I woke up this morning and checked a few things on my computer: the weather, the wind, the tide and the Monmouth Beach webcam. I could see from the comfort of my home that the ocean was flat calm with no waves and no wind. Immediately I thought about trying some spearfishing off the beach. The conditions looked great.
I knew it was going to be cold but I thought it would be worth it if I could get a few blackfish or a bass. I haven't gone spearfishing in a very long time so I had to dust off my gear and go through my pre-dive checklist. As I began I couldn't help think of the great conditions and how nice it would be to get in the water again. I ate a quick breakfast of fried rice and egg and some smoked trout. It's important to fuel up and drink a lot of water prior to spearfishing because I knew I would need a lot of energy.
I got to the beach and carried all of my gear across the sand - including my SUP and paddle. It was a lot of stuff but I managed it all in one trip. When I got to the water's edge it was calm and very clear. I could see the sandy bottom out quite a distance.
I'm painting such a nice picture of the scene up to this point but I'm going to cut to the chase - the whole thing was a disaster! After suiting up, bringing all of my gear to the sandy beach, paddling out about 200 yards and diving down 25 feet to the bottom - I was met by a wall of murk. Despite crystal clear water near the beach, everywhere I dropped down the wall of murk made it impossible to see past my speartip. Combined with the 48 degree water temperature, it didn't take very long for me to call it quits. Very disappointing.
I get credit for the old college try though. I was cursing New Jersey as I paddled back to shore and all I could think about was my upcoming trip to Florida. Although I didn't catch any fish, the effort was a pretty amazing physical work out.
The day continued with several physical efforts including construction of my garden watering experiment and a two set tennis match with Ty. I lost the tennis (not by much) but got some quality exercise as a side benefit. By the end of the day I was done. Wiped out.
As a side note - I stole a slice of pizza from the box after the kids were finished with their dinner tonight. I 'thought' I really wanted it and it did taste good going down - But, my body did not appreciate it later. I felt it churning in my stomach and I didn't sleep well for several hours afterwards. I think this cheat was actually a blessing in disguise. I felt so bad physically that this experience will be easy to remember in the future. When you detox for a couple weeks, your body really feels the effects of junk food. Lesson learned.
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