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!"