Bring it! *

Next Swims:

        Mon-Fri 6:30 am and 5pm  <--NEW TIME
        Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Wednesday 6:15AM
Water Temp: 43.3
Air Temp: 50's, and mercifully no wind
Clarity: amazing
Waves: flat as glass

Kru:  Mermaid Princess, Showgirl

* Bring IT!  Bring your full-sleeve wetsuit.  Bring your booties and gloves.  Bring your fluffy socks and hat for after.  Bring your long down jacket and use it to facilitate changing.

Photo credit:  Mermaid Princess.

There was a lot of pre-swim chit-chat, and plenty of time spent pulling on booties and gloves, followed by a side-seam catastrophe on MP's wetsuit.

And after all that, we finally got in the water and swam north.  The clarity was amazing.  The clouds at the horizon hid an actual sunrise, but there was a momentary explosion of red clouds that was magical.

Today was the maiden voyage of my new Xterra gloves, and I was reasonably happy with them.  This may be a cold-water swim record for me, and even my beloved Flipper Slipper booties didn't keep my feet completely warm.

Nevertheless, I made it to the birches, and MP went a bit further.

The air temperature back at the beach was more of a factor in post-swim shivers than the water, I think.

Back in the parking lot, we continued to re-hash the swim until a car came in, music blaring.  Out jumped a hippy-looking girl holding a............ hula-hoop.  She said she was taking a 3-minute hula break.  She proceeded to do amazing tricks with the hula hoop, and she was still at it as I left.

Constraints

Next Swims:

        Mon-Fri 6:15 am and 5pm  <--shifting to 6:30 sometime soon)
        Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Tuesday 6:15AM
Water Temp: 43.5
Air Temp: 60-ish, no wind
Clarity: amazing
Waves: flat as glass

Kru:  Mr. Anonymous, Showgirl

Shore Support:  chatty guy on the beach

I decided to start putting my wetsuit on in the parking lot as a way to make sure I swam no matter what the temp.  In the mean time, Mr. A rolled in.

The clouds were doing amazing things along the horizon.

And thus, I had half the wetsuit on, plus booties when I took the temperature.  The readout jumped immediately from 51 to 46, and then kept going down to....... 43.5.  

"Sewerpipe," I said.  

"If that," Mr. A said.

Mr. A was lightly dressed in a sleeveless wetsuit, and maybe booties.  I had a full-sleeve + booties, but, for whatever foolish reason, I decided against gloves.  

The water was amazingly clear and flat, and I felt fast in my wetsuit, but.... my hands did not agree with the rest of me.  I swam a tiny bit past the sewerpipe, but the increasing objections from my fingers caused me to turn around.  

I did a tiny skin swim after taking off the wetsuit.

We bundled up and left the scene.

Synchronized Swimming

Next Swims:

        Mon-Fri 6:15 am and 5pm  <--shifting to 6:30 sometime soon)
        Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Monday 6:15AM
Water Temp: 44.8
Air Temp: high 60's, no wind
Clarity: good near shore
Waves: flat as glass

Kru:  Mermaid Princess, Laguna Mike

Shore Support:  Showgirl

I was running late this morning so I was happy to hear voices on the beach as I headed down the stairs.

Laguna Mike and Mermaid Princess were chatting, but not really showing signs of getting in.  The cloudy sky kept the light dim.

After my burning cold loop around the rockpile yesterday, I was not super fired up about getting in the water, and really didn't feel like putting on my wetsuit.

To further cement my reluctance, I took the temperature and it went down, down, down to 44.8F.

To cut to the chase, Laguna Mike swam several pool-like laps skin, parallel to the shore, inside the rock piles.  MP swam laps nearly skin, perpendicular to the shore, out to just a bit outside the rock piles.  Though their paths crossed repeatedly, there were no crashes.  They called it quits at about the same time, and were probably in the water for 5-6 long, cold, badass minutes.

The sun never appeared today, but Mermaid Princess shared this freaky pic from yesterday morning:

This next pic, from today, further illustrates the roaming nature of the big white rocks.  A handful of them are starting to break away from the herd, and stealthily travel north underwater. 

Seven Samurai

 Next Swims:

Mon-Fri 6:15 am and 5pm
Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Sunday 8 a.m.
Water Temp: 45
Air Temp: 73
Clarity: Not
Waves: Relatively flat, 1 ft swells
Kru:  Showgirl, Mermaid Princess, Panini, Luna "Sunny" Laguna, Linda the Lamprey,  Dragonfly.   Wetsuit:  Brick.  Shore Support:  Lt. MJ (although she did go in up to her knees)

On a day for sartorial wonders, Brick wore a plaid shirt and pajama pants in a completely different and jarring plaid.  Ultimate grunge.  Mermaid Princess strutted her Bilabong swimskins which looked exactly like faded jeans, suitable for a trip to the grocery store.  I demo'd a few "Running Man" shuffle steps.  Panini donated a swim cap to Sunny, who apparently was sharing a cap with Laguna Mike, "one cap for two people."  

But then it was time to go into the water.  Lt. MJ came down, she said, "just to see if anyone would go in."  Everyone went in!

While Brick put the finishing touches on his full wetsuit gear, the women surged forward as a group.  My feet quickly turned to blocks of ice and I staggered out and made ready for another go.  I believe Sunny Laguna was first, backstroking with great enthusiasm. Linda the Lamprey dove quickly  in the shallows, avoiding the frozen feet syndrome.

Gray sky, gray water, not much incentive to linger.  It wasn't AS cold as I thought it might be, but I still kept my swim prudently short.  

We all took a slightly different approach.  Showgirl did a rock loop.  Sunny Laguna backstroked, Linda did laps back and forth outside the rocks.  Mermaid Princes went almost to Sewer Pipe, I went straight out and straight back.  Panini hesitated for many minutes, then finally plunged for a quick dip.

Brick completed a pretty solitary 45-minute swim - a minute for every degree," he explained.

The sartorial wonders continued post-swim.  MP also had a striped magenta-and-white cabana changing poncho.  "It looks like a Circus Tent!" Panini exclaimed.  Sunny Laguna was prepared with wool hat, full-length hooded DOWN COAT and winter boots, and a good thing, as she shrieked, "The Afterdrop is so strong!"

All 8 of us repaired to a delightful post-swim coffee.

Kwite a Krowd

Next Swims:
Mon-Fri 6:15 am and 5pm
Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Saturday at Noon
Water Temp: Dr. Panini called it 48, averaging macho-meter, mitch-o-meter and duck-o-meter readings
Air Temp: 78
Clarity: plenty of junk inside the rocks but could see bottom outside
Waves: gently 8 - 10" swells, northbound current
Kru:  Mr. Bubble, Mr. Anonymous, the Other Dave, Moondaug, Super Hera, We'Taco, Dr. Panini, Sunny and Mr. Laguna, Rosie, Abby, Courtney, Eleanor & Ryan, Itch, Brick, Sandy, Capt'n, Magic Mike, Kim G.

This has got to be unprecedented turnout for a day when the water wasn't that warm.  My only speculative explanation is that perhaps some of today's swimmers actually believed my last blog post, saying that Autmun 2020 has been cancelled for the remainder of the year.  Easy to believe that when we have such warm sunny weather - the lake doesn't seem to be buying it though.  At least not today.  

Patriarch and Capt'n have told me that, in the old days, they wouldn't even consider swimming in water colder than 60.  

Capt'n poured the Pitsch and asked for a toast; Sweet Jesus! was Itch's response.  Very apropos as we were taking the Killepitsch Kommunion.  OMG! would be another way of saying how most of us felt.  Stated yet another way - Jesus is Just Alright, per the Doobie Brothers in 1970

I don't care what they may say
I don't care what they may do
I don't care what they may say

Jesus is just alright, oh yeah  

Pre-Dawn Magic

Next Swims:

        Mon-Fri 6:15 am and 5pm

        Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim:  Friday 6:15

Water Temp: 55 (rounding up)
Air Temp: 60 
Clarity: Pretty fair
Waves: flat, slight rise and fall on return

Kru: Tatooed Lady, Showgirl, Mermaid Princess (MP fka Pool Noodle), Luna "Sunny" Laguna, Panini, Dragonfly

Shore Support:  Squeeze o'Showgirl

Could there be a more glorious way to kick off a Friday?  With a hiatus yesterday because of work/elbow issues, I was keen to get back in the water.  Driving over the Hoan in pre-dawn darkness, the Northwestern Mutual was not even visible, a Ninja blending into the background, only its name floating 40 stories high.  

I was a few minutes late to the beach. The combined sea/sky entity was opalescent, one of my favorite descriptive words:

                                    

Apparently my mood was a shared one.  Rounding the corner of the path,  animated disembodied voices floated up to me, chortling and full of glee.  

A few minutes later, I was able to see them more clearly:

Mermaid princess looks cold - before she even got in the water for her skin swim!

Tatooed Lady was first in and headed north.  At the rocks she turned and looked back at the rest of us lolllygagging on the shore.  I went next and Luna Laguna right behind me.  Luna seems to inspire multiple nicknames and all related to Celestial bodies, an enviable quality!  I think of her as "Sunny" because that's her personality.

Stepping in didn't feel too bad - I didn't have that recoiling feeling, not when I put my hands in either. I was skin (no choice) because my sore elbow would not let me don a wetsuit and gave trouble even getting on cap and goggles.  But I knew the cold water would be therapeutic.

With my initial plunge I didn't even feel cold.  I felt the blood rushing to the surface of my skin, warming me, and the water was warm and comforting past the rocks, as usual, and even warmer the further you went, beckoning insidiously. With each breath I watched a redeye sun peep a few more degrees over the horizon.  The neon pink and orange barbies of TTL and Luna floated on ahead.  The surface was gray, green and smooth, gently reflecting a play of colors and shapes, dark wood; green, red and orange leaves.  Shore sounds were distant and muted.  I reveled in this solitary amphitheater, free of any troublesome thoughts about work, or thoughts, period. 

I turned at Birches,  better to quit while ahead.  Heading back, I still couldn't put too much pressure on the elbow but felt the basics of my stroke technique return in a most hopeful way.  As one does, I began to dread the return to shore and the inevitable "Afterdrop" a term given us by the San-Francisco-Bay-swimming Fred, which basically means that while in the water you are ok,  it's only after you get out the you get really cold. Wikipedia has this to say:

Afterdrop is a continued cooling of a patient's [sic] core temperature during the initial stages of rewarming from hypothermia. Afterdrop is attributed to the return of cold blood from the extremities to the core due to peripheral vasodilatation, thus causing a further decrease of deep body temperature. 

But, as Fred says, hypothermia makes all your problems go away.  

 Post-swim, Sunny Luna and Showgirl were rapping back and forth about ear plugs, gloves and other swim paraphernalia - where did they get the energy?  I needed to channel available resources into  wriggling out of my wet suit while maintaining towel coverage -  accomplished easily when  the brain is not compromised.  The Mermaid Princess was equally absorbed.  The Tatooed Lady was last out, wtih an epic swim to just past Rock Wall.  Panini did a long therapeutic immersion as well.

Getting into the car always feels a little awkward - return to gravity, after floating in Dreamland.  But then - the endorphins - and all things Earth-wise feel possible again - even exciting - 

Autumn Cancelled for the Remainder of 2020

Next Swims:

        Mon-Fri 6:15 am and 5pm

        Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim:  Thursday 6:15
Water Temp: 57 
Air Temp: 64 
Clarity: Yeah baby!
Waves: flat
Kru: 5 girls for every boy!  Linda the Lamprey, Showgirl, Lydia TTL, Lt MJ, Cindy B, Mr. Bubble

Mother Nature has decided that the best way to protect us from ourselves is to just cancel Autumn this year.  Everyone who's concerned about what will happen when the weather gets cooler and we're all forced to spend more time indoors should be relieved - this year we're going to have an Endless Summer.  Of course, the folks in California, Oregon and Washington are not reassured by this.  

However, it's not totally clear if this cancellation is the result of an executive order by Mother Nature, or if it's Autumn's personal decision to maintain her social distance (Autumn is a girls name, right?).

Getting back to reality, but continuing with right brain thinking:

• The sunrise is beautiful, 
• The water is crystal clear and beautiful, 
• Even the Orchestra is beautiful

Überwinden. Also, what's up with these rocks?

 Next Swims:

        Mon-Fri 6:15 am and 5pm

        Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim:  Wednesday 6:15AM
Water Temp: 56.8 
Air Temp: 60
Clarity: clearing near shore, still hazy further out
Waves: flat as glass
Kru: Dragonfly, Showgirl

After the swim.

Neither Dragonfly nor I got the memo to stay home today, so we didn't.

I took the temperature, and it slid down into the 56 range.  Still, the air was warm-ish, and the water was perfectly flat, so there was no reason not to get in.

It's easy to convince yourself to swim as you stand on the beach wrapped in warm fleecy goodness.  It's a bit more of a hurdle after you shed the layers and resolve to swim skin.

Dragonfly is currently recovering from injuries sustained during a recent FIVE MILE RUN, so she turned back somewhere past the sewerpipe.  I swam to north of birches.

There were definitely warmer patches, and the inner rockpile water was much colder.  

Here's a mystery that's been plaguing me all summer:

This collection of rocks has been travelling around the beach all summer, sometimes running in packs, sometimes acting alone.  Sometimes they're on the beach.  Sometimes they're randomly lurking near shore, waiting for unsuspecting swimmers to stub their toes, or worse, trip and face-plant into the water (yes, I did that).  Here they are, demonstrating pack behavior, all huddled up near the metal wall.  Dragonfly thinks the big waves on Monday put them there.  I think.... other forces are at work.  Please share your hypothesis in the comments.

Sunrise at Mudslide

Next Swims:

        Mon-Fri 6:15 am and 5pm

        Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim:  Tuesday 6:15
Water Temp: 58 According to Lydia the Tattoo'd Lady's brand new thermometer! 
Air Temp: 60? 
Clarity: no, though clearing near shore
Waves: blissfully flat water
Kru: Mr. Anonymous, Tattoo Lady, Lt. MJ, Linda the Lamprey, Showgirl, Luna Laguna, Panini

This doesn't suck.

It was an amazing swim this morning. When we arrived, the sun was still below the cloudy horizon, and the water was flat as glass.

We were a bit trepidatious (spellcheck doesn't like that word, but dictionary.com tells me it's real) after TattooLady took her new thermometer for it's maiden voyage and told us.... 58.  Post-swim we all agreed that it felt warmer further out.

Linda wisely requested a north-bound swim, in case anyone got cold enough to want to walk home.

And so... her words kept me swimming all the way to Mudslide this morning.  As my toes started doing their cold-toe thing, I thought, "just keep going because you can get out if you want."  

The sun made it's big red beautiful appearance about as we got to Mudslide, and then retired behind the clouds for the rest of the time.

It was so amazingly flat that the group of swimmers stayed in sight pretty much the entire swim. We all agreed that felt unusual. 

Back on the beach we shared what we've been watching lately.  Lt MJ confessed to watching "Top Gun" with her son (hellooo Rick Rossovich!) and I... admitted to re-watching the entire "Twilight" series.  Don't judge.

Sketchy Departures and Arrivals

 Next Swims:

        Mon-Fri 6:15 am and 5pm

        Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim:  Monday 6:15
Water Temp: 60-ish 
Air Temp: 60? 
Clarity: NO
Waves: YES, big ones, 3-4 footers? out of the south
Kru: Mr. Anonymous, Tattoo Lady, Pool Noodle, aka Mermaid Princess

Shore Support: Magic Mike, Showgirl, Squeeze o' Showgirl

Other Last Swim: Sunday noon
Water Temp: 64? Warmer inside the rockpile
Air Temp: 65-70?
Clarity:  lots of small crud close to shore, clearer further out
Waves: aggressive 3-footers out of the south with lots of wind
Kru: Well, that's the question.  There were lots of people there-- me, Diablo, Cap'n, Itch, We'taco, Pool Noodle aka Mermaid Princess, Liz, Linda the Lamprey, Blake?, Sandy, Forger, IceMoonDog, Luna Laguna, Laguna Mike, Spawn o' Laguna, Jean-welcome!, and several others that I either forgot or don't know

Sunday Noon, briefly: The beach was sunny and beautiful, the water was warm for September, and there was a fierce wind out of the south, kicking up  some aggressively frequent waves. Plenty of whitecaps further out.  I think the warm water encouraged many of us to swim longer than we had originally thought, and the return trip took far less time.  But the past is past, let's talk about the present:

Monday 6:15AM: I had promised a friend that the morning swims were flat and the sunrises were spectacular.  Luckily she didn't show, because I was wrong on both counts.  We arrived on the beach to pounding waves and a cloudy sky.

My shoulder was feeling a bit wonky after yesterday's waves, so I decided to sit this one out.  Mr. A commiserated, mentioned a few others with shoulder complaints, yet swam anyway.  Pool Noodle and TattooLady also decided to brave the waves.  As Mr. A made a solo departure, PN, TL, and I noticed a giant log in his path.  We were biting out nails until Magic Mike calmed us by saying, "he saw the log."  PN followed Mr. A's path thru the rock piles, and TL took the far dicier south on-ramp.

A short but spectacular moment

Everyone survived their fairly brief yet heroic swims.  TL chose again, to return to the beach via the south's crashing waves.  She later referred to that path as, "a mistake."

On the beach we covered a lot of topics, lightly seasoned with a delightful amount of profanity:  cultural appropriation, cancel culture, teaching empathy, and more.

Sometimes it's NOT just about the swim.

Mr. A hauled himself and this board back to shore!

The sun did finally show itself to these three badass swimmers.

Another Best Swim of the Season

Next Swims:Mon-Fri 6:15 am and 5pm
Saturday/Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Sunday at 8 am
Water Temp: 62
Air Temp: 49 per van-o-meter, 64 per mitch-o-meter
Clarity:  Beautiful, almost Caribbean.  
Waves: flat with a little current
Kru: Patriarch, Mr. Bubble, Magic Mike, Mr. Anonymous, Brick, Panini, Kim, Jenny, Luna Laguna, Fred, Handyman Hank, (think I got everyone)

Relative Newcomers:  Mark and Jeff

Another one of those days where no one wanted to get out of the water.  Clear blue skies, clear, calm, (relatively) warm water.  Plus the added bonus of the bright colors of leaves changing on the shoreline trees.  Better than picture perfect.  

Dragonfly's latest post about the need for navigational rules has become a self fulfilling prophecy.  I've had near misses with Pool Noodle a couple of times last week, and today an even closer near miss with Kim.   In all three cases, it was a near miss of head on collision.  

In response to Dragonfly's query for thoughts:

•  Yes, freestyle always has the right of way over breast stroke - it only makes sense.  However, deep down, it feels like that's like saying that drivers who close their eyes half the time have the right of way over  those who keep theirs open all the time.  Either way - I guess it's defensive driving.  
• Right of way means right of way - if Hank ran into you from the right side, then he had the right of way and you should have yielded.  If he came at you from the left, then you had the right of way.
• However, as with many things - how likely is it that people will comply with right of way rules if there's no one around to enforce them?  I like the example of the Dutch towns of Makkinga and Drachten, which have purposefully removed traffic controls and left it up to individual drivers to negotiate with other drives.  It's turned driving into a gezellig experience. 

Just because leaves are changing doesn't mean the summer is over.  Looking forward to more beautiful morning swims like this morning's. 

A Mild and Non-frightening Collision

  Next Swims:

            Mon-Fri 6:15 AM and 5 PM

            Sat, Sun 8AM and Noon

Last Swim:  Saturday 8 AM
Water Temp:  60 per Fly-o-meter, warmer past the rocks

Waves:  Much calmer & bluer, gentle 1-foot swell 
Clarity:  A little. Could read watch.

Kru:   Lt. MJ, Kim and Magic Mike, wetsuits; Mr. Anonymous and Handyman Hank, lava pants; Linda The Lamprey, Pool Noodle and Dragonfly, skin.

The Air temp was low 50s but brilliantly sunny.  It was my first time reporting a water temp to the group, and I felt a great sense of responsibility as I waded in up to my knees.  Hmm, didn't feel too bad.  I even used Itch-type hand signals to report as everyone watched expectantly.

One of the very few things that worries me about open water swimming, is running into another swimmer.  That happened today but in the most non-violent and un-frightening way imaginable.  I was on my return and actually scanning ahead for others when Handyman Hank T-boned me from the side, as he was on a course heading inshore.  But it wasn't like a collision, it was just that suddenly these hands were sort of walking across my back.  We both popped up and said "Hi!" and immediately scootched away for social distance.  "Where did you go?" he asked and when I told him, "Start of Rockpile" he said, "I'll go there."  Or something like that.

Start of Rockpile was a good distance for me today.  The rocks gleamed white in the sun and set off the flaming reds of a few maples that already turned their leaves.   (At least I assume they were maples.  Have to include a disclaimer as the Klode Kru has so many amateur botanists, like Kahuna and Thanos the Magnificent.  During the early season Phlox controversy Kahuna referred to "The Botany Corner" as Thanos and I compared our "favorite weeds." And no, hemp was not mentioned, you gutter-minds.)

I did feel cold and ready to be done upon reaching shore.  Everyone finished their swims within not too many minutes, despite the varying distances covered - some went to Mudslide -- and whatever their layer of neoprene, people were uncharacteristically silent as we went through the laborious business of shedding wet gear and getting into warm dry clothes, all while shivering wildly.

Handyman and I briefly rehashed our close encounter and this did spark a short discussion about what rules might govern right-of-way in open-water swimming situations.  Does freestyle have right-of-way over breastroke?  I could only conclude that, just like with car traffic, since Hank ran into me from the side, that I probably had the right-of-way.  Thoughts?

Pool Noodle commented that even had she been wearing a wetsuit, she probably wouldn't have wanted to go much beyond Mudslide.  "I'm thinking about transitioning to the pool," she added.  "I want to work on my stroke more, and when I'm cold, I just don't care."

We parted with promises to meet again on Sunday.

Lit Up World

 Next Swims:

            Mon-Fri 6:15 AM and 5 PM

            Sat, Sun 8AM and Noon

Last Swim:  Friday 6:15AM
Water Temp:  estimated low 60s inshore... and mid-60s beyond the rocks
Waves:  Big, churning, surf but not much undertow
Clarity:  Nope. Large piece of flotsam carried south along the shoreline.  Not as gritty as yesterday.

Kru:  Dragonfly

Shore Support:  Showgirl, Magic Mike    

It was a painterly day.  As I rounded the corner onto the Hoan the sky revealed brooding purplish clouds dotting a pale yellow background.  Northwestern Mutual a shining black pillar with orange reflections, guarding the waking city. I was first car;  barriers already moved.

Magic Mike arrived, then Showgirl.  That was it.  We were in no hurry to get down to the beach with a nippy NE breeze stirring the flag even on the bluff.  Waves thundered below.

When we arrived on the sand, the gray clouds were showing a bit of pink on the their underbellies;  "Red sky at morning, sailor take warning."

Not very inviting with the dark waves, debris and light misting rain.  I was the sole swimmer, and it was a strip 'n' dip.  But the lighting effects were shifting moment by moment.

Suddenly warm water past the rocks, contrasting with the cold air on my face. I rode the waves up and down, now a magnificent purple, and watched the fiery 6:32 a.m. sunrise slip over the horizon and touch up everything liberally with pink and gold.

Attempting to swim north, I merely held steady against the current.  A swimming treadmill. Body surfed back through the rocks and then easily ran out from the mild undertow.

Good Morning, Lit Up World.

Photos: top, Dragonfly, next three, Showgirl

Surf's Up

Next Swims:

            Mon-Fri 6:15 AM and 5 PM

            Sat, Sun 8AM and Noon

Last Swim:  Thursday 6:15AM
Water Temp:  59.something... and warmer outside the rock pile
Waves:  Big, and lots of 'em, 3-5ft
Clarity:  Nope. Lots of debris, and some big stuff further out
Kru:  PoolNoodle,  Dragonfly, Mr. Bubble, Showgirl, TattooLady, Mr. Anonymous

Shore Support:  Panini

Don't tell Mr. Bubble's wife that he swam during the beach hazard today.

You have to learn to appreciate the yin and yang of the lake.  Yesterday was flat and amazing, today was wavy and amazing.  But mostly wavy.

Pool Noodle said even the surfers, usually afternoon people, were out at Atwater this morning.

There wasn't too much waffling when we hit the sand.  Mr. A, TattoLady, and PoolNoodle suited up and headed out, quickly, with PN returning back once for a bit of body surfing action before speeding away.

Panini declared herself shore support, while I said, "sewerpipe."  And so Dragonfly and I swam after Mr. Bubble, met up, chit-chatted, and then swam a bit further.  We probably turned back midway between sewerpipe and garage.  PN and TL went to the birches.  Mr. A went out and back in his usual stealthy fashion.

It was another short but epic swim-- definitely my biggest waves of the season.  To quote Dragonfly, "Doesn't take that much lakeage to get the endorphins going."  Especially when it's swimming+excitement+fear.

Post-swim: everyone survived

"Are You Guys Pool Swimmers?"

Next Swims:

            Mon-Fri 6:15 AM and 5 PM

            Sat, Sun 8AM and Noon

Last Swim:  Wednesday 6:15AM
Water Temp:  57.8... but warmer outside the rock pile
Waves:  flat
Clarity:  Nope. Small debris near shore, and a lot of bugs floating on the surface
Kru:  PoolNoodle, Lt. MJ, Showgirl, Dragonfly, Mr. Bubble, two unaffiliated guys

Shore Support:  two unaffiliated guys (mostly), Flipper Guy, and runner-guy in his underwear

The ladies met up in the parking lot, and Mr. Bubble was a late arrival.

Smoke-enhanced sunrise.

Already on the scene, the unaffiliated guys were applying their identical wetsuits, identical barbies, identical caps. Eschewing sand, they made their preparations at one of the benches.

The temperature was a disappointment, to say the least.  PN and I opted for shorter skin swims, and others donned varying degrees of neoprene.

Meanwhile, Unaffiliated Guys brought their gear down and approached the water.  Then they retreated.  Approached again.  Retreated again.  Finally most of us were ready, and headed out.  PN, in a delay tactic, engaged the UG's in conversation.  It was their first time swimming at Lake Michigan.  She tactfully asked, "are you guys pool swimmers?"

It was definitely warmer outside the rock piles, and the water felt cold, but good.  I surprised myself by going past the birches, but the worry-voice in my head nagged at me about going farther in the cold water.  Everyone else went at least to New Mudslide.  I encountered one of the UG's on my return, and the other was lingering inside the rock piles.  

As I dried off, the UG's chatted in the water.  Flipper Guy arrived, asked me the temp, and declined to swim.  

Another guy, a runner, came down, stripped down to his underwear, approached the water, and he, too, declined to enter.

It was as if we, the Klode Kru, had some super power!  Well, no surprise there.  We were imbued with the magic of the lake, at least this morning.