The Chas'y Cove

Swim Report, today, Saturday, 8/14

The Chas'y Cove, yet another variation of the iconic Chas Lap

The plan was to swim to Creakers, and if the push against the current to the end of the sea wall was too much to overcome, do a couple of Creakers laps instead of the highly acclaimed and coveted Chas Lap. With a fair amount of effort, I made it to the end of the sea wall. My first excuse for not completing the Chas Lap had now been eliminated. In theory, I could overcome the ebb when returning from Gas House. But could I really? How would I know for sure? 

As I approached the entrance, I had another choice to make:

a.    Go to Gas House in the ebb
b.    Do another Creakers lap (BORING!)

c.    Return to the beach and then goto Costco with a motivational stop at Bob’s along the way

As if there whould be any doubt about my choice, I continued on to Gas House - in the ebb. Still having some concerns about not being able to swim into the current around the Muni Pier on my return, I stopped at the Pier's apex, turned around, and swam directly into the ebb to confirm I could, in fact, make it back into Aquatic Park without having to take a bailout route through the slots (the water was too low to even consider going through the Gap.

With the water temperature feeling a few degrees warmer than yesterday’s 61ºF, my excuses for being cold had eliminated the option of cutting the Chas Lap short and turning around at the first Ft. Mason Pier. 

After 42 minutes, I arrived at the second terminal point - the Gas House Cove. It took 24 minutes for this leg of about a mile - which arguable is 8 minutes faster than my average 32-minute open water mile. Maybe there was more ebb than I realized. 

Without much of a pause, I turned around and swam towards Aquatic Park. Other than stopping at the Ft. Mason Pier to try to untangle a crab pot from the decrepit pylons, the return trip was highlighted with amazing Alcatraz views.

62 minutes after entering the water, I paused at Aquatic Park’s opening. Once again, I faced more decisions:

a.    Return to beach and go to Costco. The stop at Bob’s was no longer a motivation.
b.    Head out to Creakers to add another 15 minute 
c.    Swim around the Cove and add an extra 20 minutes 
d.    None of the above

e.    Some of the above 

Following the standardized test-taking guideline ”when in doubt choose ‘c’”, I entered the cove and took a hard right to swim around the inside of the Pier. 

Other than the wetsuit-clad triathlete smashing into me without stopping, it was mostly an uneventful return trip to the beach. After 84 minutes in 63ºF water, I exited the water without any goosebumps or shakes. 

I should have chosen options b & c.  The ebb played no significant role in today's swim. 

Maybe next time!