Ninth Swim - September 2014 - Cadboro Bay

Beach: Cadboro - Gyro Park
Water Temperature: N/A
Sand Temperature: Somewhat hot
Waterkeeper Rating: Green and safe to swim.
Outside Temperature: 26 Celsius
Weather Conditions: Wind: 5 knots, sunny and clear
Water Conditions: Clear as can be. Very few weeds.
Tide: In
Time: 12:30 PM


One of the items on my summer checklist was Stand up Paddle boarding (SUP), so my husband and I took lessons through the Gyro Beach board shop. The lessons were great and the shop is a short walk from the beach (the boards are placed on wheels so it’s easy to transport them). It didn’t take me long to learn SUP and gain my balance. Although, the first time I went, I did fall off 3 times, (it was a great warm up for swimming). The second time I went I didn’t even fall off once. It was really relaxing to hear the waves rush over the board and my feet while I stared at docked sailboats, houses and bull kelp peaking above the surface.


Cadboro-Gryo park has it all. There are bathrooms, a great playground that was recently expanded and a nice white sandy beach. The water is quite cold. I had goosebumps the second I got out and my body hairs were little razors piercing my skin as I tried to pat myself dry with a towel. It’s tough to get into the water, but once you’re in you don’t want to leave.This is why I highly recommend jumping off your paddle board instead of trying to ease into the water.

Balance

SUPs in training

Seated float

Eighth Swim - August 2014 - Gorge Swim Fest

Beach: Esquimalt Gorge Park

Water Temperature: 24 C
Sand Temperature: The weedy clay was probably the same temperature as the water.
Waterkeeper Rating: Green and safe to swim.
Outside Temperature: 26 Celsius
Weather Conditions: Pure sun, not a cloud in the sky, no wind.
Water Conditions: Can’t see the bottom, slimy, slippery weeds and silt
Tide: In
Time: 3:15 PM

Just because everyone swims in the Ganges doesn’t mean you should too.This is exactly how I feel about swimming in the Gorge. I decided that Swimfest would be the perfect time to jump in with everyone else.

When we first arrived at Swim Fest, there was music playing and people casually swimming laps between the red buoys. It looked like a scene from the 1950s with people frolicking about. Our kids made buttons at the craft table and enjoyed playing at the park.

I decided to keep an open mind and give the gorge a chance. The kids and I slid into the water. The muddy bottom was extremely slippery. My new Keen waterproof shoes have definitely been broken in. If we stopped even for a second, we sunk a few feet down and it was hard to get out of the quick mud. Even in the shallowest places, I couldn’t see my feet or the bottom.. There was goose poop all over the shore and probably in the water too. However, it was very warm and extremely salty. I did get my head wet to confirm and every time my kids splashed my face I could taste it. My son’s feet kept floating back up so we sat in our little chair positions and floated. It took a lot of scrubbing to try to remove the clay from our bodies. My toe nails and the bottom of my feet are still black. I will gladly stick to the colder but clearer bodies of water for swimming.




My Dad accompanied me for some laps.




My daughter.




I didn’t have to break out my meat thermometer.

Seventh Swim - July 2014 - hot sand

Beach: Esquimalt Lagoon
Water Temperature: 14.1 C
Sand Temperature: 20.8 C
Waterkeeper Rating: Green and safe to swim.
Outside Temperature: 17 Celsius
Weather Conditions: Cloudy, windy and looking like it was going to rain.
Water Conditions: Choppy waves and a few weeds.
Tide: Coming in. (medium tide)
Time: 1:00 PM

I finally bought a new meat thermometer but unfortunately I couldn’t find the same brand or model as my old one (it would have helped if I had known the brand or had a picture of what it used to look like). The water has really heated up since my last reading in March. The water is 5.8 C warmer now than it was in March. I had to measure the water temperature in a bucket because the choppy waves were coming too close to drowning my thermometer. Since the sand at Esquimalt Lagoon is usually blistering hot, I decided to check the temperature of the sand too and it was 20.8 C today.

Due to the wind and threat of rain, my son and I were the only two brave swimmers on the entire beach. The wind was warm so I immediately warmed up after my swim. I swam for 10 minutes. I still thought the weather was perfect for swimming. During our two weeks of really hot weather at the beginning of this month, we spent a few evenings going for swims at Esquimalt Lagoon. I have also been swimming in Parksville and Dolphin beach this month. Get out and swim while you can.

Water temperature 

 Sand: Warmer than the water and the air. 

Wave sitters.

The looming clouds and my husband’s Ural.

A tiny blip.

Sixth Swim - June 2014 - first day of summer

Beach: East Sooke Regional Park Aylard Farm and Becher Bay
Water Temperature: Not available yet. I still haven’t been able to find a thermometer that works well enough.
Waterkeeper Rating: Starts this month
Outside Temperature: 20 Celsius
Weather Conditions: Sunny with zero clouds or breeze
Water Conditions: Quite a few weeds..
Tide: Going out. (low tide)
Time: 2:00 PM

For the first weekend of summer, I, of course had to go swimming in the ocean. On Saturday, I visited Becher Bay. There are many beautiful walking trails along this beach. If you hike a little bit above the beach you can admire the azure coloured water. The sand is as fine as white sugar, so be prepared to track it home with you. The water was exceptionally cold which was perfect for me since it was exceptionally hot.

After I finished my swim, I was towelling dry and gazing out across the ocean. A grey seal popped his head above the water and looked right at me. He had missed swimming with me by 1 minute. I wanted to take his picture, but I didn’t bring my zoom camera.

With the kickoff of summer, everyone should be out swimming. The only other swimmers who joined me on the first day of summer were my son, two children in wet suits and numerous dogs. I highly recommend downloading the Swim Guide app to your phone. There are Waterkeepers who monitor the fecal matter in the ocean at popular beaches. Esquimalt Lagoon usually has a green rating (which means it is safe to swim there). Avoid the beaches that have been rated red. I swam in the nice clear waters of Esquimalt Lagoon today and the water felt warmer than Becher Bay. So far this month, I have gone swimming in the ocean 5 times. Happy first weekend of summer everyone!

Our creation

Was here when we arrived

My daughter got wet up to her waste

Fifth Swim - May 2014 with Friends

Beach: Hollydene Park
Water Temperature: Not available yet
Outside Temperature: 24 Celsius
Weather Conditions: Sunny with a few clouds and a slight breeze.
Water Conditions: A few weeds.
Tide: Going out. (low tide)
Time: 2:00 PM

May has been an amazing swimming month. I have been to many beautiful beaches and I have swam at them all. One set of friends from Edmonton visited us for my birthday and another set is visiting this week. Today we went to a great secret beach. A treed path leads down to an amazing turquoise inlet of water. It is quite the hike down steep stairs, so pack light or pack most of the weight on your back. Further down the beach there are many warm tidal pools and my son loved crawling back and forth in them.

The water temperature was fresh but it didn’t take me long to get used to it. (I am going to try to buy a new thermometer for June). This beach often has many neat shells and I’ve found rare colours of sea glass here too (blue and pink). However, there is often lots of glass that is no sea glass yet and is quite sharp. There are also many sharp rocks and boulders in the water so I recommend water shoes (or stay in the sandy areas).

I am so glad it is summer. Happy swimming. Next month, the ocean water quality testing begins.




Soak it up.


Distribute the weight.

Doggy paddle

Fourth Swim - April 2014 with the Whole Family

Beach: Cordova Bay Beach Park

Water Temperature: It’s a long story.
Outside Temperature: 21 Celsius
Weather Conditions: Sunny with no clouds and no breeze.
Water Conditions: Clear. No waves. Few weeds.
Tide: Coming in. (low tide)
Time: 2:00 PM

New swimsuit top from la Vie en Rose Aqua

The sand is so soft.

It would only read the outside temperature and not the water.


I guessed that by the end of April it would be nice enough for my entire family to go swimming and it was. Today was the hottest day of the year yet. We tried to go to a new beach but there were too many barnacles. Next we went to Island View Beach Regional Park but since the tide was out I would have had to wade through weird brown feathery weeds to get deep enough to swim laps. Therefore we went to our tried and true Cordova Bay Beach Park.

Unfortunately, I could not take the temperature of the water because I lost my meat thermometer to customs. It was rather embarrassing and funny at the same time. We went to Edmonton for 2.5 weeks in April and on my way out the door I grabbed my winter coat. I didn’t think to check the pockets. The last time I wore the coat was for my last swim in March. I had a seashell, sea glass and a meat thermometer in my pocket.

It is ideal to swim at Cordova Bay Beach Park while the tide is out because the water is super warm. My son crawled in and out of the water for 30 minutes. My daughter and I ventured out to a tiny sand bar island that has the waves come in from both directions. We had to fight the sea gulls for the island but enjoyed building sandcastles and watching them disappear. My husband even got we up to his knees and he stayed in with my son. There is a nice little playground at this beach too.

Third Swim - March 2014 with Special Guests

Beach: Dolphin Beach in Nanoose Bay

Water Temperature: 8.5 Celsius
Outside Temperature: 12.4 Celsius
Weather Conditions: Sunny with a few clouds and a light breeze.
Water Conditions: Clear. No waves. No weeds.
Tide: All the way out (low tide)
Time: 1:30 PM

Esquimalt Lagoon Water Temperature on Friday, March 28, 2014 at 11:30 AM: 8.4 Celsius

We drove up island for the weekend (it sounds so cool to say that we were “up island.”) to visit the grandparents. They held an amazing Princess themed 3rd birthday party for our daughter. I love swimming in the water at Dolphin Beach, so I decided to save my swim for this weekend. However, I still checked the water temperature at Esquimalt Lagoon and I will continue to for comparison throughout the year (8.4 C).

My brother-in-law, his girlfriend and their pitbull Sophie were visiting from Alberta, so I invited them to join me for a swim. Christian didn’t make it too far in but Paige and I did a lap. Sophie did a few more laps than us but I joined her for one of her laps. It was nice to have special guests join me for my swim. I think next month my son will want to join me. He had fun suntanning with me before my swim. I dipped his hands in the water and he didn’t mind at all.

While I played Barbie’s with my daughter in the tidal pools, we checked the water temperature of the tidal pool and it was 10 Celsius. We bought a new meat thermometer so I am using our old meat thermometer to check the temperature It is more reliable and accurate than my plastic ducky thermometer that I used in January and February.



Suntanning

When Paige and I surfaced from the water, it was a bit hard to breathe as you can tell from our open mouths.

Swim Competitors