Saturday, August 25, 2018

Ohio Street, August 25

Jody and Bill are in Colorado but Joe agreed to go with me. But thunder was expected until 7 and he likes to go early. We did get a bit of luck with the last thunderstorm passing through the area at 4AM. Waves were still predicted to be about 2.5 feet with a south wind. But Joe likes Ohio Street and that is well protected from south winds, so there was only a small swell with small ripples. The water temperature was 70.0 but the air was a bit colder. We had only a small glimpse of the sun. I was actually a bit chilly after the swim so was glad that even though I didn't have warm gear for the lake, I did have warm gear to put on after. Unlike Jody, Joe likes to do his own swim so we agreed to meet back at the beach in an hour.

Perhaps because of the weather, or maybe the hoards of triathletes were resting for triathlon tomorrow, the crowd was light. Moreover most of the action was near the beach with classes for new open water swimmers. So we pretty much had the rest of the Lake to ourselves.

Friday, August 17, 2018

Evanston, August 17, 2018

Another very nice day. There was rain overnight and rain in the area, but no thunder so we, Jody, Bill and I, could swim. It was mostly cloudy and threatening rain, but the rain held off. No obvious wind. The surface water was still 76 but there was a very definite thermocline about a foot below the surface in many places, the water below was in the 60's. We suspect that this is telling us that our warm 70's will not be here long. But so far there is no confirmation from the Wilmette bouy.

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Evanston, August 14

I have been gone for several weeks, swimming in the Lake of the Ozarks, not swimming in the Long Island Sound which looked oily. We were to swim yesterday but it was too foggy. Today Jody, Bill (Jody's husband whom she has been grooming to replace me as her open water buddy), and I enjoyed a day that was perfect for a novice lake swimmer like Bill. It was glass flat and 76 degrees. The sun was partially obscured by a light overcast so not glaring in our eyes. We swam to the wall and back with Bill first to arrive, not because he was the fastest but because he is not comfortable yet to stop in the middle of a lake swim to chat. By the time we finished the glass had turned to light ripples so we got the best part of the day.