Klode Kafe

Ever dream of emerging from the cool embrace of the Lady of the Lake, only to be greeted before you step on shore with a nice warm cup of coffee?  And maybe a piece of Kringle?  Dreamer awake!  If you have nothing better to do with your life this Friday morning at 6:00 a.m., come to da beach, and experience KahunaFest 2021.  God willing, Kahuna will be there when you get back from your swim, to-- like they say in the theme to Laverne & Shirley, "make all our dreams come true"!      

Two shelves

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

Last swim: Wednesday 6am

Air temp: 68

Water temp: 64, but it was pretty much colder a little deeper.

Waves: flat like glass

Clarity: nice and clear

Kru: DragonflyRiffRaff, Showgirl, Forger, Mr Anonymous, Magic Mike with Diablo on the early shift

It was a quiet swim this morning. Gone was the crowded lot; gone were the fitness people; gone were the hugging teens, and the friendly middle aged women, gone were the Wim Hoffers. Those who were there were individuals doing their thing. Diablo paddled through the otherwise still morning waters. The seagulls were making more noise than the humans.

When we measured the water temp at 64+  degrees, it gave us a false sense of the water's warmth. Many folks are familiar with that perennially cold patch between the rock piles. So that wasn't an issue, really. What became the issue for me as we all swam north was these two shelves of water: one that we swam through at the top of the  water column, and one about 2 and a half feet down that was probably 10 degrees colder. THAT shelf served to refrigerate the one on top of it. So the swim was a cold one. I am still in a sweatshirt two hours later looking to recoup some lost body heat. 

On my return trip, just out from the new rock pile, I encountered Showgirl standing about waist deep in the water. I was perhaps 10 feet away (north) of her and could not touch the bottom. I had to ask her what she was standing on. To which she replied, "The bottom!" We dug around some and theorized that the barge that brought in the new rock pile had to dredge a bit to get in close enough to offload all that riprap. She was standing on the part where the dredged sand was deposited, I was trying to stand where they dug the path in. I do not know whether this was an active dredging or just a situation where the barge simply plowed through the sand leaving a sand wake behind it. Either way, I wonder whether or not this will be the locale of a future rip current. Swimmers beware!

 

greeting the day

 Next swims: W, R, F  6am and 5pm; Sat & Sun  7 and 8am and noon

Last swim: Tuesday, 6am

Air temp: 65

Water temp: 60-61

Waves: very small rollers coming pretty much straight in, basically calm

Clarity: clear

Kru: Diablo, Lydia the Tattooed Lady, Showgirl on the early shift. Capt'n, Scuba, Lt. MJ, Mr. Anonymous, Magic Mike. Handyman Hank on the late shift. 

Shed the neoprene this morning! The water temp was right at the bottom of my "skin zone," so I ventured in without the wetsuit. Nice to be back in more temperate waters. 

Took the picture today that I didn't take yesterday. Not that things looked the same,
but this morning's rise was a different kind of nice from yesterday's. 

Diablo's bike was at the rack. Showgirl and Lydia's gear was unoccupied on the beach. It was evident people got an early start this morning. Those of us preparing for a 6:00 swim found our way into the water just as the Wim Hoffers stepped out. With some swimmers in wetsuits and some not, the lion's share of us swam north to look for the early swimmers. Scuba swam south to look for a cannon. I watched Diablo and Lt. MJ almost collide out in the bay. I eventually spotted the pink barbies belonging to Showgirl and Lydia. At a spot a little beyond the new rock pile, I turned back. Others went as far as the Cialis chairs (aka two cute chairs) and the staircase in the rocks beyond mudslide. 

Come February, we dream of days like today.

I wish I took a picture!

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

Last swim: Monday 6am

Air temp: 62

Water temp: 59/60- we had no thermometer, so we guessed

Waves: none

Clarity: beautifully clear

Kru: Mermaid Princess, Lt. MJ, Cindy, Luna Laguna, Magic Mike

I stumbled away from my bedside thoughtlessly this morning (or more thoughtlessly than normal). Managed to dress myself and gather my swim stuff, but forgot my phone. The particular beauty of this morning's sunrise had me groping for my phone, which was resting unmolested on my bedside table. I am not going to attempt a description, your imagination will be better. It was stunning. A picture would be nice...but it didn't happen today.

The lot was nearly full of cars at 6:02! There were joggers doing the hill and the track on top of the bluff. There were hugging teens on the northern rock pile no doubt documenting the beauty of the sunrise in the sort of perfectly curated images that their generation seems to create effortlessly. There were Wim Hoffers communing with the sunrise in their own manner. There were three middle aged women cheerfully engaging each other and the Wim Hoffers in appreciative and voluble banter. And there was the Kru. 

We guessed the water was about the same as yesterday, perhaps a little warmer. This despite MJ's attempt to throw us off by making us think it was colder than yesterday. It wasn't. With some caution, we wrapped ourselves in neoprene, except Luna who dove right in. The rest of us pushed off behind her and swam north. A nearly ideal swim! a perfect way to mark Cindy's birthday. Happy Birthday, Cindy!

Scratching back

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

Last swim: Sat and Sun 7/8am

Air temp: 65

Water temp: 54 Saturday and 58 Sunday

Waves: basically flat Saturday, very gentle rollers in from the east Sunday

Clarity: beautifully clear... 9.5/10 - 10/10 both days

Kru: Saturday: 7am- Showgirl, DragonflyRiffRaff, Mermaid Princess, Lt. MJ, Magic Mike; 8am- Mr Anonymous, Laguna Mike, Kahuna

Sunday: 7am- DragonflyRiffRaff, Showgirl, Cindy, Lt. MJ, Jenny, I hope I didn't miss someone; 8am- Mr. Bubble, Handyman Hank, Magic Mike

Shore support: Squeeze o Showgirl

After the cold water of the early part of the week, this weekend appears to be an effort on the part of the sun and the lake to bring the temperatures back a little closer to normal for this time of year. It looks like we are scratching back to swimmable temps! It would be interesting to hear what the noon swimmers experience. 

I have noticed a gender break in the weekend morning swims. Saturday morning there were four women swimming the 7 o'clock shift and, if I would have slept in, four men on the 8 o 'clock shift. I did sleep in on Sunday and there were at least five women at 7 and three men at 8. I wonder about that. No matter who is in the water, when the sun shines and the water is clear and calm, there is little in the way of an excellent swim. 

Both days, I found myself planning on a relatively short swim. Then, before I knew it, I was bobbing around at the mudslide talking myself out of going further. It's probably good to get back to shore and the rest of the life we all live. But there is always that what-if-I-keep-swimming? scenario to contend with! I wanted to say something about what a pleasure these August mornings are (and they really are!). But then I thought that there is not that much difference between those pleasures and the pleasures of July swims and June swims. So just keep swimming, be glad for the lake, and look forward to socializing with Kru-mates on Sept 5 (thanks in advance Synchro!).

Adieu, Racoon

Next swims: 

    M-F, 6am and 5pm; 

    Sat & Sun, 7am, 8am and noon  

Last swim: 6am Friday(and other, un-blogged swims)
Air temp:  60's
Water temp: 48.9.  But let's round that up to 49
Waves: flat
Clarity: Excellent

Kru: Tattoo Lady, Dragonfly, Showgirl, Mr. Anonymous, Luna Laguna, Mermaid Princess, Lt. MJ, Linda the Lamprey

Shore Support:  many Wim Hoffers

August 2021

In spite of the cold water, there was a banner turnout this morning.

After a brief respite yesterday morning, the Wim Hoffers were also back in force.  We studiously ignored them.  They gazed longingly at us, desperate to share the doctrine of their cult.

Some did brief but highly impressive skin swims, some wore random assortments of gloves/booties.  Dragonfly wore a shorty wetsuit, "for a short swim" she said.

TTL, MJ, and I (all in full wetsuits & accoutrements) voyaged to the new rockpile, which continues to impress.  I was wearing new, and thus super-clear, unscratched goggles, so I could see even more of the submerged part of the rockpile.  I'm disappointed to say that you can no longer swim behind it, which was delightful while it lasted.

After that, we returned to Klode.

TTL once again assumed the mantle of Dead Animal Removal Coordinator by calling the WFB DPW, and thus, our dead racoon friend is no longer sunbathing on our beach.  TTL, we are forever grateful.

48-49 -- Visited the New Rockpile Anyway

 Next swims: 

    M-F, 6am and 5pm; 

    Sat & Sun, 7am, 8am and noon  

Last swim: 6am Thursday (and other, un-blogged swims)
Air temp:  70
Water temp: 48-49
Waves: flat
Clarity: Good

Kru: Tattoo Lady, Dragonfly, Showgirl, Mr. Anonymous

Shore Support: a dead racoon (?) and the chatty Wim Hoffer dude

tl;dr The water is even colder, and we swam anyway.

Church of Lake Michigan, every day.
(photo credit: TTL)

I keep hoping that the storms we're having will bring back the warm water.  But.... they haven't yet.

Mr. A was already on the beach when TTL, Dragonfly, and I arrived.

Once again a wall of cold air foreshadowed the cold water.  TTL put on her wetsuit BEFORE taking the temperature, which was probably a good thing, since the temp was.......... 49.  Or 48.  Whatever.

But we were already dressed for swimming, and so we did.  Statements of "sewerpipe" helped adjust expectations.

So we got in, with an appropriate amount of swearing, and side-stroked, back-stroked, and  breast-stroked.  All the strokes that are swimming without actually putting faces in the water.  But finally we did.  

Upon arriving at sewerpipe, I told myself that garage wasn't far off.  Once there, could the birches be far away?  But then the start of the rock wall seemed do-able.  TTL arrived and said, "how about the end of the rock wall?"  Once there, New Rockpile was in sight, and since I hadn't seen the final result of the crane+barge+tug's efforts, and we were practically there, we checked it out.

At that point, we compared notes on which body parts were feeling extra-cold, and (obvi) swam back.

Once again, Dragonfly did an amazing skin swim out and back.

R.I.P. our racoon friend.  We hardly knew ye.