tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15406158781260539642011-07-28T06:37:00.160-07:00Exploring the wet underside of Bainbridge Island, near Seattle.Mark Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08121566220326246265noreply@blogger.comBlogger571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-68539222761299655002010-06-27T21:05:00.000-07:002010-07-21T03:55:56.497-07:00

June 27, 2009. We did it, we finished the Swim Around Bainbridge and had a fantastic party to celebrate!!! I haven't been able or willing to write a finishing blog post, that will have to wait. But here's the basic news, I'm done and it was a fantastic trip. BTW, I'm keeping this post at the top of the blog, page down for some more recent swimbi doings. air 66Fwater 51Fwind variable 0-5

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-34157257369135424632009-09-22T22:44:00.000-07:002009-09-23T10:51:25.789-07:00

Warm late summer day with glassy-calm water. Perfect for following the dance of the light waves on the sandy bottom of Lytle Beach. Ah........ (see photo at right). And I can think of no better way to join the World Wildlife Fund's "What a Difference a Day Makes" tweet-fest. I'll tweet this post and join the fun. I swam around Bainbridge Island to encourage people to get connected to their

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-75710177249557923932009-06-25T09:35:00.000-07:002009-06-25T09:40:25.802-07:00

I can smell the finish now, and I'm ready for the finishing party June 27th at Fort Ward State Park at noon. Come join if you can. How fitting to approach the finish line on a grey northwest day, this time in June. Much like day 1 back in October 2008. I've seen a lot of grey this winter, both above and under the surface. You might say I've become a connoisseur of grey. The water and the

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-66661167152968991192009-06-10T15:29:00.000-07:002009-06-10T21:20:18.181-07:00

Great swimming off Pleasant Beach, the fun continues. The nearshore ocean bottom is covered with a thick bed of 3-dimensional plant life, including some of the most magnificent eelgrass beds I've yet seen. The thick tall eelgrass beds are easily 6 feet tall in places, and so thick it's difficult to part the leaves and see the bottom. Fish and all the other eelgrass animals are plentiful and

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-91932882944502547502009-06-08T20:25:00.000-07:002009-06-08T21:05:31.962-07:00

Just another lousy day in paradise, and a bald eagle perched on a rock near Point White. Today I saw more wonderful bottom and shore on the southeast side of Point White. Kelp, algae, and non-native wireweed make a thick bed of plants that are a great home to crabs, fish, and other animals. The bottom slowly changes from rocks and boulders to gravel to sand and eelgrass replaces the other

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-74202501802639766892009-06-01T20:49:00.000-07:002009-06-01T20:56:08.564-07:00

Point White is my new favorite spot. I found a huge kelp forest covering the bottom and the scattered boulders. Wow. Thick kelp provides a nice 3-dimensional living habitat. Here's a kelp crab on...kelp (left). I saw more fish than anywhere else, a lot more, including the hugest school of shiner surfperch that streamed past me for minutes. It seemed like there were many, many thousands of

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-8118423253905738002009-05-27T08:27:00.000-07:002009-05-27T08:42:04.919-07:00

This is the land of murky water, at least right now. My lowest visibility swim yet, if not for a family fun plan I would likely have stayed out of the water. But then again, spring plankton blooms are a part of life here, so why not swim through a soupy spring day in the Sound? Today's low tide is -3.4 feet, one of the lowest tides of the year. With today's high of 11.8 at 6:52 pm, that's a

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-49633838772124007902009-05-25T20:27:00.000-07:002009-05-25T21:36:41.864-07:00

Another beautiful day in paradise. Here's the Crystal Springs shoreline as I walk north from where Crystal Springs Rd is along the shore, to my entry point. Ah. The weather and water are warming up for the summer, the wind is dead calm, and the beach is gorgeous with big trees right down to the waterline. Does the water look a bit cloudy to you? Yes, unfortunately there's a new plankton

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-13110910649917399452009-05-08T16:33:00.000-07:002009-05-09T20:23:05.152-07:00

Today I swam one of the least developed shoreline areas on Bainbridge, the shore of Gazzam Lake Preserve. Access was difficult, I had to bushwhack in my wetsuit, but it was worth the trouble. Here's a picture of the shore (left) showing gigantic trees growing undistirbed all the way down to the high tide line. Fantastic. Another calm day, and I found myself noticing something very small, a

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-17047679613878492402009-05-04T16:34:00.000-07:002009-05-04T21:39:40.353-07:00

Hooray, the plankton bloom has faded enough so that I can see! The visibility isn't great, but I can see the bottom while swimming in water 8-10 feet deep (my typical swim depth). I found some nice bull kelp (left). This one was very disorganized hanging from it's float in the absolutely still water (zero wind, zero waves, no motion at all). This stillness is incredible. The photo at right

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-539949408906716332009-04-30T23:02:00.000-07:002009-04-30T23:10:04.725-07:00

Nice scenery on the beach here on Battle Point. Unbelievable Pacific madrone tree (left), with the bark peeled off (normal) and a spiral pattern in the wood. Also a very pretty lagoon (right). I swam this stretch on a super low tide, -2.5 and the day's high was 11.4 making a 14 foot tidal range. Clam diggers were out, I must have seen 10. That's the most beach traffic for any of my swims,

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-90343385894949004512009-04-24T20:29:00.000-07:002009-04-24T22:03:01.056-07:00

The westernmost point on Bainbridge Island, Battle Point (left). Named for a famous battle between two tribes that took place well before European discovery. Swimming down the beach to Battle Point today was a lazy, hazy experience. Sunny and calm, warmer weather, no need to hurry, and the walk back on the beach was delicious and warm with the sun on my back.The plankton bloom is now turning

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-65834515990876542902009-04-22T12:16:00.000-07:002009-04-22T12:23:54.525-07:00

I have big news...I will finish my Swim Around Bainbridge on June 27, 2009 if all goes well. On June 27th, likely around 2pm, please come to a Swim Around Bainbridge Big Event at Ft. Ward Park on the southern end of Bainbridge Island. Everyone is invited to join the last small section of the swim, and you can walk, wade, swim, paddle, boat, or otherwise join in as I do the last little bit of my

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-37010705964742774212009-04-19T19:54:00.000-07:002009-04-19T20:01:00.724-07:00

Manzanita Landing to Arrow Point. You can't get there from here. I set out with a bad plan today, beceause I couldn't make a good one. The water is thick with the spring plankton bloom, and visibility is down, so I can't go deep into Manzanita Bay and hope to see anything. I'll need to cross open water, and since there's no way to walk the shore on this leg, I'll have to cross the open water

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-22912079414121731482009-04-11T14:24:00.000-07:002009-04-15T20:19:27.251-07:00

A beautiful, blustery day and some strange magnetism drew me to what promised to be a murky swim. The wind was blowing alongshore and the sandy bottom was stirred. With the ongoing spring plankton bloom, I expect murky water and that's what I get. Enjoy the sublime beauty of the day from the beach (right). Below the surface, the conditions match my mood (left). Regardlesss, I want to plow

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-23106199481307563602009-04-08T22:01:00.000-07:002009-04-08T22:06:31.575-07:00

Two new visitors today, I saw a harbor seal following me and a nice sea run cutthroat trout under the Agate Pass bridge. Riding the current out of the passage and along the shore was fun, until a huge eddy put me against the current for about a half mile. The day was perfect, sunny and getting warmer. I wasn't cold getting out of my wetsuits. The drive to my parking site at the exit and my

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-17678905029904396392009-04-05T21:14:00.000-07:002009-04-05T21:23:36.434-07:00

Today I rode the current through Agate Passage. Here's a picture of the eelgrass bowing to the current (left). It was beautiful, calm, sunny, and the first warm day of Spring around Seattle. It was fun to zip along through the narrow passage, riding the flooding tide into the channel that leads to Bremerton, along the west side of Bainbridge Island. I've really turned the corner past halfway

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-90455360132622121512009-03-30T20:32:00.000-07:002009-03-30T20:37:42.327-07:00

An interesting day and a fantastic new find for me, sea butterflies (see photos at right). Hard to believe they're real, these little molluscs are less than an inch long and they flap around slowly like lazy gelatinous butterflies of the sea. It's Corolla spectabilis, the spectacular corolla, a type of sea butterfly or pteropod. The wing plate is flapped down in the upper photo and flapped up

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-60257413241352538862009-03-26T21:14:00.000-07:002009-03-27T08:31:21.027-07:00

I never expected to see a shark in little Madison Bay. So imagine my surprise when I saw this big shark bearing down on me with it's mouth wide open. I managed to get my camera pointed in the right direction and I got one picture of the shark zooming at me with it's mouth open (left) and then another one of this big shark chewing on my leg (right). Fortunately, I came through the attack with

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-55458370278857606102009-03-13T20:45:00.000-07:002009-03-13T20:49:10.045-07:00

The swim from the sandspit to Port Madison begins the crossing from the east side of the island to the west side. Around the northwest corner of the island is Agate Passage where the tide roars through a narrow opening between the mainland and Bainbridge Island. photo: looking northwest across the mouth of Madison Bay, with Agate Passage in the background, about 2 miles away. Today's swim

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-44160738392046687912009-03-11T22:22:00.000-07:002009-03-12T20:43:09.378-07:00

Point Monroe on maps, the Sand Spit to locals. It's the northeast corner of Bainbridge Island and it forms a shallow lagoon. The lagoon warms up in the sun, and today was no exception, it was probably a nice 50F compared to the 45F of the open water. image: beloved Fay Bainbridge logs. Kids climb and float on these for HOURSThe high point of today was riding the flooding tide into the lagoon

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-84693472120487793542009-03-04T22:24:00.000-08:002009-03-04T22:30:47.450-08:00

Today I reach the northeast corner of Bainbridge Island, after starting Oct 12 on the southwest corner. The distance may not be quite halfway, but it feels like halfway. I'm going to make it around, and my target date for finishing is July 4, 2009. I hope to get others to join me to finish the Swim Around Bainbridge on that most American of days (and likely a warm day!). I crossed massive

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-74036103531422033672009-02-28T22:31:00.000-08:002009-03-01T21:45:25.487-08:00

The saddest shoreline I've yet seen on Bainbridge has to be Rolling Bay. It's the scene of a devastating mudslide that took the lives of 4 people, a couple and their two young children, 3 months and 2 years old. Right: photograph of the slide by Teresa Tamura,The Seattle Times, as published in The Atlantic.This slide is not really an ocean event, but I must bring it up. Getting in and out of

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-3209398342141471802009-02-23T22:56:00.000-08:002009-02-23T23:41:35.451-08:00

Akumal is a lovely coastal town in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, south of Cancun. I spent 11 days there on vacation, and explored the area's shallow reefs. Here's a view from above water, looking out to Half Moon Bay from the Yool Caanal condo (right). This area has a lot of shallow coral reefs, easily accessible from shore. The reefs block most of the waves and make for very sheltered

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-53567606862098782792009-02-01T07:24:00.000-08:002009-02-01T07:25:43.910-08:00

See Puget Sound like never before, and learn about the world-class ocean diving available right off the beaches of the Seattle area. And while you're having fun, learn about what makes our ocean so special. All brought to you by Still Hope Productions with an underwater TV show, and a travelling event that will be on Bainbridge at Islandwood Feb 1, 2009 and REI in Seattle April 2, 2009, 7-9 pm.

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-22961874031311522042009-01-28T16:50:00.000-08:002009-01-29T15:01:07.145-08:00

Great day for a lunchtime swim. Lots of interesting animals and the water was bright and clear, although a little murky near the end of the swim. Underwater pictures getting a little better, see below! Here's Murden Cove looking E to Skiff Point (left photo). And...here's a diver's eye view looking East across the Sound. You can just make out Seattle in the right background behind the

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-66932426323433501102009-01-25T22:03:00.000-08:002009-01-26T11:46:38.912-08:00

Murden Cove is locally famous for large sand and mud flats, easily visible from Manitou Beach Road on a low tide. Swimming the bay on a medium tide means swimming over acres of sand flats in 8-12 feet of water. I ventured out further from shore than usual, since the water close to shore was only 3-4 feet deep.It was a magical feeling to be slicing through glassy-smooth ocean waters as much as a

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-20207841324140345922009-01-23T20:08:00.001-08:002009-01-25T21:14:28.040-08:00

I had to swim, even though the water was still a bit murky from the record floods of 2 weeks ago. Yeomalt to Yaquina was the sandiest part of Bainbridge so far. Visibility wasn't great but the sun was out so I could still see the bottom in 10-15 feet or a little deeper in spots. It was fun to look backwards at some of the distance I've travelled (photo: taken from Yeomalt Point looking south,

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-56452203853364011122009-01-19T21:22:00.000-08:002009-01-19T21:46:23.476-08:00

Argh, I went down to the beach today and found the water totally out of shape. Recent floods have made the water too murky for a good swim. Here on Bainbridge we avoided the flood disaster (nice to live on an island!), but the ocean has collected the mud from all of the area's rivers and our Bainbridge ocean has it just the same as the rest of the region. Might be another week until I can get

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-73194118235382624262009-01-11T22:19:00.000-08:002009-01-14T21:57:25.435-08:00

Inky-oily grey below and velvety grey above. The kind of grey that cheers the locals and tears the California transplants. Driving to the beach, most of the cars had their lights on at noon. January on Puget Sound. Image: Wing Point looking east from Eagle Harbor on a grey day, with Seattle in the backgroundSwim around Bainbridge is back to normal, the snow is gone and Ocean Guy is back in

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-46441609725645641412009-01-10T20:29:00.000-08:002009-01-10T20:40:02.032-08:00

Something about this swim around bainbridge is doing some real work on me. I’ve done a lot in and around the ocean, but nothing has made such a strong impression. Consider late December...I couldn’t have been further away, standing in a blizzard in the Montana mountains. Yet the looking glass of Bainbridge ocean still seemed to be there, right in front of me.All it took was one deep breath, a

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-9880484120917410512009-01-06T21:12:00.000-08:002009-01-06T21:17:50.399-08:00

Hey, I'm front page news! Here's an article that dominated the front page of the Seattle Times on December 26, 2008. It's a great story and I've gotten a bunch of nice emails as follow-up. I've been away, but I'll get back to all of you soon, I promise! Here's a link to the article, along with 4 pictures and some video. The text is pasted below. Puget Sound's snorkeling "ocean guy" takes a

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-88389466112068860472008-12-18T07:40:00.000-08:002008-12-19T09:18:21.160-08:00

Fun of a different sort at Wing Point. Strong south wind brought actual swells to Puget Sound, and the Wing Point sandbar created near-surf conditions at the point. Rocking and rolling in 8 feet of water made for a real ocean swim day. Stormy weather was a great time to hit Wing Point. (photos: Wing Point from the water. Interesting how the character of a place changes day to day.)Just

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-21856554788453811142008-12-16T22:37:00.000-08:002008-12-19T20:20:54.600-08:00

The air has a chill, it's a match for today's swim. Around the ferry maintenance yard in a half mile loop through the harbor channel, then back to shore and under the ferry dock. A bit tough, it needs proper staging. But fantastic, with the sun, calm water and view of Mt. Ranier (right). What better day to have my brother in town, and the reprise of mischevious scheming from many years ago?

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-12488395481570817872008-12-16T20:06:00.000-08:002008-12-16T20:06:18.985-08:00

I'm ready to get out of the harbor and back to the open coast. The Swim Around Bainbridge is showing me much, including better and worse than I expected. And now, I've got my first malady. It's industrial diseaseof the psychic sort, caused by prolonged exposure to the dim views under the dire straits of a developed harbor. (Industrial Disease: a disease arising out of, and in the course of

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-21793077396991940632008-12-11T22:10:00.000-08:002008-12-11T22:10:25.736-08:00

Swimming in a marina sucks. That's the answer to the attitude problem in swimming Eagle Harbor. One more little bit and I'm outta here. I started from a nice little "road end" park on Gowen Road (photo at right). It's beautiful, even with the junk tire in the foreground. Notice the fantastic clouds and reflection in the water (photo at left). We do grey here in Seattle, more on that later.

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-66016647798271498092008-12-10T08:22:00.000-08:002008-12-10T14:39:49.002-08:00

Swimming Around Bainbridge is a beautifully simple idea. So says Environmental reporter Christopher Dunagan in his blog "Watching our Water Ways" where he discusses the challenges of protecting Puget Sound and all things water-related. Here's his post on my tour:Swimming around Bainbridge Island, a little piece at a time, is a beautifully simple idea loaded with potential for suspense,

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-83355916802270991852008-12-09T22:35:00.000-08:002008-12-09T22:35:25.181-08:00

My Eagle Harbor swim vexes me. What's the source of my dismay in gazing at the Harbor's underside? Is it really so sad, or am I coloring the water somehow with my attitude? Could the pollution be in me? I did see more garbage on this leg than any other, but that's no surprise. As a sharp contrast, Blakely Harbor was fun and glorious even though it's the site of long-abandoned heavy industry.

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-71395252719642715032008-12-07T21:21:00.000-08:002008-12-07T21:58:58.584-08:00

The beauty of Eagle Harbor shines in these photos (today's exit point looking left and right). As I'm swimming through Eagle Harbor I see some big gaping jaws with nasty teeth, it's a big shark. Oh wait, it's a joke buoy, an attacking shark where you can tie up your boat. I did meet some nice kayakers halfway through the swim, they asked if I was keeping warm (yes). I mentioned my path, and

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-19415505185249597502008-12-05T20:42:00.000-08:002008-12-05T21:54:20.414-08:00

What are wild places? I used to think Wilderness...you know, WILDERNESS. The big expanses of undeveloped land in the named and lawfully set aside Wilderness areas. But there is the wild that lives in us, the feelings that mark our experience of the wild. And the feelings are not tied to named Wilderness areas. Sometimes they come out, surprise, with the sight of a wild bird in a fairly

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-92067694894064293902008-12-04T13:04:00.000-08:002008-12-05T09:57:09.581-08:00

How about a Superfund site to spice up a swim? Or a prehistoric fish not usually seen in shallow water? Today was a fantastic sunny day with light wind and good visibility most of the way. I used two wetsuits to hold out the cold, and some new gloves, and I stayed warm. Even though I felt like I was in a full body cast. It was a nice swim with some strange spotted ratfish, and one disturbing

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-7215397589705684512008-11-30T20:12:00.000-08:002008-11-30T21:13:09.989-08:00

OK, I knew this wasn't going to be easy. Bad weather, torn up gear, and work are keeping me out of the water. It's hard to sit on the shore and look at the water, but I don't want to swim when I can't see the bottom. I've had a couple of chances to go out but the wind was up every time. I actually went to the beach twice, and turned away from the blown out murky water (photo top right). And

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-10072788441554141012008-11-26T22:03:00.000-08:002008-12-04T21:38:11.069-08:00

Rockaway and outer Blakely Harbor offer great fun, and adventure in getting cold thanks to a wardrobe malfunction. Harlequin ducks perch on the rocks, sending a message about how wild is the ocean, even within spitting distance of a suburban living room. photo: Eagle Harbor and Mt. BakerThis swim has lessons about the wild, and I wouldn't be getting them diving to a selected point of interest. My

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-36486748866338247482008-11-24T18:06:00.000-08:002008-11-24T18:06:00.520-08:00

Here's an article about my Bainbridge swim in the Kitsap Sun, by Tristan Baurick. I think he gets it!Fall Chills Can't Stop One Man's Underwater Tour Around BainbridgeBy Tristan Baurick For the Kitsap SunSunday, November 23, 2008 Mark Powell wanted to know Bainbridge better.So, on a windy fall day, he decided to swim around it."I got the idea near the end of summer," said Powell, a 50-year-old

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-66391707240643470602008-11-23T19:23:00.000-08:002008-11-23T20:57:34.741-08:00

Big swim today, including a real crab vs. crab smackdown, a split drysuit, and a fabulous school of tubesnouts.The sky was clear, showing a view of the Cascade mountains over Seattle (top left) and Mt. Ranier (top right). The beautiful sunny sky and fairly clear water made for a nice day of looking around, and I had my first feeling of wide open spaces underwater, just below the sheltered north

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-4833084094754010652008-11-22T22:18:00.000-08:002008-11-22T22:29:45.445-08:00

Jill Fanning's contribution, after being my first guest swimmer on Day 7, Blakely Harbor. Photo (right) just before getting in the 52F water. On Nov. 18 I accompanied my son-in-law, Mark Powell, into the waters of Puget Sound as he continued his swim-around-Bainbridge. I am very excited about his explorations below the surface, and I offer here some of my thoughts from the top of the

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-60900435022949918502008-11-20T22:45:00.000-08:002008-11-20T22:49:04.217-08:00

What better comment on floating mid-harbor than the mad laughter of a loon? Is it nutty to be swimming around Bainbridge Island on a cold Puget Sound November? Day 7 had a number of firsts, and here's a first that makes my swim look sedate by comparison. Today I had my first guest swimmer, my mother in law from Montana, Jill Fanning. You won't believe this (see photo), I walked into the water

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-58387151198049342902008-11-18T22:15:00.000-08:002008-11-18T22:38:43.266-08:00

Out in the middle of Blakely Harbor I heard someone laughing at me. It was a loon, about 100 feet away. I paused in the greenish brown murk, feeling the cold, and paddled quietly to about 50 feet before it dove underwater. I had a moment to feel the strangeness of floating in the middle of nowhere before plunging ahead. Cloudy, dark, cool, grey water like a mirror. Very Puget Sound. 1.09

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-38935413077725331822008-11-14T18:38:00.000-08:002008-11-14T20:32:25.883-08:00

Blakely Harbor, close up (left) and wide angle (right)Day 6, and I've been uncovered. Tristan Baurick, a reporter for the Kitsap Sun, found me and asked to talk. He came with me to my entry point today (photos above), we talked a bit, he took a few pictures, and then he watched me swim away from the beach. I'm also getting some interest from potential guest swimmers. tres arboles said yes, we

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-24241025186947179672008-11-12T22:20:00.000-08:002008-11-13T15:30:52.274-08:00

Big swim today, I want to get all the way around Restoration Point, to get past the Country Club and the signs warning me away. At least they don't own the water and a person can swim by, but it'll take at least a mile to get past the private land. View Larger Mapblue markers show entry and exit points, click for notesThere's some wild water here, as my wife calls it. Around the point there is

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-67642519140596697062008-11-06T21:26:00.000-08:002008-11-06T21:46:25.759-08:00

Size matters, and today's swim is proof that things are BIG and a bit odd in Puget Sound. Today I pulled around the corner and came in sight of downtown Seattle, with the Space Needle and downtown skyscrapers. Yeah, the Space Needle is that Jetsons-looking tower built for the 1963 World's Fair in Seattle. The biggest tower around that looks like it was designed by a kid. A strange sight from

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-40148217325206946262008-11-03T22:11:00.000-08:002008-11-03T22:12:58.951-08:00

south beach looking east (left) south beach looking south (right)Not a great swim overall, murky water with low visibility. I'll wait for better water before getting in again. Still fun to get wet and I did see some nice crabs and a few fish. Got past the 2 mile mark, so I've seen quite a bit of the wet underside of Bainbridge Island now. I'll be back for more when the water clears.

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-50119266916775572402008-10-30T18:37:00.000-07:002008-10-30T18:39:08.353-07:00

Dame Ocean is calling me with her siren song. I'm running along the water's edge at South Beach, my usual route, and gazing at the ocean eager to dive in. It's a strong feeling and a bit surprising since I've come this way probably a thousand times and not felt such a call. Since starting this swim, I've deepened my appreciation for this cool northern ocean. I've gotten below the surface, and

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-20396905894967542272008-10-25T14:59:00.000-07:002008-11-02T21:05:29.740-08:00

Today was a good day because I didn't get eaten. How's that for low expectations? I wasn't really too worried, but I have heard rumors of predators hanging around salmon farms. If true, I suppose they want salmon and not me. If you want to see where I've been, check out this nifty Google map (below) and you'll see my progress. If you zoom out, you can even see noticeable progress looking at

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-89421386251180675042008-10-18T12:53:00.000-07:002008-10-26T21:50:08.324-07:00

Today's the first day with some real progress. I swam most of the length of Ft.Ward Park down the hill from my house. About 2/3 of a mile. Nice, especially since things started off so weakly. Temp: 53FWind: calmTide: High, +10 ft. Water: 53FVisibility: 10-15 feet11am, Oct 18, 20080.64 mileCancer magister-Dungeness crab (several)Oncorhynchus sp-salmon (one juvenile)Anthopleura

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-82389348316023246962008-10-13T22:47:00.000-07:002008-10-13T23:26:38.768-07:00

Day 1, October 13, 2008.Columbus Day.Weather: 60F, cloudy, wind 10 mph from the SW. Water: 53FBlowing straight onto the beach where I'll start. A wee bit ugly, but could be a lot worse for October in Washington. Sun pops out just as I get in the water, nice. Just have a few minutes, won't make much distance.Star of the day, the purple sea star, Pisaster ochraceus. I saw several clinging to

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1540615878126053964.post-61198046623094426462008-10-13T19:29:00.001-07:002008-10-13T23:32:40.990-07:00

View Larger MapI've got an itch. I'm indoors too much, and lacking adventure. So, thrashing around a bit on what to do, it came to me. I'll swim around Bainbridge Island, my home island.It's all here, 53 miles of shoreline with at least a small dose of almost everything you'll find in the modern ocean world. We have a Superfund site, and pristine shoreline. Armored banks with fancy houses,

Mark Powellnoreply@blogger.com1