Gumdrop's Chocolate Salty Balls

Next Swim:  Monday 10/1 @ 5:30pm

Last Swim:  Sunday 9/30 @ 11am
Water Temp:  58.8
Air Temp:  65 & Sunny
Waves: rolling < 1ft
Clarity:  cloudy
Crew:  Diablo, Gumdrop, Buffy, Lorriane, Capt'n

Following our traditional post swim round of Pitsch today Gumdrop offered up a batch of his Chocolate Salty Balls.  Feeling a bit adventurous today I sampled one of Gumdrop's now famous creations.  "Interesting" is about the only way I can describe it. (I think they may actually be the secret that was used to get Mr. Ed to talk....)  Mixed with a round of Pitsch the combination turned out to be quite entertaining...thanks to Buffy's suggestive thoughts it was long after sampling Gumdrop's creations that visions of Buffy and AliKat rolling down the Klode park bluff to the beach began to float around in my head.  Shortly after this I began to sing a familiar grade school rhyme "AliKat and Buffy rolling down a hill...then they went SW-I-M-M-I-N-G...first came the Kru, then came the hill..."  Thank goodness Diablo was there to snap me out of it! 

Quotables

Next Swim:  Sunday 9/30 11am

Last Swim:  Saturday 9/29 12pm
Water Temp:  60.8 (...but pockets of colder water just off the rock piles...)
Air Temp:  71 & Sunny
Waves:  Calm
Clarity:  clear until Mudslide...then cloudy
Crew:  Gumdrop, AliKat, Buffy, Neo, Dave, Kim, Lorraine, Capt'n

As the Klode Kru strolled down to the beach on Saturday phrases such as "Like oh, mah gahd...look at that water..." could be heard from one of the Klode Kru mates as she talked at a feverish pace on her cell phone.  Indeed, Buffy was right...the warm sun not only felt great on our backs it also made the water look very inviting this afternoon.

"Whoa!" was the puzzled exclamation made by Kru mate Neo as he walked the plank skin this afternoon.  (...the only Kru mate to complete today's adventure skin....)  Despite being greeted by pockets of colder water (mid-50's?) just outside of the Klode rock piles it was actually a pretty nice day for swim.  The sun actually made you feel a little uncomfortably warm in your wetsuit while standing on the beach...which in hindsight probably made the colder pockets of water feel like more of a shock than normal.

Note from the Surgeon General....going to loud rock concerts can adversely affect your hearing. 

Getting back to normal

Next Swim:  Saturday 9/29 Noon

Last Swim:  Friday 9/28 5:30pm
Water Temp:  59.7
Air Temp:  64 & Sunny
Waves:  Calm
Clarity:  5ft visibility away from shore
Crew:  Gumdrop, Alikat, Sarah, Lorraine, Capt'n

The water temp continues to inch upwards back to the 60 degree mark.  (seasonal norm?)  Tomorrow's forecast calls for light winds and a high of 70!  Should be a great day for an early fall swim! 

Moving Forward

Next Swim:  Friday 5:30pm, Saturday noon?

Last Swims:  Thursday 6pm & Friday 6am

Thursday 6pm Report:

Water Temp:  56.4
Air Temp:  58 & cloudy
Waves:  1-2ft chop
Clarity:  stirred up
Crew:  Gumdrop, Capt'n with special guest appearance by The Patriarch

The water temp is definitely heading in the right direction.  Nearly forgot how much fun it can be rolling in the waves...I could feel my body rolling for the next few hours whenever I closed my eyes!  :)  I plan to be back at 5:30pm Friday.  Anyone else in?

Friday 6am report from Gumdrop:

Water Temp: High 50's -60
Air Temp: about high 40's
Waves: 1-2 foot playful rollers
Clarity: shaken, not stirred
Crew: Diablo,Gumdrop,Showgirl

Water is noticeably warmer a few yards off shore. Think we got our groove back.

Call to Arms...keeping the streak alive

Next Swims:  Thursday 9/27 6PM, Friday 9/26 6PM

Last Swim:  Wednesday 6/26 5:30PM
Water Temp:  upper 50's to 60
Waves:  1-2ft rollers
Clarity: no report
Crew:  Gumdrop, Geoffrey

Gumdrop and I are in for Thursday evening's 6PM swim.  Per Gumdrop's report from Wednesday we may have turned the corner with regards to getting back some warm(er) water.  We're almost to 100 days of consecutive swims!  Today will mark our 100th consecutive day.  Who's in for this evening's swim?

Swim time for Friday evening is flexible.  Please post a comment if you have a preferred swim time for Friday.

Who Will Keep the Streak Going?

Next Swims:  Wed 9/25 6AM??  6PM??,  Thursday??  The water is cold and we're down to the real hard core.  Who will walk the plank?   Bubba are you still planning to swim to Halloween (you didn't think we'd forget that you said that did you?)??

Last Swims:
Tue AM report from Diablo:
WTC (Water Too Cold)
Tuesday 6:00AM Report
Kru: Conejitos, Ganso, Diablo, Stupidone
Water Temp: Colder than yesterday but warmer than tomorrow
Air Temp: 53 by the Silver Spring M&I clock
Waves: None

Following the instructions from Amazing One this morning walking the plank took x-tra time; First you put your toes in the water; after the toes were numb then we walked until the water got to knee level. Once again, after the knees were numb we kept moving to reach the hips level... At this point Amazing One instructions went overboard and we ran, Kahuna style, screaming "Mierda, mierda, mierda" (translation Fluh, fluh, fluh).
We logged a swim to the water rain drain spout.
Amazingly after swimming the 53 air temp felt like tropical weather. 
Ganso stayed on the beach to watch the sunrise while the rest of the Kru went running away looking for new adventures and missing, but needed, body parts.
Conclusion: WTC

Tue PM: Gumdrop swam by himself, observed by Patriarch.  Gumdrop's toes say the water warmed to the mid-50s (big whoop).

heading in the right direction

Next Swim:  Tuesday 6AM?

Last Swims:  Monday 9/24 6AM & 6PM

6PM Report::
   Water Temp:  53.4
   Air Temp:  68 & Sunny
   Waves: none
   Clarity:  clear
   Crew:  Capt'n

6AM Report (from Gumdrop):
   Water Temp: high 40's-50/toe test
   Air Temp: about high 30's-40
   Waves: occasional gentle rollers Clarity: not bad
   Crew: Gumdrop,Showgirl

We logged a swim to garage today. Think I now know how to reach an equilibrium state of comfortably numb.

Keeping the streak alive

Next Swim:  6pm Monday 9/24

Last Swim:  1pm Sunday 9/23
Water Temp:  50.2
Air Temp:  58 & Sunny
Waves:  occasional gentle rollers < 1ft
Clarity:  Clear
Crew:  Gumdrop with special guest appearence by Capt'n

Gumdrop saved our consecutive days streak yesterday by logging a solo swim.  He did it skin at a water temp of 50.2 to boot!

The maps still indicate that there's plenty of warm water out there so I remain optimistic that it will return.  Perhaps for this evening's 6pm swim?  ...I plan to be there...work permitting.

Harvest Full Moon Swim - Clearing up Confusion

Next Swim:  Sunday 9/22 - 1pm Klode

Last Swim:
Water Temp:  50.8
Air Temp: 56 & Sunny
Waves: none
Clarity:  clear
Crew:  Gumdrop, Jack with special guest appearances from Wonder Woman & Capt'n

There may be a little confusion regarding when the Harvest Full Moon Swim will be.  I've heard a few crew members mention that it's this Wednesday but according to my research it appears to be rising on Saturday 9/29 at 6:07pm with 99.0% illumination....reaching 100% full at 10:19pm.  The moon rise scheduled for 9/30 is listed as being 99.9% illumination.  (...9/29 is listed as the official Harvest Moon though.)

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=158&month=9&year=2012&obj=moon&afl=-11&day=1

This is actually good news because it will give the warm(er) water time to come back.  According to the maps there still some 60ish water out there...its just not along our shore right now.  Gumdrop and Jack were real troopers today walking the plank in 50 degree water and logging a swim up to garage and back.  Sunday's forecast looks encouraging...even if the current water temp trend isn't.  :)

Catching Up

Next Swims:  Saturday 9/22 @ 2PM, Sunday 9/23 @ 1PM?


Wednesday 9/19 6AM Report from Kahuna:
Crew: Gum Drop, Diablo, Brain, Show Girl, Kahuna
Water: Clear, gently rolling waves mostly 1-2 feet, with a couple of 3 footers thrown in now and then.
Water Temp.: 62
Air Temp.: 42
Sunrise: 9.5 of the Official Little Miss. Sunshine Sunrise Scale

A pleasant swim south to yellow kayak or storm drain and back

Thursday 9/20 6AM Report from Gumdrop:
Water temp: 55 F.
Air temp: 53 F.
Waves: Calm
Water Clarity: Murky
Crew: Brain,Diablo,Showgirl,Gumdrop

Diablo continues his fiery streak of skin swims. Some went to Garage and back, others a little further.

Friday 9/21 6AM Report from Gumdrop:
Water temp: 53 F.
Air temp: 40's F.
Waves: Calm
Water Clarity: not bad
Crew: Diablo,Brain,Showgirl,Gumdrop,Nivens Mctwisp

Diablo continues his fiery streak of skin swims. Others ventured a little further and some to Mudslide. Mctwisp may not be coming out of his rabbit hole for awhile though (unless things warm up:)! 

Disintegrating in the Waves

Next Swims:  Tue 9/18 6AM & 5:45PM, Wed 6AM
Neither Cap'n nor I can make a 6PM Wed swim, but Lorraine is looking for someone to join her, please comment if you can swim Wed evening.

Last Swims:  Mon 9/17 6AM & 5:45PM
Water temp: Mon AM 62, Mon PM 59
Waves: Calm
Water Clarity: Excellent
Mon AM Crew:  Brain, Mr. Bunny, Squawky the Goose
Mon PM Crew:  Patriarch, Cap'n, Lorraine

As the days grow shorter and cooler and the water temp dips below sixty, fewer swimmers are showing up, and the ones that do are as mad as Queeg.  Brain imagines that the animals on the beach are cheering him on and Cap'n keeps imagining that he smells barbecue short ribs.  The Crew is falling apart, but I'm hopeful we can find enough swimmers holding on to their sanity long enough to complete one more full moon swim - the Harvest Moon will be next Wednesday September 29th.

Tea Time

Next Swims:  Monday 6AM? & 5:45PM

Last Swims:  Saturday 9/15 1PM, Sunday 9/16 9AM
Water Temps:
   Saturday 1pm: 68+ (warmer away from shore)
   Sunday 9am:  65
Air Temps:
   Saturday 1pm:  76 & Sunny
   Sunday 9am:  64 & Sunny
Waves:
   Saturday 1pm:  slight chop from south
   Sunday 9am:  Calm
Water Clarity:
   Saturday 1pm:  Crystal Clear
   Sunday 9am:  Clear
Crew:
   Saturday 1pm:  Diablo, Nivens McTwisp, Ron, Capt'n
   Sunday 9am: The Patriarch, Diablo, Gumdrop, Sir James, Lorraine, Kim, Capt'n

Some days I think we spend more time engrossed in conversations than we do swimming.  Some days I think the conversations are almost as interesting as the swim itself.  The swim conditions morning were quite pleasant...a glass like lake surface, a water temp warm enough for skin swimming and clear water....but for some reason I remember more about this morning's conversations than I do the swim.

There was the conversation about yesterday's "best swim ever" with only 1 crew member swimming skin and an air temp that was in the lower 50's.  (editors note...hardly what comes to my mind when I think of a "best ever" swim...).

And there was the conversation about why The Patriarch ditched the crew this morning....one moment we were greeting Diablo to the beach and the next moment there The Patriarch went swimming away as the entire crew stood puzzled as to why he didn't wait.  Comments of "why, why, why would he do that?" and "what the crap?" could be heard amongst an astonished crew.

And then there was the conversation about whether certain crew members look better in their wetsuit than without.  I won't name any of names that may have been spoken during this conversation but Sir James' name was not spoken even though he did wear his wetsuit this morning....which consequently led to a trash talking conversation about next year's Aquathon series.  (editors note....Bring it on Sir James!)

Oh, and none of us can forget Kim's conversation about how she had to rush off this morning for sex ed class....ahh, now that was certainly a classic conversation!  Oh, which reminds me...some things that are spoken on the beach are better left on the beach...which is probably where I should leave this conversation.  :)

One of Our Best Swims Ever

Next Swims:  Today Saturday 9/15 1PM, Tomorrow Sunday 9/16 9AM (both at Klode beach)

Last Swims:  Friday 9/14 6AM, Saturday 9/15 7:30AM at Atwater beach
Water Temps: 62 both Friday and Saturday (but warmer away from shore)
Waves:  Calm
Water Clarity:  Crystal Clear, perhaps the clearest I have ever seen in Lake Michigan
Fri AM Crew: Gumdrop, Diablo, Brain, Kahuna
Sat AM Crew: Kim, Alikat, Lorraine, Brain, Gumdrop, Kahuna, Patriarch

It turned out to be the perfect morning for a shipwreck swim.  The sun was warm and bright.  The water was crystal clear and calm.  The wreck of the steamship Appomattox was clearly visible.  I've been out there several times before but this was by far the best viewing conditions, the planks and crossbeams of the broken hull were laid out in checkerboard pattern as if on display.  Quite the sight!

While some of the others continued out to the weather buoy, I swam around the wreck trying to find the other pieces of the ship like the propeller that are supposedly out there somewhere.  The only thing I could find was a large piece of what looked like sheet metal that Kahuna speculated could have been the smokestack.  Nearby there was also a large circular metal object, perhaps a wheel or pulley for ropes.

Afterwards Gumdrop, Lorraine, Kahuna and me went for breakfast at City Market, where we dined al fresco and amused ourselves by torturing Cap'n with obnoxious text messages about the great swim he missed.

Saturday (9/15) 1pm Swim Planned from Klode

For those who missed this morning's 7:30am Shipwreck swim from Atwater Beach do not despair....1pm swim from Klode has been planned.  So far Diablo, Nivens McTwisp and I are in.  Today's weather forecast calls for plentiful sunshine and air temps in the mid 70's so it should be a delightful afternoon for a swim.

See you on the Beach!

~Capt'n

Shipwreck Swim Saturday 7:30AM Atwater Beach

Next Swim:  Saturday 9/15 7:30 AM Atwater Beach.  Meet in the park that is at the intersection of Capitol Drive and Lake Drive.

Last Swims:  Wed 6PM, Thu 6AM,  I presume there was also a Fri AM swim, but I have no report
Water Temps:  Wed PM 64, Thu AM 61
Waves:  Heavy Chop
Water Clarity:  Good
Wed PM Crew:  Patriarch, Gumdrop, Lorraine
Thu AM Crew: Gumdrop, Brain, Diablo

Saturday morning we'll swim out to the shipwreck Appomattox. Here is some info on the wreck.
http://www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org/explore_appomattox_intro.cfm

Still Good

Next Swims: Wednesday 9/12 6PM, Thursday 9/13 6AM & 6PM, Friday 9/14 6AM

Also Brain is suggesting a "shipwreck" swim from Atwater Beach at 8AM Saturday, which is a great idea, but I propose we move it to 7:30AM to allow more time for Al's Run participants (it starts at 10:30 downtown) - or move it back to 1:30PM.  Comments?

Last Swims:  Tue 9/11 6AM & 6PM, Wed 9/12 6AM
Water Temps: Tue AM ?, Tue PM 68, Wed AM 63
Waves:  Small chop Tuesday, calm Wed AM
Water Clarity:  Mixed, some places clear, some places not
Tue AM Crew:  I know Gumdrop, Showgirl, and Brain were there, not sure if there were others
Tue PM Crew: Patriarch, Cap'n, Gumdrop, Not Dave's Wife, AliKat, and a few more showed up at Lisa's for pizza afterwards
Wed AM Crew: Brain, Gumdrop, Showgirl, Kahuna, Scooby, Diablo

The days are getting a little shorter, the air and water a little cooler.  The season is slowing down, but there's still some good swimming to be had, get down to the beach while you still can!

Pirates Pizza Night Tuesday!

Next Swims:  Tuesday 9/11 6AM & 6PM

Last Swim: Monday 9/10 6PM
Water Temp:  69 (measured by the new Patriarch-o-meter!)
Air Temp: 68 & Sunny
Waves: Rolling waves 1-2ft
Clarity:  Clearer off shore
Crew:  The Patriarch, Diablo, Kahuna, Lorraiine, Capt'n

Hear ye, Hear ye!  So shall it be known that the Klode Kru has spoken and the week day AM swims shall continue until at least Halloween.

Hear ye, Hear ye!!    So shall it also be known that by official decree of The Patriarch that Tuesday September 9th, 2012 has been officially declared as Pirates Pizza night!  The location will be Lisa's Pizza on Oakland.  Swim will commence at 6PM at Klode and Pizza at Lisa's will follow at approximately 7:15pm.  All are welcome and stories from Big Shoulders and Ironman are sure to flow as freely as the grog! 

A map to Lisa's Pizza can be found here:  http://www.lisasfinefoods.net/231795.html

Big Shoulders Report

Next Swim:  Monday 9/10 6PM
Note:  Diablo and I decided it's too cold and dark in the morning to continue weekday 6AM swims so we'll be swimming in the evenings instead.  If some of you want to continue morning swims let me know and I'll put it in the blog.

Last Swims:  Saturday 9/8 Big Shoulders at Ohio Street Beach in Chicago
Sunday:  1PM Klode

Water Temp:  Big Shoulders 72, Klode on Sunday 70
Waves:  Very rough and choppy for Big Shoulders, 2-3 feet with a strong northerly current on Sunday at Klode
Water Clarity: none
Big Shoulders Crew:  James, Jake, Brian, Kahuna, Patriarch
Sunday Klode Crew:  Diablo, Patriarch

Congratulations to James and Jake who both took first place in their age groups!  Also, our old friend Megan, who used to swim with us but now lives in Chicago was second woman overall and first in her age group.  These are all great accomplishments as there were many very good swimmers in the race.  With apologies to James, I would feel remiss if I didn't report the results of the annual Megan/James grudge match, which was once again won by Megan, but only by 40 seconds in a race that lasted just over an hour.  Next year, James!

Friday night the Chicago near shore marine forecast was predicting 6-9 foot waves with rip currents and waterspouts.  As so often happens with Lake Michigan predictions, it was completely wrong.  The waves were 1-2 feet at most, but it was very rough and choppy.  There must be something about beaches that are next to breakwalls that turns big waves into lots of smaller choppier waves.  As much as I've swum in big chop this year, this was worse and all during the race I was tasting  the breakfast which I had eaten three hours before.  Brian said the same thing.  Even so, we got 'er done.

Showtime

Next Swim:  Sunday 1pm - check back Sunday morning for location
Update:  Sunday's swim will be at Klode at 1PM

Last Swims:
   Thursday 9/6 - 6PM
   Friday 9/7 - 6AM
Water Temp:
   Thurs PM - 71.6
   Fri AM - 67.2 (warmer offshore)
Waves:
  Thurs PM  - gentle rollers < 1ft
   Fri  AM - Calm
Clarity: Clear
Crew:
   Thurs PM - Kahuna, Wonder Woman, Ali-Kat, Sarah, Lorraine, Ele, Andy, Capt'n with special guest appearance by The Patriarch
   Friday AM - The Patriarch, Diablo, Kahuna, Speed, Gundrop, Showgirl, Geoffrey, Capt'n

It's time to cash in on our summer of swimming!!  Good Luck to all who are participating in the Big Shoulders and Ironman events this weekend.  Stay tuned for details on a date/time/location for a Pirates Pizza Night where our fellow Klode Kru mates will share their war stories.  {perhaps next Tuesday or Friday evening?}

Good Luck to all Ironman and Big Shoulders Participants!

Next Swims:  Friday 9/7 6AM
No scheduled swim Saturday, as many will be in Chicago for Big Shoulders or Madison for Ironman
Sunday 9/9 1PM, Check back Sunday morning for swim location - if conditions are right we'll swim from Atwater Beach out to the wreck of the Appomattox.

Last Swims:  Wed 9/5 6AM & 6PM, Thu 9/6 6AM
Water Temps: Wed morning 68, Wed evening 69, Thursday morning 65
Waves:  Choppy on Wednesday, Flat calm on Thursday morning
Water Clarity: Excellent
Wed AM Crew: Gumdrop, Showgirl, Diablo, Cap'n, Patriarch
Wed PM Crew: Kahuna, James, Amazing, Matt, Patriarch
Thu AM Crew: Gumdrop, Showgirl, Scooby, Brain, Diablo, Patriarch

The big weekend is here!  Many of the crew will be participating in either Big Shoulders in Chicago on Saturday or Ironman in Madison on Sunday.  From a swimming perspective we couldn't be more ready, given all the great swimming we've done over the last two months and more.

Scooby posed the question:  Has anyone ever done both Big Shoulders and Ironman in the same year?  It would be very difficult both athletically and logistically, but crazier things have been accomplished. Anyone know the answer?

The current prediction for the for Big Shoulders is warm water and big waves, but keep in mind there was a similar forecast last year and the actual conditions were flat and cool (65) water.  So my suggestion would be to come prepared for anything.

Good luck to all!

Deceptively Cool?

Next Swims: Wed 9/5 6AM & 6PM, Thurs 9/6 6AM

Last Swims: Tue 9/4 6AM & 6PM
Water Temp: 66.1 (am), 70.7 (pm....but cooler away from shore)
Air Temp: 69 & partly cloudy (am), 76 & Sunny (pm)
Waves:  calm (am), slight chop (pm)
Water Clarity:  The further from shore the better
Crew:
   am - The Patriarch, Diablo, Gumdrop, Kahuna, Showgirl, Ali-Kat, Capt'n
   pm - The Patriarch, Sir James, Jack Frost, Scooby, Ali-Kat, Mr. Amazing, Linda, Lorraine, Eric, Ken, Capt'n

You ever wonder why some days the water just feels colder even though the temps haven't changed much?  For whatever reason today's temps of 67 & 70 didn't seem to provide the same comforting embrace it has all summer.  It's probably just subliminal....after all, The Patriarch did declare the end of summer in his last blog post...and the days are getting shorter...although perhaps I may have consumed a little too much grog at the Biergarden yesterday.  Ah, now that sure was a grand time we had at the Biergarden yesterday....

Of course I could throw in a theory or two...such as how warm humid air makes cooler water feel even colder....especially when the moon is still shining as the sun slowly rises from behind a bank of clouds....on a morning where you promised your crew mates a journey to see Scooby's treasure...even though the water was filled with sand and other floating particles which all resulted from heavy overnight rains....but instead of admitting to the slim possibility that you could even find the treasure chest much less see it you encouraged the crew to press on into the dark blue yonder....with you and yer crew mates clad in nothin' more than a swim suit and cap which left more to the imagination of yer fellow crew mates than it did to warm yer soul....wait...oh, darn!!! I'm out of rum....why am I always out of rum!?!?!

Ending the Summer in Fine Style

Next Swims: Tue 9/4 6AM & 6PM, Wed 9/5 6AM

Last Swim: Labor Day 9/3 Noon
Water Temp: 68
Waves:  Less than a foot
Water Clarity:  The further from shore the better
Crew: Cap'n, Crash, Lorraine, Amazing, Diablo, Karen, Jake, Jack, Patriarch, Bruce, Wonder Woman and her sidekick Wonder Girl, Kim, Cheryl, Ali-Kat, Ryan, Gumdrop, Slip&Slide, Lori

A fine summer day with (relatively) warmer water and (relatively) calmer seas made possible our first long swim in a while.  Some of us swam to the orange kayak.  Well actually the kayak "swam" to us near the mudslide.  But some made it as far three piers and the Amazing One tacked on another quarter mile at the end.

This being Labor Day and myself being a Gentleman of Leisure, I magnanimously toasted the working slobs that make up the rest of the group.  Work harder, and keep those pension checks coming!

Afterwards we headed to the Estabrook Beer Garden to celebrate a fine summer day and an excellent swimming summer.  Summer may be over but there's more great swimming ahead.

Anyone interested in car pooling to Big Shoulders on Saturday please let me know.

Biergarten Ho!

Next Swim: Labor Day, Sunday 9/3, High Noon, followed by the Estabrook Park Biergarten

Last Swim: Sun 9/2 1PM
Water Temp:  67 (for once Capt'n got it right when he predicted warmer water!)
Waves: 3-5 feet, with a very strong current, especially on the sand bar
Water Clarity: None
Crew: Cap'n, Mike, Gumdrop, Diablo, Lorraine, Kim, Patriarch

The waves didn't look all that big from shore, but they were powerful.  As I crossed the sandbar I got thrown sideways and off balance by one breaker and then knocked on my a** and body slammed into the sand by the wave right behind. Wow!

Everyone made it back safe, although Kim gave us some anxious moments when she drifted close in front of the rock pile on the way in.  We celebrated our survival with a toast to lost goggles.  I got mine knocked off yesterday, and Kim lost hers today.

The wind is predicted to die down, but remain onshore, so I'm hopeful for continued warm temps tomorrow with smaller waves (but of course my predictions are even worse than Cap'ns).  

WARM WATER HO!!!

Next Swims:

• Sunday 9/2 1pm
• Monday TBD

Last Observation: Saturday 9/1 1PM
Water Temp: 59 (...but upper 60s-70 further out & up at Mudslide)
Air Temp:  68 & Mostly Cloudy
Waves: 1-3ft every 4 seconds
Water Clarity: sand filled near shore / clear 150+ meters out
Crew: The Patriarch, Diablo (skin), Gumdrop, Kahuna, Showgirl, Nivens McTwisp, Little Fish, Ryan (skin), Capt'n with special guest appearance from Ali-Kat and Lorraine

Greeting us today was a steady diet of 3ft waves crashing into the Klode rock piles.  The water was considerably warmer than yesterday but still shy of 60 along the shoreline.  In addition to being on the cool side the water was also saturated with sand.  Despite the less than perfect conditions the Klode Kru today was determined to get er done!

The swim up to Cedar Grove was cold and murky with occasional white capped sea serpents challenging your efforts to move forward.  Those of us who chose to continue our journey up to Mudslide were treated to an exceptional surprise....a wall of clear blue & warm water!  The sight was remarkable...one moment we were swimming in cold murky water and then in a blink of an eye we were suddenly surrounded by exceptionally clear blue warm water.  Even more remarkable was the fact that we could swim along this line of contrasting water conditions as if there was a magical barrier preventing the murky water from mixing with the warm pristine water.  Needless to say we chose to follow this line all the way back to Klode...opting to stay just a few strokes on the warm side.