Stinging Seas

Experiencing the ocean seems is not complete without a few stings. In the last month I got to experience stings from a jellyfish and a stingray. While swimming in Aquatic Park in the San Frasicso bay my arm met up with a jelly fish and my stinging skin quickly let me know that they were not friends. The sting did not last long but left marks on my arm that looked like the burns I used to get from being careless with the wood-burning stove except they were in tentacle patterned slashes across my wrist. By far a much more painful sting was the stingray that found my foot at Seal Beach. This beach is famous for its large population of stingrays that are attracted to the warm waters of the San Gabriel river that are released into the ocean at the jetty. I was aware of their numbers and had called back to Kate "remember to do the singray shuffle" as I slid my feet across the sand. Seconds later I shuffled right into a stingray that stuck its barb into my left foot. The pain was immediate and rather intense. On the actual wound it felt like a cut but my whole foot hurting and I felt a little shaky and like I was sweating. Kate helped me back up to the dry sand and a nice man helped us. Another man jogging down the beach alerted the lifeguard at the other end who picked us up in his truck and back to the station where I could soak my foot in hot water. The lifeguard told us that the barb on the stingray has a protein that enters the bloodstream when they slash their barb against your skin. This protein (which is killed in hot water) acts like a poison and is the reason for all the pain. As I was soaking my foot, two more stingray victims came into the station and we all sat side by side soaking our feet. The lifeguard told us that on any given day they have 20-30 stingray incidents (and those are just the ones that are reported). He told us on a good day they have only 2-3.
In a very strange way I feel even closer and more comfortable with the ocean after my two encounters. Perhaps if I let a little baby shark gnaw on my ankle I can finally get over my fear of underwater teeth.

Lake Tahoe 16 miles (7/12/08)

When we arrived to Lake Tahoe on friday morning the smoke had settled across the Tahoe basin and it was difficult to even see the water from the road. After suffering through a week of central valley heat with temperatures over 110 and thick smoke in the air, I was starting to feel like I would never again have a breath of cool clean air. We went for a 2 hr swim and both Kate and I felt our lungs burn and got out of the water with a headache. By then I was seriously doubting that we would be able to do our long swim that weekend as planned. Luckily, when we woke up Saturday morning an overnight wind had cleaned up the smoke a bit and you could actually see across the lake (far from normal air quality but a vast improvement). We decided to give it a go and if the smoke settled in again we would quit early. My dad dropped us off at a private beach in front of the Hyatt at Incline beach. The man standing guard kindly let us in (which he was not supposed to do) but told us to hurry. My dad drove to the end of the road and Kate and I hopped out barefoot and in our swimsuits, passed the groups of excited hotel guests and down to the water. While we fussed with our caps I measured the water temp at 66 degrees. Starting out the swim we had to navigate around boats, boat anchors, and piers, until we cleared the private docks of incline beach. We both decided in our head at that point that we did not want to have to return that way. After 2 hrs we arrived at Sand Harbor. We came up near the shore and looked around for my dad who was there to meet us with his kayak. Kate spotted a man that had a hat like my dads and we took of following him for a bit but then stopped at some rocks to look around. Finally we saw my mother atop a rock near shore waving to us and pointing to the spot on the beach where my dad was getting in the water. I was starting to shiver (which is really silly in 66 degrees - and not a real confidence boost) and was relieved that we found each other and were on our way. My dad stayed with Kate for a while and I followed the contour of the shoreline. I would swim into over and around beautiful rocks and schools of tiny fish. The water tasted wonderful, although not as clear as normal lake tahoe (because of the ash build-up in the water) and was an amazing color. When we got to the mansion at the water's edge (apparently the home of an eccentric whose land is now managed by the state) Kate swam ahead and I followed my dad in the kayak for a while. He guided me on a little loop out away from shore where the water color turned darker and a richer blue and then looped me back to shore where Kate was swimming. By that point my dad had been on the kayak for 2 hrs and nature was calling and I imagine his back and butt were getting tired. So, he boated into secret harbor (not a very big secret on a Saturday - but still a beautiful place) and took a rest. Kate and I continued on towards skunk harbor. I made it to the point that juts out from the cove of the harbor and could see the house where we had started our 3 hr swim a few weeks back. Satisfied that at that point a return trip to sand harbor would equal 16 miles I turned around to find Kate and my dad. Passing secret harbor, my dad kayak up along side me and we chatted for a minute and he gave me another stash of food and drink. He kayaked back with us until the mansion and then after replenishing our supplies for the last time he boated back to sand harbor. Kate and I really wanted to swim all the way until 6pm so we decided that may mean passing the sand harbor beach or doing a short out and back along the beach. I chose to swim out to the rock point at the end of the beach - say hello to a seagull perched on a rock - and then head back to shore. When I got to the end of the buoy line in front of the beach I looked around and saw my dad on the shore. I was very excited, actually thrilled, and swam up to the beach to meet him. About 6 minutes (and at exactly 6pm - Kate was exact with time) Kate came up onto shore. I measured the water again and the late afternoon temperatures were in the low 70's (70-72). Even though the conditions were pretty mild, I was very excited to have accomplished a 16-mile swim and we were both very lucky to have the support of my family and the cooperation of the weather.

Lake Michigan (Ohio Street Beach)

After a weekend of hectic travel on planes, trains, and automobiles I finally stepped into the water at Lake Michigan. We had taken the weekend to visit with Nate's Illinois family and celebrate Cousin Joe's wedding. Nate had been battling a strong fever but my only excuse was jet lag when we sluggishly walked down to the shore at Ohio Street beach. A brief but strong shower of rain had nearly cleared out the large group of triathletes that were congregated there only an hour earlier but I was comforted to see a few swimmers suiting up near the cement wall and a steady stream of runners, bikers, and walkers on the bike path that followed the water's edge. I knew I must be in the right place. Nate agreed to walk along the water and take a temperature reading for me further out and I promised to make it a quick swim and stay near the wall. I admit I felt a bit of California pride getting in the water in my hot pink bikini amongst my fully wet-suited counterparts. The water felt great and the waves had a longer roll to them more similar to the ocean swell than the short crested boat chop of the Sacramento area lakes. The waves had a push instead of a punch and the clarity was surprisingly high. I did a loop out to the harbor opening and then headed back. About half way back I ran into a man standing in the middle (it was only about 4 ft deep in some places near the wall). He was catching his breath and we chatted for a bit then I headed back to shore. Although it was short, it was a fantastic swim. There were great conditions, people all around, nothing funky in the water, nothing to be scared of, and not to cold. It was the perfect swimming porridge for Goldilocks - it was just right.

Swimming with the Lagoonatics (July 4th Weekend)

In my mind there is no finer place to swim than the lagoons of Humboldt County. The people are fabulous and the scenery is beyond compare. I truly feel at home when I'm there. The Humboldt Lagoonatics are a dedicated bunch of swimmers that frequent these brackish waters and every year they have put together a fantastic adventure swim/hike crossing Big Lagoon, Dry Lagoon, and Stone Lagoon. This year there was another great group of people hiking and swimming. We all started out just before 9am. The hikers headed north on the sand and the swimmers followed along in the water. The waters have a wonderful feel and the taste has just enough of the ocean without the overwhelming fish odor and just enough of the freshwater without the overwhelming algae funk. After about 2 hrs we all met up at the north end of the Lagoon and paused to rest and have a snack. We also had the treat to watch a group of whales traveling north and several harbor porpoises feeding in the surf at the beach. Some of the lagoonatics also came upon a marbled murrelet (an endangered seabird) sitting on the shore at the tide line. The bird did not move but occasionally opened its eyes. Karin called in her contacts to see if there was anything we could do to help and in the end it was decided to leave the bird where it was.
NEXT we walked about 3 miles past Dry Lagoon and up through the coastal forest and down to the cove at Stone Lagoon. From there the hikers hopped in kayaks (that we had placed out there the night before) and swimmers put back on their suits and headed about 1/2mile across to the parking area on the east side of the lagoon. When all had returned we piled into our cars and returned to Big Lagoon for a potluck BBQ celebration.