I’d Like to Live

I almost didn’t go swimming today. The surf forecast was just at the border of my comfort zone in terms of surf size. Yesterday was the peak of a WNW swell and it looked pretty darn big from my run on the beach. Super fun to watch but I was glad not to be in the water. I’m sure I would have been fine, but I prefer to avoid that kind of stress.

So this morning, Strands is reported to be observed at 4 to 6 which is borderline for me. I mean I have no problem with 4 to 6. However, depending on the forecaster, 4 to 6 can sometimes mean 8 to 10 in reality. Of course I am also aware it could mean 3 to 4 as well. Well, the “smart cam” is saying that Salt Creek is 3-4+. Ok ok, I’ll go. I try to calm myself by telling myself I have handled larger surf and this is not the North Shore.

Besides the surf, conditions are pretty great. It is sunny, beautiful and fairly warm out - almost 60 degrees at 8:00 which is not too shabby for a February morning. Just how many more of these days are left in the month? Rain is predicted for Tuesday.

I’m out the door just a little after 8:00. There is no view of Catalina this morning over Blue Lantern. It’s just too hazy. Still, I know it’s out there. As I pull into the parking lot, I see a member of the Sunday morning swim crew which boosts my confidence knowing if others were out there swimming this morning in this surf, I certainly can too.

I head down the stairs and notice how wonderful the sun feels. This comes as no surprise but I do enjoy being reminded of this as often as possible. The surf is looking larger than most swims lately but not alarmingly so. The waves are breaking pretty far out at the point in front of the Ritz and a little further out here at my usual take off spot too. Then again that could be an effect of the low tide as well.

I take my usual photo op facing due west just before getting in. It is in between sets and it all looks so very calm. As I walk into the water a set of waves arrive. I start swimming and diving under the white water as it rolls in. My camera is coming loose in my trunks and we become separated. Oh no. I can’t lose my camera! I’m fumbling for it just as the largest wave in the set is about to break right on top of me. I manage to grab the camera and dive under the wave just as it breaks over me. I come up on the other side and can feel it trying to suck me back under. I just keep kicking as hard as I can and I’m soon free and past the break.

I have to say that the water feels a touch warmer than my last swim on Thursday. It certainly is not any clearer. That’s for sure. It’s been super murky the past several swims. I wonder if it’s the surf that is making the water feel warmer. Not physically but psychologically. Perhaps my mind is so absorbed with the waves that there just isn’t much room left for thinking of the cold. Who knows, but I feel good and I am happy for that.

I’m swimming south and as I approach the southern end, the water starts to get much more rambunctious. I can see large waves breaking into the cliffs here below the headlands. I am almost parallel to my usual turn around rock, but I decide to turn around just short of it today. I decide I’d like to live.

The northbound leg of the swim is good. I get tangled up in a couple patches of floating kelp. This is always both challenging and delightful. I try to push the leaves down below me with my hands and then the vines catch my camera hanging out of my trunks and eventually I surrender to this organic mass and stop and let myself be held here by these arms of the ocean. Then I slowly wriggle myself out and I’m off and swimming once again.

I give my mind over to the water and the movement of my arms and legs. Here I am not what I think I am but rather I am an act of will that moves itself forward, forward, ever forward. I reach the northern bathrooms where I usually turn back around but go just a little farther today to make up for the distance I lost at the south end. I aim to get full credit for this morning’s swim. I’m definitely farther out than I have been on most swims lately. I pause here and watch the waves breaking to my north inside of Salt Creek. Lots of activity there.

I swim back to where I began. Then I make my way back to shore. This can often be the most exciting part of the entire swim. Maybe a little too exciting. It’s all good today. As I walk the final 20 feet through the shallows, I notice that there are a lot of holes and trenches here in the sandy bottom. I’m just glad it is still sandy. When I get home and exit my car, I feel a wave of gratitude roll over me and I am just so glad that I did this. Of course, this could just be the anticipation of impending coffee.