Vancouver Ocean Swimming

I am back in town, the water is warming and its time for Vancouver ocean swimming!

Frigid Pacific Ocean along the Oregon Coast

I recently returned home from a 10 month bicycle-powered journey from Vancouver to Panama. It was one of the finest adventure trips of my life. Highlights included 10,800 km of cycling among nine countries, a half dozen mountain summits, two months engaged as a tropical forest research assistant in eastern Panama and a variety of ocean and freshwater swimming experiences. The inspiration behind the trip was to search for the world's largest trees (see thebigtreetour.blogspot.com) but I packed along my swim cap and goggles since I was planning to follow the coast many thousands of kilometers right into Central America. Unfortunately, the Oregon and Northern California ocean is substantially colder than I was accustomed so I swam very little until entering Mexico at which point I promptly lost the goggles without ever using them. It did not seem like there was much time to swim anyway as I was cranking out over 100km a day to get to the Mayan heartland for celebrations of the Dec 2012 solstice.

I later bought a snorkel on the Caribbean coast of Mexico and swimming picked up with some fantastic offshore reef snorkelling at Tolum and then interesting swimming continued all throughout Central America. Notable experiences were swimming against large wind-driven waves at Lake Nicaragua, the only lake in the world with freshwater sharks;  an adventurous solo swim nearly a kilometer up the dramatic Somoto canyon in northern Nicaragua, which is (or was?) apparently contaminated enough to make me concerningly ill; and my daily baths in a remote jungle clad stream with my team of indigenous forest researchers where little fish nibbled on my nipples (quite annoyingly).

Lake Nicaragua

Those were all interesting times and the whole trip was a genuinely fulfilling life experience (check out the main blog). But here we are talking about swimming and lets get back to Vancouver swimming.

Surprisingly, the scenery and freshness of Vancouver's waters seems in some ways superior to all other places I have been. I know I wont get shark attacked, jellied, sting rayed or nipple nibbled. Its just good clean fun here and I am stoked to get out my wetsuit, reconnect with the local sea, and train up for a big swim at the end of the summer.  Last year I ended the season with a 5 km swim in Howe Sound from Sunset Marina to the far side of Boyer Island (with boat support). This year I would like to do something similar or even step it up a notch... I just need to find the time and get motivated, which should not be hard. Our northern beaches are rich in spirit and hold a place in my heart. Upon reviewing some of my blog from last summer I am reminded of the invaluable revitalization I experience swimming among the seals, below the herons and eagles perched on twisted firs. I remember spending hours along the rocky shore swimming, running and doing yoga and can feel the health and balance I experienced. Enough said, Im back to it. Tomorrow I go for my first ocean swim of the year!

My friend James Caldwell cycled with me from Vancouver to Mazatlan. Here we rest a night and swim in the Sea of Cortez on the Baja California and aside from the jelly fish it was picture perfect.