Weekend morning swim—quick check-in

Next swim: (they’re in the water as I write this) Sat noon, Sun 8am and noon

Last swim: Saturday 8am

Air Temp: upper 70s, low 80s sunny

Water temp: 69

Waves: gentle slow rollers from the east and slightly north

Clarity: not perfectly clear, but the sun penetrated a bit and lit up your immediate surroundings. I’d say 7/10

Kru: Patriarch, Magic Mike, Mr. Bubble, with a cast of swimmers accompanying him, including the aforementioned Jenny, and Jennifer, Mary Jo (if I am not wrong), and perhaps three of four newcomers in that group, Mr Anonymous, Showgirl, Diablo, and one other gentleman on the early shift. I spoke briefly with this last fellow admiring the beauty of the swim—my apologies for not introducing myself. 

A nice group showed for the morning swim.   We found a pretty quiet beach, with signs that it was springing to life: young families, grandparents with grandchildren, you get the idea. 

This morning it felt as if you could/should just keep swimming. I love those moments. Nothing seems to be inhibiting you. Your strokes are efficient. Your surroundings are nearly idyllic. Fatigue is only a distant consideration. The rhythm of your strokes sets a perfect pace for indefinite motion. Both the water and the shore provide enough distraction that even when fatigue does approach, you don’t initially notice it’s there. Itch mentioned swimming to Michigan or Chicago. This was a  day when you wonder if you’ll ever come back.

I’m gonna try the 8am shift again tomorrow. Patriarch seemed interested. 

Just Keep Swimming!

Simply Irresistible!

Next Swims:  
     Mon-Fri @ 6 am and 5 pm, 
     Saturday @ 8 am      
     Saturday/Sunday @ Noon
Last Swim:  Friday @ 5 pm
Water Temp:  67 per itch-o-meter, 69.5 per mitch-o-meter
Air Temp:  86
Clarity:   bit sandy, but settling down. 5/10
Waves: steady 4" - 6"
Kru:  Mr. Bubble, Itch, Laguna, Mrs. Laguna, Kahuna, Stickler, Brick, Capt'n, Ziggy, Synchro, Alla, Kim (returning alumni), Sir James, The Big Show, Super Hera, Chris
Guest Stars:  Alla's two daughters (one's a virtual daughter), Peter

Another lovely swim day!  Warm water, blue skies with puffy clouds, relatively calm water.  They just keep coming...it's 

Simply Irresistible!!

She's a natural law, and she leaves me in awe
She deserves the applause, I surrender because
She used to look good to me, but now I find her
Simply irresistible, Simply irresistible

Bit crowded on the beach right at 5:00, but most of the people had cleared out by the the time everyone had returned from their swims.  The Kru arrived and completed in staggered shifts; Kahuna and Super Hera arrived later, but swam shorter distances than usual.  Itch was FILO, Mr and Mrs Laguna took turns swimming and staying with the kids.  

Today's Killepitsch Toast:  GOOD TIMES!
Making cheerful toasts to lovely conditions never gets old.

ps - I'll be coming down with Jenny and another friend of ours, Jennifer, (first timer) at 8 on Saturday.  Jennifer's been following the blog and getting more and more interested in trying it out.  She's coming out to Klode from Oconomowoc. 

Minimalist Swimming in the Rain (with a side of drama)

Next Swims:  
     Saturday/Sunday Noon at Klode   
     Saturday bonus swim: 7AM 
     Mon-Fri 6AM, 5PM 
Last Swim:  Friday 6AM
Water Temp:  70? (we don't know because we're minimalists!)
Air Temp:  warm and rainy
Clarity:   Nope
Waves: slow swells out of the north
Kru:  Dragonfly, Pool Noodle, Showgirl, Ala, welcome Ben, with Don Diego and Chris on the late shift

A few sprinkles leaving my house turned into a steady rain at Klode.  A parking lot conference convened and we consulted weather and lightening maps.  There was continued rain but no lightening.  

Ala arrived and firmly settled the matter:  we would swim.

However, the indecision of the moment caused Dragonfly to forget that her car was in neutral. There was a brief, heart-stopping moment where she was slowly rolling towards Ala's car. She braked, and disaster was averted.  But then... her car wouldn't start.  So PN, Ala, and I pushed it back where it belonged.  She decided to allow the car to reconsider it's choices, and we headed down to the beach.

We went minimalist and left all but the most important gear in the cars. It was liberating to walk down the ramp nearly ready to jump in.  Apparently it IS possible to swim without bringing a gigantic backpack along.

At beach level, we admired how someone had cleverly covered their gear with an umbrella.

With one eye on the sky, and an ear out for thunder, we decided to swim north, since that allows for a hasty departure from the water should the swim turn knucklehead.

Rainy swims have a magic all their own.

About when we turned around, Clever Umbrella guy, Ben, appeared.  It was his first swim with the Klode Kru-- welcome Ben!

With no towels, clothes, or bags, we left the beach quickly.

Two Boys for Every Girl!

Next Swims:  
     Mon-Fri @ 6 am and 5 pm, 
          Saturday/Sunday Noon at Klode   
Last Swim:  Thursday @ 5 pm
Water Temp:  71
Air Temp:  76
Clarity:   kinda, but not terribly.  6/10
Waves: steady 10" - 12" swells
Kru:  Mr. Bubble, Itch, 2-Ply, Laguna, Mrs. Laguna, Kahuna (2nd Shift)
Guest Stars:  Mike (last seen "couple years ago"), Rachel, Heather

And we're goin' to Surf City, 'cause it's two to one
You know we're goin' to Surf City, gonna have some fun
You know we're goin' to Surf City, 'cause it's two to one
You know we're goin' to Surf City, gonna have some fun, now
Two boys for every girl!!

Always interesting to see who shows up for each swim and how the group assembles, as some people arrive early, others arrive later.  At first, it looked like it was just going to be a Boys Club swim day, until we actually got in the water.  I've just barely swam past the rocks when I notice a woman swimmer zoom past me - Mrs. Laguna.  When I arrive back at shore, two more women, Rachel and Heather, are getting ready to head out.  Laguna is hanging back at the beach, watching his kids, while Ms. Laguna is out swimming faster than a speeding bullet.  Mrs. L comes back so Mr. L can take his turn.  

Tonight's Big News and Killepitsch toast subject:

WE LOVE THE WARM WATER!

This is such a big story, it was even picked up by TMJ4 Weather

READY FOR A SWIM?

LAKE MICHIGAN IS HEATING UP!

Lake Michigan surface temperatures as of July 8

By: Kristen Kirchhaine

Posted at 1:01 PM, Jul 09, 2020

and last updated 1:01 PM, Jul 09, 2020

Lake Michigan is heating up!
Surface temperatures on the lake are largely in the 70s, low to mid-70s on the west side of the lake, with upper 70s to low 80s on the east side.

Lake Michigan surface temperatures as of July 8

So how do these temperatures compare to normal? Well above average!

This graph shows that Lake Michigan surface temperatures are running well above normal

The graph compares the current average Lake Michigan surface temperature to the long term average (1992-2019). It's easy to see the red line, representing 2020 surface temperatures, has climbed quickly in the last few weeks. The average surface temperature of the lake is not just above the July normal, but has now exceeded the average warmest temperatures normally experienced on the lake. The average surface temperature normally peaks in August at around 70-degrees, and we are already well above that.
However, this is not the first time we have seen Lake Michigan temperatures climb above average. We don't have to look too far back in time to find another above average year.

2018 Lake Michigan temperatures compared to average

In 2018, Lake Michigan temperatures similarly climbed above average in late June and early July, and stayed above normal through most of the summer.
So what is the reason for the big jump in Lake Michigan surface temperatures? It's no surprise that temperatures over the last few weeks have been largely above average for us in Southeast Wisconsin. But it's not just here, temperatures for our Lake M neighbors in parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan have been running above normal as well, contributing to the warm-up.

maxuser

But it's not just the warm temperatures, it's a combination of the heat AND the lack of wind. The weather set up over the last few weeks has featured relatively weak winds. Without the wind to help stir up the lake, creating waves and upwelling, surface water temperatures have surged.
Notice, the subsurface water temperatures are still cool, in the 40s and 50s.

At the bottom of Lake Michigan, temperature readings are still in the 40s

Better mixing of the bottom water and the surface water would help to cool temperatures back down. Until we get some significant wind, lake temperatures will continue to run above normal.

World Beneath Us

Next Swims: M-F AM and 5PM

Last Swim: Monday 6AM

Air Temp: getting hot

Water Temp: 71

Waves: like glass

Clarity: also like glass

Kru: 

Handyman Hank

Northshore Nancy

Pool Noodle

Panini

Patriarch

Dragonfly

Showgirl

Magic Mike?? (all these swims are running together... pretty sure he was there)

Mystery Swimmers 1 and 2 heading out late

Diablo (early)

It was another magic morning of swimming. There was a wee bit of dissension in the ranks, and thus the majority swam north, and Dragonfly, Pool Noodle, and I swam south. 

I'm sure the northbound swimmers had their own adventures, but I'm writing the blog.  

We sliced thru the water and regrouped to admire Love Rock.  Then to sewerpipe.  (It's consistently smelly by sewerpipe, but not sewer smell, more like diesel.) It still felt too soon to turn back, so we went on to two wooden staircases, each ending abruptly in the middle of the bluff, and finally, THE Staircase staircase, the metal one.  That one is now hanging mostly horizontal on the rocks.  Crazy.

We started back.   On days like today, with incredible clarity and sunshine ripples on the bottom, it feels like I'm peering into a peaceful watery room, the edges of which are just beyond my line of vision.

The Geek Squad

Next Swims: M-F 6am and 5pm

Last Swim: Sunday noon

Air Temp: 84

Water Temp: 74

Waves: 8-12" chop out of the south- just enough to remind you you're swimming in a lake

Clarity: Perfect in close, murkier farther out- but still nice

Kru: Diablo, Itch, Kahuna, Stephanie (back for the first time this year, welcome back!), Karen, Amanda (two first time swimmers with the Kru, welcome!), Eleanor, Dan, Magic Mike. There may have been one or two I forgot or failed to ID. There were a lot of swimmers there that weren't swimming with us, so some blending occurred.

If all the cool kids assembled for the 9:00 swim, the geek squad showed up in the backup capacity for the noon swim. After we removed our thick-lensed glasses, took out our pocket protectors, unbuttoned our polyester shirts, and slipped out of our tight belts that were holding our less than attractive trousers well above our navels, we donned our gear and looked around us. Lo and behold, we were just swimmers.  So we swam! 

South, as it happens. The boat people had moved in to the north part of the bay, and the water was coming from the south, so that seemed like the prudent course of action. You don't really need all the details to know that it was a straight up delightful swim. However, as we were collecting in the parking lot, Itch and I were sizing up a big grey cloud to the north. We determined that the cloud was coming south. Sure enough, as we approached Love Rock we noticed some light rain dimpling the surface of the water. It stopped as quickly as it came. A few of us turned back at Love Rock. A good portion swam on. 

Sadly, I cannot report on the 'Pitsch drinking status of the noon Kru today. I went home early to see my son before he left after a weekend helping me to balance equations, figure the limits on a series of algebraic functions, and organize the periodic table by tendency of the elements to form covalent versus ionic bonds. Whew, it was a good weekend! 

For the early swimmers:

 

Temporary Landmarks

Next Swims

• M-F 6AM, 5PM

Last Swim: Sunday 9AM, and probably Sunday noon, tho all the cool kids were at the 9AM swim
Water Temp: 76?
Clarity: excellent
Air:  80?
Kru: Mr. A, Dragonfly, Sir James,, Showgirl, Tattoo Lady,Northshore Nancy, HandymanHank, Cake Lady and El Jefe, Mary Jo, Linda the Lamprey, Cap'n, Stickler, Brick, Big Show, Sheila, IceMoon, maybe others?

The water is warm and amazing.  These are truly the best swims of the season.

There was a giant group of swimmers on the beach for a semi-early swim today.  Luckily we've got lots of backup swimmers to populate the noon swim.

We swam north, and most made it to New Mudslide and Destroyed Staircase.  I swam thru the submerged forest and  stood on a squishy ball of roots.

But let's talk about the more temporary landmarks.  I swam over a single white leather adidas shoe around the birches.  Tattoo Lady was curious about the yellow thing on the beach south of New Mudslide.  I got out of the water (it's possible!) to check it out. It was a mylar happy face balloon, that had been weighed down with a couple of rocks.

The beach and parking lot were filling up as we left.  And in case anyone is wondering, there is no Pitsch at a 9am swim.