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551 pound bull shark reeled in by 12 year old PDF Print E-mail
Fishing News
Written by Mike Marks   
Friday, 04 January 2008
Twelve year old Connecticut boy Aiden Murray Medley landed a record beating 551 pound 9.5' bull shark on January 2 north of Florida's Palm Beach inlet. "This thing was huge," he said.  The massive shark is believed to top a 1981 record for 517 pounder caught at Panama City Beach.  Medley has been fishing since he was 5 years old.  Last year he caught a 461 pound shark.  We'll give his mom the last words, "I'm happy. I'm proud."

Image

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Last Updated ( Monday, 14 January 2008 )
 
Hello 2008 PDF Print E-mail
Surfing News
Written by Mike Marks   
Tuesday, 01 January 2008

nantucket buoy

Happy New Year!  For 2008 we hope that a few deep low pressure systems (the kinds with names)  take predictable offshore fall vacations to Georges Bank and spin around for a few days. Stay off the land and give all of the fishermen good advance notice.  As for the start of 2008... not much here in New England.  The eastern side of the Atlantic has a lot of action, Portugal in particular.  The west coast of the USA will see a powerful storm move down from the Gulf of Alaska.


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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 January 2008 )
 
Resolved: honest chowder for the New Year. PDF Print E-mail
Seafood
Written by Mike Marks   
Saturday, 29 December 2007
New England clam chowder It's time to start planning for New Year's Eve.  Odds are good you'll be drinking something bubbly, be it champagne or beer or plain old seltzer. You'll need something to go with the drink and there's nothing more appropriate for a start to the New Year than a good old  New England Clam Chowder. Emeril's chowder recipe is great. It calls for  fresh clams, cream and bacon. But it's a lot of work. The Cliff House in Oqunquit Maine makes a chowder that uses canned clams and clam juice. That's an easier solution so I offer it here. But is it honest?  Canned clams? Is that really the right way to start a New Year?  Dennis Robinson certainly wouldn't think so.  He has one strong belief and that's that his Grampa's simple chowder is the best in the world.  For something a little different maybe try Lobster Mac and Cheese.  Easy and delicious.  Or maybe Seafood Pan Roast.

Whatever you eat and drink, enjoy yourself, be moderate if you're driving and have a great New Year!
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 16 January 2008 )
 
Float fishing in Costa Rica, ice fishing in Maine PDF Print E-mail
Fishing News
Written by Mike Marks   
Tuesday, 25 December 2007
Hard core fishing in Costa Rica - Dave Sherwood writes about joining the Club Nacional de Pesca on a fishing trip for machaca.  "They jump like shad, have teeth like piranha and strike with the surface explosion of a northern bass".   The trip starts with Sherwood and club members floating down the the Rio Nino fully immersed in the river with flotation provided by life jackets.   NYTimes

Smelt fishing on the ice in Maine isn't about really fishing, it's about hanging out inside when it's cold outside.  NYTimes

North American Ice Fishing title captured in Alexandria MN  Echo Press
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 05 January 2008 )
 
Rough Christmas In Southern Ocean PDF Print E-mail
Boats
Written by Mike Marks   
Tuesday, 25 December 2007
Temenos IILast week I reported that Temenos II was having keel trouble in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The good news is that, despite some severe weather, Dominique Wavre and Michele Paret are still in the race and currently in third place - although they're 1622 miles behind the leader.  They're planning a stop in Wellington NZ to repair the keel.   Servanne Escoffier on 5th place Educacion sin Fronteras told of big winds, towering seas and surfing conditions that have seen his boat reaching average speeds near 20 knots.  The fleet is now at the halfway point and beginning to set sights on returning to Barcelona.

Day 45– December 25, 14:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader

1. PAPREC-VIRBAC 2 - Jean Pierre DICK / Damian FOXALL - 0
2. HUGO BOSS - Alex THOMSON / Andrew CAPE - 194
3. TEMENOS 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele PARET- 1622
4. MUTUA MADRILENA - Javier SANSO / Pachi RIVERO - 1955
5. EDUCACION SIN FRONTERAS - Servane ESCOFFIER / Albert BARGUES - 3120

Abandoned - VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT - Roland JOURDAIN / Jean Luc NELIAS
Abandoned - ESTRELLA DAMM - Guillermo ALTADILL / JONATHAN MCKEE
Abandoned - DELTA DORE - Jérémie BEYOU / Sidney GAVIGNET
Abandoned - PRB - Vincent Riou / Sebastien JOSSE

In Quotes – Alex Thomson, Hugo Boss: “Ho, ho, ho – Merry Christmas! It’s been an aggressive night with big, dark clouds and lots of wind. We haven’t had time to do much (for Christmas) apart from drink a bottle of champagne and open a couple of presents. Later we’ll have a freeze-dried roast lamb and vegetables!”
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 January 2008 )
 
Racing sailboat may lose keel in middle of Indian Ocean PDF Print E-mail
Boats
Written by Mike Marks   
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Drum loses keel in Fastnet. YM News ImageDecember 19 2007 - Somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean, one week away from the nearest port, Dominique Wavre and Michele Paret are sailing on Temenos II in the Barcelona World Race.  Their keel is threatening to fall off.  My thoughts go out to them and I think about Simon LeBon, former lead singer of Duran Duran.  During the 1985 Fastnet race in England the keel fell off of LeBon's 78 foot maxi-yacht Drum. The boat capsized and LeBon and his crew were trapped inside it for forty minutes. They broke through the hull and clambered on top of the overturned vessel. See the image at right. All were fortunately rescued. Drum didn't sink and was salvaged. After being fitted with a new keel Drum went on to more races including the Whitbread round the world race later that year. Drum was designed for speed rather than safety.  The hull was made light so that it would plane on top of the water.  The engineers who calculated the strength required around the keel obviously blew the calculation.  But, to be fair, in the early 1980's the concept of a light weight 78' ocean racing sailboat with a planing hull was relatively new. Limits were still being tested. It's harder to understand the problem arising today.

Here are links to the keel story and other boating stories from around the world:

  • Round the world sailboat racers risk losing keel in middle of Indian Ocean: - Stuff
  • Powerboat with zero carbon footprint to seeks to set around the world speed record -  Metro UK
  • German swan breaks off affair with plastic boat  for love with a real man:   - ShortNews.com
  • X-41 voted best racer/cruiser sailboat for 2008  - SailWorld.com

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Last Updated ( Saturday, 05 July 2008 )
 
Surfin' Frosty PDF Print E-mail
Surfing News
Written by Mike Marks   
Saturday, 15 December 2007
surfin' frosty
Surfin' Frosty by Wayne Richardson


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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 16 January 2008 )
 
Bali climate conference ends with weak agreement PDF Print E-mail
Global Warming
Written by Mike Marks   
Saturday, 15 December 2007
UN Conference on Climate ChangeThe UN Climate Change Conference has wrapped up in Bali. For most of the conference the United States stood in the way of an agreement among the 190 attending countries. An agreement was finally reached following an impassioned speech by Al Gore in which he told the delegates that a new administration was coming soon to Washing ton. "You must anticipate that [things will change]" he advised.  Meaningful pressure was put on US intransigence by a threat from European nations to boycott climate talks hosted by the Bush Administration in Hawaii next month. (These guys sure go to nice places to chat it up). The problem comes down to this - the US wants developing nations such as India and China to share the pain in reducing greenhouse gas emissions because in the near future China and India will emit more CO2 than the US. Those nations say that the developed countries had a free pass for over 100 years and should take the lead.  The agreement that was reached doesn't require anyone to do anything.  But it does formally acknowledge that C02 emissions are a global problem and that all of the countries in the world will need work toward making serious reductions. This is a necessary step toward real action. Here's the story from the NY Times

On another note, Al Gore has finished energy renovations on his home.  The 80 year old mansion now uses solar and geothermal energy sources in addition to compact flourescent bulbs and the like.  Here's the story on msnbc.com  I take back my previous snipe of hypocrisy.  It's nice to see words matching deeds.  As for my winter fires... I'll commit in writing right here and now that I'll never buy a Gulfstream G-5 and fly it solo.


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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 16 January 2008 )
 
Captain Kidd ship found off Dominican island PDF Print E-mail
Beach News
Written by Chris   
Friday, 14 December 2007

The Quedah Merchant, a ship captured by the pirate (or was it privateer?) Captain Kidd has been found untouched in ten feet of water off Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic. "When I first looked down and saw it, I couldn't believe everybody missed it for 300 years," said Charles Beeker, a scuba-diving archaeologist who teaches at Indiana University. "I've been on thousands of wrecks and this is one of the first where it's been untouched by looters." The site will be turned into a national park. Captain Kidd sailed the entire length of the East Coast of the United States. It is rumoured that he buried treasure on several beaches between the Carolinas & Cape Cod.

Here's the story of the wreck.

More info on Captain Kidd from Wikipedia
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 05 January 2008 )
 
Fin whale takes a big gulp PDF Print E-mail
Sea Creatures
Written by Mike Marks   
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Fin whale, NOAA imageCarl Zimmer writes a great piece for NY Times about the feeding habits of whales.  Consider how much food it takes for an 80 ton fin whale to stay fat and happy.  Nick Pyenson and colleagues at UC Berkeley created the first detailed biomechanical model of a feeding fin whale. A fin whale dives 600 feet deep and in the course of its dive comes to a full stop in three seconds by opening its lower jaws until they hang perpendicular to its body.   The inside of the mouth has pleats and expands like a parachute. When the whale stops it has in its mouth 18,000 gallons of water and, hopefully, a dense cloud of krill.  It strains the water through baleen and captures the krill, typically about twenty pounds worth. It takes four hours for the whale to gather a full day's worth of food.


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Last Updated ( Saturday, 12 April 2008 )
 
More hurricanes forecast for 2008 PDF Print E-mail
Beach News
Written by Mike Marks   
Tuesday, 11 December 2007

There should be 25% more hurricanes than average next year.  That's the forecast by the Colorado State University Department of Atmospheric team of Philip Klotzbach and William Gray.  Gray and Klotzbach predicted that this year would see more major hurricanes than average... and were wrong... by reason of intensity.  There were, in fact, more named storms this year than average but fewer of them developed into major storms.

More hurricanes forecast for 2008  Cayman Compass
Rough hurricane season in 2008 Philadelphia Inquirer
Chris Mooney discusses Klotzbach and Gray forecasts thedailygreen
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 16 January 2008 )
 
MA Surfrider to Host Snowrider Event Feb 23-24 PDF Print E-mail
Surfing News
Written by Mike Marks   
Monday, 10 December 2007
Save the Date as the Massachusetts Surfrider Chapter will be hosting a Snowrider Event up at Sugarbush, Vermont the entire weekend of February 23, 2008.

This is a killer chance for all SR East Coast Chapters to get together and build some camaraderie as they bring the message of the water cycle and “Sea to Summit” to skiers and riders on the slopes. All participating Chapters are encouraged to bring their Campaigns and stoke to the slopes. Each year we talk with dozens and dozens of skiers and riders hailing from all corners of the Northeast who want to find out how to get involved with their local Chapter. We would be stoked if any participating volunteers would host a table and sync up with the public. It’s also a great chance to do something fun and constructive with other members outside of your own chapter – think about a road trip and rip’n it up in VT!

There will be discounted lift tickets, reduced rates on lodging, an après’ party at The Castle Rock Pub with plenty of loot and give-a-ways for all those who attend.

Marc Angelillo and Carol Tobian of the Massachusetts Surfrider Chapter are coordinating this event and teaming up with the Sugarbush Resort, N’EAST Magazine and a number of green industry manufacturers like Ocean Minded, Billabong, Smith & Peak Organic adding more stoke to the event.

Please let them know if you are interested by contacting them at m.angelillo@att.net or caroltobian@yahoo.com.

Don’t forget to check out the Sugarbush website at www.Sugarbush.com for the latest skiing and riding conditions. They now are open 100% and its good !!!


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Last Updated ( Friday, 14 December 2007 )
 
My Greatest Global Warming Sin PDF Print E-mail
Global Warming
Written by Mike Marks   
Sunday, 02 December 2007
Tomorrow the world is meeting in Bali for the UN conference on climate change.  Nice venue. I wouldn’t mind being in Bali right now. Except for a few die hard deniers like Rush Limbaugh, the debate about whether or not the earth is warming is pretty much over. Deniers like Limbuagh point to selected data points to say that nothing’s happening (or even that the earth is actually cooling).  For example, on this December 2nd day on Cape Cod it’s roughly 10F below average.  Despite today’s cold, this Fall on Cape Cod has been atypically warm. In any case, Cape Cod is only a single data point. We’re talking about global climate change so we need to take a global view. That view is simply alarming. Greenland ice sheets are melting and moving at rates far higher than previous worst case scenarios.  Those ice sheets hold a lot of water and could, by melting and moving off of land and into the sea, cause sea levels to rise six feet by the end of this century.  In An Inconvenient Truth Al Gore makes the heartening point that the world came together to fight CFC production and that damage to the ozone layer is being slowly reversed.  Maybe Bali will be the first step for the world to truly come together and fight Global Warming.

Even though I think Limbaugh is seriously misguided in his views of climate change (among other things) he does make some good points about the hypocrisies of many of the people who are leading the fight against it. I think Al Gore’s use of carbon offsets is disingenuous. If you want to lecture people on reducing their carbon footprints then you should lead by example and reduce your own… in a real way like by moving into a house that has less than twenty rooms and 10,000 square feet (Al Gore’s) and into something more energy efficient like a 4,000 square foot ranch house that’s described as a “model of environmental rectitude” (George W. Bush’s home in Crawford).

My family lives in a 2,000 square foot house with a lot of windows and half baked insulation.  Our biggest global warming sin is that during the cold months, from late Fall through early Spring, we have a fire in an open fireplace almost every night.  We burn a cord and a half of wood each year simply because we like it.  We like lying down next to the warm fireplace to watch TV and fight for the spot closest to the hearth. It’s not efficient in any way. A wood stove would actually heat the house, but the aesthetic would be gone.  We’d miss the sounds and smell and look.  So… just because we like it… not because we need it… we burn 1.5 cords of wood a year.. I feel guilty about it, but not guilty enough to stop. I tell my lefty-granola eating enviro-minded friends about this sin and all of them give me a pass. I say, “you know, I could drive a Hummer and have less environmental impact” and they look at me and smile and say, yeah, but… a fire is sooo nice.  It‘s not the same.” But on the environmental balance sheet I think it is. I don’t like oversized SUV’s because I think they threaten my safety on the highway and take up too much space in parking lots.  But… with regard to the environment… I’m not in a position to throw stones.  Few of us are.  But all of us are willing to do things that don’t affect the quality of our lives. The trick in fighting global warming is for us to find ways we can make positive changes that don’t consist of denial.

Here are some selected headlines from the past week: 

  


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Last Updated ( Monday, 03 December 2007 )
 
Nantucket scallopers having good season but still crabby PDF Print E-mail
Fishing News
Written by Mike Marks   
Thursday, 29 November 2007

Nantucket scallopers are having a good season but they're still crabby.  The cost of living on the gold-plated isle is too high for regular working folks.  Speaking of crabs, crab season in the Pacific Northwest begins on December 1. The weather is turning colder all across the country. In Minnesota the ice on lakes and ponds is thick enough for ice fishing. Here in New England cold weather is forecast but the lakes and ponds won't see ice for a while yet. Maybe warmer climes make people crazy. A guy in Southern California was mad that a sea lion stole his bait... so... he did what a psycho would do and assualted the sea lion with a knife.  The unfortunate creature was euthanized.  

Nantucket scallopers having a good season Cape Cod Times
Crab season opening on Dec 1 in Pacific Northwest Curry Pilot
Minnesota's ice thick enough for ice fishing   West Central Tribune
SoCal man stabs sea lion for stealing bait AP

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 November 2007 )
 
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