tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124426997314960696.post114246600462254026..comments2024-03-25T00:33:33.371-07:00Comments on James' Blog: It was a great day, BUT...James Douglasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15380226220764974087noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124426997314960696.post-47337678703502108952009-01-23T09:38:00.000-08:002009-01-23T09:38:00.000-08:00Ann- Yeah, it's a real bummer. It hasn't stopped ...Ann- Yeah, it's a real bummer. It hasn't stopped me from windsurfing, but it has definitely make me more cautious. <BR/><BR/>John- You're probably right that windsurfers account for only a very minor fraction of turtle injuries and deaths compared to powerboats, ingesting plastics, fishing bycatch, natural predators, etc. It would be interesting to know the actual stats, though. <BR/><BR/>Leatherbacks are awesome. I saw some off South Carolina one year when the cannonball jellyfish were abundant.James Douglasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15380226220764974087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124426997314960696.post-86719738489438253182009-01-23T03:19:00.000-08:002009-01-23T03:19:00.000-08:00From a food chain perspective, we windsurfers do n...From a food chain perspective, we windsurfers do not effect critters nearly as much as boaters. I'd like to keep our discussions about hitting them to a minimum. Who knows, some zealot may come along and convince the authorities to restrict us as much as boaters....<BR/><BR/>Hit a turtle in the head, sorry. Hit one in the shell, bye bye fin or more. Years ago, a leatherback did the porpoise style breathing technique on the fly very close to me. He was huge! He would have wiped me out!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07958550501318473659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124426997314960696.post-73554750696023989482009-01-22T13:49:00.000-08:002009-01-22T13:49:00.000-08:00Sniff..I sail with turtles in Lac Bay...The water ...Sniff..I sail with turtles in Lac Bay...The water is so clear I can see them really well..this is a sad story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124426997314960696.post-14489460283222821112009-01-22T08:32:00.000-08:002009-01-22T08:32:00.000-08:00Chuck- Those are interesting stories. I guess whe...Chuck- Those are interesting stories. I guess when you hit a BIG turtle you're less likely to inflict serious harm to it and more likely to inflict serious harm to yourself. Either way, it pays to keep a careful eye out, as you say. After this last event I'm also going to slow down and go WAY around any turtle that I see, in case their are others in the water near it. <BR/><BR/>Matt- Leave it to PETA to make me regret the "sea kitten" sticks I had with tartar sauce last night. :)<BR/><BR/>Peconic Michael- Gizzard shad are about as ugly as they come. They're also stinky and yucky because they eat a lot of dead plant and plankton detritus off the bottom. Their "gizzard" is the bulky, coiled part of their digestive system that they use to process the large amounts of poor-quality food they consume.<BR/><BR/>Aaron- You just gave me a great idea!James Douglasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15380226220764974087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124426997314960696.post-46696428742015980562009-01-22T02:17:00.000-08:002009-01-22T02:17:00.000-08:00I'm surprised you don't carry a jar with formaldeh...I'm surprised you don't carry a jar with formaldehyde onboard your windsurfer =PCatapulting Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13721515415513822156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124426997314960696.post-50851124086168908332009-01-21T13:06:00.000-08:002009-01-21T13:06:00.000-08:00That gizzard shad needs a makeover and a new name....That gizzard shad needs a makeover and a new name.<BR/><BR/>Tragic about the turtle. Or perhaps you're thinning out the dumb ones?PeconicPuffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15727526949787504644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124426997314960696.post-83575114811030252432009-01-19T21:30:00.000-08:002009-01-19T21:30:00.000-08:00Gizzard shad aren't cute?! C'mon James. Did you SE...Gizzard shad aren't cute?! C'mon James. Did you SEE the picture you posted? At least it's not as bad as http://www.peta.org/sea_kittens/Matt Whalenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11813061184414029845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124426997314960696.post-40285872814225232882009-01-18T06:17:00.000-08:002009-01-18T06:17:00.000-08:00James, Sorry to hear about the poor turtle. I t...James, <BR/><BR/> Sorry to hear about the poor turtle. I think you are right about the windsurfing's'dirty little secret and you are definitely not alone in hitting one. I first ran into one while planing along nicely in Okinawa, Japan back in 1987-88. I looked down, saw it on the surface, but before I could turn away, Wack! I was on a long board with the dagger board partially down which upon impact retracted almost fully into the board. Luckily it was a fairly big turtle, about 2' across the shell, so I don't think I hurt it, although I worried about it.<BR/> Also, I did the same thing sailing of the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii several years ago. I had seen 3-4 turtles, most 18"-2' size, swimming lazily on the surface and was trying to watch out for them. Then "thunk", looked back and briefly saw a shell of a fairly big turtle quickly disappearing. So I was extra careful the rest of the afternoon but no more close encounters.<BR/> Anyway, guess we all have to remember to try to keep our eyes open as much as possible for the various sea creatures while out there in their world.<BR/> <BR/>Chuck<BR/>WET Rep to BelgiumChuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07856029904171822250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124426997314960696.post-16288019835278922472009-01-17T21:58:00.000-08:002009-01-17T21:58:00.000-08:00Yeah, I'm gonna have to save a lot of whales to ma...Yeah, I'm gonna have to save a lot of whales to make up for this.James Douglasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15380226220764974087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124426997314960696.post-53292471268414213822009-01-17T12:19:00.000-08:002009-01-17T12:19:00.000-08:00AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A MARINE BIOLOGIST!! TERRIBL...AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A MARINE BIOLOGIST!! TERRIBLE!! jk, hope all is well dude.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08434738820743713014noreply@blogger.com