The Proclamation

Beach: Atwater
Water temp: 71
Waves: 1/2 ft waves from the east
Water Clarity: 10-12ft visibility
Crew: The Patriarch, Greg, Gabriel, Mike, Mike (+kids), Sandie, Scott, Robin, Capt'n
Next Swim: Monday Noon at Klode

The Scene: It was a spectacular day for a swim, perhaps the best of the year. Sunny, air temps in the mid-70s and a water temp of 71....OUTSTANDING!

Today's mission: swim straight out from the Atwater beach approximately 1/4 mile to a buoy marking a 100 year old shipwreck. A few of us did this swim last year so we basically assumed the routine would be the same this year. Spot the buoy from shore, swim out to it, checkout the wreck, swim back.

The Plan: despite the warm water temp we decided to wear our wetsuits as there were several boats in the area passing between the beach and the buoy. As the journey was only expected to be 1/2 mile total (1/4 out & 1/4 back) we would ditch our suits upon returning and head out for another swim.

The Result: The journey out to the buoy felt like FOREVER...well, that is you were just planning on swimming 1/4 mile. As it turned out, the buoy we sighted from shore was well more than 1/2 mile out....and it was not the buoy for the shipwreck. (...It actually was a scientific buoy complete with solar panels and complex looking instrumentation....) Apparently the buoy marking the shipwreck is no longer in the water. Several of us though, did spot the shipwreck as we were swimming out.

The Encounter: Upon swimming back to the beach we came across Mike and his family who were swimming out to the shipwreck. Upon noticing that we were all clad in wetsuits he exclaimed, "let it be known that while you guys are swimming in your wetsuits, even my 8 year old daughter is embarking on this journey without the assistance of a wetsuit!" Hear ye, hear ye...it has been said and now it has been written, so let it be known to everyone. :)

The Finale: Not to be out done though...and staying true to the plan...let it be also known that The Patriarch, Greg and myself all stuck to the code and ditched our wetsuits and completed this afternoon's lake adventure clad only in our speedos.