First Swim of 2014 - January

Beach: Esquimalt Lagoon

Water Temperature: 9 Celsius
Outside Temperature: 7 Celsius
Weather Conditions: Sunny with a few clouds and no wind.
Water Conditions: Clear. No weeds. Tiny waves.Tide: Out
Time: 3 PM



It was super foggy this morning and a bit frosty, but the sun burned through, the fog lifted and I decided it was a perfect day for my first swim of the year. It was also humid enough to make my usually flat hair have a little wave in it. The air was definitely fresh and crisp and smelled of a hint of pine and musty leaves. Oh wait... that musty part may just have been the salt water residue left on my Tevas from my last swim in the ocean in October 2013.

After hiking around Witty's Lagoon, viewing the Sitting lady waterfalls, I was warmed up and ready for a sunny beach walk at the Esquimalt Lagoon. I received various shocked looks from passer-bys as I stripped down, threw my towel in the sand and strolled into the ocean. My daughter said the water was too cold as she stood and watched in her toque and mitts. My son doesn't mind the cold water at all and he smiled at me as I came back out of the water.

I was quite the sight sitting in the car in my swimsuit and towel as we went through the Tim Horton's drive thru for a hot chocolate. After we got home and I showered the only part of my body that was still cold was my feet. After putting on a pair of fuzzy socks and sitting in front of the fireplace in the sun, they warmed up.

Who is swimming with me on the far left? -bird, sea lion, dolphin?

Westshore Swim a Month for the Year of 2014

As a prairie girl from Alberta, I have always wanted to live near the ocean, a waterfall or lake. My favourite place to swim is in the turquoise warm waters of the Aegean sea in Greece. However, for cold water, I love visiting Jasper at any time of the year to plunge off the cliffs into the freezing cold water of Horseshoe Lake.

Since my husband and I are both lucky enough to work from home, we decided to make a huge change and move our family to Victoria, BC so we can be near the ocean, enjoy warm weather and have outdoor adventures year round. We stayed with my in-laws from Sept-November while we house hunted. We purchased a home in November and then went back to Edmonton for Christmas and New Years. Therefore, I missed the polar bear plunge on January 01, but I am definitely going to participate next year.

Since I am finally near the ocean and it is nice enough to enjoy it all year round, I decided that a monthly swim in the ocean is in order. Therefore, at least once a month for the year of 2014, I will swim in the ocean and blog about it.

My swimming rules:

1. I must go under the water for at least a few seconds.
2. I must be in water that is waist deep.
3. I must be in the water swimming for at least 2 minutes.

Now that I have set this goal, I decided it would be a good idea to research the quality of the water where I will be swimming. I am assuming that it is safe to swim in the ocean year round (this is not the case for lakes in Alberta due to summer algae blooms and the fact that the lake freezes). Since it is the winter, the water hasn't been tested since October, but I will definitely be using this great app in the summer: https://www.theswimguide.org/guide/get-the-app/ This is the beach where I will try to do all my swims for the year and the water quality is often great: https://www.theswimguide.org/beach/1144