Big Bay: The Place to Stay

 Next Swims:

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

MONDAY 6 a.m. only: Big Bay

Last Swim: 8 am Sunday, also noon but I was not there 
Water Temp: 66
Air Temp: warm & sunny
Clarity: great with the current (i.e. north) less great but ok going south
Waves: Flat
Kru: Handyman Hank, Magic Mike, Showgirl, Nanook, Lt MJ, Rachel, Mr. Bubble, Brick, new guy Mark(?),  Kim

Shore Support:  Squeeze o'Showgirl  

MJ and Mark (? sorry) were in wetsuits, the rest of us skinning

We had such a transcendant experience at Big Bay we decided to go back Monday morning.  Based on experience from previous years, We figured Klode would be pretty trashed from the 4th celebration.  

Big Bay was all about the rocks.  A beach composed of rocks and blocks of granite, relatively sand-free and feeling very clean with that hidden gem vibe.  Many cute dogs afrolic, despite a very large and stern sign prohibiting them.

A layer of haze on the horizon made the far-off fishing boats seem to be floating in the air.

We swam north in the cold (although 66) flat water - Rachel, MJ and Mr. Bubble going all the way to Love Rock, a Klode landmark.  Most of the rest of us congregated on Flat Rock.

I was swimming along, taking in all the new landmarks - a 400-yard wall, followed by a pastel-colored (i.e. grafiti'ed) block, a rock wall, a greensward, a staircase and a manicured lawn, and other items to numerous to name or remember.  I knew I was getting cold (was it colder near shore with so many new barriers people built last year?) but wanted to go long....past 500 yards...past 600 and then it's only 200 more to 800 which is 1,600 round trip and then you might as well go a mile.  I was approaching 900 where I was absolutely going to turn around when I saw what appeared to be two men standing...they didn't seem to be on paddleboards....maybe some kind of water bicycles?  I got closer, there were 3 people standing like gods upon the water.  What was it?  Too close now, I had to go the full 1,000.  And there was Flat Rock.  Mark (he did share his name, but I didn't think I would be blogging - please correct me in the comments), Magic Mike, Nanook, all standing in a row, just standing in about knee deep water, facing north.

It was irresistible.  I clambered up between Nanook & Mike.  And nearly slipped right off again.  "It's smoother over here" Mike said and gallantly offered his hand, which I was not too proud to take.  And with firmer footing, just like that, I became one of them.

Showgirl was next to arrive.  "I love you guys so much," she said, climbing up to stand beside Nanook.

Alas, I was first to leave as the breeze hit and I started to shiver.  I did the flattest racing dive of my life and the water was even colder!  After about 200 strokes I turned and floated, they were still standing upright, "like bitchen lamposts" to quote the original Gidget (the book, not the movie.)

After that, it was mostly about survival.  Lots of self-talk to encourage myself as I churned, against the current now.  That water flowing past your skin just sucks away any joules you might have generated....yet you can't slow down, 'cos then you'll never get there....

Finally arriving back at the beach, I staggered out onto shore. I wasn't the only one foundering in the ankle-deep rocks.

"You are no longer magic, you are just another human on this Earth," observed Magic Mike.

We learned that he was the first to arrive at Flat Rock.  "I thought if I stood there long enough, others would join me."

Brick handed out cookies that appeared to be homemade - generously sized and not entirely uniform, I mean that as a compliment.  He also poured Pitsch for a few of us "morning derelicts."

"All that's missing is Kahuna with his big flag," Showgirl noted.  We speculated that he would be at the noon swim. 

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