Knuckleheads

 

Next swims: Monday-Friday, 6 am and 5 pm
Saturday/Sunday, 7 am, 8 am and Noon

Last Swims: Sunday (8/29) @ Noon

Water Temp:  Upper 60's to Low 70's  (i.e. slightly cooler than the mid 70's we enjoyed Friday & Saturday)

Waves:  None

Clarity:  Clear

Air Conditions: Upper 80's with scattered thunder storms

Kru:  Diablo, Itch, Kahuna, We'Taco, Dragonfly, Forger, Queso Queen (formerly known as Elanor), Ala Mode, Lydia the TTL, Cathy, Linda, Lindsay, Capt'n with shore support from "She who shall not be named" and Moondaug

Well, it's not every day you get to do a "Knucklehead" swim.  For the record a "Knucklehead" swim is defined as an open water swim in which you apparently lack the common sense not to swim when there's lightning nearby.  If you're bored sometime I'm sure you can still find the original story behind this name buried somewhere in the early archives of this blog.  While years of excessive grog and rounds of Pitch may have skewed my recollection of the exact details of this story....here's how I believe it goes:

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful swim
That started from our Klode beach

while the sun was shining bright.

The Capt'n was a mighty swimming man,

The Kru was fit and trim.

We all set sail that day

For a three hour swim, a three hour swim.

The weather started getting rough,

with lightning all around, 

If not for the courage of the fearless Kru

We surely would have drowned, we surely would have drowned.

The Kru set ground on the Klode shore

With The Patriarch standing there...

With his half crazed eye and wagging finger

he officially proclaimed....

"Only knuckleheads would be stupid enough to swim during a thunderstorm!

...what are you, f---ing NUTS?!?!"

And there you have it folks....the story behind the first ever Klode Kru Knucklehead swim....at least as best I can remember it.

Side note:  for the record, only a few drops of rain fell on us today and my onshore gear was completely dry when I returned.  All observed lightening exceeded the 30/30 rule....at least as best as I could tell....

On a different topic....exciting news!  An official proclamation was made during our traditional post swim Pitch toast.  It went something like this: "From this day forward Elanor is to be known as 'Queso Queen'.  So it has been proclaimed, so shall it be known!"

73.4°

Last Swims: Friday, 8/27 @ 5pm
Next swims: Monday-Friday, 6 am and 5 pm
Saturday/Sunday, 7 am, 8 am and Noon

Water temp: 73.4 per mitch-o-meter

Air temp: High 80s and muggy in parking lot, milder at beach

Swell: 1-2 feet 

Clarity: much better - almost see bottom sometimes.  7-8/10

Kru

Early Shift:  Itch and Rosie

Prime Shift:  Sir James, Big Show, Mr. Bubble, We'Taco, Peaches, Dave, Capt'n, Hannah and another friend training for IMWI

Shore Support:  Synchro ("73.4!  So bummed I didn't bring my stuff!)

Itch's bike was already locked to the tree when some of us headed down at 4:55.  We found out later he and Rosie and done a round trip to Doctors Park, which Rosie said took about 3 hours.  

Synchro came down and was in total shock to hear how warm the water was.  She contemplated going home and coming back.  

Dave when out in his sleeveless wetsuit and was bemoaning the fact that the water was so warm and that he would be burning up with all that insulation.  He confirmed as much when he returned.  Hannah's friend also agreed she was a little too toasty in her full wetsuit.

I learned that Nena is the real name of the woman I referred to as Eva in yesterday's blog post.  Also learned that she already has a nickname - Peaches.  Seemed very appropriate her skin tone seemed like a peachy color to me.  Turns out Itch gave her that nickname because she misheard him when he was talking about beaches.  

There were a couple of other unidentified swimmers bobbing around when Itch and Rosie came back - they were doing their own thing.  

Capt'n was kind enough to bring a cold bottle of Killepitsch - Hooray!  Dave had never tried it and would only accept about a 5 ml serving.  Some debate between Capt'n and I about whether warm Killepitsch tasted more disgusting than Jagermeister.  Call me a contrarian - I think warm Killepitsch isn't too bad but I will never consume another drop of Jager at any temperature.  

Tonight's toast - Warm Water!  

Musical Accompaniment - Too Hot by the Specials, circa 1979

You Got It

Last Swims: Thursday, 8/26 @ 6am
Next swims: Monday-Friday, 6 am and 5 pm (for real!) 

Saturday/Sunday, 7 am, 8 am and Noon

Water temp: 67 

Air temp: High 70s/low 80s and muggy on arrival, milder on departure

Swell: very flat at sunrise, escalating to 8-12" within 20 minutes 

Clarity: Murky, 5-6/10

Kru: Lt MJ, Mr and Mrs Laguna, Alla, Chris, Mr. Bubble

Late Shift:  Handyman Hank

Shore Support:  swarms of blood thirsty flies

Laguna alongside vagrant Sendik's bag

Quick confession to make - despite the absence of blog posts about 5 pm weekday swims, they have been occurring regularly.  Itch of course has been swimming consistently.  Mr A and Moondoggie were there last night, along with some newcomers.  There's been a couple of other consistent newcomers, but I haven't gotten their names yet.  Haven't seen Brick or his Clowns to the Left, Jokers to the Right pickup for a while.  Lauren from Chicago was there the other day and Rosie has come a few times.  

Anyway, this morning was perfectly calm and lovely on arrival, except for those f@~#!*g flies.  They were on us from the get go - upside was that everyone was motivated to get in the water very quickly.  

Clear skies at first, so perfect view of the sun coming up on the horizon.  We all headed north.  Good incentive for me to do some freestyle with right sided breathing - got to sight the sunrise with each stroke.  Still didn't prevent me from going off course though.  

Started to notice the wind picking up and water surface going from flat to light ripples to light swells and then full swells maybe up to a foot.  Fortunately, the swells were coming from the North, so they helped propel us back.  MJ reported that her Barbie was being pushed around, as was mine.  I rejoiced at the hope that the stronger wind would roust the flies from the beach.  No such luck.  

Changing the subject again - I was asking folks last night if they had heard any new details about the  Klode Park Beach Restoration and Shoreline Stabilization Project.  No one else had heard about it at all.  I first heard about it when Northshore Nancy called my attention to this Facebook post back in July:

𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗞𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 - 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: In November 2020, the Village Board approved a $180,038.10 grant for the restoration and mitigation of the Klode Park Shoreline. The grant includes a 75% Federal cost share ($135,028.58), a 12.5% State of Wisconsin cost share ($22,504.76), and a 12.5% local Whitefish Bay match ($22,504.76). Village Staff and shoreline restoration consultant SmithGroup worked with FEMA over the winter/spring to design and bid the project.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗼𝘄 (𝟳/𝟭𝟮/𝟮𝟭): The Village Board approved the project construction contract at the Village Board meeting last night. Construction will take place after Labor Day to avoid the summer beach season. The project consists of sandy gravel/cobblestone for beach replenishment, funds to repair a broken support bracket on the storm sewer outlet pipe, and a revetment of geotextile and rip-rap to armor the shoreline against similar future damage.

𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: As a result of a severe winter wind storm that took place in early January 2020, the Klode Beach shoreline encountered substantial erosion. This storm was so severe that the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management coordinated with local municipalities and was successful in obtaining a FEMA emergency disaster declaration.

There was a comment on this post saying that the "substantial erosion" was on the north side of the beach and that the goal of this project was to make the north side like the south side.  

I made a comment on this post asking for more details just before I started typing this blog post, and they've responded already:

We're working on a project notification letter that will go out next Monday in the newsletter and online. Work is anticipated to begin on or after September 13 (weather permitting) and last around 4 weeks. Access to the beach will be closed during construction.

Given all of the above - I propose we do some Special Labor Day Swim.  Maybe Big Bay to Klode?  Or vice versa?  I've got an idea of how I could position my van to shuttle people back to the point of origin from the destination, for those of us who only want to swim one way.  Let's discuss in comments.  

Last thing - what does this blog's title, You Got It, have to do with anything else in this post?  Glad you asked - You Got It is a love song from The White Album, by the Average White Band White, circa 1974.  These white guys were a bona fide and outstanding disco band (unlike the Bee Gees, who never released even one disco song before they were in the movie Saturday Night Fever - total cover band).  So, I thought this love song was perfectly appropriate for all us who love swimming at Klode.  The chorus of this song says it all:

You got it, any way you want it
Any way you want it to be
You can have it, take it from me
'Cause it's waiting for you

Feeling the Love (Rock)

 Next swims: 

    M-F, 6am and 5pm; 

    Sat & Sun, 7am, 8am and noon  

Last swim: 6am Wednesday(and other, un-blogged swims)
Air temp:  70's
Water temp: high 60's
Waves: big swells out of the south
Clarity: nope

Kru: Tattoo Lady, Dragonfly, Showgirl, AlaMode, Forger, Mermaid Princess, Lt. MJ, Linda the Lamprey, Magic Mike, Cap'n, Cindy, special guest swim by Gigi, Flipper Guy

Shore Support:  Wim Hoffers? or maybe not?

There were slow swells out of the south so we swam.... south, departing moments after the sun rose above the horizon.

For the second day in a row Cap'n graced us with his presence.

Most agreed that the light on the shoreline made things exceptionally beautiful.

Fiery pre-sunrise horizon, (photo TTL)

North? South? (we chose south)

I trailed the faster swimmers to one of the new white rock walls (the one that had the backhoe on it last summer) and there was a six-swimmer meet-up when I arrived.  

A lively discussion ensued about how nice it would be to have some kind of raft to lollygag upon, and everyone was assigned responsibilities to make that happen.

And then, we turned around and swam back.  The south shoreline has far, far fewer interesting landmarks to spice up our swims.  We swam along the rock wall.  After the sewer pipe/Love Rock combo we swam along another rock wall.  After the beach formerly known as Picnic Table, we swam along the rock wall and finally returned to the beach.

Mystery driftwood

Two unidentified (at first) swimmers, plus flipper guy

Next Swims: T-F 6am and 5pm; Sat & Sun 7am, 8am, noon

Last Swim: Monday 6am

Air temp: not really sure, but it was pleasantly chilly. A sweatshirt was a good thing to wear to the beach--that was the temp.

Water temp: 66

Waves: very small, slow, gentle rollers...barely there

Clarity: Weak. 3/10. I couldn't see the hand at the end of my arm as I swam.

Kru: Laguna, Magic Mike, Ala. Diablo on the early shift. Flipper guy was also swimming this morning. 

Shore support: Six Wim Hoffers, five young women in bikinis (an odd site at 6am). One of this latter group risked life and phone to swim out to the second rock pile from the north. What some people will do for a good sunrise photo!

Monday mornings are often lightly attended swims. This morning, besides the aforementioned shore support, only Laguna was on the beach when I arrived at about 7 minutes after 6. 

At some point in our swim north this morning, perhaps between the birches and the wall, Laguna and I stopped to chat and look about us. We had almost swum into each other, and it was a nice morning bobbing about on those small little rolling waves. He casually pointed out a swimmer I had not been expecting to see. "There goes Diablo," he said. Sure enough, Diablo was slashing through the water just outside of our position and angling back in to his spot along the north beach. I had not noticed that he was out this morning. Then, upon returning to the cove, I noticed another swimmer's stuff alongside ours (not Diablo's--he had been in and gone by this point.).  Curious. A barbie floated out near the new rock pile. A second unidentified swimmer! As the mystery swimmer approached, we began to analyze stroke technique and speculate about who it was. I managed an accurate guess. It was Ala. I guess spending six or more years swimming in the same pool with someone helps you recognize their stroke. We stayed long enough to welcome her back ashore, and then headed up the bluff. 

The magic of a morning swim turned into a regular Monday morning. Tomorrow awaits. 

Sturgeon Moon

 Last Swims:  Noon on Sunday, and Full Moon at Sunday 8:30 p.m.

Water Temps:  All over the place.  59 degrees close to shore, and well into the 70s 15 yards past the rocks

Waves:  Big water, big currents; 3 to 5 ft. at noon, close too the same at 8:30

Noon Kru:  Itch, Fred, Laguna, Luna Laguna Other Dave, Forger, GiGi, Lydia the TTL, Kahuna, others, shore support from the Cap'n, Zig, Ice Princess and SWMNBN!

Moon Swim:  Moon Dawg, Coach "Old Man River" Connor, WeTac, Carolyn (first swim, so no nickname!), Peaches, Mr. A with shore support from SWMNBN! and Kahuna.

A beautiful moon rose from the lake at about 8:30, and had a bright orange glow, the same orange glow that the coals had which we roasted marshmallows over.  Life is good

And here is video from our roving and swimming reporter, taken as she is swimming maybe 25 yards East of the rocks:

Thanks Carolyn!   

North Shore Fire and Rescue--get a room!

 Next Swims: Sunday- 7am, 8am, noon, and a FULL MOON SWIM at 8:10pm

Last swim: Saturday, noon

Air Temp: 83

Water temp: 68 ( 69 from Itch, 67 from the rubber ducky), but there was a lot of cold water lingering under that. At one point, Itch measured that colder shelf of water to be at about 58 degrees. 

Waves: Choppy, generally disorganized 1-1.5 footers

Clarity: pretty clear: 9 /10

Kru: Capt'n, Itch, Diablo, Moondawg, Dave, Neo, Blake, Crabby Abby, Peaches, Super Hera, Magic Mike. An extra Triathaloner came as we were getting out, suited up, and headed out for a swim. 

Shore Support: Neo's two chips-off-the-old-block, aka, collectively, spawn o' Neo.

For the last three days, the good people of the North Shore Fire and Rescue teams have been at Klode. Thursday, and Friday, they were running training sessions and preparing for the future. 

Here are some random beachgoers struggling to remove a dummy from the water on Friday. It is not apparent how or why the dummy was in the water, but it is suspected that it has something to do with NSFR.

Today they appeared to show for more immediate concerns. A beachgoer was not feeling her best: lightheaded, short of breath, etc. She appeared to be in very good hands and was helped from the beach by these fine public servants. 

But all that is prelude to why we are really here. The noon swim down at the beach! The sun shone; the waves tossed lightly; the Kru swam south into the chop. Some, like me, stopped short of a trip out to flatrock. A decent contingent went on to that destination and returned en masse to initiate the beach change, gather around the Capt'n as he benevolently dispensed the nectar of the gods, and raise one toast to another good swim and another toast to some well oiled joints (Itch provided a second round to those so inclined). 

I swam over a very large school of smallish fish on my return trip. I was speaking with Dave about our swims and mentioned it to him-- I think he called it a bait ball. Which I took to mean a school of bait-sized fish swimming closely together in a ball. It was a big ball. Big enough to actually darken the water around me as I swam through them.  Pretty cool. 

Lastly,  consider the full moon swim tomorrow night. Arrive at 8:10 pm. Greet your friends. Get into the lake and swim out to see the full moon rise at 8:20. Then, acting like a bunch of pagans, do all sorts of unaccountable things before coming back to shore in the dark, pretending like it was just another swim. In fact, you'll know you did something special and transcendent. Lucky you!