Weather Rollercoaster

Next Swim:
    Fri 5PM
    Sat, Sun noon

Last Swim:  Fri 6am
Air Temp:  mid 50's
Water Temp:  47.7
Clarity:   a little murky
Waves: annoying choppy 1-footers
Kru: Diablo and Linda the Lamprey early, followed by Magic Mike, Pool Noodle, Dragonfly, Showgirl, with Panini on Shore Support, and two people doing a photo shoot

Dragonfly's fly new wetsuit, and look, it's sunny!

It was sunny on the beach when we arrived this morning, and that was about all we had going for us.  It was chilly, windy, and wavy.  This teeters on the brink of violating my Rule of Goodness, in which there has to be some goodness in order to swim.

As we were suiting up, Linda emerged (skin, of course) and did not offer much encouragement. But we were there, and Drangonfly had her awesome new T1 wetsuit, so we were going in.

Post-swim fog heading toward the beach

Dragonfly and I made an official swim to the sewerpipe, and I think MM and PN went a bit further. Even as we were swimming it seemed like the wind was picking up.  Returning to the beach, the sun disappeared, and the fog started rolling towards the beach from the water. We hurried to peel off our wetsuits and get home to hot showers.

An hour later, the sun was shining.

New Swimming Friends

Next Swim: M-F 6AM, 5PM

Last Swim: Thurs 6am

Air Temp: low 60's

Water Temp: 47

Clarity: Clear near shore, murkier farther out

Waves: mostly flat

Kru: Magic Mike, Mr. Anonymous, Showgirl, Diablo early, and Panini on shore support, and our two duck friends

Our new swimming friends

There was a break in the typhoon action this morning, and four of us took advantage of it.  Diablo was rolling out as I arrived, Magic Mike was already on the beach, and Panini and Mr. A arrived moments later.

It was another super sunny morning.  The beach has been remodeled yet again.  There's a gigantic tree parallel with the shoreline, and the drop-off in the water is a bit farther out.  

Panini wanted to know the water temperature RIGHT NOW, so I gave her my thermometer.  After screaming about how cold the water was on her feet, and spending about 17 seconds with the sensor in 2 inches of water, she announced the temperature was 57.

Hahahaha.

I said, "it takes longer than that." After more time spent, she said it was 47, which is probably more realistic.

Anyway, Mr. A wins the badass of the day award for swimming to garage in only his capri-pants.  MM went longer, and I went to the kayak, which is farther than I expected to go.

On the way to the ramp, there was a duck pair lounging on the cement steps.  As we got closer they snubbed us and made their way to the big puddle.

RIP Picnic Table, Hello Love Rock

Next Swim: M-F 6AM, 5PM

Last Swim: Tues 6am

Air Temp: 70

Water Temp: 57

Clarity: Clear near shore, murkier farther out

Waves: mostly flat

Kru: Itch, TattooLady, Eric, Magic Mike, Dragonfly, Showgirl, and Diablo early

This morning was what swimming is all about-- full of amazing swimming, and lots of other good stuff.

Cheers!

The sun was almost too bright. There were kids enjoying a breakfast bake (Amelia's term)  at the bottom of the ramp, and a half-full bottle of pinot grigio by the bench.

We swam south, my first southerly swim of the season, and so much has changed. There's a clear-cut of the hillside just south of Klode, and shocking amounts of erosion.  The beach that formerly hosted the picnic table is there, though diminished, and there is no sign of the table.

Love Rock is looking a bit faded, and the sewer pipe looks somehow different, too.  

Back on the beach, Itch and I picked up the scant amount of trash, and I played with a bubble wand and super soaker. (None of those are metaphors.)  There was a lively discussion regarding the ups and downs of Covid baking, and the care and feeding of sourdough starter.

Best swim of the season.

Dawning of a New Era

Next Swims:  Mon-Fri, 6 am and 5 pm, Saturday/Sunday at Noon

Last Swim: Monday 4-5 pm

Water Temp:  61.2 per mitch-o-meter,

Air Temp:   78.4 

Clarity: Clean but not terribly clear

Waves:  Fun!  Mostly about 1 or 2 feet, sometimes 3 feet

Kru: 

First Shift:  Itch, Brick, Kahuna

Swing Shift:  Mister Bubble and Jenny Thorpedo (first time 2020)

Second Swing Shift Mr. Anonymous, 

My friend Jenny came for her first Klode swim this year and she can't wait to come back!  I think she's hooked.  She came once before in September last year for a 6 am swim.  

Itch asked me to post his recommendation that we switch to 5 pm for our evening swims.  I'm definitely good with that.  There's fewer people down at the beach then and of course the sun is staying up longer each day.  

So, that's why this is the Dawning of a New Era - the Klode Kru has set their clocks ahead - again!  We are ahead.of.the.curve

We're special!  In fact, a group named The Specials wrote a song about the Dawning of New Era!

Starting off the week right

Next Swim: Monday 4pm, Tuesday 6am

Last Swim: Monday 6am

Air Temp: 55-58 degrees

Water Temp: 59 degrees

Clarity: Not so much... getting murkier, after such a clear weekend!

Waves: flat

Kru: Diablo early, North Shore Nancy, Handyman Hank, Poole Noodle, Magic Mike, Brick.

Six swimmers took the opportunity that a sunny Monday morning offers to start the week off right. Diablo, as per usual, blazed the trail, so to speak. He was at his bike as Pool Noodle and I were preparing to head down, reporting that the water might have been warmer than the air. First rate! Down we went. 

NSN and HH were there preparing for their daily baptism. As they missed Diablo on their way down, we reported the water/air relationship as Diablo gave it to us. NSN, then approaching the water's edge, was inclined to disagree. The water always seems so much colder than the air. As soon as Brick made it down with his thermometer, he recorded a water temp of 59 degrees. My car thermometer read 55 on the way up to Klode. So regardless of how it felt (it didn't feel warmer in the water to me either), the water was warmer than the air this morning! 

Bath Water!

Next Swims:  Mon-Fri, 6 am and 4 pm, Saturday/Sunday at Noon
Last Swim: Sunday Noon

Water Temp:  58.5 per mitch-o-meter, 58 per itch-o-meter, 56 per macho meter, 15.9C per brick-o-meter

Air Temp:   63.5 per mitch-o-meter

Clarity: NOT.  lotsa flotsam near shore, sandy brown the whole way

Waves:  Fun!  Mostly about 1 or 2 feet, sometimes 3 feet

Kru: Mr. Bubble, Mr. Anonymous, Magic Mike, Drangonfly, Lydia the Tattooed Lady, Pool Noodle, El Jefe, Itch, Brick, Capt'n, Diablo, Linda the Lamprey, Kahuna

Great turnout on a mild sunny day.  Of course, mild is relative.  Most of the people I passed when biking to Klode had on jeans and sweatshirts.  Nonetheless, I'd say that all the Kru members present today were happy that the sun was out, and that the little rocks near the shore were so warm.  Mr. A also noted that the sewer pipe along the steel barrier was warm and he giving it a big hug!  Drangonfly was also soaking up the rays after her swim.  

Despite the outward appearance of normality, there were some mysterious things happening today.  The first was Pool Noodle's discovery of small, floating bottle of vodka.

Look What I Found Floating in the Water!

Upon closer examination, we discovered some additional details

1. According to the label, this is the official vodka of the Ukraine!  
2. There are dents on the cap
3. There were seagulls guarding it
4. Later on, we saw a bunch of sea gulls dive bombing an eagle - none of us had ever seen anything like that before.

Come closer, my child!

The conclusions from these observations were obvious:

1. Those seagulls migrated to the US from the Ukraine, and brought this bottle with them.  There is also credible evidence linking Hunter Biden with this smuggling ring.  
2. Those seagulls figured out how to unscrew and re-screw that cap, that's why it's dented
3. The seagulls were obviously taking swigs from that bottle, that's why they were guarding it.
4. What would motivate a flock of seagulls to attack an eagle?  Reduced inhibitions, right?  Reduced inhibitions and increased belligerence?  Don't need to be a scientist to know what that's all about.  

A second scientific discovery made today came about as a result of the Calibration Celebration.  Four members  of the O'meter family were at the beach today, and we made some interesting discoveries about them.  

1. Brick has a brick-o-meter that only reads in Celsius.  
2. Lydia the Tattooed Lady is a librarian who was an art major.  She's not down with mathematical word problems for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit.  Much easier to ask Siri.
3. Itch clearly has the superior instrument.  That is to say...the itch-o-meter has a longer chord than the other O'Meters.  Very practical for getting a temp well below the surface, without have to get so close to the surface that your street clothes get wet. 
4. The mach-o-meter and mitch-o-meter are the same make and model.  Yet, the macho meter readings are consistently 2 degrees colder.

Previously, I thought the inconsistencies between the macho meter and itch-o-meter were due to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, but after today, I know better - it's due to Quantum Mechanics!  Yep, the macho meter and mitch-0-meter are identical particles of matter and anti-matter.  Those of you who are fans of the original Star Trek series are surely nodding your heads now...this topic was covered in depth in Season 1, Episode 27 - The Alternative Factor.  First aired on March 30, 1967

It's SUMMER Baby!

Next Swims:  

       Fri 4 pm, 

       Sat & Sun noon, 

       Sat 8am (me, probably)

Last Swim: Fri 6am

Water Temp:  53.3

Air Temp:   whateve... 70-something

Clarity: crystal freaking clear

Waves:  nope

Kru: Magic Mike, Showgirl, NorthShoreNancy, Eric, and Diablo on the early shift

That's what I said... FIFTY-THREE degrees.  Wahoo!

Well, anyway, 53.3 feels a whole lot warmer than yesterday's 46-ish.  Plus we all agreed that the water outside the rock piles seemed warmer than inside.  There were definitely warm patches along the swim north.... if you are liberal in what you consider "warm."

It was warm enough that I did a tiny skin swim inside the rock piles.  Woot!

I swam just short of the new (?) rock wall north of the open spot in the trees (north of birches).  Magic Mike went to mudslide, and I think Eric went about that far.  Not sure what NSN's mileage was.

On a, "why can't people pick up after themselves" note, the beach was littered with the after-effects of a bubble gun bacchanalia, and some grass skirts??  We picked up a bunch of it.