If you stayed in bed this morning, and didn't go to the beach, your life might well be less than it might otherwise have been.
Last Swim: July 15th, 6:00 a.m.
Upcoming Swims: The Typical/Regular Schedule (all at Klode Beach): M-F 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; Sat. & Sun. 8 a.m. and noon. (Check blog comments, for additional "impromtu" group swims.)
Water temp: My guess is 68 at the beach, colder by the rocks, but maybe in the 70s as we headed North. Some substantially colder water was in places, but that was 1 to 2 feet below us, so as long as it stays there, it's all good baby. [7/16 update: see King Triton's comment about 52 degree water near shore today; be careful how much faith you put in reports from the Atwater off-shore buoy temp graph].
Weather: High 70's, full sun, headed towards a hot 90 and thunderstorms this afternoon.
Water Quality/Clarity: Clear. 10 of 10.
Waves: Flat.
Boat Traffic: Zero.
Firsts seen at the Beach: Someone has erected a reasonalby tall wooden flagpole, but neglected to hoist a flag on it. T'would be a good place for a MKE People's Flag.
Kru: Lt. M.J. (a long distance swimmer today), FinFin, newbie Gloria (beach name "Gloriosos"?), Doug, Wimhoffer June, Kahuna, and early shift Aquaman, and Diablo.
Invitation: If you are visiting Milwaukee this week, and want to try open water swimming in Lake Michigan, you are more than welcome to come swim with us. Anyone who wants to swim with us, can swim with us. Just show up at the appointed time at the south end of Klode Beach, and introduce yourself to the folks putting on swim caps or wetsuits. If you have questions, see "Kru FAQ's" on the right side of this blog, below the pictures.
As the storm clouds magestically progressed there way to the East, the Sun rose above the horizon, and our intrepid little group of sleepy-eyed swimmers made our winding way down to the beach.
We were met with the glory that is Lake Michigan, on a beautiful summers day.
We introduced ourselves to young Gloria from New Berlin, who had decided to try open water swimming in Lake Michigan today, after reading the blog. Gloria boldly and bravely stated her purpose: I'm going to learn how to swim open water well, because I'm going to do the Ironman Wisconsin Triathlon next year. Good on ya, and good luck in your training (and yes, you should get a wetsuit). Welcome Gloria, and we hope to see you back on the da beach soon.
Had a nice talk too with Doug (who I don't think I've met, even though his wife June is a regular wimhoffer dunker at Klode year round). Doug is getting ready to do a 1.2 mile swim as part of a triathlon relay with his son in Maine in a week or so. Good luck Doug!
Watch the forecast if you are thinking about swimming this evening, as some thunderstorms are predicted to roll through Milwaukee this evening.
"Bye bye, gotta go swim now!"
12 comments:
Great photos! And yes if you had the time and inclination today was definitely a day to go long!
Great models make great photos!
water to 50's yikes. 52 on shore 55 at depth.
clear as a bell and freaking chilly.
Yikes!
Brief Report:
Last swim: 7/17/24 a.m.
Kru: Diablo (SKIN!), Mr. A (SKIN!), Diablo, Mark, Kahuna and toe dippers Magic Mike and Mark; plus a wimhofer.
Water Temp: 56 at shore as measured by the Duck-o-Meter; seemed colder near the rocks; at the time, Atwater Offshore Buoy was reporting 64 degrees.
Water Conditions: Waves, flat; clarity, clear (10 of 10).
Lost & Found: Somebody left a nice pair of swim flippers on the beach. Also, others left a lot of clothes on the beach. Be on the look out for naked tanned people, who are in need of or looking for swim flippers.
Construction Coming?: WFB has put a large construction lugger in the parking lot, there are barricades by the parking lot entrance, and there is utility paint markings down by the beach. One doesn't need to be an U.S. Army Indian scout to guess something's coming soon. My hope is they are not going to close the beach (like they have done at Big Bay).
Commentary: Today's water temp was not for the feint of heart. Some stuck a toe (or more) in, and turned back. Others (like Mr. A and Moondaug), were undeterred and went long. For me, it was a kind of trippy experience (with the full sun, and full clarity) -- flying along, high above, looking down towards the sun lit mountain ranges, far, far, far below.
Some "Rum-int" (aka rumor intelligence) I spoke with a WFB public works guy earlier this summer and he said they were going to do more work on the bluff because what they did two years ago didn't work to stop erosion. He was talking building retention ponds etc and were planning to start after July 4 -and were "hoping to keep the beach open until then" . I haven't seen any of them since so honestly I was hoping the sinkhole debacle diverted those resources.
Tues pm report
Air temp: 80ish
Water temp:70
Clarity: 7/10
Waves: 1' rollers from ENE
I arrived about 5:25 to find a different pair of grey tennis shoes on the beach and a yellow-capped swimmer returning from the north. I was later told that it had been Magic Mike (missed ya', dang!) I went north alone and returned to find Bakhtiari south of the wall and an unknown female making a beeline north. Once I got the scoop from Bakhtiari, I had the pleasure of making Susan's acquaintance! Disappointingly, this season's pm swims seem to be one big relay instead of the convivial en masse encounters enjoyed in the past...not to mention no one to Pitsch with!
Hmmmm. Will we need to relocate the venue of our swims to Atwater for awhile?
Outstanding photos! Monday morning, this cumulus cloud formation was also photographed by early morning swimmers at Hoyt Park Pool. Swimmers got out of the water to photograph the sun’s rays projecting skyward. A glorious morning, indeed! Thank you for the photos!
This weekend is full moons! Sunday technically the night.
Full moon swim 7:50 anyone?
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