The ocean is officially as warm as a pool. The noaa buoy reads 73 degrees! No better time to enjoy an open water swim than Sunday morning. Anyone up for a 6:30 am swim to beat the crowds and return in time to give a send off to the 8:00 am swimmers?

Gonna be a hot weekend – perfect for a swim in the sea.

Caps are here – water is required.

If you’re planning to swim Sunday and want a cap, let me know. I plan to be at nantasket just before 8:00 am.

Enjoy,

Tom

Sunday morning is looking like it’ll be perfect swim conditions at Nantasket. Storm will have moved along, fog cleared and really warm water for this time of year.

If you haven’t gotten out yet this season, there’s no better weekend to start.

Photo above taken from Northeast Surfing webcam. It’s looking pretty impending-stormy-soupy (if that’s a phrase) right now. Enjoy.

We’ve had really pretty sweet CB swim caps over the years – the original orange with waves crashing on Minot created by Kim and another to commemorate the swim around Doctor’s Island with our Knucklehead friends from Nahant.

With both of these editions officially depleted, a new order is going in to commemorate the Season of the Lion’s Mane. To get an idea of how many we need, and if you’re interested, send me an email to the general inbox (swim@crustybarnacles.com), my personal email or comment below.

Vote on which color you want – blue, orange or white – and let me know how many you would like. Winning color is the one we’ll go with. They will cost about $3.00 each.

Another open water swimming season is upon us. It’s a swim season quite different from others, as many swimmers who otherwise spend the cold months in pools have not been in the water for months. Others have likely already been swimming for weeks or months braving the cold temperatures.

As the ocean waters warm and as pools remain closed or restrict access, the call of your nearest pond or beach is strong. Being immersed in water with nature surrounding you is enticing. The question then becomes, how should swimmers approach open water swimming in the time of COVID?

My personal opinion is to embrace the ocean with caveats. You can’t stay isolated forever. There are proven psychological, physical and overall health benefits to remaining active and in the ocean.

That said, there are risks in and out of the water that you have to personally weigh. A researcher at Scripps Oceanography is suggesting sea spray can spread virus particles (LA Times April 2020). COVID or no COVID, it’s always important to swim with a companion. This should take priority, just maintain a healthy distance from each other while in the water. It’s likely the greatest risk is pre- and post-swim socializing, where you want to be extra mindful. This is the hardest part because we’ve isolated from each other for so long and by nature we as humans are drawn to each other. As a practical matter, arrive and depart as early as your circadian rhythm will allow.

For these reasons, it would be a ton of fun to continue gathering on the weekends at Nantasket Beach. That said, you have to take an approach that you’re comfortable with and that you believe will not put others at risk. I’d love to get your thoughts as well.

The swim conditions will be perfect sat and sun. The Boston buoy shows the water is still warm yet we’ll have sorta brisk dryish-air mornings as if caught between a euphoric blissful time and space between summer and fall. In other words that feeling southern Californians feel every day. Early birds are definitely meeting at 7:00 am on sat morning.

This weekend marks the halfway mark for summer swim season (fortunately not continues well into fall). Record water temps at 75 degrees, calm seas and clear skies are forecasted creating a perfect storm for ideal conditions both days. Meet at 6:30 or just before 8:00 both days. Enjoy…