Surprising?

Beach: Klode
Watter temp: 69
Waves: choppy
Current: from the south
Water Clarity: crystal clear
Crew: The Patriarch, Capt'n
Next swims: Sat 10AM Klode, Sun 5PM Klode

You'd think with all the swims The Patriarch and I have done that nothing would surprise us....but following this morning's cold water temps we were a bit skeptical about the possibility of logging a 'no wetsuit or bust' swim this afternoon. Once again, the Lady of the Lake reminded us not to quit our day jobs in favor of becoming water weather men by greeting us with a very hospitable water temp of 69.

Not to be out done, our little fishy friends this afternoon also surprised us a bit by being very sociable. Upon reaching south-south beach we stopped near the shoreline to admire all the really tiny little fish swimming among the rocks. Also hanging out were a couple larger fish who were not in the least bit shy about getting up in your grill to say hello...not just once either, but several times!

Ahhhh....never a dull moment! :)

Red Herrings

Beach: Klode
Watter temp: 60! it felt even colder
Waves: calm
Water Clarity: crystal clear
Crew: Cap'n, Patriarch
Next swims: Sat 10AM Klode, Sun 5PM Klode
Possibly: A "No Wetsuit or Bust" swim this afternoon - stay tuned.

Check this out!!: http://www.piratesplunge.com/ I'm signing up!

The water was very cold, very clear, and very calm. It made for a nice brisk refreshing swim to "sewer pipe" and back. (We should think of a better name - there's no sewage - at least I don't think so - it's a storm drain.)

Maybe it was the cold water, or maybe Cap''n had water in his ears, but this was our conversation when we returned to shore:
Cap'n: "Look, a stork"
Patriarch: "It's a blue heron"
Cap'n: "A herring?"
Patriarch: "No a HERON - H-E-R-O-N"
Cap'n: "I've heard of red herrings but not blue herrings"
Patriarch: "A heron, a great blue heron"

One for the fish

Beach: Klode
Water temp: 64ish
Waves: calm
Crew: Robin, Capt'n (Sir James, Erin & Rob all arrvied for a later evening dip.)
Water Clarity: Clear
Next Swims: Friday 6AM Klode

Judging by my educated toe test this evening I'd place the water temp on the cool side of the mid 60's. Not numbing, but enough to make your skin tingle a bit if you walk the plank minus a wetsuit....which is what I opted to do this evening. (truth be told...it was mostly because I was too lazy to climb into my wetsuit....)

The highlight of this evening's swim...other than the storms which were passing to the north of Klode while the sun still peaked in out of the clouds over the beach...was the company we had. Accompanying us for the entire swim from Klode's southeast beach to the garage and back were little schools of fish. Each one probably contained about 25-50 little fishies but barely a minute passed when a school of them didn't pass below you. Very cool!

Capping off this evening's swim was an amazingly large school (100's? 1000's?) of these little fishies just hanging on the outer perimeter of the Klode's southeast beach. Not in the least bit timid about the fact that we were swimming above them.....were they perhaps a mirage?

...or perhaps they were just anxiously awaiting Senor Loco Sir James to take the plunge into the water? For that, unfortunately, they will need to swim on over to Michigan as James is taking his show on the road for the National Open Water 10K championship this Saturday. Good luck James!!

Howling at the Moon

Beach: Klode
Water temp: 64
Waves: calm
Crew: Patriarch, Gumdrop, Steve, Sandie, Mike (and joined at the end by Shaun)
Water Clarity: Clear
Next Swims: Friday 6AM Klode, Saturday 10AM Klode for a longer swim
Also, Cap'n wants to swim tonight, he'll post when he's going (I can't go, I have a retirement party to attend)

Pretty much the same thing we've had the last few days, water temps in the low sixties, calm and clear surface. Boring, almost, but the lake is never boring.

Brilliant idea of the day: a full moon swim. The next full moon is next Wednesday, August 5th.
We've during sunrise a zillion times, it would be cool to swim during moon rise over the lake.
(Actually, this is Sandie's idea, but it's such a good one I'll take credit.)

Astronomy lesson of the day: the full moon always rises at or near sunset, and sets near sunrise. If you don't believe me, take a couple balls to represent earth and moon, and a flashlight for the sun, and see how things need to align for the fully lighted disk of the moon to be visible from earth.

Laurel & Hardy Swim at Sunset

Beach:  Klode

Water temp: 68

Waves:  light chop

Crew:  Laurel & Hardy (Cap'n & Patriarch)

Water Clarity:  Clear

Next Swim: Thursday 6AM Klode, and we'll probably do an evening swim too, check back.

We were both at the beach, but somehow we missed each other, which is damn near impossible, it could only happen in an old time comedy like Laurel and Hardy.  Apparently I was done swimming and coming up the path, while Cap'n was coming down the stairs. 

The water was warm and wonderful. I swam at least a half mile without a wetsuit, I'm not sure how far Hardy went.  His garbled phone message said something about being attacked by giant fish.  Another fine mess he's gotten us into.

"Refreshing" welcome

Beach: Klode
Water temp: 61
Waves: calm
Current: none
Crew: The Patriarch, Gumdrop, Margie, Capt'n
Clarity: great!
Next swim: Thursday 6AM Klode? (please comment if planning to swim Thursday am)

First time Klode swimmer / long time blog reader Margie greated The Patriarch and I as we slumbered down to the beach front this morning. It's always great to hear from those who follow these blog posts....and even better when they come out and join us for a swim! :)

Visually it was a picture perfect morning for a swim. The radient sun was climbing into the clear blue sky and a slightly rippled lake surface gave the illusion of refreshing retreat from the hot summer heat. But with an air and water temp of 61 this morning 'refreshing' required a little more determination to partake in than usual.

Practicing his speedy transitions this morning Gumdrop was the first to walk (run) the plank. Taking a more scientific approach to planning today's swim strategy, The Patriarch and the rest of the crew took a bit more time to prepare a game plan. For Margie, today's plan was to log a 1/2 mile swim. So under The Patriarch's profient guidance a course was plotted and we set sail..."to the garage!" he exclaimed with his now legendary crazed look in one eye and a nervous twitch of his wiskers.

Crisp & Clear....that's probaby the best way to summarize this morning's swim conditions. This morning's journey took us from Klode's southeast beach to the garage (approximately the 1/4 mile mark), them up to the rock wall and back. Swimming back I ventured out a little deeper to see how far I could swim out and still see the sandy lake bottom. Amazingly, even in 15-20ft of water and approximately 200 meters from shore, the rippled sand of the lake bottom could still be seen!

There's a good chance The Patriarch will venture back this afternoon and again tomorrow morning. If you're interested in joining The Patriarch this afternoon or tomorrow morning please post a comment. We will both be back for sure Thursday evening...time is negotiable.

~Capt'n

Consistency

Beach: Klode
Water temp: 63
Waves: calm
Current: none
Crew: The Patriarch, Sandie, Capt'n
Clarity: Good
Next swim: Wednesday 6AM Klode

Consistently cool appears to be the trend lately with our 6am Klode swims. Morning temps have been ranging in the 62-65 degree range the last few weeks....today was no exception as the Official Killepitsch temperature gauge read 62.8.

The water clarity was a bit hazy this morning although the sandy lake bottom could be seen easily in 10-15ft of water. Our swim this morning took us from Klode's southeast beach up to the rock wall and back. The glass like lake surface made for a quick swim and offered a spectacular view of the sunrise into the clear blue sky.