Whales in the cove! And a little wow..

some kind of dark body part..

the white spots are in fact, fizzy spouts.

Incredible activity during this moment, my camera couldn't catch it properly but they are out there. 

Oh wow! How did this get here? I guess I took the shot, one of several, sent it to myself via email, uploaded it, made a hard copy, sent it back to my desktop, browsed and uploaded it again to this blog. How silly of me, sorry!
Doug and Mike

Swim report, Monday, January 29th, noon-just Ruth and LFTC and the whales! As I parked I saw a breach near the virtual 1/2, I watched the whale journey to the A before diving down, Doug and Mike swam right over him, they didn't see him though because he was probably too deep and viz was minimal. Ruth and I swam out in 57 degrees and a big swell but nothing breaking on us, we swam to the B along side some kayakers who were way more limited in travel options than we were, caves and boomers very dangerous, marine room whitewater mayhem, they paddled from A to B and back. It was tough to keep Ruth on task, she wanted to look around and lollygag, float around on her back, take in the day and daydream and I wanted to swim. Finally we landed and everyone on deck said we were cruised by a whale! We didn't see it! During this talk the whales came out to surprise everyone around. Playtime!  I have a new phone and didn't know how to take photos, I thought I took more but I think instead I called Manny from the club instead. (Sorry, Manny!)
So here you go, some pretty poor quality pics of the whales RUTH AND I SWAM WITH!
Lucky for us, Doug and Mike wanted to be within eyeshot, a little near full frontal.  A little abs and tallness, a little muscle, a little...
I gotta stop this now!
For those of you (especially CAMI) who need a little incentive, there you have it:.
Cami, I swear, if the decent swimmable temps, sunny skies and freaking whales can't lure you out, my next move will be kidnap)
lftc-out

Well, it's true.  I've done it.  Gone over to the no pants side.  I used to look at you people admiringly but mostly sceptically and said well either your body can tolerate it or not.  This summer i got a tease of the pleasure that awaited, swimming in Schroon Lake in the Adirondacks and in Barlogue, West Cork, Ireland.  The problem is there is no bath hot enough to warm me up afterwards and i tended to scald myself in the shower.  Then I discovered that you can really warm up pretty good when you're driving back in a heated car so you have to swim somewhere that you have to drive to.  Then I returned to San Diego and started swimming in the cold waters with the long sleeveless wetsuit - feels great - cold water rushing my shoulders but warm to the core.  But the wetsuit chewed up my neck and shoulders and gave me the excuse i've been looking for without knowing it - just go without!  And i love it.  And i'm someone who hates getting into cold water.  but the total submersion is incredibly peaceful and pleasurable.  indescribable, really.  sort of nirvana, even.  I started with 20 minutes and i'm up to 40 minutes now - but only at the Shores where i can exit quickly.  Have done 30 minutes from the Cove but don't venture farther than the A or the quarter.  So what a two weeks it's been!  First week that 20' visibility swimming along the coast from the Marine Room, every day as gorgeous as the last.  Shayne showing me a magic carpet ride on the swell above the seagrass outside the cave.  Then the week of no pants.  I did exit the surf at the Cove with Janie the last two days.  I don't believe in skill I think it's patience but mostly luck.  So that's the news from Lake Woebegone, I mean La Jolla I mean you know what i mean.  I don't have the gift of flowing narrative but i don't give a shit.

RUTH! is naked and the best jellyfish sting cure, evar!

Mini swim report for last Wednesday-or was it Friday..One of those days:
Rain, fog, cold, big WNW swell acting up but leaving the marine room and shores flat and I do love the flat. Ruth cruised the mean streets for partners, I did too and we had only one another to lean on which is plenty. You all know RUTH! she has a thing about open water, some kind of problem and needing to be in it, she recently ditched her wetsuit so there is no stopping her. She's crossed over and now her problem is ours. One which I happily accept and so do all of you. (I routinely have to speak for all of you guys and I also have to answer the myriad of questions about where you all might be. I represent our group and lucky for you-I love you!!) So RUTH! and I meet geared up for rain in that we have plastic bags and honestly, why bother trying to stay dry? We just get wet before during and after. Our swim was wonderful, 53 degrees in the very small surf and an incredible jump to 58 at the tower. Viz was very good, maybe 10' and clean. Easy swim with a few stops to search for anything, we saw swimmers out, lot's of kayaks and surfers and of course, big waves hammering the cove. REALLY, I SWEAR! No one ever believes me. Happy swim in the rain. I was attacked by invisible jellies, maybe the moon type because my left arm is a burning, stinging, itching hot mess. As an aside, Sunshine tried to fix me up with Lidocaine, when that didn't work, she used her special pharm blend of Vodka, champagne, Lemoncello and St. Germain.
Medical know-how, people. We must visit her practice, we may not get well but we'll have fun.
So that's all I have for now, you are all out there now without me thanks to the moon jellyfish cure, I hope someone reports on the so called 'flat', best swim evar! to even out the score. Shayne, thank you for trying to lure me over there with pressure and guilt-really! It's the way of the group to use wicked psychology. Smart man.
Next weekend: no jellyfish cures and conditions forecast is looking very good(flat). Viz horrid, icy cold temp, heavy surge, fast rips, strong currents, teeming amoeba but flat, so count me in!
lftc-out

The truth about weekday swims..

swim report for january 14th, 11am, sunshine, alexis, lftc and some guy named dan that we collected from the deck: sunny, very clear skies, calm seas and super clear from the a to cove, maybe 8' around the 1/4, lot's of fishies, sea lions and harbor seals hanging out right inside.  okay, done with that, moving on:
Yesterday Cary had planned to NOT swim because Bill has the flu, I suggested, kindly and with love-as I always do on the weekends-that she come and swim anyway. She did and of course she totally rocked the swim. Afterwards she told me she wanted to retire next year and we would swim all the time, so yay!
When I got home I realized I should inform her (Dave used the word warn, silly boy) about the weekday swim protocol and since it was a recent topic here it is again: Everybody has to swim, all year long in all weather and most all conditions. You can be late or early or demand your schedule be accommodated,  you can be fast or slow, wetsuited or no pants, fins or barefoot, snorkel or not, those things matter not. You could also swim later with another group, just keep in mind that while this will be frowned on, it is still okay as long as you swim.  Of course days off are totally allowed, of course! We are not dictators, we are kind and loving souls but still, you will be bugged by someone. Even if you are down with the plague, someone is still likely to ask you if you could drag yourself out of bed since conditions are so good. Be prepared for motivators, aka guilt, coercion and these words:
Related Words browbeat, bulldoze, bully, cow, hector,intimidate; blackmail, high-pressure, menace, shame,terrorize, threaten; drag; badger, harass, hound:
So now you know that weekday swims have a different vibe that weekend swims. Weekdays are more like a swimming job, weekends are more vacation like.
Now, you all know that Cami is one of my very first partners along with Toni and Diana, we comprise the A team, I regularly employ all the above listed verbs to get her in the water, she too has done the same with me-it's kind of scary when you think about it. Cami swam all last winter in hard seas, cold and dark seas and even the grossest red tide evar! Why not this year? This brings me to the excuses that are all used up, off the table and unavailable to all: Puppies. Yard work or any kind of house work. Rashes. Stitches. New tattoos are not allowed during good conditions-check wavewatch.com please. Non emergency dental or medical appointments mid day are discouraged. You're a healthy bunch with beautiful teeth, all of you. Cold temps. (puleeze) Rain. (again, puleeze) And now this one that I heard from my beloved Cami today; heart rate. In wanting to keep it up. The heart rate, unless stopped, is no longer a viable excuse.
Swimming is so awesome and so amazing that any swim under any circumstances is better than not swimming. Have you or anyone you know personally ever regretted it?
Swimming is truly a solitary sport, but swimming in the sea is special, highly adventurous with an element of danger and surprise thrown in, we need each other! I need all of you and will not swim without you.
Have a wonderful day!
lftc-out

Waves, swim, fruit of the looms-in that order...

Swim report, January 9th, LFTC, TFTC, Steph, Sunshine, Shane (the players), meet at the cove, kind of. I met Sunshine first, she was rehearsing her evil plan to coerce me into the GIANT WAVES. You know, the whole 'lull' thing, the 'wait it out' thing, the 'it's not so bad' thing all with the lovely smile and beguiling laughter. While I rarely know what's right me, I often know what's wrong for me and waves are just wrong-for me. You all go ahead, go with God, have fun with it, get jiggy with it but I'm out. As an aside, I must tell you that her earlier text regarding conditions said exactly this: HOLY SHIT! But I digress, so onward. 
While Sunshine was being all sunny about the homisurf, I heard this loud screaming from afar, it sounded like LAURA!!! And it was! Steph, Toni and Ladybug (I don't know) were yelling at me because they know we have to swim on the other side. At least our Toni knows, Steph is learning and Ladybug? I don't know. I grab Shane up off the street, literally, and we shuffle to the marine room and make our way into some surf and chill. Shane says the B buoy and it looked totally doable from the sand but I swear it was moving away as we swam out. Big swells rolling into the cove and caves, the kind of swells that make you look down the slope of water. The cove was looking scarier, Boomers was whomping. But we still had a little swim party, a sea lion joined us and on the way back, dolphins! Cruising along just for us. More sea lions doing some flipping around on a generally flat surface with around 5' to 8' viz. Temps recorded by my watch read 57, 56, 57, 56. As we swam back to shore the fog and clouds moved in making everything ethereal. Magic even with numb lips. 
Want a little fun? How's this: Sunshine sat in her car half naked, she didn't even want to get out for hugs goodbye but we made her. Toni, Steph and I kind of bundled up and cowered from the cold and Shane? Let me tell you about Shane. Completely nude for several minutes, right there on the street, in surprisingly good shape under the clothes and wetsuit, (that's how nakie he was) swinging his bloomers around, high stepping into them, hopping on one leg and basically providing entertainment for us. Thanks Shane, we must have you in the group all the time, between you and Cary, (Cary has delivered the fun regarding deck changes, she has earned fame) we will never lack post swim delight. Only swimmers can pull this level of naked off and only swimmers can appreciate the overall methodology of deck changes. I had a blast today, thanks to the brave crew for ensuring my swim and being super groovy cool kids. 
LFTC-out

This is what our swim group brings to the table...we are so not messing around!

We're so NOT messing around!

Laura Price 2:20 PM (23 hours ago) to Toni, me, leonard, William, Steph

Thank you all for showing up today, for being the best swim partners EVAR and for your friendship, it means more than you know to me. After my daughters up and moved to Indiana, which I'm sure isn't even a real place, I was shell shocked and since they took Dave along to help drive (move heavy furniture, rewire a bedroom, hook up all appliances, light the pilot lights on everything, repair the broken fence gate, all with one tool and a knife that he took with him) I had no one to lean on, I was temporarily lost in sadness and seeing you all in my element has both lifted my spirits and grounded me, how could I not count my blessings? Liquid peace, people!

I love you all for 98 more years...

I forgot my goggles and borrowed Toni's. Toni forgot her wetsuit and had to go back. Steph forgot her wetsuit which I went back for. Leonard admitted he is easily confused between cove and shore: the sand, the waves, the car, the keys-it's all too much. And Cary has been married to Bill for 30 years, we think he may having been doping her tea for a long time.
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Toni Pyjar 2:44 PM (22 hours ago) to Laura, me, leonard, William, Steph

HaHaHa!!!
Laura, that was our swim in a nutty shell. "Liquid Peace".
I'm gonna write that in lipstick on my bathroom mirror.

 Love love LOVED today!
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Tessendore 6:15 PM (19 hours ago) to Laura, Toni, leonard, William, Steph 

Dearest LFTC and all, 

What a fabulous swim of a swim today!!! Thanks to the brave-and-the-few that dared to dip into the chilly sea. I can assure you (having attended a recent conference there, and not the Indy 500) that Indiana is indeed, a REAL place, and you have married a REAL prince (is it Prince David of Scrippslandia, I forget?) and you are blessed to be loved by your dear family and all-of-us-friends (no matter how bloomin' far they or we are for the moment!)... 

I feel the same about you and ALL swim peeps -- you (plural) are the glue that holds my ocean together -- what? Well, it's just plain hard to write as humorously warm and endearing as our Laura, so that's the best I can do. I still try... And you, Laura--our rock, anchor, our boat and our pier! Wow--that's a lot! I guess you are truly, truly amazing, then... 

I'm also ever-so-grateful for whatever it is that Bill has been adding to my tea for the past 30 years... and am still searching for some sort of hey-slow-down-there-buddy pill to add to his! 

Until next weekend's ROCK-MY-WORLD swim,
 Cary 
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Steph Johnson 7:40 PM (17 hours ago) to Sunshine, Steve, me, Laura, Toni, leonard, William 

You guys are all really beautiful people and as much as I love the ocean, I wouldn't feel as comfortable and confident out there without you. Thank you so much for opening your arms and love to me! The ocean makes me so happy :0) It makes ALL of us so happy! Just look… 

 Also, here is a flyer for our show Wednesday night with that Flamenco guitarist/vocalist who is in town all the way from Spain. If you live close to South Park, wanna go out and hear some music, check out the flyer and send me a note back if you'd like to be there. :0) 

All my love! 
Steph
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leonard przybylo 8:04 PM (17 hours ago) to Toni, Laura, me, William, Steph 

Hi swimmers, you all are too much!! 
I thought it was just me getting all emotional about our before, during and after swim today. Our hunt for the 1/2 mile was great because we got a chance to warm up and smile as the sun was trying to break thru. I had such a comfortable time with you all today. our pic nic post swim made me dizzy. I haven't had caffine for a few months and what a rush! the Chai tea was!! On my way home I may have blown my car speakers, the music was so so exciting and the rain clouds were beautiful. I even got in a beach hike from glider point before the rain. What a day, the simple things each one of you do are so very special .. 
Take in the moment, 
Leonard
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New Year's Day Polar Bear Plunge

Beautiful sunny skies and reasonably calm ocean.  The 57 degree water was completely unnoticed when swimming WITH pants!  Ahhhhhh.  I could have swum all day in my PANTS!

I have to admit, I was a little trepidatious getting in the water; since the last time I swam was pre-fifties (like 60).  Those 3 degrees lost made me wanna stick close to the shore, swimming to the MR and back.  But I was just fine, thanks to may full wetsuit and super-sexy, ear-covering insulated swim cap.

And there were a TON of people on the lawn before this event!  Claudia, Steve D., Alexis, Sunshine, Ralph, Al, Doug, Jaycee--we all got our swim on.  We missed you, Laura.  You know how it's just not the same without your bright lilting voice yoo-hooing us.

Wishing everyone bountiful chill mileage and many whale sightings in the coming months!