You wince at the blinding gray of the breaking morning light, the fog a hanging cloud dripping as it melts into the horizon. You register and choose to ignore the moldy smell of your not-entirely-dry suit. “What’s the harm of one more day without a good wash?” you tell yourself. Your toes grip into escaping sand, your body convulsing, slightly, in anticipation of what’s to come. Little shocks and shivers migrate up your spine, nervous bursts of laughter erupt, the release of accumulated energy that has nowhere else to go. You attempt to psych yourself up, a compromise unfolding between you and the internal chatter of your doubtful mind. “These waters have sharks,” you say. “Well, sure, this is where sharks live, but getting into the car is more dangerous,” you calmly respond. “We’re going to freeze,” you reply, matter of factly. “That is why we swim, to warm up,” you remind yourself. You’re drunk on adrenaline.
The curling waves at the tidal line pull you forward and repulse you back, as though you’re playing jump rope in the school yard, hesitating while estimating your safest point of entry. You think you have to pee. Or maybe you are peeing? “Ugh, tomorrow this will be a clean and dry suit,” you pledge. You recognize a random jolt of confidence and cling to it like a freight-hopper riding your own train straight into Monterey Bay. Your legs spring forward and you plunge into the glassy ocean with lips pursed tightly, holding your breath, clenching muscles you didn’t know existed. The jarring temperature slaps you awake as though every single cell of your body is alive for the first time. You jump up, wipe the salty water drops from your eyes, and exhale into a deafening belly-scream, “Yahooooooooooooo!”
This year has been a royal bummer. Yet many of us have recommitted to our relationship with nature, exalting the ocean and the freedom it provides during COVID-19, avowing that our most genuine tranquility is found while bobbing along in the cold waters of Monterey Bay. I spoke with Candi Vandermeer, a parent of four sons in the Aptos Cabrillo Swim Club, a group that has modified their workouts due to pool closures this year, and that has found immeasurable benefits from reconnecting with the wild ocean as a result.
Created in 2016, Aptos Cabrillo Swim Club was founded by legendary swim coach Jim Triplett. Swimmers range in age from 6 to eighteen years old, and, prior to COVID-19, they practiced at three training locations; Cabrillo College, Simpkins Swim Center and Aptos High School. “Aptos Cabrillo Swim Club’s mantra is ‘Building strong minds and healthy bodies,’ which requires hard work and dedication,” says Vandermeer. She continues, “Kids swim fast and have fun. There’s a wide range of expertise, with beginners learning the fundamentals of swimming while some advanced athletes work towards their swim careers in college. Coach Triplett has even coached swimmers who competed at the Olympic Trials.” Members are broken into four levels including Beginners, Juniors, Pre-Seniors, and Seniors.
Vandermeer tells me that when Shelter In Place began, all swimming stopped, pools shuttered, and students stayed home. Eventually, the club adapted, and moved practice to the beach. “The coaches got creative with workouts by designing run-swim-runs, buoy swims, and training on dry land,” Vandermeer says.
Coach Triplett chimes in and credits team members for uncovering solutions. “By early April, I had two college level team members who wanted to swim so badly that we experimented with ocean workouts for a week. They liked it, so we invited the whole Senior group to join. If our team did not discover how much we liked ocean workouts, we would have gone from April through August without swimming.” Triplett beams, “Ocean swimming will remain a part of our competitive team training from now on.”
The schedule is intense and supports swimmers in their growth while generating a meaningful outlet for pent-up energy from long periods spent indoors. “The Beginners and Juniors train at Cowells twice a week, and the Pre-Seniors train at Cowells three times a week. Seniors swim at Blacks Beach twice a week, with distances varying by age group. Beginners and Juniors have worked their way up to swimming from the first, to the second, then the third buoy, and then completing circuits of that. Pre-Seniors and Seniors swim several miles per practice,” recounts Vandermeer.
“The silver lining of this whole insane year is that these ocean swims have created a stronger bond within our team. Pre-COVID, the Beginners and Juniors practiced at two different locations. It almost felt like two different swim teams since the kids only saw one another at meets and team events. Now, all Beginners and Juniors swim together at the beach. It’s sweet to see them all get to know each other better and feel like a cohesive group,” says Vandermeer.
I admit to Vandermeer and Triplett that I can be a scared-y cat and get spooked while swimming, and I ask how the club deals with first-timers or fear of open waters. “There’s a few swimmers who are not comfortable with it, and that’s okay,” Triplett reassures me. To help accommodate their needs and assuage their inhibitions, he says that “Three coaches and volunteer parents are on boards and are out in the water with the swimmers at Cowells.”
Vandermeer reflects, “Having ocean access for the kids to still swim with their team has been amazing. When shelter in place began, a depressed feeling sunk in for our entire family. Once the team started ocean swimming, everyone’s spirits were lifted.”
“With four boys under one roof, getting their energy out in a positive way is my number one priority, and ocean swimming made that possible,” says Vandermeer.
Occasionally I see the Aptos Cabrillo Swim Club and adult community swimming groups clocking laps around buoys at Cowells and circling the Capitola wharf. They remind me of the resilience of the people in this town, of the many possibilities that COVID has opened to us when we look for answers outside of the norm, and of the deep bond we share with our environment. To learn about the Aptos Cabrillo Swim Club team, visit aptoscabrilloswimclub.com.
Rachel Kippen is an ocean educator and sustainability advocate in Santa Cruz County and can be reached at [email protected].
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