier Garten.  What say ye?  Who's in?  If I had to estimate...we'll likely be at the the Beer Garden between 1:30-2pm...Hope to see you then!

70/70 swim

 Next swims: M-F, 6am and 5pm; Sat & Sun, 7/8am and noon

Last swim: Thursday 6am

Air temp: 70

Water temp: 70

Waves: flat, a calm surface

Clarity: getting good, could see the bottom, 8/10

Kru: Dragonfly RiffRaff, Showgirl, Lydia the Tattooed Lady, Magic Mike. Diablo and Moondaug on the early shift.

The sunrise is happening closer and closer to our arrival time these days. A pale orange, pink sun presented itself as we showed up. Diffuse smoke from the Canadian fires --or general haziness-- muted the effect of the sun early in its ascent. But that's fine. We were talking about bugs. Millipedes, ants, probably spiders but I don't know. I was obsessing about the ants. Read this story,  I haven't read it in over 30 years, but it came to mind as we were talking about ants. Very Eurocentric, natives-are-savages sort of story. But still...those ants.

Anyway, this is a swimming blog, not a literary criticism site. On to the swim. And what a swim! Those flat, calm waters, round about 70 degrees, and we could track our progress against the bottom, because it was visible. All hallmarks of an ideal morning swim. Dragonfly and I swam to 2 cute chairs and Mudslide, respectively. Showgirl and the Tattooed Lady swam further...I suspect to Three Piers. It was definitely a day for a nice long swim. I am banking my energy for the weekend swim in Bayfield, so distance wasn't a thing for me today. 

At one point along the swim, somewhere between Sewer Pipe and Garage, I stopped and looked around me. I saw the other Kru who set out on the swim with me. But then, behind them and swimming straight in from the middle of the lake, I saw another swimmer. I presume it was Moondaug (since we saw Diablo leaving before we got in the water). He was on a deep water swim. He looked like he was coming straight from Michigan. Impressive. I am sure he was looking for these treasures...little did he know they were there on the beach all along!

While I was up at the car, brushing off the sand, a car pulled up, rolled down the window, and presented two former students, Maya and Martha. They were there for a swim. These were young people I worked pretty closely with when they were in high school. They both swam for the high school and at least one, if not both, swam in college, too. It was really nice to see them, and good to know that there is another generation ready to pick up the open water swimming mantle. 

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For consideration by the Kru and other readers... discuss the relative benefits and drawbacks of the following swims: a 50/50 swim, a 60/60 swim, and a 70/70 swim. First number is air temp, second number is water temp.

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Warm and flat

 Next Swim: M-F 6am and 5pm; Sat & Sun, 7/8am and noon

Last Swim: Tuesday 6am

Air Temp: 62

Water Temp: 70ish ( per the Capt'n's toes)

Waves: flat

Clarity: very slight improvement. maybe a 2/10 or a 3/10

Kru: Lt MJ, Cindy, DragonflyRiffRaff, Lydia the Tatooed Lady, Capt'n, Magic Mike

As we were gathering in the lot at 6, the Wim Hoffers came up the path. All the world knows, that beach ain't big enough for the two of us. So with the coast clear, and at the proper time, we proceeded down. Three of the four Kru members who are swimming in GitchiGumee up in Bayfield this weekend were in attendance. So there was some talk of this weekend's swim, accommodations, logistics, schedules, etc. Then we told the Capt'n where Bayfield was. That man has to get up north more often!

This is the location of Bayfield. I did
a crappy job of explaining it this morning.

A nice sunrise and a warm, flat bay always make swimmers glad. Today was no exception. We skirted the leftover algae bloom on the shore and struck out into the slightly clearer, but still quite turbid waters. Four of us swam to Mudslide. Dragonfly and Lydia went further. It seems they were headed for Three Piers. 

Back on shore Capt'n relayed a story that the feature of the shoreline out beyond Three Piers that some refer to as Sandbags, isn't really sandbags, despite its appearance. Turns out he and Brick approached the shore there recently and found that those bags (or whatever they really are) are filled with concrete! Who knew?!?! I'm still callin' it Sandbags. That said, we also tossed around potential names for the new pile of rocks. They look different than other piles of riprap along the shore. They're darker, and look to be pretty randomly dropped there--although it appears they may just be staged there for future placement along the bluff where the tree massacre happened earlier in the season. In any case, someone mentioned that they looked like Dinosaur Dung. That phrase is now in direct competition with Itch's "Mt. Jackass." I am sure, as with many names this group adopts, time and consensus will determine which name sticks. 

Meantime, go jump in a lake.

Monday Morning at the beach

Next swims: M-F, 6am and 5pm; Sat & Sun, 7am and noon

Last Swim: Monday 6am

Air Temp: low 60s

Water Temp: about 70 

Waves: slow rolling 6-inchers, barely even breaking on the shore, lots of room between them

Clarity: none!

Kru: Scuba, Mermaid Princess, Luna Laguna, Magic Mike

There was nobody in the lot except the guy setting up for the fitness class and a bunch of garbage left by yesterday's beachgoers (c'mon people!). On the way down the hill I encountered a handful of Wim Hofers coming up.  Two of the four or five people said my name. As some of you can attest, at 6:00 in the morning, I am barely conscious, a little spacey, and definitely without words. So when I hear my name being called, it takes a moment for me to establish focus. There was my neighbor, Ranji. This was a familiar, expected and friendly face. I hope I returned his greeting properly. Then there was Katie, a colleague, who I did not expect to see. I traded a few words with her and continued down wondering at how inarticulate I am at that hour. 

This is a shot from a couple of weeks ago, not today. It's what I expect to see every day when I show up at the beach. I just felt like there needed to be a picture with this post!

At the beach level was Scuba, finding a chance for a lake swim in the absence of the Schroeder pool, which is apparently down for a few weeks for routine maintenance. As we greeted each other, Luna and the Mermaid Princess arrived. Critical mass had been achieved! After some discussion of the new rock pile, and some recollecting of weekend swims, attention turned to the water.

The aforementioned slow rolling small waves promised a gentle, rocking swim. Nothing turbulent, but not flat either.  Closer consideration revealed a lot of green organic mater floating at the water's edge, mucking up the entry into the bay. We found a small spot about the width of a human along the southern edge of the beach without the muck and waded in that way, before swimming north. All murk, no clarity. I could not even see my arm going through the water. It is at times like these that I am thankful we know the contours of the bay so well. Otherwise I'd be worried about what I couldn't see under the water. I swam to mudslide, others turned at the wall. 

Scuba was gone by the time I arrived, and I was lucky enough to share the walk up the hill with LL and MP. I had some words by then.