Staggered Shifts

Next Swims: 
     Noon Saturday
     Noon Sunday (Johnny Weismuller's Birthday)
Current Forecasts:
     Saturday:  56, partly cloudy, ENE 6
     Sunday:  57, sunny, NNE 8 mph, 0%

Last Swim:  Friday, 5/31 at ~5:30 and 6:00 pm

Water Temp:  55 per duckometer

Waves:  Very smooth

Clarity:  Good

Flies:  almost none

Crew:

     First Shift:  Moondaug, Linda the Lamprey, Handyman Hank, Eleanor

     Second Shift:  Eleanor, Showgirl, Mr. Bubble

Showgirl and I were sitting up by the flagpole right at 6, waiting for other people to arrive.  Finally, around 6:10 we decided to walk down and there we found Eleanor, getting ready to go in.  Suddenly,  Linda appears, having just come out, then there's Hank in a wet wetsuit and he's telling me Moondaug is still out.  Eleanor, Showgirl and I were out and back before Moondaug came back.  I think the early arrivals had the right idea - some clouds rolled in and it cooled off shortly after 6.    

Lamprey Thursday

Next Swim:  Friday 5/31 at 6?
Current Forecast:  81 F, partly sunny, WSW 14 mph, 0% chance of rain

Last Swim:  Thursday, 5/30 at 6 ish
Water Temp:  mid 50s? 
Waves:  Very smooth, with some tiny ripples
Clarity:  good
Crew:  Linda the Lamprey (skin), Mr. Bubble (suit)

Looks like it's time to get back to regular 6 pm swims, and probably regular morning swims, too. 

When I read it was going to be in the upper 70s and sunny today, I thought perfect day to go to Klode after work.  So, even though the official date and time of the next swim hadn't been announced, I felt pretty sure someone from the Kru would be at Klode at 6.  Walked down to the beach right when the chimes rang - no sign of any Kru members.  Waited a few minutes and decided not to swim by myself, started to hike back up.  About half way up, came upon Linda strolling down, already wearing her cap and googles - no doubts in her mind about what she would do when she got down to the beach. 

This was Linda's second swim of the day - she went swimming skin in the morning, too.  She's training for a North Dakota Endurance Swim - 36 miles.  So, she's definitely ready to get back to our regular swim schedule.

Polar Opposites

Next Swim:  TBD

Last Swim:  May 27th (Memorial Day)
   Water Temp:  50 (Itch-o-meter) / 47.8 (Captn's Macho-meter)
   Waves:  light chop from east
   Clarity: crystal
   Crew: Diablo, Itch, Linda with Shore support from The Patriarch and Capt'n

Well folks, summer is officially over and now we've transitioned into fall.  For the record, Summer this year happened on a Saturday.  (...which of course is better then last year when I think it happened on a Monday....or was it a Tuesday?) 

In case you missed it, I've attached a picture to this post of what it looked like Saturday when the Kru enjoyed brilliant warm sunshine and air temps near 80.

By comparison, today's air temp was a little more than half that at 46.2. (...or at least that's what the Macho-meter indicated prior to submerging it into the icy lake waters.)  At least today's cloud cover didn't hurl any snowflakes at us!  (Unfortunately the rain drops didn't feel much better though.)

In case you missed it, I've attached a couple snaps of the bad ass Kru members who swam skin today.  Kudos to Linda who was first to walk the plank without the slightest hesitation nor a wimper or muttering of anything akin to "flaw, flaw, flaw".

Almost, almost perfect

Next Swim:  Monday, Memorial Day at Noon has been declared
Current Forecast: cloudy and 54, wind ENE 8 mph, 30% chance rain

Last Swim:  Sunday, 5/26
Water Temp:  48 by the itchometer, 46.6 by the matchmeter
Water: Super Clear
Waves: some chop, 6-8 inch swells
Air Temp:  62 and breezy, total sun with no clouds
Crew:  Itch, Diablo, Dragonfly RiffRaff, Mr. Bubble
Shore Support:  Handyman Hank, Moondaug, Cap'n

Dragonfly and I stayed in for about 10-15 minutes.  Diablo and Itch must have been gone for a half hour or more.  Definitely colder than yesterday, but it wasn't as painful as I was expecting with those low temperatures.  Cap'n didn't swim in the lake, but he did well in a race this morning, so he earned a shot. 

Found Hanks' cymbal playing monkey thingie on my handlebars when we came back up.  Looked really great!  Thanks, Hank!  I think he's a great hood ornament - I'll have to figure out how to glue him on there or something. 

Once again, best swim of the season! 


                   
                     

Almost Perfect

Next Swims:  Sunday May 26th Noon
Monday Memorial Day Noon

Last Swim:  Sat May 25
Water Temp:  51 on the Itchometer, 48 on the Capt'n Macho Meter
Waves Calm
Water: Clear
Crew:  Itch, Diablo, Neo, Mr. Bubble, Gumdrp, Panini, Drangonfly, Mr. Anonymous
Shore Support:  Patriarch, wet Taco, Handyman Hank, Capt'n

The swim gods smiled on us today.  An hour before our swim it was raining heavily, but by noon it was clear and warm and sunny.  A perfect swim day except for one thing:  the water was a wee bit chilly.  Didn't stop some people though.

Itching To Go

Next Swim:  Sat 5/25 Noon

Well it's Memorial Day weekend, so it must be summer, right?  It must be so because several swimmers are beating the drum to get in the water again.  I call it the Itch effect.  He and Diablo have been swimming all winter, so we really don't have a swim season anymore.  Just skin season, wetsuit season, and double wetsuit season.  

If it matters, the water temp is mid-40s.  Good luck with that.  (My plan is to watch from a safe distance.)