March came in like a lion with unseasonably cold air temperatures, but it showed its lamb-like side with mild winds. So while we had to contend with some rather biting 21.0F conditions outside of the lake, the in-swim experience was about as good as it gets – even with a lake temperature of 33.0F.
I checked out the view to my left while heading south on Lake Shore Drive, and all I saw was a lakefront choked with ice floes. So I was somewhat measured in my optimism about being able to get in a swim. However, the hydrodynamics of our current swim area have proven to be quite contrarian to those of most of the lakefront. And indeed, we were greeted with a completely open lake with almost perfectly flat conditions!
As with prior weeks, we suited up in the sanctuary of our heated cars before venturing out to the swim entry area. Not being one to give in easily to us mere mortals, Ma Nature decided to throw us a curve ball by encasing the base of all the ladders in ice. But her attempts at obstruction were no match for the pick axe that I carry in the trunk of my car. So after a brief bit of chopping, we donned our goggles and got in the pristine lake.
Since we had such a vast swath of open water to play in, we ventured out further from the shore and did a couple of large loops in the mostly calm water. I say mostly because there was a slight southbound current that we noticed in-swim that gave us a bit of drift in that direction. But it wasn’t even perceptible unless one stopped to tread water for more than a few minutes.
Overall, I got in just over 1/8 mile before my fingertips became uncomfortably cold to the point that I had to call it a day and get out. This was unfortunate, as not only was the water quite calm, but it was also amazingly clear – so much so that you could see the lake bottom which was about 8 feet below the surface. Fingers crossed that we get these swim conditions next time!
