Sunday Sun In and Out at the Shores, NOT the COVE!

There we were -- at the Shores, no Laura, no Cami!  Baby wanna'-be waves, wind whipping up the seas, but we carried on... a good 4-some-pod of Diana, Ruth, Bill and Cary made our way back to the 1/4 mile for a party!  Yes, a party at the quarter mile, but Diana forgot the Limoncello... Cary left the hot chai at the shore... darn.  We met Leonard-with-no-googles, Janie and her friends (well they had gone already). So we partied at the buoy with Janie and Leonard -- such fun and hugs all around. No dolphins today, they were dancing in the waves at Torrey Pines -- Bill and I saw them there on our morning run on the beach.  Water still nippy -- felt like 56 or 57, but NOT 60. That meat thermometer (I know, it's really a SPECIAL scientific instrument disguised as a MEAT thermometer) just didn't cut it... we just know, it's damn cold out there and Bill always zooms when the temp is cold. So he did. So did Ruth and I and Diana, as fast as we could back to the Tower... nice party swim.


We certainly missed all you that weren't able to make it... I hear that our dear Cami is sick -- we send her well wishes!  I miss the Cove too... hopefully the surf will cooperate and next week, we'll be back.

Looking south towards La Jolla Shores

Thinking of our swim and all of you!

My favorite oak tree at Torrey Pines...

~cool-cove-cary-at-the-shores (missing the Cove!)  

hello?

we are all awaiting reports from all you swimmer types! report!

up and coming diva, oh yeah dolphins too but whatever

saturday noon, cftc, dianadarling, the mighty c's, lftc-out from the shores due to surf at the cove, said hello and goodbye to our little ruth who had just emerged from an orphan swim- swam in limited but varying degrees of viz, easy swim to the 1/4, wicked swim against the current going back with diana d & lftc caught in a rip, a netherworldly current in which our arms and legs moved but our bodies stayed put. we had to stop to discuss this of course, duh, while everyone else blazed in. we were rewarded though, much like the tortoise in the fable; the rabbits blazed but the tortoises were rewarded with dolphins! dolphins all around us, so close we almost had blow hole spit land on our heads! kayakers were hooting and hollering, shouting for joy but we were as close as you can get, they were awesome and harbingers of good fortune.
we conducted our science expirement with temps: the chemist therm. (not a meat thermometer as some suggested) showed 60 so it may as well have been, my watch showed 58, the NOAA buoy data showed 57.9 at 1pm. bottom line is that no one knows, so much for science. we may as well use nipple reaction for the swim chicks or shrinkage for the swim dudes. i'm just saying.
okay, the swim and all the dolphins were cool and everything but the hilight was our up and coming diva! cary decided to do a deck or surf change for the very 1st time after bill the cabana boy ran to the car to get her towels, tea and clothing. It took many many minutes with several towels, 3 adults, much adjusting and orders from cary to keep her boobs covered at all times. we were falling down laughing, this was fun and cary was a good sport. good for you diva cary! diana d likened it to a sports car driver: race in and have a team surround you, adjust you, tighten your nuts and bolts, fill the tires, wipe off the window and wala! you're off.

fun fun fun swim, again. thanks to all, i adore you and will always!
lftc-out

bye bye buoys

Wednesday me and Janie tried swimming from the spanking new A to the stick buoys but they took 'em all away as we swam. Watched the boat give the old A a quick joyride through the water before going to wherever it is the buoys go to hibernate. Janie is a stellar personal coastguard escort in through the waves!

cami is trying to kill me

thursday noon, cami, loli, lftc from the shores since the cove was acting up, having hissy fits in between lulls so we drove over to nirvana, flat, smooth and still, clear as could be until further out, we swam to the shiny new a buoy-all the pin buoys are gone for the winter-in about 58 degrees. the swim out was so easy, cake! then we turned around to face the current, oh, that's where it was, sly current. i contend that cami is trying to kill me, i don't know why but she is working me, she claims she's innocent but no way. if i die in her path, you read it here. she's just smoking fast but i love the chase, we swam really hard today since the way was so beautiful. the sun was glorious! hot even!
lftc-out

swimming the pure swim today

tuesday noon, RUTH! cftc, lftc and leonard who was a sweet and swift addition, out from the shores due to some surf , i'm just so over the surf, big, small, strong, weak, all a no go for this swim chick, besides, the swim today was killer! no waves, just walk on in the icy sea, be miserable for a minute or two and blaze out, honestly, the chill causes zings that feel quite nice and then your numb. metallic soft grey sea, same sky, temp bounced around, 57, 59, 58 and again 57 at the shore. not much viz but we didn't need it, the swim was fast and athletic, we all seemed to melt into the groove and before we knew it, we're at the a. leonard and cami lead the swim today, they were on fire, ruth and i chased them pretty hard, if only i had one iota of propulsion left in my body i would have caught them. on the return, dolphins! the blackies, when we reached the beach a whole pod was sort of hanging right outside, we went to play with them but they moved on. we saw an unusual black swath of something, we think maybe baitfish which was the reason the dolphins were loitering. why leave? why leave, indeed.. today was a pure swim for me, we all expressed similar feelings, all high with mood enhancers. it felt good! let's do it again and again and again. thanks to my bitchin' partners (well, we are of that terms generation and some of us were stoners for sure so just roll with it) for luring me out with love and friendship and the insane need to swim.
lftc-out

still high after all this time

sunday noon: the mighty C's, (Bill and Cary) after a 6 mile run no less, CFTC with her long mermaid hair literally waving in the wind, Janie taking it down a notch by swimming with the no wave crowd-i hear she's been dominating the surf Cove side-LFTC and a surprise visit from Doug, he decided to play with the common folk, at least walk in the water with us and then he was gone.. very warm and windy santa ana bringing big surface chop, rock and roll, toss and turn seas with some okay viz, especially at the Shores. None of that mattered to us, we were going to swim, period. We all marched in together and man, was it icy. we cruised out to the a buoy to see the cove action and were surprised by spinner dolphins! two, maybe more, so close, 15/20 feet out, we hooted and hollered with joy and they stayed around for a bit, keeping us company in the water. very good luck, indeed. the water was a total playground today, fun and bouncy and the swim back was a thrill with our dolphins staying in our sights. had it not been so cold, (57 by my watch) we all would have gone further. back on the grass we ate high maintenance cookies and low brow cookies with home made chai tea and warmed up in the sun. after all the food and drink, we parted ways except janie and i stayed to look for sea life and guess what? whales, kids! big spouts directly in front of the cove and more dolphins than we could count. it was almost too much to bear, like an endorphin overdose. i don't even remember my drive home, the swim, the crew, the dolphins and whales spinning round and round in my head, even now i barely know where i am. thanks again for a fantastic unreal day!
lftc-out

bash and pull....with company

OH what a tempermental woman she was today... chilly on the inside, strong surging currents in every direction, wind on the water, waves rolling in and us 5 little duckies with the A buoy on our radar. Clean clear water (10-15 in some spots), rolling rolling. LFTC braved the elements in her racerback, she is one TUFF cookie, Janie, Bill, Cary and I all in superhero suits. Long hard swim to the A with company, we saw 2 (3) dolphins hanging around close, then on the way back again from the A. Gotta love that wind on the water, Santa Ana is here and blowing the tops off the breakers in the Cove and at Boomers.

Nothing overly remarkable about this swim except for 5 tiny little people in this big massive ocean were out there bashing their way to, and back again in 58 degree water. WOW. lucky me to find you guys and gals! ( I guess the dolphins were pretty darn remarkable too!!)

LUCKY DAY!

no waves (or intellectual pursuits) for this gang..

good bye cruel world!

not sure what we're doing, getting ducks in a row?

ralph showing off his greg louganis style..

okay you guys, i'm sorry the pics are in reverse order-or whatever. i'm figuring it out as i go. i asked dave to email them to my laptop (to avoid getting up, i'm tired!), you don't even want to know about the ensuing mayhem in the price household. but! here they are! with more below or above.

the swim was fab in every way, long, athletic, social, 58 degrees, beautiful behind the waves scenery, talk about big whompers! and no waves for us! i hear angels blowing trumpets, or circus elephants, you choose. did you guys know that dianadarling actually thought we were going to jump in from the top of the pier? and, she was going to do it! really, when cary raced down the stairs, diana though she was going to a platform or some launching area to jump and she was 100 percent prepared to follow. (remember the chain link fence?) this is the girl for us!

another extraordinary swim with the most extraordinary swimmers! thanks so much, FOREVER! we missed those who were not there: Ruth! who is cuddling her sister and the cats in NY, marta who was likely braving the giant waves we watched, steve who was rangering, phoenix and wendy who may have been pursuing intellectual goals.

lftc-out

more!

cami doing her ballerina move! cute..

diana swears she'll do a triple gainer next time. i totally believe it.

bill doesn't want to look!

Toni getting jiggy in the air with her new catsuit.

toni looking out to sea

anything to avoid surf!

second batch coming.. i could only do few at a time..

BOO BOO's from the rocks

Ralph and I swam from the Cove, Friday. We braved the waves in and out. No viz and very chilly. Went to the A,B, outside stick,1/4buoy and back in as waves were breaking and the tide quickly diminishing. On the way in I had a hard time finding my feet as they were numb. Tried to crawl out of the water and got bashed across the sand and across some rocks. Poor me, blood everywhere from my left knee. I guess it wasn't a very good dismount!

Whale!

Okay so I hung out at the Cove this afternoon instead of career-building. I've commandeered our binocs and have been watching the dolphins in the Cove after i've finished swimming and dressing. well today i walked along the coast from the Cove down to the Children's Pool with the binocs trained on the ocean, looking for whales. Out to sea I saw the top of an enormous, lumbering creature break the surface and disappear, showing me a huge fluke before it disappeared. Big spout too. I followed it down the coast for about 20 minutes - it spouted and surfaced maybe every two - three minutes. So amazing!

This isn't exactly a swimming post, it's a post-swimming post but I had to share it. :)

Look what we found today! Lovely, brilliant and bright red kelp crabs...even as one swims past, the flash of red catches your eye and halts you in your tracks.
Had a great 1.75mi swim with Cary and Bill, Cami, Phoenix, Ruth and Larry...we sure missed Laura though. Thanks for the home-made chai Cary. Bring on the recipe.
Formally known as Southern Kelp Crabs or Taliepus nuttallii. Check out the specs...better yet come out, swim and see them for yourself.

Sweet Sunday Too!

Hard to believe it could be another beautiful day in paradise -- it  was!  The water was a bit nippier than Saturday (felt like 54ish), but smooth, glassy seas kept us zooming from the A to the B, to the sticks, back to the A, then Ruth said -- we have to go to the 1/4 mile buoy!  Of course we did and what fun. A great group today, though we missed our Laura.  Larry surprised us and joined our Sunday-7-pack pod to make 8...  Marta, Ruth, Cami, Larry, Phoenix, Bill and me.  We saw kelp crabs in the middle of the sea and some bright snails on the kelp too... low tides meant watching our take-offs and landings in the cove. Such a glorious day.

Thanks for sharing the kelp crab photo, Marta!  Also kept seeing these snails all weekend, the Norris's top snail, Norrisia norrisi.

Started the morning in Torrey Pines -- perfect start to such a gorgeous day.

Warm glow of the late afternoon, looking north towards Children's Pool Lifeguard tower.

Sat on the grass for a short siesta... what a view.

Soft lights at the end of the day... hated to leave!

Shared a thermos of my home-brew chai and hopefully it hit the spot. Glorious day... mil gracias, my wonderful mer-friends!

~Cary

Saturday was gorgeous!

Water was in the 56-58 range. Not much vis except out at the A and B buoy. Had a great swim with our pod, 7 at last count -- LFTC, Ruth, Cami, Janie, Bill, Diana and me.  Smooth, glassy seas, a sweet little crab crawled up on a piece of kelp to great us at the B.  Nice jelly floated past on the way to the stick tour...Fun times.
~Cary

synchronized swimming in zoomers

wow, clear to the bottom for awhile anyway... today was a fantastic swim! LFTC, Ruthie, Janie, Marta and I all took off watching Toni and that fast guy head out for the B... we took on the A, then the sticks then hit shallow sand at the Marine Room, back to the stick where LFTC and I split from the gang(where did those crazy gals go?? don't they know its cold out there??), analyzed the world while we screwed with my wandering cap, then rolled on back in.... gloriously riding the strong southbound forces, we were making waves of our own... practically hydroplaning. Maybe not quite that fast but fast enough for two middle aged mermaids in zoomers and some dam chilly water. Not much to see but clean clear water, ah, the healing salts of our mother. Great swim today, and I can move my fingers and toes now too!

Swimilicious -- an AOK Day!

Checked the cove and it was good... started out to be a gray day and then we blew the clouds out with the strength of our pod hauling out to sea -- A buoy, then B, then pencils, then Ruth loves our swim so much she says, "we can't go in, let's go back to the A".  A-OK!  Water was around 55 at best but the blue skies and the smooth water made it a sweet swim.  Nice to have Marta, Ruth and Bill as a four-pod.

Marta spotted the yellow tails this time, LFTC!  You'll be pleased to know.  I spy-hopped up on the B to see what I could see... more bull kelp sightings... LOL... a big seal lion swam under us and smiled. Always a treat... we rode the waves in for a treat.

Gray started out the day...

Then the sun broke through and it was blue skies!  Here's where we need to swim from and go north... let's try it.

I took a few pics of the first gray-ness, then gorgeous light and then toward the end of the day when Bill and I were leaving. This summer we need to do some swims starting from south of Children's pool and heading north... would be fun!

So lucky to have mer-friends...Thanks for yet another fabulous, swimilicious day. Happy swimming!

~Cary

Sunshine!

What a glorious swim! After a week of swimming from the Shores, it was a treat to return to the Cove. High tide, clear water, sun came out mid-swim and stayed out. Or was it sunny when we went in? Can't remember that part, only how cold and refreshing it all felt. Flat, rolling swells. Clear clear clear. Ruth, Bill, Cary and Marta swam out to the A -I felt like a winterized mermaid gliding over that kelp forest. There was some expert bull kelp siting. Cary shimmied up the A buoy but nothing else to see from way up there. Then off to the B and back in and around the pin buoys which seem to be all in the wrong place. Headed to the quarter which seems further than it's supposed to be - then because it was so nice we headed back over the hill to the A again, where it was glassy, and then in. Fun waves in the high tide coming in.

Oh -yesterday Bill and I were standing at the Shores and i could see the surf zig-zagging in the distance. Then a big fin and then an enormous dolphin leapt out and spun in the air! There was a school of them spinning and playing - kicking the water around like nothing i've ever seen before.

i am happy! i love the ocean and my pod-pals. Thank you thank you.

I was so fun hanging out with you all after the swim! What a FAB spread you had! Couldn't have asked for anything more! Claudia, Ralph, Davina, another swimmer, Don, the kyaker, and I swam from the tower to the pier and back. Not too cold until after we exited the water. I was met by Bob who offered me a small cup with liquid in it. I swallowed it down and whew weee, it was whiskey. Just what a girl needs after a cold swim!!!

LFTC, I hear you with the hamburger neck. My cool new bubble cap ate up the back of my neck and left me with a big ole scab and blister. I guess these bubble caps are just for looks?!

two days of glass

Happy NEW YEAR!

What a great start with two long fast swims on glassy calm seas... one with the sun and one without. Jan2 was a shocking surprise with mind numbing chill on the inside and zero visibility, but once outside on the way to the A the murk parted and 5-10 ft vis. Calm, no surge or current at all. The cold takes me right to the edge of my limits and longer finless swims had me working hard which is fitting when trying to keep from freezing, we may have even been flying for some of this swim. Did you feel it too? Roll, stroke, kick, breathe... such rhythm in the oily glass... how rare to find this water with not a breath of wind. We made it just in time with rain and wind following soon after we left.

Bliss.

So lucky to have merfolks who love this so much too, THANKS EVERYONE!! ... oh, we met John TFTC's hunny.... wow, what a hunky family that is!

yo.

my neck is hamburger so I'm out for a few days... too bad the sun didn't get the memo...looks like another great surprise day for a dip!

Swim on dear fishies!

2011 is looking good

2011 looks promising if new years day and day two are any indication! cold seas at 57 (by my watch) but flat and calm, hardly a current worth noting. stellar company both days, some champagne, some kind of 100 proof hooch, food and fun discussions about fizzicists, (i contend it's math) rotten high school kids, lemoncello directions (everclear is kept 'in the back' of beverages and more)delicious food, calorie free of course and a dolphin sighting by some of us, some of us stayed sitting down due to the extreme effort of standing up. thanks to all the merfolk who have made my swim life the fun that it is, the sweet spot i can count on, every single time. again i say that i have the best of the cove people to call my swim partners and friends!
for the big chill: 1-1=3 miles, 1-2=1 (or so?)
lftc-out

Happy polar bears and yellowtails!

Ringing in 2011 was a real treat --polar bears everywhere, calm seas and crisp, clear water.  Crisp as in chilly, 57ish, but felt like below 55ish... frozen face and hands were well worth the gorgeous swim with our mer-friends!  We swam from the tower to the 1/4 mile buoy -- truly a delight!  Not to mention yellowtail sightings... a plot to tease me about my love of yellowtail sightings was brewing... Both Bill and Laura (plot instigator) asked if I'd seen any of those infamous Cary's-favorite-fish-sighting-yellowtails and oddly, I had not, though I did see a few schools of those blue stripers... not until we were out, dry and happily feasting did I look in my swim bag and there, to my COMPLETE surprise was a yellowtail -- not the scaly, gilled variety, mind you, but a bottle of red wine, YELLOWTAIL! Well, that put a sweet smile on my face -- thank you, dear LFTC, you won't let me forget!

What a beautiful day to remember. Thanks to all our mer friends that joined us: Cami, LFTC, Diana, Bill, Steve, Phoenix, Toni, Marta, Wendy, Doug, Bill with the superman pants and all!

Here's the UT video of the Polar Bear Swim: http://bcove.me/n2pqu2tr

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours. ~Swedish Proverb

Happy New Year Mr. Bear

Polar Bear swim didn't disappoint. 57 degrees was the posted water temp at the Shores, but the pins and needles feeling on my face suggested a much brisker temp that just 57. Thank goodness for the sun! Fifty-seven would have been a welcome BALMY entry into 2011. But alas, it wasn't to be. 5-foot viz all the way out to the .25. Must have been 150 to 200 Polar Bears out there. TonifromtheCove, LFTC, Phoenix, Cami, the Mercouple, Steve-O, Marta, Wendy were all in attendance.

After the swim, the fastest to get in and out of the water grabbed all the food, saving the crumbs for those who washed ashore later. But the last laugh was ours. Cary, Cami, Laura and Phoenix pulled out their own picnic spread and we noshed until long after the main crowd had packed up and headed home. Thank you guys for your smart thinking. I foolishly put my spinach dip and bread on the buffet table before I headed into the water and never saw it again. From now on, when the instructions are "bring food to share", I'll reserve some off the top for me and the peeps.

Happy New Year everyone!