If you still had your armpits....

 Last Swim:  Wednesday 6:15am 

Next Swims:  M-F 6:15 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.;  Sat. & Sun.  8 a.m. and noon.  (Not sure about the 5:30 pm situation)

(Blog comments may have other swims)    

Water temp: 50....yes, 50!!!

Air Temp:  64

Surf Report:  Some waves, SW breeze blowing our towels around on the beach.

Clarity:  Too cold to notice

Kru:  Lydia the Tattoo'd Lady, Fin-Fyn Klodecky, Lt. MJ, Showgirl, Dragonfly

Shore Support:  A La Mode, Wim Hofers

This was not even close to a sunrise swim...pre-dawn, with the sky lightening ever so gradually in spectacular colors to the east.

TTL announced the temperature, and immediately people began to gear up more slowly, rearranging items on their blankets, anything to the avoid the actual moment of submersion.

Discussion began with a generational divide, with Lt. MJ referencing Mister Magoo and Fin-Fyn stating "I don't even know what that is."  The rest of us reminisced about Mr. Magoo's blythe myopia which led him on adventures such as driving into a gladiator pit of lions, being launched in a moon rocket, and confronting his own mortality in A Christmas Carol.  

But the great thing about being Mr. Magoo, is that everything works out in the end.  

Lt. MJ shared this helpful link:  “ https://youtu.be/t8GTHXTEvIc ” 

Swims were pretty conversative and centered around the rocks, with no one wanting to go too far in the darkness "in case they had a heart attack."  Even TTL's adventure light, which flashed like a strobe in her buoy, was only intermittently visible.

"I'm just here for the waves and the sunset," said TTL.

The water was startingly cold, but brought on a sense of euphoria once you recovered from the shock.

Fin-Fyn, in skin with sleeves, gloves and booties, scored 1,000 yards!  "I was thinking about the science," she said as we shivered back into our shore clothes, "like how can you be standing in a swimsuit in 50-degree air, and its fine, but 50 degree water is devastating."

"But at least you would still have your armpits," said Showgirl in one of those logic leaps attributable at least in part to hypothermia.  Oddly, we all seemed to understand what she meant.

Fin-Fyn Klodecky, Dragonfly, Lt. MJ, Showgirl, TTL Goofy post-swim Magoo-grins.

A lone Wim Hofer and fiery sky captured by TTL

Forgetful Full Moon Friday

Last Swim:  Friday 6:15am (and many many others that go unblogged because.... reasons)

Next Swims:  M-F 6:15 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.;  Sat. & Sun.  8 a.m. and noon.  (Not sure about the 5:30 pm situation)

(Blog comments may have other swims)    

Water temp: 57f

Air Temp:  low 40's

Water Quality/Clarity:  Pretty amazingly clear with small waves out of the south

Kru:  Lydia the Tattoo'd Lady, Dragonfly, Lt. MJ, Fyn-Fin, Luna Laguna, Showgirl

Shore Support:  AlaMode, Magic Mike

She matched the sky.  And also had no socks.

Today was a classic example of how you can never predict the greatness of a swim based on all the pre-swimming grumbling and profanity.

So. Much. Profanity.

Also... everyone seemed to forget something.  Fortunately, other swimmers were mostly able to provide the missing item. I forgot my entire bag of post-swim clothes.  Luna Laguna forgot her swim socks, and miraculously, TTL's teeny-tiny neoprene socks saved the day for her.  

I forget what all everyone forgot, but every few moments someone said the words, "I forgot my.... mind, patience, filter, whatever."

We had also clearly checked our tolerance and sweet dispositions at the door, so any verbal mis-step was immediately called out.

Meanwhile, we put on varying layers of neoprene and predicted varying swim distances.

The little waves were out of the south, and so we decided to swim that way.  Again, there was fairly continuous grumbling as we got in the water and began swimming.

That must have been when the magic began.

The moon.  Did I mention the moon?  It's was an enormous, bright, super moon. The Hunter's Moon, according to MJ.  

Photo credit: Showgirl

It was amazing-- peeking brightly over the trees, following us for the entire swim.  And then along came the sun--also beautiful.

So most of us wore some level of wetsuit.  Luna Laguna and Fyn-Fin wore only the neoprene accessories (socks, sleeves, maybe gloves).  Post swim Fyn-Fin said something like, "I couldn't tell if I was swimming through warmer water or if I was dying."

All to say, it was a shockingly great swim.

Photo credit: Lt. MJ

And finally, because every day at the beach has some bit of weirdness, Ala pointed out that scattered all over the beach were shells.  Not the zebra mussel shells that we're used to, but ocean-y shells that previously housed some type of sea creature.  Yet here, at Klode.

Beach Hazard or.... Time for a Frolic? You decide.

 Last Swim:  Tuesday 6:15am (and many many others that go unrecorded because.... reasons)

Next Swims:  M-F 6:15 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.;  Sat. & Sun.  8 a.m. and noon.  

(AM swim times are drifting later.  Blog comments may have other swims)    

Water temp: 69?

Weather: Rainy, breezy, cool

Water Quality/Clarity:  Biggish breaking waves, lots of gunk

Kru:  Ala Mode, Lydia the Tattoo'd Lady, Mermaid Princess, Showgirl

Shore Support:  nope

Not much swimming took place, but there was a lot of jumping, body surfing, and frolicking in the waves, all while it continued to rain.

Photo credit: Ala

Swimming in the Ottoman Empire

Last Swim:  Thursday 6 a.m.

Next Swims:  M-F 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.;  Sat. & Sun.  8 a.m. and noon.  

(That said, 6am swims are getting pretty dark, so that will drift later.  Blog comments may have other swims)    

Water temp: 69?

Weather: Air temp high 50's with a breeze            

Water Quality/Clarity:  crystal clear with slow small swells out of the south.  Pretty much perfect.

Kru:  Ala Mode, Lt. MJ, Showgirl, FlipperGuy, Linda the Lamprey (early)  

Shore Support:  the aggressive seagull continues to try to join the Kru.

It was a small crew this morning.  This happens every year after the brief influx of triathletes comes and goes, daylight shrinks, and temps drop.

We shivered a bit, and decided to go south, if only to see some different stuff.  To say that enthusiasm was low is an understatement.

Anyway, we launched, and arrived at Love Rock.  I was making all sorts of mental calculations about how much farther to go when MJ said, "lets go to that next dark spot."   It turns out that dark spot was kind of an optical illusion, so we swam to the next-next dark spot, and turned around.

Sometime during that reluctant swim, the sun rose, and it became one of the best, most beautiful swims in recent days.  We arrived back in the neighborhood of Klode, not quite ready to get out.  So we swam to sewer pipe.  The water was so clear that the sand below stretches out like a secret place.

Photo Credit: Ala Mode

And what about the Ottoman Empire?  For the last few weeks, a giant, waterlogged ottoman has been washed up in the area north of Mt. Jackass and mudslide.  Like us, the ottoman must have been wishing for a change of scenery, because today it's near the sewer pipe.  Where will it go next?  Only time will tell.

ALL HAIL MY NEW PHONE!

Dragonfly celebrates the new dawn, the awesome lake, and her new phone. 

Last Swim:  Friday, Sept. 6, 6 a.m.

Upcoming Swims:  The Typical/Regular Schedule (all at Klode Beach):  M-F 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.;  Sat. & Sun.  8 a.m. and noon.  (Check blog comments, for additional "impromptu" group swims.)    

Water temp: Seventy something.

Weather: Air temp in the low 50s at sunrise, with a cool breeze whipping off the Lake.            

Water Quality/Clarity:  All rialed up.      

Waves:  Big water.  

Kru:  Finfin Klodecky, Mermaid Princess, Showgirl, Mr. Anonymous, Dragonfly, Aquaman, Ben "I don't see people" Boston, Magic Mike? 

SHORE SUPPORT +PLUS:  Lots and lots of "Senior Sunrise" teenagers.

The water was big enough today that some folks decided just to body surf, and some folks decided it doesn't make sense to go out between the rocks (instead deciding to go in and out from South Beach).  A lot of energy in the Lake this morning.  Well away from the rocks, there was times when it was very much a "two story, split level, lake." Some of us got all the way to downspot, Finfin made it to garage.  One more picture from this morning:

Good luck to all who are racing this weekend!  

Labor Day Special - New Nickname + New Landmark!!

Capt'ns log Sunday September 1st - 2024

Me Last Swim: Monday 9/2 - Noon

Upcoming Swims:  The Typical/Regular Schedule (all at Klode Beach):  M-F 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.;  Sat. & Sun.  8 a.m. and noon.  (Check blog comments, for additional "impromptu" group swims.)    

Water Temps: (per itch-mometer) 74ish 

Weather: 70's & Sunny

Water Quality / Clarity:  Cloudy near shore / clearer further out

Waves:  <1ft 

Kru:  Itch, Brick, Sandy, Magic Mike, Wet Taco, Ala Mode, Mr. Bubbles, Carl, Billy Bobber, Klodecky, Tattooed Lady, Peaches, Luna Lagoona, Kahuna, Mr. Anonymous, Capt'n with shore support from She Who Shall Not Be Named 

Another sensational day for a swim!  Highlighting today's swim were two official proclamations...

• "Fin-Fyn shall also henceforth be known as 'Klodecky'.... so it has been said and so shall it be!"  <see picture for clues on the story behind the nickname>
• "The submerged wooden pole by the Great Mansion Wall shall be known as 'Cobra-Kai'...so it has been witnessed and so shall it be!" <see picture for clues on the story behind the name>

Meet Klodecky

Swim Landmark - 'Cobra-Kai'

Labor Day Kru

(Left - Right: Capt'n, Wet Taco, Tattooed Lady, Billy Bobber, Klodecky, Ala Mode, Kahuna, Magic Mike, Mr. Bubbles, Mr. Anonymous, Peaches, Luna Lagoona, Diablo, Itch)

Not that big...not nearly as ferocious...

 Capt'ns log Sunday September 1st - 2024

Me Last Swim: Sunday 9/1 - Noon

Me Next Swim: Monday 9/2 - Noon

Other Swims after Labor Day: The Typical/Regular Schedule (all at Klode Beach):  T-F 6 a.m. and 5 p.m.;  Sat. & Sun.  8 a.m. and noon.  (Check blog comments, for additional "impromptu" group swims.)    

Water Temps: (per itch-mometer) 74ish 

Weather: 70's & Sunny

Water Quality / Clarity:  Cloudy near shore / clearer further out

Waves:  1-2ft.... not nearly as ferocious as forecasted

Kru:  Itch, Luna Lagoona (a.k.a. Lunatic, Garden Party), Ziggy, Kahuna, Kunu, Capt'n with shore support from She Who Shall Not Be Named & Ziggy

They say you learn something new every day.  What I learned today...

• Luna Lagoona goes by many names... while Itch rattled of  a very impressive list with associated short stories of how they came to be... my favorites were Lunatic and Garden Party.
• We're not alone Mateys!  Fox Point has a beach club...complete with a private beach, beach house and a crew of swimmers.  Arrg, I think we might want to introduce ourselves...a beach house sure would be nice for those winter swims.
• Kunu = Chuck in Hawaiian  (Welcome to our newest nicknamed swimmer!) 
• Just because a swim buoy (a.k.a. "a Barbie") doesn't inflate it doesn't mean it has a hole in it.  Just sayin'. 
• When the forecast calls for 3-5ft waves it's not always right.  (okay...so maybe I already knew forecasts aren't always right...) 
• (...this from a very reliable source...) men should eat 3 Brazil Nuts a day to maintain their testosterone levels 

More Pictorial Highlights from Fiesta Friday

Pictorial Highlights from Sunday's 'rock-n-roll' Swim