Full Moon Swim

Join us for a Full Moon Halloween swim/plunge, tonight, Oct.31 at 6:00PM. The ghoulish Blue Moon will rise shortly after 6 (the number of the beast). Halloween moonbeam, chills and thrills we will all be, escape Banshee scream.

Friday Morning SKIN Swim! (with a lesson in blood chemistry)

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 4:30pm, Saturday/Sunday at Noon.... and some weekday mornings

Last Swim: Friday 6:30AM

Water Temp: 42
Air Temp: low 30's
Clarity: not sure because I didn't swim
Waves: 3 footers
Kru: Dragonfly, Mermaid Princess, TattooLady, Sunny Laguna 
Shore Support: Showgirl, Linda the Lamprey

So I'm thinking that an October 30th morning swim may be a new record.

It was pretty dark when we arrived at the beach, but preparations commenced.

This was a pretty badass swim.  Dragonfly, MP, and Sunny Laguna all SWAM SKIN, and were in the water for close to ten minutes.

Everybody stayed close to the rock piles. Sunny Laguna back-stroked around.  MP said she mostly treaded water and enjoyed being in the waves.  TL had more neoprene, and swam north a bit further. Dragonfly was her usual barbie-less self.  All struggled to operate their hands after exiting the water.

Since I didn't swim, I don't have a ton to say other than I continue to be impressed by those who did.

Because there is always something interesting/weird that happens at the beach, here is today's story:  as the Kru gals were nearly ready to enter the water, three guys rode down on bikes and sat on the benches.  They gave the impression that they were there for more than the sunrise.  Shortly, two of them disrobed and approached the water.  There were some quick tai chi-like motions.  They submerged up to their necks.  No swimming occurred.  They stayed in for a few minutes, and then retreated to the grass, did their tai chi-ish stuff again, and put on clothes.  

As we walked out,  MP, SL, L-t-L, and D engaged with them. Apparently they usually perform this ritual at Big Bay.  They use movement plus breathing to alter their blood chemistry in order to stay warmer in the water.  TL and I skipped the lecture but the gist was something about changing the alkalinity in their blood.

The tai chi guys are in the background.

"Good Swim"

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 4:30pm, Saturday/Sunday at Noon

Last Swim: Wednesday at 5:00

Water Temp: 46
Air Temp: low 50s and mostly cloudy
Clarity: better, murky but not dirty, 5/10
Waves: flat
Kru: Itch, Brick, Sunny Laguna, Mr. Bubble
Shore Support: Synchro, Vivian, cameo appearance by Magic Mike, Mrs. Mike and K9 Mike

Very nice conditions today.  Yeah, the water was pretty cold, but the air was warmer than the thermal inversion swim on Saturday.  Low 50's air temp felt almost balmy (that could have been a hallucination).  

Sunny being a good role model for Vivian.  Sunny was clad in a long down coat that seemed to go from her neck to her ankles.  She kept saying she was only going to go in for 5 minutes - I thought she's just being modest, she can handle this kind of temperature longer than that.  I kept that thought until I realized she wasn't planning to wear a wetsuit - just her swim suit, swim cap and neoprene gloves.  Sunny headed out right away and hadn't returned by the time I swam out.  When I did come back, first thing I said to her was "You were out there for more than 5 minutes!".  She claims it was 7 minutes.  

I thought for sure Synchro was going to go in as well.  Itch and I were trying to convince her on the walk down, but she wasn't having it.  She quotes Showgirl "Swimming in cold water is not a character flaw" that's what I thought she said anyway, and I was agreeing with it, but then she clarified that Showgirl's quote meant that there was no shame in declining to swim in the cold water.  All that aside...Synchro was very proud of herself that she was able to skip a rock on the water that made a perfect landing on the big rocks.  Alert the media!!

At Killepitsch time...a moment of silence while trying to think of a toast.  Itch finally utters it very softly without bravado..."Good Swim".  

Dementia Protection

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am? and 4:30pm 
Saturday, Sunday 8 am? and Noon

Last Swim: Saturday Noon
Water Temp: 44
Air Temp: 41-42 and partly sunny
Clarity: not really, worse by the rocks
Waves: 2-3 footers inside the rocks, changing steady 4-6" swells 
Kru: Itch, Rosie, Mr. Bubble, Mr. Anonymous, Blake, IceMoonDaug, Laguna
Shore Support: Linda the Lamprey and Rosie's friend on arrival, Diablo on departure, 

Quite a turnout today for a late season swim.  We didn't have any sun on arrival, and it was just a tiny bit windy.  That just made it all the more pleasant when the sun did come out later.  

While we were all suiting up, I mentioned this video produced by the BBC, highlighting a study that was done in the UK,  They found that cold water swimmers produce a protein which might protect us from dementia.  I thought everyone at the beach today would have heard about it already, but no one had. Here's the video sent to be by my friend, Terri (who's been a Klode guest star several times this year).  BBC Cold Water Swimming Video

You'll note on this video that the experimental subjects swam in water that was 7 Celsius, which just happens to be about the same temp as it was today at Klode = 44.6 F.  You may also notice these cold water swimmers are swimming in a pool - (WTF!).  Plus, the scientist says she needs to do more research to determine whether this cold water swimming protein will actually protect humans from dementia.  I guess it's proven to protect mice from dementia, but not yet proven to protect humans.  No matter, she told these cold pool water swimmers they were pretty cool - but I don't think it was an intended pun.  

Getting back to today - IceMoonDaug dived in first, wearing only his Speedo and a neoprene cap.  I heard Rosie comment "He's not even wearing gloves!".  Blake brought his new, full wetsuit and headed off shortly thereafter.  Daug made it back just when the rest of us were heading out.  Laguna was the last to arrive at the beach so he set off after I was in.  Saw him swimming past me a while later.  I was going to turnaround at the birches, but then the sun came out for a bit, so I was motivated to swim further. 

Killepitsch toast for today - Keep It Coming!

ps - any comments about whether 0630 weekday swims or 0800 weekend swims are still happening?  

It's not over until we say it's over

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 4:30pm

NOTE THE NEW PM SWIM TIME
Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Tuesday 4:30
Water Temp: 45
Air Temp: 49
Clarity: not really
Waves: 1-2 footers inside the rocks, changing to 3-4 footers further out
Kru:  Itch, Brick, Rosie, Mr. Bubble

Shore Support: Diablo

Arrived at the parking lot at 4:45 and saw the familiar Nissan pickup with camper top and the black pick up with the Clowns left, Jokers right bumper sticker,  Didn't see the owners nearby and thought - they're smart, they're probably in the water already!  Actually, everyone was just suiting up when I arrived.  They set out about 5 minutes before me.

Hadn't read the latest blog entry so didn't realize the time had been moved to 4:30.  Itch pointed out that weekday evening swims will probably be all done after Oct 31st, since we'll be changing the clocks back.  

From a distance, the water looked relatively calm, but the waves seemed to get bigger and bigger as we swam further south.  I made it about 3/4 way to Love Rock.  Itch, Brick and Rosie were out for another 15-20 minutes after I got back.  Definitely swam back faster than swimming out.  Diablo arrived on the beach just as the rest of the Kru was within sight - he was doing funny dance steps to get their attention and waving them in. 

Very proud of myself that I was well prepared for getting out of the water - felt cold but didn't feel like I was going to go in to shock momentarily.  Brick asked if I rode my bike - nix - all the stuff I needed to stay warm after getting out is just too heavy to carry in a backpack.  Besides, so much nicer to be able to crank the heat in the car for the ride home.  

No Killepitsch tonight - just a common sentiment that we'll be back for more.  Best swim of the season!

Swimming Evolution. Swimvolution. Swivolution?

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 4:30pm  <-- NOTE THE NEW PM SWIM TIME

Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Sunday noon
Water Temp: 45
Air Temp: 40's
Clarity:  not really
Waves: Slow swells

Kru:  Brick, Itch, Diablo, Dragonfly, Mermaid Princess, Luna Laguna, Ala, Showgirl, Blake

Shore Support:  Linda the Lamprey, sporting the coolest Doc Martins ever

This will give you a feel for today's conditions.

Here's a helpful informational quote from one of our swimmers:

"Loads of good swims remain IF YOU DRESS FOR THE FREAKING POST SWIM CONDITIONS!!

Enough said...cu on the beach."

I will let you figure out who said that, though it should be perfectly obvious.

Now, whether or not there will ever enough warm clothes to warm up my feet after a swim in 45 degree water when the air temp is about the same is debatable.

And thus, I will also add this helpful quote:

"Being cold is not a character flaw."

I won't make you guess who said that, because _I_ said it.

But I digress.  An impressive crew of swimmers arrived at the beach today, undeterred by the chilly air. Some of us avoided a chilly beachside costume change by arriving fully encased in our neoprene outfits.  I'm not going to lie to you-- I never thought I'd be driving my car in a wetsuit, much less earplugs, booties, and three layers of caps.  But that's what it's come to.

And it worked for the most part.

So several swimmers were gone long enough that they probably went at least to mudslide.  Others swam less far, but no less impressively.  Dragonfly and Luna Laguna SWAM SKIN.

I looked at the blog from last year, and, unsurprisingly, this year we are swimming longer and colder into the season.  Last year there was an early October string of swims in the mid 50's and then, after 10/09.... crickets, followed by one swim at 45.  Now, I'm not saying that no one swam on those un-blogged days, but it gives you a feel for how different this year is.  (I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that, right?)

Today's beachy art:

RIP newly chopped-down tree.

Amazing Gifts

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Saturday noon
Water Temp: 45
Air Temp: Not sure but I know it was cold, and windy
Clarity:  ?
Waves: Big clean gentle swells, just lovely.

Kru:  Sandy, Brick, Itch, Tattoo Lady, Rosey, Other Dave, We'taco, Diablo

Also notable,  Luna Laguna swam solo at 8 this morning.

I'll bet you thought I was going to ramble on about how swimming is such an amazing gift, right?  

Well it is, but today, that's not the amazing gift I'm talking about.

This is:

That's right, it's Klode Beach, and the Klode Kru as an
incredible mixed-media work of art!

Behold, the most awesome, coolest, swimming-related gift ever!

Sandy made this, and gave it as a fantastic early-Xmas present to Brick .

It's a depiction of the Klode Kru swimmers, made with rocks and pebbles harvested from Klode beach!  And look at the swimmers that even have barbies!  The metal walls!  The rock piles with branches!  At some point I will end a sentence with a period not an exclamation point, but I'm not ready for that yet!!

Also, I feel certain that the tiny duplicate beach world extends far outside the edges of the photo....

I'm about to start cultivating Sandy as my new best friend in hopes that one day she will make me one of these incredible works of art.

Okay, yes, I believe some swimming also took place at noon today (I wasn't there), and I'm sure the swimming was great, or at least a brag-worthy accomplishment.  Kudos and huzzah to all who swam. 

Signs of Intelligent Life?

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Friday 6:30 a.m.
Water Temp: 45.8
Air Temp: low 40's 
Clarity:  nope
Waves: flat

Kru:  Mermaid Princess (aka Pool Noodle), Dragonfly, Ala

Shore support: Showgirl, Linda the Lamprey

Yes, it was so beautiful.  That's Dragonfly (skin!) in the
background, and Pool Noodle closer in.

I've decided the key to successful cold water swimming is to arrive at the beach already dressed to swim.  That's what Mermaid Princess and Ala did today.  

I considered doing that, but... didn't.  And thus I quite easily talked myself out of the chilly change into my wetsuit.

Dragonfly decided the key to successful cold water swimming is to forgo a wetsuit all together, and  that's what she did.

Anyway, Dragonfly wins the badass award today for spending quite a bit of time in the water without a wetsuit.  Definitely more than five minutes well outside the protection of the rockpile.

Ala (full neoprene) and Mermaid Princess (eclectic combo of neoprene pants + sleeves + hat) also bravely left the safety of the beach and paddled around outside the rockpiles.

Linda and I engaged in delightful and warm chit-chat from the comfort of the beach.

All this amazing swimming aside, there were also these cryptic waterfront communications from clearly intelligent life forms.  Perhaps you can decipher their secret message:

For Further Discussion: Swim times and the upcoming Daylight Savings Time.

    What we have here are the sunrise/sunset times for October and November.  Tattoo Lady suggested that we shift the morning swim times back when we Fall Back on November first.  I'm totally fine with that.  If you have any skin in the game (haha, that's not really anything I'd ever say) feel free to weigh in in the comments.

"Not much talking"

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Thursday 6:30 a.m.
Water Temp: 48
Air Temp: low 40's, cruel wind out of the north
Clarity:  nope
Waves: little chop out of the north

Kru:  Tattoo Lady, Mr. Anonymous, Showgirl

Honestly, if no one had shown up this morning, it's doubtful that I would have gotten in the water.

There was zero evidence of sunrise, and the beach was nearly dark.

But!  Tattoo Lady was already in the parking lot, and Mr. A showed up on the beach, so we achieved activation energy.

We were all in sync with our outfits:  full neoprene + barbies.

TL did a quick temperature check: 48.  It feels like the temp has stabilized in the upper 40's.  Leading me to ask, if it can stabilize there, why can't it stabilize in the upper 50's???  

Is that too much to ask?  

Yes.  Yes it is.

So we swam north in to the chop.  As always, there was the initial vow of, "sewer pipe."  Once there I reminded myself of the effort it took to get suited up, asked what was I really there for, etc, etc, and kept going to the north end of the rock wall.  New Mudslide was in sight, but the little voice reminded me that I'd still have to swim back, and that my hands were feeling the cold, etc, etc, convincing me to turn around.

We all took the short cut behind the Kraken rockpile, and began our separate methods of stripping down and getting in to dry clothes.

Mr. A made the profound observation, "not much talking going on."  Instead, we were using all our focus to race against the cruel wind and swap cold/wet for warm/dry.  Even our gear was making a break for it-- my hat had blown towards TL's stuff, and Mr. A's bag dove into the shrubbery.

Finally we recombobulated, and used the last of our powers to walk quietly up the ramp.

Post-swim bleak beach.

As warm as we could get.

Sailors Take Warning

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Wednesday 6:30 a.m.
Water Temp: 47.5
Air Temp: mid 40's
Clarity:  only along the shore
Waves: flat 

Kru:  Showgirl, Barbie 

Shore support: the two SUPers

That's the moon in the top/center.

It was a solitary swim to the rock wall this morning-- full neoprene.  The SUPers headed south.

The sun blazed up over the horizon about halfway through.  You're not supposed to look directly at the sun, yet we stare at the sunrise?  Perhaps that's a joy too undeniable.

The sun lit up and magnified the shoreline, and it was all on fire with fall color.  It was a slice of pure magic. Moments later, the sun entered the clouds.  The sky turned gray, and the shoreline was drab in comparison. Little ruffles appeared on the water's surface.  

I returned to shore, did a quick change, and left.

So. Much. Beauty.

 Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Tuesday at 6:30 a.m.
Water Temp: high 40s (toe-mometers)
Air Temp: 48-50
Clarity: not
Waves: flat like quicksilver

Kru:  Mr. A  

Late shift:  Dragonfly

Shore support (both shifts): Showgirl

The mighty Northwestern Mutual shone platinum on my late drive over the Hoan, reflecting a pearly predawn.

I arrived at 7.  Mr. A had already completed an 8-ish minute swim between the rocks, lava pants only.  

Showgirl had captured the moon and Mr. A's swim:

My swim was much shorter but crammed in so much beauty, between the sunrise, the bright varied colors of the leaves to the north, and a dramatic dark blue clouded sky to the west:

Again, one of those posts where less more!

The Social Network

 Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Sunday at noon
Water Temp: 48
Air Temp: Mid-50s
Clarity: Brown and debris-filled inshore, then tan, then an alluring turquoise then dark blue toward the horizon
Waves: 4-5 foot surf roaring in diagonally, S to N.  Impressive breakers beyond the rocks.

Current:  Not sure which way, but the swimmers said it was strong

Kru:  Itch/Neptune, We'taco, Brick, Other Dave, Blake

Shore support:  Showgirl, Sandy, Diablo, Dragonfly

Shut the Face Book.  Head down to Klode for some real action and interaction.  A testament to the wildness of the day, that there was almost a 1:1 ratio of swimmers to shore support.  Also in testament:  the many faces of Brick:

He noted it was "Burger King King Day."
It took at least 20 minutes for the swimming Kru to assess conditions, suit up and plan their attack.  Several headed to the North so they could plunge into the waves head on.

The gang of Five headed out and caucused beyond the rocks.  A consensus was reached to head North.

Once again, the photos don't do justice to the size and sound of the waves.  While the swimmers were out, Showgirl indulged in a little wading. 

Two of the returnees resorted to crawling out to escape the undertow, then sat down to recover from the exertion.

Others exited via the forbidden North Beach, to avoid the Rock Roulette.

They were full of comments:

Itch:  "Brick said we should stick together - then BOOM he's gone, j--a---."

We'taco (who was backstroking):  "If you got into that strip of turquoise, it was beautiful.  But I had waves going straight up my nose."  

Other Dave or Blake (prior to my study of your respective swimming gear so I could tell who is who--but I think Other Dave):  "I only gagged twice."  (Now I know:  Other Dave has blue short sleeves.  Blake is full wet suit.  Next time I will know!)

Brick:  "I got to Mudslide and said, I'll go five more minutes.  Then a big wave slammed me and spun me around.  So, I said, time to get out!"

I believe the toast was "To Dumba--ses!"

But several of us agreed, what would we do without this social outlet?  Some post-event mingling:

See you next time!

One More Time

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm
Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Friday at 5
Water Temp: 52/53 
Air Temp: 75
Clarity: dirty by shore, little better further off but not clear
Waves: strong current visible coming out of the south.  Intermittent sets of 2-3 footers

For once, I was glad the Atwater buoy was wrong.  At 3:30, it told me Water 48.9, Waves 3.3 ft per 5 s.  Expected it would be that cold or colder when I approached the water with the mitch-o-meter, and was pleasantly surprised to see the reading level out at 53.4.  Itch's reading was 52 on the other side of the barier.

From shore, it didn't look like there were 3 foot waves, so I thought, aha!  the buoy is wrong again.  But once I actually started swimming, there were these waves that would come on you in sets, and then slack off a little, then another set.  All the while swimming against a current.  I was determined to make it to Love Rock and did...seemed like forever.  Heading back, I felt like one of those Water Strider bugs, zipping along on the surface, propelled by that same current and waves.  I heard second hand that Diablo did a northbound swim and "that was not much fun".  

Consensus at Killepitsch time - not as nice as last night, but always good. Those warm breezes were especially nice.  

Half Moon, Half Sun

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Friday 6:30AM
Water Temp: 49.something
Air Temp: 60
Clarity: forgot to ask Showgirl
Waves: 2 footers, some coming "around the corner" from the south
Kru: Showgirl, Dragonfly

Arriving on the deserted beach - still pretty dark with a neatly-sliced and waning Half Moon overhead.  Once again, Showgirl took the temperature most artfully:

She suited up and headed out.  Cleared by my elbow doc to swim again as long as I didn't do anything stupid, I went in for very quick dip.  Seemed much colder than actual swimming!  

At 6:56 a red-rubber-ball sun began nosing up the horizon.  On cue two people appeared to photograph it, then disappeared just as quickly.  Meanwhile the sun levered  his bulk half-way over the horizon.  The Half Moon shined steadily on.

A picture may be worth a 1,000 words, but cannot do justice to the majesty.

Returning from Garage, Showgirl rises from the Lake as the Sun completes its rising.

As we left the beach, two unaffiated swimmers were also taking the quick dip.

That is all.

Half-moon Swim

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Thursday 6:30AM
Water Temp: 47.1
Air Temp: high 40's
Clarity: crystal
Waves: flat
Kru: Mr. Anonymous, Showgirl

In order to make it more likely that I swam, I was putting on my wetsuit legs in the parking lot when Mr. A arrived.

There was no sunrise yet, but still plenty of light.

Mr. A optimistically hoped for at least 50 degree water.  But...... no.  Further cementing his rep as a badass, he headed in to the water in his lava pants while I was still dilly-dallying. 

We crossed paths as I was heading out.  

Encased in all my neoprene, I felt mostly fine and swam to the rock wall.  I made sure to savor every bit of this swim.  The sun was slow to come up, and for the longest time it had that look of light shining under a doorway.  At the same time, I saw the moon each time I breathed on my left side.

Back at the beach, Mr. A was long gone.  My feet quickly turned to blocks of ice, and I left the deserted beach in favor of coffee.

About badasses/badassery/etc

 First of all I would like to point out that those of you in the lake these last couple weeks earn that honorific in the best possible sense. Y'all are badasses! I have withdrawn to the chlorinated waters, submitting myself to the tyranny of the black stripe on the bottom of the pool!

On "Badass:"

I love this word because it doesn't behave like it should. Check it out- 

If badass is a good thing, and I think we all agree it is, then when someone calls you a badass, they're sending you props, for sure. So it's good. But "bad" and "ass" are both, typically, negative in their connotations (and denotations).  This word doesn't behave: two bads don't usually equal a good.

Further, if we are looking for an opposite of badass, goodass might be a candidate, but it's clearly not. Rather, weakass would be the thing. Not really what you'd expect if the word was behaving, linguistically speaking. By my own account, I would be a weakass. 

Look at how that construction plays out with different roots: toughass, weakass, smartass, dumbass. The first two are actually opposites, so they behave. They're also sort of boring, they mostly mean "tough" and "weak." But the second two aren't really opposites, so they don't behave. Also, confusingly, a smartass isn't always very smart, while a dumbass is usually pretty dumb. I think this might be because "smartass" is a variant of "smart aleck," and so it doesn't behave like the others. 

I like words that don't behave!

"This is a good decision" (about last night)

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm
Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Tuesday at 5
Water Temp: 47 per itch-o-meter 
Air Temp: 71 
Clarity: nice but not perfect, 8/10
Waves: flat
Kru: Mr. Bubble, Synchro, Itch, Brick, Rosie, Sandy, Sunny and Share Laguna, Super Hera, We'Taco, Diablo (second shift)

Shore Support:  Little Laguna

"This is a good decision" - these words uttered, with confidence, by Mr. Laguna, as he charged in to the 47 degree water with just his speedo and neoprene swim cap.  Sunny Laguna charged in shortly thereafter, also skin and with a Barbie.  I wished I had taken a picture as they were preparing - to capture the image of mom and dad, stripping down to their swim suits, with their daughter sitting nearby in her winter coat.  Quite iconic.  I asked them - "Which member of the family is showing the best judgement here?"  Shortly after that, dad uttered his good decision line.  

Swimming in below 50 degree water is getting to be a thing for me.  I always tell people who are hesitating as I'm wading in - "Don't think about it, just do it" - of course, I'm saying that mainly to convince myself, just like Laguna confirming his good decision.  However, saying you're not going to think about it doesn't mean your brain stops thinking.  When I dive in and get going, I'm amused to hear the voices speaking up in my cerebral cortext.  Last night, they were saying "Are you out of your (expletive) mind?".  Other times, they're more restrained, saying things like, "For real?  You're really going to swim in this?" or just "This is cold!".  But once I'm past the  rocks, my body is used to it and I proceed to enjoy myself, until it's time to get out.  

Unlike my last high 40's swim, the outside air was pretty warm and getting out of the wetsuit wasn't that bad, at first.  Also unlike the smart swimmers last night, I rode by bike to the beach and I only brought a long sleeve shirt to change in to.  Was feeling pretty cold down on the beach as I de-layered.  Brick brought some spicy pickles, which warmed me up a little.  But I was still shivering so much that I spilled some of the Killepitsch.  Talk about a waste of precious natural resources!  

Still shivering, I headed uphill ahead of the rest of the Kru, and was totally gratified to feel more and more warm breezes as I ascended.  First word popping in to my cerebral cortex was "Sirocco"!  Feeling much better when I got to the top, I met a nice couple, who had just locked up their bikes and I noticed that his bike was a fatty.  Of course, that lead to a conversation about the joys of fat biking, best places to go fat biking, fat bike races.  Sergio and his lady are originally from Germany, so that lead to a conversation about the Hugh Jass fat bike races, and how everyone is required to "hammerschlagen" after each lap.  

In the unlikely event that anyone is still reading and is interested in hearing more about fat bikes - I want to share that Wheel & Sprocket in Franklin is currently renting fat bikes.  None of the bike shops in town have been renting fat bikes during the past couple of years, so this is great news for anyone looking to become addicted to something else besides swimming at Klode 🏊🏊🏊🚴🚴🚴

Blue skies and bad asses; A toast to Neptune

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Sunday at Noon
Water Temp: 47
Air Temp: 56

Clarity: All churned up near shore, no one could recall further out
Waves: 3-4 feet
Kru: Mermaid Princess, Sunny Luna Laguna, Itch, Brick, Moondaug, Other Dave, Blake, Captain, Diablo (I feel like there might have been someone else, even someone I had an extended conversation with, sorry if I missed you!)

Shore Support: Ziggy, Dragonfly

A day for blue skies and bad asses.  And superbadasses.

Mermaid Princess and Sunny Luna in their pre-swim down coats:

 

The very cold water was very wavy - churned up brown near shore, but turquoise further out, or "sea green" as Ziggy said or "magenta" as Diablo said - referencing perhaps Homer's "wine-dark sea") and bright royal blue toward the horizon.  The air was brisk and sparkling clear, and while the sun shone, it kept dipping in and out of clouds that paraded across the sky from SW to NW.

There was no hurry to get going whatsoever. The men inched into various stages of body and head coverage.  Some opted to keep arms, legs, hands or feet uncovered-- "for better biofeedback" was Moondaug's reasoning.  

Mermaid Princess sported a mere rashguard over neopreme sleeves, along with her signature jean swimskins, with gloves and booties, while super badass Sunny Luna went total skin (that's her in the green cap below):

Either Blake or the other Dave said they had overdone yesterday because the 51-degree water was so flat and lovely, swimming for an hour and then standing around in their wetsuit, "it was a hard walk up the hill and then in the shower I didn't know if I was scalding my toes."

Captain was almost last to get in the water, but was followed by Diablo, who sheltered next to the northern barrier to avoid the building northerly wind while changing.  "You have to be smart about it," he said. That sounded like a challenge!

I was on shore support. I found out this morning that I had a slight fracture in my elbow after my fall during a run two weeks ago. I promised my doc  not to do any open water swimming until it healed up some more.  But there was plenty to occupy me  watching the rest of the Kru set out so intrepidly (photo courtesy of Ziggy):

And they returned with such grins!

Sunny Luna just ahead of a giant wave after a swim to Sewer Pipe (photo courtesy of Ziggy):

Below:  Mermaid Princess and Moondaug emerge from the surf.

Mermaid Princess sporting her "prison suit" and jean swimskins:

The most notable finish was the Captain:

For some reason, he decided to bodysurf (face plant?) all the way into the beach:

(Captain photos courtesy of Ziggy)

The Killepitsch toast began with a discussion of "Cold Water Nicknames" but midway through was coopted by the notion that "Itch should be Neptune."  Moved and seconded.  The group drank:  "To Neptune!"

Thermal Inversion, plus 2 girls for every boy

Next Swims: Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Sunday at 8
Water Temp: 48 per mitch-o-meter
Air Temp: 42 per van-o-meter
Clarity: murky, seaweed on mitch-o-meter
Waves: 1-2 feet with occasional 3-4 feet
Kru: Lt MJ, Thorpedo, Mr. Bubble

Two Girls for Every Boy

Picture's worth a thousand words.

Love it when the water is warmer than the air 😍😍😍

Until it's time to get out of the water 😱😱😱

BGDSOTS

Next Swims:  Mon - Fri 6:30 am and 5pm
Saturday, Sunday 8 am and Noon

Last Swim: Saturday at Noon
Water Temp: 51 per mitch-o-meter 
Air Temp: 54
Clarity: very nice, could see bottom most of the time.
Waves: pretty much flat
Kru: Mr. Bubble, the Other Dave, Sunny Laguna, Rosie, Sandy, Itch, Brick, Sandy, Blake, Diablo and Bad Ass Dragonfly

Arrived a little bit before Noon, to an almost full parking lot, only 3 spots left.  Looked around for familiar vehicles and spotted the  ←Clowns                                Jokers → pickup truck and a masked man all bundled up, wearing a beret standing next to it.  Sky was cloudy and air was windy - didn't seem very inviting.  Light drizzle started, and parked cars started clearing out.  Brick and I walked down, thinking it may just be the two of us today.  

Water was calm and clear - that much at least was inviting.  Waded in with the mitch-o-meter and tried to use my foot-o-meters to predict the empirical reading.  Feet were out of practice, since I hadn't been to Klode for a week - they felt cold, but couldn't remember the difference between feeling high 50s cold and low 50s cold.  Watched the numbers on the mitch-o-meter drop quickly into low 50s, equilibrating at 51.3

In the meantime, additional humans with backpacks started to arrive.  Sandy all bundled up from head to toe, Itch, Dragonfly (also well bundled).  Blake showed up on his mid 30 year old Marin mountain bike.  Sunny Laguna came along holding a light green umbrella over her head (she reports that Mr. Laguna came at 8 am and was by himself)

B.A. Dragonfly, apparently still nursing her healing elbow, was first and dived in skin.  She made it out to sewer pipe and was just coming back as the rest of us were finishing suiting up.  Blake and I dove in next, the three of us heading north.  Not sure who went which way after that, although we did see Itch swim past the rocks heading south as some of us were getting out.  

Doing the breast stroke during a light drizzle is one of my favorite things to do at Klode.  Skimming along, eye level right at the the water level, seeing the little drops and splashes in front of my face.  Sky wasn't too dark so managed to convince myself that I wouldn't have to worry about lightning.  Had to repeat that self assurance a few times when the light drizzle got a little heavier, but then it drifted back to light drizzle.  

I got back to an empty beach, but seeing backpacks in strategic locations.  The light green umbrella was gone and there was someone wearing jeans and a denim jacket pacing by the north barrier, who I later realized was Sandy.  Watched the amphibians return one by one - another joyful experience.  

BGDSOTS = Best G/D Swim on the Season - today's toast, Killepitsch courtesy of The Other Dave.  

Also treated by Brick to some pickles and pickled carrot slices.  

"What's the green stuff floating around in the carrot and pickle jars?" 

"That's a bunch of the green stuff that's washed up on the beach.  Thought it would spice things up"

Indeed, very tasty! 😋😋😋

Do you know what this is?
Would you eat pickles from a jar with this floating in it?