Boston

Put May 28th on the Calendar

/ Tom Baker / 2 Comments

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Time to scrape off the crusty barnacles, dried seaweed and sea salt still clinging to your goggles from when you last swam in the ocean this past Fall. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the winter, but it’s time to break free from the pool and get back in the open water.

May 28th, the Sunday before Memorial day, is the best day to kick off the season at 8:00 am from the usual location at the start of Nantucket Beach. If anyone wants to join an early bird swim or get out on the Sat or Monday of the holiday weekend, send me an email or let me know in a comment below.

Water temps are finally creeping up. In a few weeks it will feel like a hot tub for Kimberlee, Ted and Chris and it will be very comfortable in a wetsuit for the rest of us mortals as the waters will no longer be anything like the nor’easter surf pictured above. In the meantime, enjoy the technicolor-green tree leaves all this wonderful rain is gifting us.

July 4 wknd review & Aug. 18 Save the Date

/ Tom Baker / Leave a comment

Sunday’s swim was perfect for concluding the holiday weekend – we had perfect conditions all four days. As usual, we had many familiar faces, but we also had some new swimmers along with drop-ins from former regulars who now reside from as nearby as Pittsburgh and as far as Paris. The random photo as seen below never gets old and our model Ted looks good in the new Crusty Barnacle hoody that he wasn’t afraid to don in the hot sun. If you placed an order for one, contact Steve to make arrangements to pick it up and if you still would like one, given the demand a second order will be going in soon.

Random Shot July 7 2013 Hoodie Model

 

 

 

 

 

 
Looking ahead, it’s time to start planning the 3rd Annual Barnacle Bash Swim, which will be held Sun. Aug. 18th this year starting at 7:00 am. Mark your calendar, as we’re doing a few things different this year to make it a bit more entertaining. First there will be two options, swimming from Nantasket to Black Rock Beach going around Doctor Island (about 1.75 miles) or Nantasket to Sandy Beach (about 3 miles). We’ll have transportation back to Nantasket from both locations along with food and drinks to re-fuel after the swim. The 7am start time is to ensure we’re finished before parking or lifeguard restrictions go into effect.

Also, if anyone is interested in early morning weekday swims starting at around 5:30 am, there will likely be a group of people throughout the week greeting the sunrise. Email tom_k_baker@mac.com if you are interested so we can make arrangements.

Lastly, be on the lookout for some future changes of venue as we will occasionally be taking the sunday swims on the road.

In the meantime, enjoy the week…

 

 

 

 

 

 

4th of July Weekend Swims…

/ Tom Baker / 1 Comment

As a reminder, we’re planning to swim yet again this Sun. at the usual time, 8am, and place, beginning of Nantasket in Hull.

There have been requests to explore the Southern Coast of Hull. For those interested, we’re planning a swim to Gunrock Breach, which is 1/2 mile from where we enter the water. It’ll be low tide so we’ll have to swim a bit further than normal to get beyond the rocks. For anyone with a bit more ambition who hasn’t already worn themselves out from the long holiday weekend, the alternate swim on Sunday will be to the Beach beneath Green Hill (the cove just before Black Rock), which is 1 mile from where we enter the water or 2 miles roundtrip.

If we get enough people confirming the swim on Sun and if you let us know which beach you plan to swim to, we can make arrangements for food or coffee at one or both beaches to give you the extra boost needed for the return swim. Anyone with a paddle board or kayak that is interested in an early morning paddle, we always appreciate the company and the escort, not to mention an extra lookout for sleek pointy fins. Based on this morning’s swim, the water is crisp and clear, not too hot and almost not too cold.

Also, there will be swimmers heading out Sat. morning from the same location leaving anywhere from 7-8am to accommodate everyone’s early weekend schedule and obligations.

Lastly and based on popular demand, a complimentary crusty barnacle exclusive open water swim clinic will be held tomorrow, Friday, at 7:30 am at Sandy Beach in Cohasset for anybody that has the day off or who may not have the day off but is deciding to take the day off anyhow.

Take care and enjoy your 4th of July celebrations.

PS – if you ordered a CB hoodie, they’ve arrived. Contact Steve G about getting yours in time for the break of the heat spell. They came out really nice. If you would like one and didn’t order one, it’s not too late, just let us know.

 

Upcoming Swims/Save the Date: Aug 12, 2012

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Upcoming Swims:

Weekend swims for July 14th and 15th remain the same – meet around 7:30 AM on Sat. morning and around 7:45/8:00 am Sun. Both days we start from the Southeast end of Nantasket Beach (take your first right into the beach parking lot where you’ll see Beach Fire restaurant). I promise fins casting long 10 foot shadows will remain south of Cape Cod.

Another option for this Sat (July 14) is the Swim Across America one mile swim in Hull starting from the Mary Jeanette Murray bathhouse. It starts at 9:00 am with a post-swim celebration at the Red Parrot. To register or to support a swimmer click here. The Crusty Barnacles has it’s own team this year and it’s looking for more members.

Save the Date

August 12, 2012 is the 2nd Annual Barnacle (Mass) Bay Bash at 7:00 am. This is an approximately three mile fun swim where we plan to have kayaks and paddle boards escorting us from our usual meeting place in Nantasket to Black Rock Beach in Cohasset. We had to change venues from last year’s swim from Black Rock to Sandy Beach and back due to limited parking at BR Beach and very vigilant lifeguards at Sandy (we would pose a liability to the town if we swim in during life-guarding hours).

This is purely a fun swim only and is NOT a race. There are two coves along the way swimmers can stop and either rest at or turnaround from. The early 7:00 am start and day were selected for the 8:00 am high tide on Aug 12, allowing everyone to swim with safe clearance over breakwater rocks on the way there and back that will significantly shorten the swim distance.

Limited edition 2nd Annual Mass Bay Bash shirts will be made available for a nominal price, so RSVP as soon as possible. More details to follow…

Swim Caps

The first run of bright orange, can’t miss you swimming from a mile away, Crusty Barnacle Swim Caps has been depleted and we have had requests for more caps. We’ll be placing a new order shortly, but to help get the most accurate number of caps, email us at swim@crustybarnacles.com if you think you would like another, don’t have one and would be interested in keeping your noggin warm, or you know someone else who just likes to wear bright orange with blue accent caps out and about.

Quote of the Day

“When life gets you down, do you wanna know what you’ve gotta do? Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming”, as spoken by the modern day philosopher extraordinaire/blue fish named Dory from Finding Nemo. I admit I stole this one or perhaps received inspiration for it from the book “Swim” by Lynn Sherr, which I had promised to review but have not yet finished on account of travels with an infant which is a comedy of errors the precludes one from staying focused on any one task greater than 15 seconds. Stay tuned or just go out and get the book (it’s available on those Nooks, Kindle and Ipads if it’s easier, as The Old Colony Library Network was an extended wait-list). But seriously, does swimming not make your day all the better compared to those days you don’t swim?

Impromptu Sat. Swim @ Nantasket 7:30 AM

/ Tom Baker / Leave a comment

Given the water conditions and the wonderful weather, we’re having an impromptu Sat swim (June 23 just in case). For those interested, and assuming no t-storms are present, swimmers will be meeting at 7:30 am at the usual place in Nantasket. We’ll either go along the coast or if interested, we can head south to Gunrock Beach. Round trip, this swim is about one mile depending on the tide.

Also, those who are not participating in the Cohasset Triathlon or one mile swim, folks are still meeting at the same time and place on Sun (7:45 AM from the start of Nantasket). Sorry about any confusion on that. We may however not have the usual supply of coffee and bagels, but you never know.

Enjoy the weekend…

Weekend Swim Reminder; Swim Across America Team Forming for July 14

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Reminder that folks will be swimming both in Hull Sun meeting at 7:45 am (or thereabouts) from the start of Nantasket, and in either the Cohasset Tri or One Mile Swim. If you would like to participate in the one-mile swim, space if available and you can register by clicking here.

The Crusty Barnacles have also formed a Swim Across America Team for the event in Hull, MA on Sat. July 14. It starts at 9:00 am with a post-swim celebration at the Red Parrot. To register for the team, click here.

The water temps have definitely risen, now up to 64 degrees, where it’s comfortable going without wetsuit (at least on the surface). But as we all know, this can change quickly. Otherwise, forecast is for flat seas, which is no fun for surfing, but excellent for swimming so get out and swim.

Jun. 24 Swim @ Nantasket or Cohasset – Take Your Pick

/ Tom Baker / Leave a comment

Great showing of swimmers yesterday, especially given the wind and waves. And thanks especially to whomever brought the coconut sprinkled caramel layered brownie treats – we owe you for treating us to such a delicacy after getting pushed around by the ocean for an hour.

For this coming weekend, we anticipate a low turnout at Nantasket on Sunday given how many of you are signed up for either the Cohasset triathlon or its one-mile swim-only event or the traffic issues in and around the area that these events may pose.  Plans are still on to meet at the same time, 7:45/8:00 am, and at the same place.

However, for those interested, there is still room to join several of us who have signed up for the swim-only event, which I definitely recommend. It should start at around 9am from Sandy Beach (shuttles in and out of the area will be provided). The early forecast is showing the waters will be calm with little to no swell and only a slight breeze so it should make for ideal swimming conditions. Information and registration details can be found at the following link – http://www.cohassettri.com/swimoff.php.

If there’s a large enough turnout for the swim, I’m guessing it could mean more organized open water swim events in the future, which would be a very good thing.