Recreational Water Amusements or... Smells like a Sewer Pipe

Next Swims: M-F 6AM, Sat/Sun noon, and other times, often 7 or 8am on weekends...

Last Swim: Thursday 6AM and Wednesday 5PM  

Water Temp:  66!  Yes.... S I X T Y-S I X!!! 

Air Temp: high 60s

Waves: minor swells with chop increasing

Clarity: cloudy inside the rockpile, clear elsewhere

Kru:  Lydia the Tattooed Lady, Abby, Corryn, Linda the Lamprey, Mermaid Princess,  Showgirl, Lt. MJ, Mr. Anonymous, new swimmer Carrie (?), undoubtedly Diablo as a stealth swimmer

Shore support:  dead fish stinking up the place

After the last few mornings of low 50's water temps, there was lively debate about pool swimming vs. risking the lake.

Good triumphed over evil, and we went to the beach. 

As we headed down the ramp our noses were assaulted by a horrendous smell that seemed like a mash-up of the worst farm smell and.... decaying fish.

But did I mention the water is warm?  Our trust has not been totally won back, so many wore sleeveless wetsuits and headed north to do some awesome longer swims.

Anyway, for morning swimmers, it was the warmest swim of the season.  Many swam past the Two Cute Chairs, though not quite to three piers.

In other news, it appears that the Village of Whitefish Bay is going to install a pool at Klode Park!  Or at the very least, some recreational water amusements, whatever those may be.

Historical Lesson:

And finally, I will briefly address Kahuna's failed attempt to sanitize and suppress the traditional landmark name of the "Sewer Pipe."  Don't fear, new swimming friends, there is no actual sewer pipe, nor (mostly) no actual sewage. 

Long, long ago, shrouded in the mists of time, the founders of the Klode Kru named the cement water outlet just north* of Klode the "sewer pipe."  If you let a little phrase like that put you off lake swimming, then you really should head back to the pool.

The phrase "sewer pipe" is also shorthand for "I'm going to do a short swim" i.e. just swim the distance to the sewer pipe**.  This phrase is often used when the swimmer lacks enthusiasm for the impending swim.  Frequently the swimmer arrives at the sewer pipe, having overcome her or his initial reluctance to swim, and proceeds to swim much further (farther?), often to the consternation of her/his friends who had thought, "oh good, a short swim."

* There is also a south sewer pipe, but that's a farther (further?).  The south sewer pipe also resists attempts to rename it into something more fastidious.

**The corresponding southbound landmark which indicates the swimmer is making a short swim is "picnic table." The picnic table doesn't exist anymore, so you'll just have to take our word for this one, and know that a picnic table swim is just past the first rock wall.

6 a.m. Klode on Wednesday, July 6

 See you there!

6 a.m. Swim tomorrow (Tuesday) at Kode! "Resting Pitsch Face"

 Last Swim: Monday, July 4th, Noon.  

Water Temp:  57, colder about a half-mile south (48?) 

Air Temp: 72?  Cloudy & gray but still beautiful

Waves: choppy with a huge push from the south on the return

Clarity: Pretty clear

Kru:  Lydia the Tattooed Lady, Showgirl & Squeeze o Showgirl, Kahuna, Laguna Mike, Luna Laguna & spawn, Capt'n, Moondaug, Magic Mike, Eric the Lifeguard, Yash (sp?), Jaenneke (sp?), Itch, Diablo, Kim, Danny, Dragonfly, others?

Shore support:  Older lady in her 80s whom we met last year, various adorable fetch-playing dogs

Upcoming Swims After July 4th:  

• Weekdays A.M. at Klode: 6:00 tomorrow.  Sometimes morning swim times vary depending on who is present (and when they have to be at work!) Will make a better effort to post swim times here the night before.  ALL are welcome!
• Weekdays P.M. at Klode:  5:00 p.m.  
• Weekends:  Noon on Saturday and Sunday at Klode.   

First, congratulations again to Kahuna and his glorious Spawn (see yesterday's post!)

On Independence Day, today, the Kru gathered on the rocks just north of the pier at Big Bay.  A bit tricky with limited space, but all found a niche to change in.

Most had some level of neoprene. Luna "Sunny" Laguna impressively swam skin.

We cruised along the unfamiliar landmarks south from the 'beach' - not seen by many of us since last year!  A sewer pipe, vast staircases, a brightly colored kayak stack, and the piece de resistance, a impressive boat launch on an enormous track.  My distance vision is not so good - I think TTL said there was a motorboat on it?

Swimmers commented on the "Wall of Cold Water" about 800 yards to the south where the temperature appeared to drop about 10 degrees.

A Killepitsch toast was drunk courtesy of the Capt'n.  Jannaeke had her first taste of Pitsch since turning 21 in January ("I've had other drinks," she assured us, this was only her first Killepitsch.) She inspired a new phrase, "Resting Pitsch Face."  

Kahuna proposed a project in which we create a portrait of each Klode Kru member....a 'before' and then an 'after' composed of their Resting Pitsch Face.  

A good idea deserving pursuit!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [persons] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

JULY 4TH SWIM:  Klode is closed today, so the noon swim today is at Big Bay Park. 

Last Swim: Sunday, Noon.  

Water Temp:  61, colder near the rocks, warmer near the surface, with commonly encountered cold pockets.

Air Temp: 72?  With a pleasant full sun.

Waves: Almost glass

Clarity: Full clear

Kru:  Lydia the Tattooed Lady, Lt. MJ, Mermaid Princess,Laguna, Squeezalaguna, Cindy, Dragonfly, O.G., O.D., Diablo, Cap'n, We'Tac, No Name, Itch, Linda da Lamprey, Dan, Not Dave, Magic Mike, and a slew of other swimmers whose names I didn't catch, or who I've forgotten. 

Upcoming Swims After July 4th:  

• Weekdays:  A.M. at Klode: 6:30 a.m.?  (Would someone with the a.m. group please set a precise time, for the benefit of the KlodeKruKurious?)  P.M. at Klode:  5:00 p.m.
• Weekends:  Noon on Saturday and Sunday at Klode.    

In Other Engagements & Wedding News:  

Occasional Kru members Sonakahuna and Squeezasonakauna were married outside of Stanley Idaho, in a mountain meadow that can only be reached after a mile or so hike, at dawn, last Monday.  

Dr. Sonakahuna and Dr. Squezasonakahuna are honeymooning by hiking the length of Continental Divide Trail over the next several months, and will then re-locate from Boise to Hailey (Sun Valley), Idaho.  Parents of the groom are Kahuna, and SheWhoMustNotBeNamed.

NOBODY puts Baby in a Corner

 Next Swims: Saturday, Sunday noon, M-F 6am and 5pm

***SPECIAL NOTICE***The Monday, JULY 4th swim will take place at Big Bay because of holiday festivities at Klode.  There may or may not be a traditional swim from Big Bay to Atwater.  Check back here for time!

Last Swim: Wednesday 6 a.m.
Water Temp: 52
Air Temp: 68

Waves: a little bumpy from the east-southeast

Clarity: Murky

Kru:  Lydia the Tattooed Lady, Lt. MJ, Mermaid Princess, Cindy, Dragonfly. 

Early shift:  Diablo

Late shift:  Magic Mike

Another beautiful morning, thanks TTL!

TTL announced the temperature at the usual low of 52.  She, MJ and I layered on the neoprene while Cindy and Mermaid Princess prepared for a skin dip.  

Diablo happened by with a mystical creepy Baby, apparently wrested from the deep. The Baby made its way from towel to towel (as they do) before ending up on the wall:

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner," MJ quipped as she snapped this.

"I put Baby in the corner," Cindy admitted (boasted?) Clearly someone to be reckoned with.

TTL, MJ and I swam South past the guano-scented shore of seagulls, past Love Rock and arrived at the stinky Sewer Pipe.  The waves were not large but impeded progress in both directions.  MJ had them on her breathing side going out, I had them on my breathing side coming back.

The water was increasingly comfortable as the sun rose, especially east of the rocks.  Once you got inside the rocks, it was back to the little knives.  As we clambered up the shore, Magic Mike emerged from the water in full gear.  We exchanged pleasantries about the cold.

Rest of the day pretty much an anti climax execpt for a spirited text thread about a player soon to be nick-named...

Supple wetsuits and floating rafts

 Next Swims: Saturday, Sunday noon, M-F 6am and 5pm

Last Swim: Saturday 7 and 8
Water Temp: 57
Air Temp: 68

Waves: mostly flat, with a slight swell from the south

Clarity: 9/10

Kru: Showgirl, Laguna, Lydia the Tattooed Lady, Moondaug on the early shift. Magic Mike on the late shift.

I lingered over coffee this morning and didn't leave the house until about 8:00. So I thought I'd have a little catching up to do once I got to the lake. Turns out the four swimmers there were just wrapping up their swims. It seems you might find swimmers there as early as 7 on weekend mornings, it kinda depends.

The water was the same cold its been all week. It seems to be stuck looking up at 60 degrees and never quite getting there. It wasn't there today. But by the same token, all week the lake accepted intrepid skin swimmers and neoprene clad softies (like me) alike. We had a brief conversation about the relative suppleness of various models of wetsuits before the early swimmers departed and I headed into the water.

I heard tell (from Laguna) of a floating yoga matt/raft thing that was adrift in the bay. He suggested  I might be able to stop and play on it for a bit. Immediately I thought of the first place I had seen these things: Lake Geneva. I envisioned the children of some Winnetka millionaire jumping off their daddy's Chris-Craft and onto one of these floating rafts and diving into the water from it. But as I cleared the cove and started looking for this raft, it was nowhere to be found. People walking dogs along the shore. Seagulls paying just a little too much attention to me. Large schools of bait fish swimming beneath me. All this, but no floating yoga matt/raft thing. 

Went as far as the mudslide and back and got out just as a few drops of rain began. Good timing!

Unnecessary Roughness

 Next Swims - M-F 6 or 6:30 a.m. and 5pm  

Women-led swim at 6:30 a.m. Monday; other days TBD and depends on work schedules.  If interested leave a comment.  (Persons of any gender welcome!)

Last Swim: Noon Sunday

Water Temp: A balmy 60
Air Temp: Delightfully pleasant mid 70s, great sunshine

Waves: Waves 2 feet, choppy, strong from the SE
Clarity: Water was a pale blue

Dead Alewives: Fairly well dispersed
Kru:  Capt'n, Kahuna, Diablo, Itch, Brick, Sandy, Rosie, Kim, Lydia the Tattooed Lady, Marion the Librarian, Handy Man Hank, North Shore Nancy, Other Dave, We'Taco, Skippy, newbie Michael, Dragonfly (hope I got everyone!)

Earlier shift:  Mr. Anonymous swam from Big Bay to Klode.

An impressive number of Kru arrayed the beach all along the southern barrier, stretching from the waterline,  through the mid-beach and up at the flat warm top of the wall, where it was sheltered from the wind and warmest.

 

It was a day for long swims.  Itch and Rosie completed a round trip to Big Bay.  Brick and Sandy swam to the start of the Big Bay wall.  I surprised myself by tagging Love Rock, but declined to join TTL as she forged through the somewhat annoying chop & quite unnecessary roughness to the south Sewer Pipe ("Downspout!!" corrects Kahuna.)  Most folks wore some level of neoprene but there was skin as well.

Conditions were so pleasant afterwards, encouraging extensive socializing and some ranting.  (You'd have thought I would have taken at least one photo.)

New person Michael enjoyed his first open water swim as he focuses on training for the Ironman.  An experienced pool swimmer, he regretfully did not do anything stupid to earn an immediate nickname.  

We closed out the session with a nip of Kill-o-Pitch (Killepitsch) supplied by the Capt'n, toasting Father's Day, Juneteenth and Pride Month (not necessarily in that order.)