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.