The Photos...

Sunny skies and sunny smiles

Our quad bookin it to the Marine Room

Surf's up

Turtle (too close up)

(sharpened and lightened) Turtle at Marine Room

Crab at the Cove

(notice clarity in the Cove)

The kelp was hard to avoid!

Tootsie shot

Toni zippin in

Juvy opal eye

The ever plentiful Garibaldi

More opal eye

The rest of the pod basically covered it...bliss!

Hope you like the pics

fait accompli! turtle love..

after swimming the cove most of my life, i finally saw the turtle! of course i heard about it many times, it was so common but why did i not see it? we had been hunting, going out specifically for the turle, gave eachother turtle idols for luck, donated jewelry to the sea, committed acts of kindness towards the sea and the swimmers for good karma yet no luck for me. until today! i saw the turtle up close, we chased her for awhile and it became to murky. i didn't care one bit, i saw her, finally. i was thinking that every spectacular moment i have had in the sea is usually shared with someone or someones who are so special. the giant sea bass, a giant broomtail (maybe) a downright sharkorama, the fabulous yellowtail, the spanish dancer, all thankfully shared. today the turtle sighting was especially cool as two of my very first full time and regular partners were with me: cftc and tftc, the original a team. dianadarling is the 4th but she's working today-i bragged about the turtle to her though, rest easy! it was especially nice to have marta sharkbait along too, new adventures await us all and it is my sincere hope that we get to share these moments together, somehow, someway, with or through eachother. strong connections are a rare thing, these special moments in the sea bond us all!

Sea the Turtle

Toni, Laura, Cami and Marta set out at 11:30 looking for clear waters. First we tried the caves, then headed for the Marine Room hoping for sharks. We were 2 strikes on the clear water and the sharks, but smacked a homer--sea turtle HO! Yes, just 100 yards straight out from the MR, there he was; a gorgeous coffee table with fins! We followed him for quite a while, chasing him into deeper water, before he disappeared, once and for all, into the murk. This was Laura's first time seeing the great elusive sea turtle. And I take full credit for spotting it (even though I was looking for sharks).

Water temp 65-ish; much slap-in-the-face surface chop on the way back to the cove (whaddupwitdat?) Yet clear and calm inside the cove.

the 'other' side

Met LFTC and friend Darci @ the Shores today, saw Josephina the Gemelina, our president is resting her oozing neck for another day and I just picked up my prescription goggles which DONT FOG NOW (!!) so we did a short couple hundred strokes in each direction swim while Darci (wo)manned the beach and all 4 kids going in different directions. Sandy Bottoms, I think thats my kids new tag lines... that sand sure does stick. Specs: gusty sw wind, chilly with marine layer coming and disappearing, short warm sun bursts, water was 66 easily, choppy, not much vis... but better than without my *new goggles*...maybe its just me? really looking forward to Sundays swimfest. Beaches are supposed to hit 80, we won't be alone thats fo sho!!

Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim on 06-25-11

The same day the Pier to Cove swim was going on Amber, Talya, and I did the Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim.  We boarded one of two boats in Fisherman's Wharf that took us to right next to, but not on Alcatraz.  You have to jump out of the boat (about 5 ft down to the water) and then swim a couple hundred yards to where they start the race.  The two days before the race the weather was great and it was sunny.  The day of the race though it was cloudy which made it harder to see the landmarks we were using to make our way from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf.  The interesting thing about the swim from Alcatraz is it's not a straight line.  You have to make a significant right turn to get to Fisherman's Wharf.  There was a current that was pushing us west of the entrance to Fisherman's Wharf.  I had the Coast Guard tell me twice to turn more west.  Talya and Amber said they felt the current also.  Most people who did the race used a wetsuit.  We saw at least five people who didn't where wetsuits need help from the Medics for hypothermia.  Some people even collapsed as they crossed the finish line.  The race was harder than I thought it would be this time.  It seems like the best way to stay on the right course is to stay in the main group and not try and look at a landmark on the shore.  It's actually the same distance as the pier is to the Cove (1 1/2 miles).  Over 900 people did the race.  We all were talking about doing the race again next year.    

Cami's Art Gracing Our Race T's

pier to cove 2011 and the no pants swimmers

the leaders after the first lead swimmer. these folks swam in a pod.

close followers.

thick kelp some swimmers missed, many did not. i heard quite a few comments like 'ick', 'gross', 'ewww'.

the mighty c's stopping to say hi. i recognized you right away.

wendy on the left, cami on the right. i recognized cami's stroke from far away, i had to take a picture.

cami again, right after some water ballet. she showed me her new duck feet.

tom hecker who is a serious long distance swimmer, channel swimmer, paddler rock star.

tom on the far left, random people on the orange kayak and of course, our C rose, looking lovely in her paddling gear.

congrats to all the swimmers today, slower, faster, in betweens. you braved the whomping surf, swam hard and made it! i was happy to be on the water looking for you, i'm proud of you all and equally proud of the kick ass paddle crew i was able to hang with today. you may not know it but these people are really prepared for anything, and i'm pretty sure that don rasky could perform open heart surgery aboard his boat if he needed to. they just do it right.  thanks to the lifeguards who were really cheering you guys on and helping out every minute and thanks to doug burliegh for staging a fun event. oh, and to dave who was out in the sun, sand and water just for us. be sure to keep an eye out for paula's photos.
lftc-out

friday play date!

beautiful babes on the beach!

dd and cftc loving the buoy. (hanging on!)

dd really loving the buoy!

over the top loving the buoy!

um, some kelp and grass somewhere with one of us lurking below.

such a good swim today!

swim report friday, 11am, cftc, dianadarling, lftc swam in bathtub warm water! a few little waves cruising thru, we had to wait a little to get out-it was steep surf-swam to the a over and around thick but clean kelp, out to the 1/2 to show the buoy some love and raced back in. we had to wait one more time for a set but it was easy going. the water was semi clear, pretty choppy but not rough and 65 degrees, easy!
good luck to the swimmers in the pier to cove race, wear your lip gloss and smile, i'll be trying to get pictures of you as you pass by. i realize that at your speeds it will be challenging but i'm still going to try.
lftc-out

Weather forecast for where?

The weather forecast called for drizzle and marine layer all day. But by 9:30 the clouds were already parting to reveal a very willing sun at the cove. At 11:00 it was all sunny skies! Chilly inside the cove but very nice, maybe 64-ish outside. Even the NOAA marine site was showing 61 degree water temps, but actual was far different. Clear as a bell to the bottom out by the .25 and .5 buoys. Milky over toward the caves. Very agreeable swim conditions, but WHO KNEW?! You wouldn't know it by the data--you had to experience it!

Snorkling with Six Year Olds...

The Garibaldi were the photo hogs of the day!

Me and my new cap for long hair (love it)

Bat ray nearly hidden in the sand (in the cove)!

Ethan trying to get the hang of it

He'll just have to grow into his Merman lungs (and wetsuit)

Gloomy day but awesome snorkle for Ethan and his Grandma. I swam over to the Shores and Marine Rm...seeing Dana and Janie along the way. The bat rays weren't in the garage, but 10 strokes out, they were flying all about...dozens of them! Saw a 4-5ft Seven gill and nearly ran into a very injured sea lion (had a bite taken out of him). He was laying upside down with his head lower in the water and not doing well at all. I'm afraid we'll be seeing more of this to come. Can't wait for the sun to shine and get in the swim again.

Ethan posing with Grandma Daira

Done with message and off to massage :o)

leaping and diving with girls

it's snowing June!

going down down down

swimming in space

claudia is part fish

i swim with chicks who have the best butts!

coming back in glass

swim report wednesday 11am, claudia, cftc, lftc swam in glass, some great viz near the 1/4, swam out to the pin buoy which was bobbing all crooked, weighed down by kelp, we saw many schools of sea bass, cami and c rose saw a big shark, they have to give details as i didn't see him. tried to get pics of a
huge school of sargo but mostly got the mermaids leaping and diving around. 65 degrees by my watch, cloudy overhead but warm, killer day at our playground.

lftc-out

alone, out there... so quiet

Solo. that's me, all on my own.... I was so preoccupied with organizing my flock that I forgot to make any solid swim arrangements, so there I was.... kids were occupied with Wendy on the beach and Im looking out into the abyss. alone. I attached myself to a family of 4, two college sons and a regular swimmer dad and a terrified mom who had never ocean swam before, "oh, you'll do fine, there is SO much to see and it looks really clear today!", she almost turned back before getting her toes wet, I think she'd have preferred to swim with the cap over her eyes completely.. she'd been hornschwaggled into it, the fathers day gig and she was not happy about it. Rallied at the .25 and they headed back in, I found a tri-guy aiming out to the .5 but he never once looked up at me and was gone before I began... so I did it. I swam almost all the way to the .5 and back, alone. Nothing got me, my mind got me a few times... not sure why but I can swim with a group and not blink once, not even think creepy things. It was calm and flat and no current and I saw tons of those yellow tailed fish (Cary) clear to the bottom in some spots, perfect temperature, not even a bit chilled. I meandered on in... feeling like quite the brave little mermaid I must say, y'all regular solo swimmers, my cap is off to you, you are tough as nails.

swimming the swim!

don-my new hero!



trying to read my tattoos that say 'tough girls'



tough girls looking so happy!

don (he is uber ready for anything) c rose and ralph who is so the man.

swim report sunday 9am: lftc, claudia in the water, don (my new hero) and ralph on kayak support duty. we parted from the boat launch in warm but choppy seas, no surf, we just walked out, no viz to speak of but we weren't looking. we swam north and more north, my distance was 5 miles round trip, claudia's 7. at the 2 mile mark, i wanted to stop but don suggested a few more minutes so on i went. once more i tried to stop but again he suggested some random number, like 7. i didn't care what 7 meant, point 7? 7 minutes? 7 strokes? it just sounded doable so i did the 7. we turned around at 2.5 and head back. claudia and ralph kept on going. according to don my initial pace was a 30 minute mile and dropped a little at 2 miles. my shoulders felt very fatigued but mostly i felt pretty good-in between wanting to jump on the kayak. claudia tells me the feeling good/feeling bad flip flop is normal. i was worried that it meant i wasn't really fit at all, all the hours i put into my body were for naught but no, it's normal. so i liked it and will do it again. i love having kayak support, it is invaluable on a long swim, for fluids, for an encouraging word, for safety.   we had a lovely picnic on the grass, we ate and ate and talked, some of us napped a little and we parted ways with exciting plans to go again. i'm so pleased to have met don, he is wonderful and a very skilled kayaker.  i'm grateful to claudia for giving me the opportunity to shadow her and giving me the support to check out my stamina and to ralph swims and kayaks, talent all over the place..
to all of my partners in fact for swimming the swim with me, short, long, fast slow, thanks swim peeps!
lftc-out

paradise shores!

3 little ducks in a row!



this is how happiness should look, dripping wet with water all around! love this photo! 



the cave directly to the right of the cave store cave. very clear here.

our pesky sea life, laying around looking all relaxed.. we will soon be doing the very same thing.

ralph who is so the man being aquaman..

the beautiful Mighty C's looking stunning and speaking of stunning, scroll down

dammit.

swim report saturday ALL DAY: C Rose, Al the birthday boy, Ralph who is so the man and LFTC cruised the caves with no viz over to the marine room to spot a few leopards, swam back to cruise the caves and found clear spots right near the caves, swam thru the kayakers and back to shore where we had a lovely chocolate-fest, my brownies, ralph brought cake, C Rose brought jasmine tea, we sat in the sun when our beloved friends showed up! the mc's, dd first, janie and boyfriend don showed after. all were showered with love and chocolate. we layed around for a long while just soaking it up, the swim, the chocolate, the friendship, it was glorious and my cup runneth over. 
good luck to bill who is racing sunday!
oh: 65 degrees!
lftc-out