I’ve been too long away from the blue which is why I feel such blue due to a deep flu hue.
Drowning in the dystopian depths of the current world crises especially the one driving America off of a cliff, I found myself whisked out of the madness one day when my new friend Denise told me that she swims in the San Francisco Bay as we waited in line with some friends to see a film. I was swept up with glee: “I used to swim in the Bay over 15-years ago!” She was awestruck that I could ever leave it behind. {insert condensed version of conversation} “You swam with the Dolphin Club? You’re not a Dolphin! You’re more of a South Ender to me! Join me for a swim!” Yes, all in wonder-filled exclamation points is exactly how she delivered each phrase. This was late June 2018.
She texted me days later: “I’m leaving campus at 2p and will pick you up en route. Let’s swim!”
What I discovered that day and throughout the remainder of the summer, now, and as long as I live in the San Francisco Bay Area is that there is no better incredulous feeling than swimming out into the Aquatic Park Cove past the two piers (one belonging to the South End Rowing Club (1873) and one belonging to the Dolphin Club (1877) with a shared small private beach for entry. When you first wade into the Bay and into whatever current and wind any particular day brings to you (more on this in a bit) and then dive in once your thigh deep excursion down the beach acclimates to the cold water (no wetsuits, my friends: we swim in regular workout swimsuits with goggles and a cap); you feel a rush as you swim hard to make it past the piers and into the greater body of water known as Aquatic Park.
It seems not so large when you view it from the walkway and pier nearly surrounding it. However, when you are in it and stop swimming to bob and compare yourself to the large vintage boats docked at Hyde Street Pier and see the distance to the break wall and the opening to the greater Bay; you realize your size. That’s when I’m overcome with glee and swim hard against the current to begin the workout along the swim lanes marked by bobbing cones. Each time you stop to view where you are, you take in more of SF’s iconic landscape: the giant Ghirardelli Square sign stares at you from not too far away. And this is the one place I have found where Coit Tower, the Transamerica Building, and Salesforce Tower all appear to be the same height. Ahhh, the glorious perception of vertical and horizontal distances and MATH! Huzzah!
THERE IS NOTHING LIKE IT.
I have been an ocean girl my entire life. I have never feared her waves, her currents, her tides, nor her marvelous sea life swimming, glowing, nesting, floating, wading, wafting, munching, birthing beneath the blue-green surface. Did you know “…the surface area of the Pacific Ocean alone exceeds the surface area of all land masses combined?”
The South End Rowing Club is comprised of a group of fantastic athletes (Rowers, Swimmers, Runners Handballers), partiers, and generous volunteer members who contribute to the betterment of the club (with several newbies like me who have recently joined) alongside the hearty and faithful long-time members who we admire. When I swam in the Bay over 17-years ago, I was not an insider member of the Dolphin Club but rather someone who enjoyed the facilities so that I could swim in the Bay. I didn’t engage in activities and such. This South End group pull you in like you are a long lost cousin who finally made it back home from a long trip. They are a gregarious and vivacious bunch who encourage everyone to partake in their fruitful efforts. Many of the members swim all over the world in the most challenging waters this magnificent earth provides.
Now on to the reading that I’m happily floating in these days to take me from the quotidian madness of work:
Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do – Wallace J. Nichols and Céline Cousteau
here is a taste of the introduction by Céline Cousteau.
the Soul of an Octopus – A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness – Sy Montgomery
Keeping track of the tides so that I can swim into a flood and not into an ebb…
Most beautiful Pacific Ocean – how I love thee:
