A real sea monster

[John Vigor]

Have you ever wondered how many little eyes are looking up at you from the depths of the water? And maybe not so little. How about eyes the size of hubcaps?

Here's a story Carter Brey sent me, knowing my built-in fear of sea monsters:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6385071.stm

Something more to worry about before spring launch.


Cheers,

John V.

[Neil Gordon]

Have you ever wondered how many little eyes are looking up at you from the depths of the water? And maybe not so little. How about eyes the size of hubcaps?

I'll lose more sleep worrying about being munched by the giant beak!

[Sea Hunt]

John:

I assume your post was (is) at least partly in jest. In the interest of completeness and because I spent the day doing outdoor household chores in beautiful 83 degree Chamber of Commerce weather (the Admiral is sometimes cruel ) I offer the following:

First, the disclaimers. I am not a marine biologist. I am not a veterinarian. I am not "formally schooled" in the behavior of animate sea life. I barely managed a GED

With that disclaimer, I have been diving the oceans of the world for about 30+ years and gathering video of many (not yet most) of her inhabitants. While most of my diving has been in temperate waters, some has been in cold, cold waters. I have gained wisdom with age and don't do that anymore

The "colassal squid" (the big one) is, to my understanding, unique to very, very cold waters and prefers deep, deep, deep waters. That is why it was "almost dead" when captured/hooked. I surmise that its lungs (our equivalent of lungs) had essentially embolised from an inappropriate ascent from great depths.

Your sailing is done in the NW Washington, Oregon, etc. You do not need to be concerned about the "colassal squid". The water is not cold enough or deep enough for their liking.

You DO have to be concerned about migrating whales that may waywardly stray into Bellingham Bay and ram your hull thinking it an "intruder" to their pod. There are also stray Great Whites (notice the use of capital letters signifying their apex place on the food chain) occasionally found in that area. Yikes!!!!!!!

I hope I have eased your concerns about the "colassal squid". Happy sailing in Bellingham Bay

P.S. All kidding aside, it is a true honor to be able to communicate via CDSOA message board with you. Your book, Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere has been my "bible" for the past three years of searching. While I look at everything, I have "zeroed in" on Cape Dory sailboats, mostly because of your section on the CD 25D. Thank you.

Fair Winds,

[Cathy Monaghan]

I'm sure everyone has seen this photo. I think I even saw it in Boat U.S. Magazine.

<img width="540" src="http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/gr ... _small.jpg">

But have you read the article that goes with it?

CLICK HERE to read the September 2005 "Africa Geographic" article titled "Shark Detectives".

Anyway, I'd hate to turn around and see one of these things lurking behind us in our dinghy.


Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[Sea Hunt]

Cathy:

That's a great site. The pictures are excellent. Especially the one of the guy in a yellow kayak looking over his right shoulder at what appears to be a Great White. Yikes!!!!

Of course, today, unfortunately or fortunately, digital photography allows the professional and amateur alike to "edit" their photos to delete (or insert) almost anything they want from (into) their photos.

Brushing out "back scatter" or unattractive bubbles is generally accepted. "Brushing out" sea life that was inadvertently present in the original, or "brushing in" (a/k/a cut and paste) sea life that was not present in the original, is generally frowned upon within the industry. Absent looking at the original digital, it is usually almost impossible to tell what, if anything, was done to the original digital image.

Regardless, the photos are terrific. That's a excellent site. Thanks.

Fair Winds,

[Steve Laume]

John, don't you believe a word of what Sea Hunt has to say about giant squid. They love the deep cold waters of Washington state. It may in fact be the breeding grounds for these monsters of the deep. So little is known about the habits of of these creatures that it would be of great interest to science if you would just shine a little light over the side on any dark windless nights you might find yourself out on. If they are breeding in the area this will really piss em off. If they don't drag you over the side. You should be able to advance the scientific knowledge of these monsters or at least have a good story to tell, Steve.

[Sea Hunt]

I absolutely agree with Steve's suggestion. It would be very beneficial to the advancement of marine science.

My only additional recommendation would be to have a "splash proof" (ha ) camera with you (even a disposable film version) so that you can snap a few quick pictures as you are being dragged down to King Neptune's domicile. Make sure to release the camera from your grip at no greater depth than 5-6 fsw so that it will float to the surface and be collected by USCG S&R which you will have signaled on your EPIRB before being dragged over the side by the big bad giant sea monster.

We are in your debt.

[JimL]

Great stuff, however! Why does this stuff have to happen, now that I just have sea kayaks?!

[John Vigor]

John:

I assume your post was (is) at least partly in jest.

No, Sea Hunt, it was no jest. The biggest fright I ever got on a boat was one dead calm night in the middle of the South Atlanrtic, when I stupidly shone a powerful flashlight overboard to see how far down the light would go. I froze when I realized I'd just signaled our presence to every leviathan of the deep. I waited paralyzed for the first tentacles to appear over the coaming.

I was on a 33-footer, racing across the Atlantic from continent to continent, so I couldn't start the engine to get away from that spot. We were a sitting duck for all those giant squid down there, many of which are much larger than 33 feet.

I mentioned this in a book that Carter Brey had read, which is why he sent me the story about the collosal squid.

I'm not too scared of the whales here in Puget Sound, except maybe the Orcas, the killer whales, which are actually large and fiercely voracious dolphins, as you obviously know. But thanks for the tip about the Great Whites. I shall keep my eyes peeled and my antennae waving.

Cheers,

John V.

[Steve Laume]

I just read in a dive magazine: " Comparatively speaking, mollusks are highly developed animals. Many specialists say octopuses and squids are the most intelligent of all marine invertebrates." These things are easily smart enough to figure out that little plastic shell floating around on the surface holds some tasty morsels. If they can tussle with the great whales, a medium sized Cape Dory should be childs play to their flailing tentacles, Steve.

[Cathy Monaghan]

Thought you guys would enjoy the video (CLICK HERE) "There Be Sea Monsters Here", a production of the Museum of Unnatural Mystery.

<center>
Museum of Unnatural Mystery</center>

Also, be sure to visit their "Cryptozoology" exhibit.


Fair winds,
Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[bottomscraper]

These things are easily smart enough to figure out that little plastic shell floating around on the surface holds some tasty morsels.

I guess what goes around comes around, when I saw the picture it just made me hungry! Fruits de Mer!

[Tom in Cambria]

I was motoring single handed northward between Santa Cruz and San Francisco many years ago in my wooden Hurricane sloop. Suddenly there appeared behind me a giant dorsal fin about 6 feet out of the water and a couple of boat lengths behind me. At first I just thought -- cool, a Killer Whale. After about 10 minutes of it tracking right behind me I began to wonder if it was following me. I kicked the auto pilot off and did a couple of sharp S turns, and sure enough it stayed right behind me. I began to think of the stories I had read of Killer Whales attacking and sinking small boats. I wondered if I had inadvertently motored between a mom and her offspring and she were signaling the rest of the pod to assemble for the attack. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. I searched with the binoculars in every direction looking for more fins but couldn't see any. After about 20 minutes of her keeping at exactly the same distance right in my wake, I wondered if she were sending out echo signals so that the others could hone in on her position. A very creepy feeling came over me and I became very paranoid. The story has a happy ending though. After about half an hour the fin suddenly disappeared. I've thought since, that she might have been enjoying the bubbles from my prop wash and just having some fun. Or possibly she was being successful in chasing me out of her territory and as long as I kept moving in the right direction she was content to just shadow me and when I got to the edge of her territory the alarm was over and she swam off with a warning to me not to come back. It was a scary experience that I've never forgotten and also never experienced again.

[Derek Matheson]

I grew up in Cape Town near where the shark photos were taken. THese days one can take a boat trip and dive in a cage with those sharks. Yes, they are really big 12 to 16 foot. We used to swim on that beach and could see the sharks just beyond the breakers. THey feed on the seals that live on the islands in the bay. We used to go fishing in a little 18 ft boat and would have to cut our lines as the sharks would attack fish that we caught before we could bring them aboard.

Surfing was sometimes scary, as the sharks would be in and around us in the waves.

My grandfather had a 35 ft fishing boat and would go out to those islands to 'harvest' the baby seals and gather penguin eggs, which were very rich, definitely not PC these days.

[Lew Gresham]

I had a similar thing that happened to me. I was on the way back from the Bahamas and a few miles off shore Cumberland Island which I might add the waters around Cumberland Island are reputed to be the largest shark breeding grounds on the East Coast. Blacktip, Tiger, Hammerhead, Lemon sharks, Bull Sharks, to mention a few.
Anyway, the boat was on auto pilot and I was just laid back getting some sun, and listening to the water pass my hull, when I heard a bumping and thumping sound on port side of the hull. When I set up to check out the noise, much to my surprise I had come up on a floating 4 x 4 timber about 8' long that was bumping along on the hull as it slid pass. Come to think of it, I missed a 55 gallon drum bobbing a few inches above the water off shore West Palm Beach on an earlier trip. That might have done some damage. You see all kind of junk floating in the Gulf stream. Florescent light tubes, plastic milk jugs, oars, life jackets, fenders, all kind of stuff.
Anyway back to my story. When I noticed the post float back away from the boat, I was surprised again. This time it was two Hammerhead sharks about 8' long swimming behind the boat approximately 15'. I have no idea how long they had been behind my boat. They were close together, and their dorsal fins were out of the water.
I am not sure but when this one shark rolled it's head over which allowed one eye to be completely out of the water for at least 10 to 15 seconds, I said to myself he's looking at me, he's checking me out. You know they can see just as good out of the water as in the water. The same shark rolled it's head the other way and the other eye was out of the water. Like Robert Shaw said in the movie "Jaws", "The thing about a shark, he's got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes. He doesn't seem living, until he bites ya." Pretty scary it was with these Hammerheads so close.

Many large sharks have been caught in our area. I know there has to be world records swimming by. I have seen some I thought could eat a small car. As for me I don't go in the water where I live, which is a few miles north of Cumberland. I usually visit shark free pools where ever I am. Two things that one should be aware of, are these eating machines, and large ships at sea. Sea Monsters nah! FWIW

http://imdb.com/title/tt0073195/trailer ... 10947-10-2