[Cruisingdad]

I realize this is slightly "off" of the pure sailing mantra, but this is a nice story:

'Crazy Turtle Woman' transforms graveyard into maternity ward - CNN.com

You can also find these giants in numerous other places. Many other areas and coutries have taken a very active stance to save turtles, with Ft. Myers Beach, FL a nice example.

When you are in crystal clear waters, especially near reefs, you can be sailing or motoring over and suddenly see the ground "move". But what you really see are these things swimming under you. Until you have a chance to see one first person, it is hard to describe how exhillarating they are.

Cudos to Suzan Baptiste and the others that make a difference on what is otherwise a thankless endeavor.

- CD

 

[poopdeckpappy]

I don't know about anybody else, but I enjoy reading stuff like this, it would be kewl if we had a forum dedicated to stuff just like this or even encounters that the members themselves have had with marine critters, sort of a mini marine biology forum.

 

[sailingdog]

We saw a harbor porpoise on our delivery trip, while waiting to enter the Cape May Canal.

 

[Cruisingdad]

I don't know about anybody else, but I enjoy reading stuff like this, it would be kewl if we had a forum dedicated to stuff just like this or even encounters that the members themselves have had with marine critters, sort of a mini marine biology forum.

Le tme kick that around a bit and how we can incorporate that.

Brian

 

[drgamble]

first hand hatchling...

During my charter in February in the BVI's we anchored off Sandy Cay and dinghied in for some r&r on the beach. After taking a dip in the water we came back to our towels and I noticed this little guy digging his way up and out from under my towel... After about a minute of getting oriented he made his mad dash for the water and off he went. Pretty magical event. We moved our towels and kept our eyes peeled for any siblings but no others came out that day. Not sure of the type of turtle but he was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand... Loggerhead maybe?

 

[poopdeckpappy]

We saw a harbor porpoise on our delivery trip, while waiting to enter the Cape May Canal.

We were somewhere off San Onofre when we sailed into a pod of Rissos; we dropped sails and drifted along with them for 10- 15 mins while they played all around us

 

[Cruisingdad]

Very cool stuff Gamble and Poopy!

- CD

 

[night0wl]

In 3 outings on our new Beneteau, we've seen 2 big Sea Turtles. Dont know if they're leatherbacks or loggerheads, but the guys teaching me how to use the boat tend to get all excited because its good luck.

 

[SecondWindNC]

While working for the Lumina News in Wrightsville Beach, NC, I was fortunate enough to witness both sea turtle hatchlings (loggerheads) and the release of rehabilitated sea turtles into the ocean (loggerheads, greens, and Kemps-Ridley). Both were incredible experiences. There are wonderful groups of volunteers supporting the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (Topsail Island). The turtles need all the help we can give them!

Lumina News - Turtles released

Lumina News - 2008 nest hatching

Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center; A Sea Turtle Hospital on Topsail Island, NC

 

[LiamM]

But, but, but

For many years, leatherbacks would appear around the Irish coast, were captured, sent to jail in an aquarium and were, eventually, deported to the Carib!
All of this involved the Irish Navy, Air Corps, Army, numerous civic groups and vast expense.
Their deportation usually got a front page photo in the Irish Times.

However, research, initiated by Dr Tom Doyle of University College Cork, allied with a Welsh college, discovered that this was part of a migratory pattern - they follow jellyfish blooms (mainly, the barrel jellyfish) with the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Drift.
Tagged, they were seen to head south in the autumn, past the Canaries, down the west coast of Africa and, presumably, back to the Carib to breed.

I have seen them washed up twice - the first one in Howth, just north of Dublin, badly decayed, carapace and flippers gone, but still the size of a cow.
The other was on the SW coast - no more than six ft long.

I still nearly fall over laughing when I think of the earlier, well intentioned, but utterly misguided, efforts to 'rescue' these poor beasties found around Ireland - the turtle mouthing 'But, but, but....'

 

[ottos]

We saw a harbor porpoise on our delivery trip, while waiting to enter the Cape May Canal.

Not unusual at all for South Jersey.

Last year my wife and I were giving a friend a ride down the beach - not far outside the breakers when we found ourselves in a show much like Pappy's pictures. We were about 10 yards from them - what a thrill.

After watching them play a while, we looked toward shore and saw that for about two blocks north and south every person on the beach had gotten up off their blankets and chairs and were standing watching the show with us.

 

[billyruffn]

Encounters with turtles

In our cruising in the Caribbean we've encountered turtles on three occasions:

1. There's an adult turtle who lives in Christmas Cove (east end of St. Thomas) who can out swim anyone!

2. Then, one day walking on the beach at Culibrita (Spanish Virgins) we encountered this little guy making his was the wrong way up the beach. We turned him around and made sure he made it through the surf and on his way to sea.

3. The third and most dramatic encounter occured on a windward beach in Trinidad where we had the opportunity to observe the nest building of leatherbacks. All of this was supervised by local environmental volunteers (blue uniforms in the photo below) who kept us from interfering, but during the egg laying process the females go to a trance of sorts and it's possible to take flash photos without them being bothered. This lady laid over 100 eggs (count kept by one of the tourist observers). The belt under her mid section was placed by the supervisors who determined that this turtle had not been tagged before and so she way tagged and weighed after the egg laying process. The strap was attached to a tripod and strain guage and indicated she tipped out at over 700 pounds. When she was finished laying the eggs, she first filled in the nest and then went on to build a "false nest" before returning to the surf. We were told that breeding females will return to the beach several times during a single season to lay eggs.

It's an amazing process to witness!!

 

[sailingdog]

So cute: