Memorial Day Weekend Swims Set Record!

Next Swims - 6AM Tuesday and 5 pm weekdays?  
Maybe 6am every day now? (check back)

Last PM Swims: 

    Saturday May 28th - Noon

        Water Temp: 51.1 Macho-Meter / 54.3 Itcho-Meter

         Air Temp: 66 & mostly sunny

         Water Conditions - Moderate chop from south

         Clarity:  Clear

         Kru:  Kahuna (imitating Oscar the Grouch), Moondawg-Gumdrop, Diablo, Itch, Rosey, Sandy, Other Dave, Capt'n

    Sunday May 29th - Noon

        Water Temp: 50.7 Macho-Meter / 53.4 Itcho-Meter

         Air Temp: 68 & partly sunny

         Water Conditions - Moderate chop from south + 1-2ft waves

         Clarity:  Cloudy / Sand filled between the rocks

         Kru:  Diablo, Itch, Mr. Bubbles, Other Dave, Capt'n with Special Guest Appearance and Plank Walk extravaganza by the Stanford Women's Ultimate Frisby Team

    Monday May 30th - Noon

        Water Temp: 48.0 Macho-Meter / 48 rubber duck-o-meter / 51.2 Itcho-Meter

         Air Temp:  82 & Sunny

         Water Conditions - light chop from south + 1ft waves

         Clarity:  Cloudy / Sand filled between the rocks

         Kru:  Kahuna, Diablo, Moondawg-Gumdrop, Itch, Rosey, Sandy, Mr. Bubbles, Ziggy, Laguna, Luna Laguna + Lil' Laguna, Other Dave, Capt'n

Ahhhhh...Memorial Day weekend.  The 'unofficial' start of summer and the traditional start of the Klode Kru swim season as officially proclaimed by The Patriarch once upon a time ago when you were a total bad ass if you dared to swim bare (skin) when the water temp was below 60.  Now a days, the kru swims all year round so the season never really ends and swimming without a wetsuit below 50 is like no big thang.  

Being a traditionalist at heart, though, I still try to hold out until Memorial Day weekend to log my first official Klode Kru swim of the year.  Of course I still remember that time when we defied the official end-of-season proclamation by the Patriarch and were momentarily stripped of our Klode Kru names...it was a traumatic experience that still haunts me to this day...and may explain my hesitation to swim during untraditional times of the year.

As the Lady of the Lake would have it this year, if you were going to walk the plank Memorial Day weekend you had to earn it.  In recent year's we've been blessed with water temps in the upper 50's to low 60's for at least one of the 3 days of the weekend.  Not this year.  In the wise words of Itch...if you snoozed Saturday you loosed.  Saturday turned out to the be "warmest" water day at 51.1 with only a moderate chop to the water.  From there, the water got colder and choppier/wavier.  

However, despite the challenging conditions we STILL set the record Sunday for the most skin plank walks with the water temp below 52 on Memorial Day weekend for a Klode Kru swim.  24 brave souls walked the plank Sunday.  To commemorate this historic accomplishment I snapped the picture below.  (editors note: somehow the pictures of Sunday's regular Kru mates who also walked the plank got lost on my phone...but thanks to Ziggy I have included a snap of Monday's Kru)  Many thanks to the Stanford Women's Ultimate Frisby Team for joining us Sunday at Klode!  It was fun meeting (...and watching...) you...best of luck with your upcoming competitions.  Perhaps competitive polar plank walking is in your future?  :) 

Next Swim 6AM Tuesday Morning...... and other times

Next Swims - 6AM Tuesday and 5 pm weekdays?  

Maybe 6am every day now? (check back)

Last Swim: 7:00AM Monday and probably noon

Water Temp: low 50's, maybe 53?
Air Temp: 71

Waves: chop out of the south
Clarity: still okay
Kru:  Linda the Lamprey, Laura, Showgirl, Dragonfly, Mr. A

Shore Support: Squeeze o'Showgirl

It was a beautiful, warm morning at the beach., and there was a minor skin-swim-stravaganza in the still-chilly water.

Well, Linda's 30(?) minute skin swim was anything but minor.  She headed south into the chop.  Mr. A headed north a-la-skin, and (I'm guessing) went to sewerpipe.  That's nothing to sneeze at, either.

Dragonfly is continuing to edge towards normalcy and did a 150 yard skin swim.

I swam skin around the rockpile twice, profoundly grateful for my gloves and booties.

Laura made her inaugural 2022 Klode plunge.

Speaking of things to sneeze at... does anyone else have early swim season sneezes?  It seems like every year as we return to lake swimming, I have ridiculous bouts of sneezing, and then... it abates.  Anyone else?

Today

Erm... Saturday?

Possible/Probable/Definite Upcoming Swims, and some nice photos

Next Swims - 

    Definite Upcoming Swims:   7:30AM Saturday

                                                        Noon Saturday

                                                        8:00AM  Sunday

                                                        Noon Sunday

                                                        7:00AM Monday 

    Probable Upcoming Swims: Noon weekends and 5PM weekdays?

                                                        Noon Monday?

Other Important Dates: 

    Saturday June 11th - Shorewood Men's Club Chicken BBQ and Klode Kru Shipwreck Swim

Last Swim: well... who really knows?  Some swam Monday morning
Water Temp: 50.3
Air Temp: cooler

Waves: Flat
Clarity: Good

Kru: Lydia the Tattoo Lady, Lt. MJ, Showgirl, Luna Laguna

Shore Support: Dragonfly

I'm not sure what other swims have been taking place, but I do know that Lydia the TTL and Lt. MJ swam on flat clear water Monday morning.  

Luna Laguna and I showed up late.  LL made a badass SKIN swim to sewerpipe, and I swam skin for two laps around the rockpile, which apparently always turns into a star when you see the Garmin map (below), so perhaps I should stop being so delighted by that.

In the interest of full disclosure, Luna Laguna and I both wore gloves and booties on our little skin swims, so if you're SUPER STRICT about your definitions (I'm looking at you, Gumdrop) of "skin" then we weren't.  Whatever.

I've posted some probable and definite upcoming swims.  As usual, the swimming season gets off to a shaky start, and then picks up steam.

In other important news:  a traditional summer event for the Kru is a shipwreck swim at Atwater Beach prior to amazing food and refreshments at the Shorewood Men's Club Chicken BBQ.  This year that's June 11th.  Tickets can be purchased thru our very own Kahuna.  Meet-up time and other important decisions will be posted to the blog when we figure them out. 

Important Temperature-taking activity and amazing sky

Lt. MJ and Lydia the Tattoo'd Lady

Over 50.... Barely.

Next Swims - Noon weekends and 5 pm weekdays?  

                            6AM weekdays.... some days

Last Swim: 7:00AM Monday
Water Temp: 50.3
Air Temp: 69

Waves: Flat
Clarity: Amazing
Kru: Lydia the Tattoo Lady, Lt. MJ, Showgirl

The morning was amazingly beautiful, with flat, clear water, and warm air.

We were a wee bit chilly post-swim.

Putting our faces in the water still required a bit effort.

We headed north and stopped a few times for chit chat.

Our turnaround was in front of the rocks formerly known as Mt. Jackass.  Now, with a couple of baffling new staircases.  

There also appears to be a new New Mudslide, or perhaps it's the old Tree Massacre.

Anyway, the swimming was delightful.

The wind was starting to pick up as we returned to the beach, with some ruffles on the formerly glassy surface.

That wind might be causing the waves in the forecast for the next two days.  I might be cajoled into a short swim Tues or Wed morning... comment in the blog or text me.

One possible future, courtesy of our friends at Magic Seaweed....

Getting the Band Back Together

Next Swims - Noon weekends and 5 pm weekdays?  

Last Swim: Sunday 5/15 @ Noon
Water Temp: 49 per itch-o-meter, 51 per duck-o-meter
Air Temp: 63-65, mostly sunny, light winds

Waves: Flat
Clarity: Very clear - you could see bottom
Kru: Itch, Brick, Moondaug, Mr Bubble, Diablo, Mr. A, Showgirl, New Guy Aaron (the other Erin)

Shore Support - Dragonfly and her crutch, Mr. Dribble-G, SOS (Squeeze of Showgirl), We'Taco, Lt. MJ

Great day for a swim!  Water was calm and clear, spring air temperature.  Nice visiting with all the shore supporters.  I didn't get the whole story about Dragonfly's injury - due to an ice skating crash of some kind.  

Conditions were so nice today, we needed to debate what would be the appropriate Killepitsch toast:

"Best Swim of the Season!"

"Nah, that was yesterday"

"Best Weekend Swim of the season?"

"head shake"

Couple of other suggestions that didn't resonate

"A Good Swim" - that resonated

The Perils of the Poncho or.... Morning Swims Resume Sporadically

Next Swim: Friday 6am?? or 6:30 at the latest?  comment on the blog

Last Swim: Wed 05/11, Thurs 05/12

Water Temp: high 40's
Air Temp: 60's today, 70's yesterday

Waves: pretty flat on Wed, some waviness today
Clarity: we could see the bottom this morning, yay!
Kru: Lt. MJ, Tattoo Lady, Showgirl, and Mr. A on the late shift

Shore Support: a woman doing a yoga headstand, and the Wim Hoffers

We're in that zone of fits and starts for morning swimming, No regular schedule yet.

It's so great to be standing on the beach in the warm air again.  Gone is that special misery of wondering whether you will freeze to death struggling out of your wetsuit.  

Yesterday and today TTL, Lt. MJ and I met, applied our gear, and swam north.  

Yesterday TTL and MJ went as far as the rock wall, I slogged to the garage.

Today we made a somewhat indifferent voyage to garage, with a loop around the rockpile.

Air temps right by the water are cool, and then at some point heading up the ramp you hit a wall of soggy, warm air.

Lt MJ's new poncho-- experiencing the pros and cons.

Mama Klode's Mother's Day

Next Swims - Noon weekends and 5 pm weekdays?  Sunrise swims anyone?

Last Swim: Mother's Day 2022, Sunday 5/8 @ Noon
Water Temp: 48.2 
Air Temp: 52 cloudy, 15 mph winds to start but then settled down

Waves: 12"-18" swells coming pretty regularly.  
Clarity: Not, dirty and murky near shore, just murky further out
Kru: Lydia TTL, Itch, Brick, Moondaug, Mr Bubble, Diablo late arrival

Near Shore Support - some guy who waded to a depth just below the edge of his Speedo

Today was my first swim of 2022!  Last swim on Christmas Day - too long an absence.

We ambled down to the beach shortly after noon church bells.  It felt a little cold on the way down with some strong winds.  

It's always amusing to eavesdrop on the conversation going on in my brain when I first get in the water on a day like today.  "Are you fucking stupid?  This water is cold AND dirty!" but then the calmer left side replies softly - "Just wait a few minutes.  You'll get used to it and then you'll enjoy it, just like you always do".  

The near shore support guy appeared out of nowhere.  All of sudden, there was, standing still in water that covered was almost up to his Speedo.  Brick and I figured he was some kind of Wim Hofer iconoclast.  Brick called him a Wimp Hofer, I preferred the less judgmental Half Hofer.  

Brick, Diablo and Itch getting ready to head back up

Extra shot of Killepitsch for those who felt like they needed one - thanks Brick!  

The cap to Brick's hip flask went missing for a few seconds until sharp eyed Diablo spotted it.  

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Mother's Day Program

(watch it for at least 20 seconds for the surprise ending)