The water was a gleaming turquoise yesterday at the swimming pools of metropolitan Baltimore. The breeze was gentle and caressing on the skin. The temperature couldn't have been more comfortable, and the humidity took a holiday.
So, where were the swimmers?
Elsewhere, for the most part. Despite near-perfect weather for waterside lazing, yesterday was just another slow pool day in the unusually cool and rainy summer of 2000.
For the lifeguards and managers of area public and private pools, that meant a relaxing day that didn't test their skills or their patience. But for many, it's beginning to be too much of a good thing.
"We haven't been getting much business, so everything's been boring," said Tara Gantt, a Western High School student who's working this summer as a lifeguard at Milford Mill Swim Club.
Things couldn't have been much safer yesterday at the privately owned club. At times in the early afternoon, three lifeguards were on duty for each person in the quarry swimming hole. At the adjoining pool, eight children and two adults played under the watchful eye of three lifeguards.
For lifeguards, yesterday's blue skies and fluffy white clouds at least broke the pattern of hazy days cut short by late-afternoon thunderstorms. When the storms come, lifeguards say, the swimmers go - and don't return even if the weather clears hours before closing time.
The result is that many lifeguards are sent home early, costing them summer earnings.
The losses are shared by pool operators, whether public or private. Attendance is off, and so are revenues from concessions.
Bill Walker operates the Milford Mill club with his wife, Gail. After buying the business last year, they've been working to polish the reputation of the venerable swim club, which is open to the public. They say this year's weather isn't helping.
"It's been a killer," said Bill Walker. "Weatherwise, it has to be the worst summer for pool people in history."
Walker said part of the reason for yesterday's sparse crowd is that August is vacation season. But another big factor was that yesterday's weather was a bit too perfect.
"You get people lying out when it's sticky. I don't know if we've had a sticky day yet," said Walker. He'd prefer a day in the 90s, with a touch of humidity.
The temperature yesterday broke into the low 80s in late afternoon, but people who ventured out early found conditions in the high 60s and 70s.
