Huge seas at Knysna (15 June 2014)

Below are some photos sent to us by our crew from the Knysna base. The seas are so big that the base’s storm gates have washed away and the boat shed has been completely flooded.

According to the South African Weather Service: High seas with wave heights from 6 to 9m is expected between Cape Agulhas and East London at times.

- NSRI

Opvolg: Mosselbaai - Seiljag vergaan, een droom sneuwel

Terug in Hartenbos is Darrel en Hesta Hansen verlig om weer veilig bymekaar te wees, nadat Darrel se seiljag, die INGRID, Maandagnag naby Oesterbaai vergaan het. Foto: Nickey le Roux

MOSSELBAAI NUUS - "Dis die einde van hierdie droom, maar daar lê nog baie voor," sê Darrel Hansen (62), amper profeties, na die noue ontkoming waarin sy seiljag in stormsee by Oesterbaai vergaan het en hy dit ongedeerd, maar naak en sonder sy prostese, tot op die strand gemaak het.

Hy het 17 jaar gelede 'n been in 'n motorfietsongeluk verloor. Tog glo Darrel Hansen die Here het 'n plan met hom.
"Nou begin ons net weer van voor af."

Hierdie avonturier was voornemens om binnekort 'n wêreldreis met sy seiljag te onderneem en die vaart na Port Elisabeth was 'n oefenlopie.
"Ek het Saterdag uit Mosselbaai vertrek, op pad na Port Elisabeth. Ek het sedert Sondagaand baie wind en rowwe see beleef en het daarom besluit om Maandagaand skuiling in Oesterbaai teen die stormwind te soek. "Voordat ek kon anker gooi, het ek terwyl ek onder in die kajuit was, 'n vreemde dreuning gehoor. Buite op die dek, het ek omstreeks 22:00 'n wal water gesien aankom. Ek het die brander sien breek en geweet daar is nie wegkomkans nie.

"Op daardie stadium, het ek nog 'n harnas aangehad. Die eerste brander het my van die seiljag afgegooi. Ek het weer aan boord gekom en die harnas afgehaak.

"Daar was weer 'n groot brander op pad en ek het op die ingewing besluit om die sowat 300 meter land toe te probeer swem.
"In die water, het ek besef die oliepak wat ek aan het, trek my onder. Die golwe het my rondgeslaan en getuimel. Ek het van al my klere ontslae geraak en kon onmiddellik beter swem," aldus mnr Hansen.

Hy dra nie sy prostese aan boord nie, het mnr Hansen gesê.

Hy het omtrent 20 minute tot 'n halfuur gespook om die strand te bereik en het daar 'n plastieksakkie opgespoor wat hy ter wille van kuisheid om sy lyf kon bind.

"Ek was só moeg! Ek het Saterdagaand nie veel geslaap nie, en Sondagaand glad nie geslaap nie.
"Ek het later gehoor die baai is bekend vir baie sterk strome. Die krag waarteen die see terugtrek het my laat voel dis 10 tree vorentoe en 30 tree terug. Op die strand het ek aan die slaap geraak en het van die koue wakker geword."

Om warm te bly, het hy maar sy lyf met sy hande bly vryf.

Hoewel mnr Hansen die huise kon sien, en sowat een kilometer in die rigting van die huise gekruip het, kon hy nie die huise bereik nie.
"'n Oom en tannie wat langs die see gaan stap het, het sowat 08:00 Dinsdagoggend gehoor ek roep en hulle het die NSRI ontbied."
Weens die storm die vorige nag, het inwoners nie opgemerk dat die INGRID vergaan nie.

Volgens mnr Mark Mans, stasiebevelvoerder van die NSRI Oesterbaai, is vrywilligers omstreeks 08:00 op Dinsdag, 6 Mei geaktiveer om mnr Hansen by te staan. Hulle het mnr Hansen naak op die strand gekry. Hy is na die huis van mnr Choppie Lindström van die NSRI geneem, waar hy op 'n heerlike warm ontbyt getrakteer is.

"As daar maar meer mense soos Choppie Lindström en sy familie was; ek is hulle soveel dank verskuldig!" aldus mnr Hansen.
Van die INGRID, 'n 8.2 meter seiljag wat in 1952 vir die eerste keer te water gelaat is, en deur mnr Hansen as 'n 'classic' beskryf is, het niks oorgebly nie. Hy het die seiljag maar vyf maande gehad en sê sy was 'n 'stewige, seevaardige bootjie'.

Uiteindelik het mnr Lindström vir mnr Hansen tot by die tolhek op die N2 geneem, waar sy vrou hom ingewag het.

Hesta, mnr Hansen se vrou, sê sy het by haar skoonma van die voorval gehoor en het onmiddellik planne gemaak om in Oesterbaai by Darrel uit te kom.

Van hierdie droom het waarskynlik niks gekom nie, maar daar is weinig keer aan Darrel Hansen.

Puin van die 8.2 meter seiljag, INGRID, was oor die strand versprei en daar was nie veel wat gered kon word nie. Foto: Rowan Jackson

ARTIKEL: NICKEY LE ROUX, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER-JOERNALIS

SEA RESCUE – Wilderness – Saturday, 12th April, 2014. Child drowns in lagoon:

Hennie Niehaus, NSRI Wilderness station commander, said:

"At 17h49, Saturday, 12th April, NSRI Wilderness volunteer sea rescue duty crew were activated following reports of an 8 year old local male missing at the lagoon on Touws River (adjacent to the N2 Freeway), Wilderness.

"Our NSRI volunteer sea rescue duty crew and the SA Police Services responded to the scene where as NSRI volunteers arrived a female bystander had located and was in the process of recovering the body of the child from the water.

“Our NSRI medics commenced Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on the child who was found to be breathless and pulseless from suspected drowning and the WC Government Health EMS were summoned to the scene and advanced life support CPR continued in the ambulance en route to hospital where extensive CPR efforts continued in hospital but sadly after all efforts to resuscitate the child were exhausted he was declared deceased by doctors.

"it was established that the 8 year old had disappeared under water while swimming with friends.

“While the alarm was raised a search had commenced along the banks of the lagoon. A female bystander located and recovered the body of the child from the lagoon after she happened to come across the body of the child floating semi submerged in the water (as Sea Rescue were arriving on the scene).

“Police have opened an inquest docket."

“Sincerest Condolences are expressed to the family of the deceased child." 

-ENDS- 

Released by: 

Craig Lambinon

SEA RESCUE COMMUNICATIONS

Knysna Estuary being plundered

SANParks bio-technician Cleo Schroeder and intern Bronson Jansen man the research craft in the Knysna Lagune near Lake Brenton. SANParks' Rondevlei scientist, Kyle Smith took this photo while in the water to change temperature loggers.

KNYSNA NEWS - Four people, two of them minors, were nabbed for illegally harvesting creatures from the Knysna Estuary near Phantom Forest on Saturday, March 15, and 28 mud crabs were confiscated as SANPark rangers are stepping up against individuals who fish without permits or poach forbidden species. In January, between 15 and 20 individuals were also caught and prosecuted, reports Owen Govender, senior section ranger in the Knysna marine area of the Garden Route National Park.

"The [most recent] case is now in the hands of law enforcement authorities in Knysna," confirmed SANparks communication officer, Nandi Mgwadlamba.. "We are proud of the the fact that this is the second time this year illegal poachers are caught. Knysna ambassadors have been encouraging anglers to stick to the rules to protect the ecological health of the estuary and also ensure there is no over-fishing."

Ongoing research in the Garden Route, conducted by Scientific Services as part of SANParks' efforts to monitor recreational and subsistence fishing, continue to show that catch rates of certain species are on the decline.

Kyle Smith, one of the Garden Route National Park's scientists, says that many linefish (those caught by rod and reel) are considered to be collapsed.

"This means that the adult populations of these fish have dramatically declined and are at dangerously low levels," says Smith. "National assessments conducted by governmental agencies or universities, which look at national trends in catches indicate that at least 19 fish species are currently collapsed whilst a further 11 appear to be over-exploited and heading towards collapse."
According to Smith, examples of collapsed fish species include the Dusky Kob and White Steenbras. More information is needed to confirm the status of those fish that appear to be over-exploited and potentially heading towards collapse, but current trends indicate a decline. The White Musselcracker is one such species whose numbers are decreasing.

"The population status of only 56 (40%) of our most important linefish species is known and many of these assessments are out-dated, having been conducted in the late 1990s and mid 2000s."

He warns that although some recent population assessments suggest an improvement in some fish numbers there is certainly no room for complacency.

"Importantly my research doesn't in itself indicate fish populations, but the population status of fish stocks is carried out by DAFF and looks at catch rates from a wide area. My work is more about understanding what the current Knysna fishery looks like - who is fishing, where they are fishing, why they are fishing and what is being caught? I don't necessarily work with population numbers."

Smith emphasises, "The re-building of fish stocks is in the interest of everyone and requires the combined efforts of fishermen, consumers and management authorities. If you love to eat fish or just to catch fish, it is in your own best interest to obey the regulations. After all, the regulations are there to try and promote sustainable use - not over-use! It is in the anglers' own best interest to obey the rules so that there will always be fish available for them. We are not just about catching poachers or coming down on individuals exploiting our resources, but want to prioritise building a mutually beneficial relationship where both humans and nature prosper."

- Knysna Plett Herald

Rooigety in Mosselbaai

Rooigety is in die baai opgemerk op Woensdag, 5 Maart. Foto: Verskaf

MOSSELBAAI NUUS - Mosselbaaiers word gewaarsku om nie skulpvis vars uit die see te eet terwyl die rooigety voortduur nie. Op Woensdag, 5 Maart, is rooigety veral baie duidelik in die baai opgemerk.

Tog sorg die rooigety snags vir 'n skouspel van fosfor-liggies op die branders. Fosforliggies is 'n algemene verskynsel wat saans tydens rooigety gesien kan word wanneer die branders breek.

Rooigety word gewoonlik veroorsaak deur verskeie spesies mikroskopiese, eensellige alge, oftewel dinoflagellate. 'n Toename in hierdie eensellige alge veroorsaak dat die suurstof in die water gou opgebruik word, wat daartoe lei dat baie visse doodgaan.

Rooigetye kom in warm oseane en in kalm kuswaters voor, gewoonlik die tyd tussen die einde van die warm maande en die begin van die reënseisoen.

Dit kan 'n paar uur tot etlike maande duur, afhangende van heersende toestande in die gebied.


- Mossel Bay Advertiser

Fewer shark attacks in 2013, but more fatalities

Photo credit: Ken Bondy/Flickr

Shark attacks worldwide in 2013 were the lowest since 2009, but fatalities were above average, a new study reports. Seventy-two unprovoked attacks occurred worldwide, the lowest global total since 2009 when there were 67 attacks. However, in 2013, were 10 fatalities worldwide, which is a higher number than the 10-year average from 2003-2012.

In the year 2013, in the United States, there were 47 shark attacks. That number is lower than the 2012 total of 54, which, by the way, was the highest yearly total of the current century.

Two localities, Western Australia (six deaths in the past four years) and Reunion Island (five deaths in three years) in the southwest Indian Ocean, remained shark-attack hot spots, while places where shark activity is typically rare or nonexistent also experienced attacks, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File report.

“When sudden increases in shark attacks occur, usually human factors are involved that promote interactions between sharks and people,” says George Burgess, curator of the file at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

“Shark populations are not in a growth phase by any means, so a rise in the number of sharks is not to blame. However, we can predict with some reliability that shark attacks will concurrently rise with the growth of human populations, a trend we saw throughout the past century.”

In recent years, globalization, tourism, and population growth worldwide have led to shark attacks in historically low-contact areas like Reunion Island, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, Solomon Island, and the small island Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, which in 2013 saw its first recorded shark attack. As more people enter the water in these areas, they become equal opportunity locations for shark-human interaction.

Remote shark attacks more deadly

“Globalization of societies and the ease of modern travel means that we have access to places that have never been frequented by tourists before,” Burgess says.

“Remote destinations are not typically medically equipped to handle a serious shark attack. This situation is a key factor in the higher death rate this year. When a shark attack happens in a remote place, the results are going to be more dire than if it happened on a Florida beach, for instance.”

Traditionally leading the world in shark attacks, North American waters saw 34 attacks in 2013 compared with 43 in 2012. Yearly fluctuations in attacks are normal because changes in ocean systems and economics, and human conditions affect the opportunities for humans to encounter sharks, Burgess says.

The 47 US incidents include Hawaii, which is not recorded as occurring in North American waters by the International Shark Attack File database. Florida led the country with 23, followed by Hawaii (13), South Carolina (6) and one each in Alabama, California, North Carolina, Oregon, and Texas.

The single U.S. fatality occurred in Hawaii. Most incidents in Florida occurred in Volusia County (8), a historical hot spot that has experienced more than one-third of Florida’s shark attacks, which is attributable to the heavy draw of surfers and tourists to its beaches, Burgess says.

The 13 attacks recorded in Hawaii were higher than its recent average of 4.3. Spikes occurring over the past two years on the island of Maui could be due to an increase in area surfers, who globally encountered sharks most often in 2013 in 46 percent of reported cases, while swimmers were affected by 31 percent of attacks, followed by divers, with 14 percent.

Revenge killings

Although Australia experienced an average year with 10 attacks and two fatalities, international attention has been drawn to the country regarding incidents in Western Australia that resulted in the controversial reinstatement of government-sanctioned culling hunts for endangered white sharks in December.

“Even if one ignores that an endangered species is involved, the archaic reaction can only be characterized as ‘revenge killings,’” Burgess says. “Although infrequent, shark attacks are high-profile events that excite the emotions of human beings and often impact a community.

“Killing 10 sharks after a death is not the answer as it does not result in reduced attacks. This problem has been faced in other locations around the world and addressed in more effective ways.”

In addition to shark-culling activity in Australia and in Natal, South Africa, shark populations are declining significantly as a result of over-fishing and habitat loss, with 30 million to 70 million sharks killed every year by fisheries. People pose a greater threat to sharks than sharks do to humans, Burgess says.

“Sharks have a lot more to fear from us than we do from them. Statistically, shark attacks are extremely rare, especially considering the number of humans that enter the water each year.”

As in any wilderness experience, it is humans’ responsibility to avoid dangerous situations, or risk meeting a shark and potentially paying the consequences. Scientific research can have an important role in reducing shark attacks by creating a better understanding of the species, Burgess says.

When scientists study sharks and develop more information about how they move and why they attack, it allows us to recommend measures that reduce the chances of sharks and people meeting.

“One-on-one in the ocean, the shark has the advantage. But, by better understanding where and when it is safe to be in the ocean, we can better avoid those encounters.”

EarthSky Via Futurity

Biological Hazard - Red tide reduced - South Africa

KNYSNA NEWS - According to a statement by SANParks, the Knysna Basin Project and Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries have found no evidence of toxicity of the red tide in Knysna.

Of the three types of organisms that could have potentially caused the red tide in Knysna, the dinoflagellate group was identified as dominant.

Recent fish kills and the death of other marine life were due to the unusually rapid fall in dissolved oxygen in the water column. "When any portion of such a large bloom collapses, this can be expected."

The red tide appears to be greatly reduced in Knysna although still evident in Tsitsikamma and surrounds. No incidents of human illness due to the red tide were reported to SANParks, Knysna Municipality or the Knysna Basin Project.

Restaurants were delighted to receive news that the water in the estuary is now safe to use for the storage of filter feeders (mussels and oysters).

Professor Brian Allanson of the Knysna Basin Project says extensive research should continue but partners would have to think about costs associated with such a project.

Doctor Tommy Bornman (South African Environmental Observation Network - SAEON), who last week suspected that the local red tide could be of the same toxic species found in the Algoa Bay area, could not be reached this week to provide results of tests performed by SAEON on Wednesday, February 5.

- Knysna Plett Herald

Alert: Biological Hazard - South Africa

The red tide currently sweeping the southern and eastern Cape coastline is resulting in the widespread death of marine life. A report on the IoL site notes SANParks spokesperson Nandi Mgwadlamba said last week that dead fish, mainly grunters and tiger perch, had been found in the shallow water at Brenton-on-Sea outside Knysna and Robberg at Plettenberg Bay. Dead heart urchins had also been found at Leisure Isle in Knysna. In Port Elizabeth last week, some 80kg of dead fish was collected in the Sardinia Bay area alone. According to the report, Mgwadlamba said people were also failing to heed warnings not to eat the fish. While local marine experts were still trying to determine the toxicity of the organism, they cited the rapid fall in dissolved oxygen in the water column as a probable cause for the death of marine life, the report states.

- IOL

Australia: Spiral of Plankton

While the northern latitudes are bathed in the dull colors and light of mid-winter, the waters of the southern hemisphere are alive with mid-summer blooms. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this natural-color satellite image of a plankton bloom as it appeared at 1:05 p.m. local time on December 30, 2013. The eddy is centered at roughly 40° South latitude and 120° East longitude, about 600 kilometers off the coast of Australia in the southeastern Indian Ocean.
Like land-based plants, phytoplankton require sunlight, water, and nutrients to grow. Sunlight is now abundant in the far southern latitudes, so nutrients are the limiting variable to phytoplankton growth. Open waters of the ocean can appear relatively barren compared to the nutrient-rich waters near the world’s coasts. In the case of the bloom above, the nutrients may have been supplied by the churning action of ocean currents.
As the close-up image shows, an eddy is outlined by a milky green phytoplankton bloom. Eddies are masses of water that typically spin off of larger currents and rotate in whirlpool-like fashion. They can stretch for hundreds of kilometers and last for months. As these water masses stir the ocean, they can draw nutrients up from the deep, fertilizing the surface waters to create blooms in the open ocean. Other times, they carry in nutrients spun off of other currents.
It is possible that the mesoscale eddy and plankton bloom shown above are related to the “great southern coccolithophore belt” (or the “great calcite belt.”) In late southern spring and summer (roughly November to March), satellite instruments detect an abundance of particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) in waters at high latitudes. The PIC is often due to calcium carbonate, which makes up the plate-like shells of microscopic plankton known as coccolithophores. The calcium carbonate gives the water a chalky aquamarine hue.

1. References

2. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences (2012) Eddy/Wind Interactions Stimulate Extraordinary Mid-Ocean Plankton Blooms. Science, Vol. 316 (5827) pp. 1021-1026.
3. NASA Earth Observatory (2000, July 17) Tracking Eddies that Feed the Sea.
4. NASA Earth Observatory (2012, February 11) The Eddy and the Plankton.
5. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (2006, April 13) The Oceans Have Their Own Weather Systems. Oceanus. Accessed January 3, 2014.
6. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (2006, April 13) Ocean Topics: Currents, Gyres, and Eddies. Accessed January 3, 2014.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using data from the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). Caption by Michael Carlowicz, with image interpretation help from Norman Kuring, NASA Ocean Color Group.

Instrument: 

Aqua - MODIS - NASA

Nightmare storm that came from nowhere on the first night of the Cape to Rio race???

Absolutely bull-twang. This storm was observed even before the race started. Somebody slipped up badly. Guess somebody need to find an excuse, but a storm that came from nowhere and yet weather satellites and predictions clearly indicate the position of the storm.  Mind boggling to now say the storm came from nowhere.

Just click on the following link for more information:

Update: Cold Front/Cut-Off Low (4 - 9 January 2014): Severe Weather - Why was the Cape to Rio Yacht Race allowed to start?

Knysna: Possible red tide

KNYSNA NEWS FLASH - South African National Parks (SANParks), the Knysna Municipality and the Knysna Basin Project have confirmed that there is a possibility of a red tide approaching.

Water samples collected from two key points in the Knysna estuary confirm the presence of phytoplankton in the water, said Professor Brian Allanson.

He has found "low numbers that are highly unlikely to cause a bloom".

Authorities have nonetheless cautioned against the fishing of shellfish/mussels in the Knysna estuary until it is declared safe to do so.

"Common types of red tide can kill shellfish, abalone, white mussels and black oysters. Other blooms can be stored in mussels until they become poisonous if eaten by humans. It is for this reason that we are cautioning against fishing mussels in the estuary until it is safe to do so," says Owen Govender, senior section ranger of the Knysna section of the Garden Route National Park.

What are these phytonplankton organisms?
According to a Marine and Coastal Management Guideline from the Department of Environmental Affairs, Phytonplankton are "microscopic, single-celled organisms that float in the sea.

They are able to photosynthesise and form the basis of food chains in the oceans. There are three types of red tide organisms - dinoflagellates, diatoms and ciliates."

Dinoflagellates usually lie dormant on the seabed until they are lifted to the surface during upwelling where the ideal conditions of temperature and light trigger their germination.

Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP), which produces toxins that disrupt normal nerve functions, can be associated closely with dinoflagellate. Symptoms of PSP appear anytime between one and five hours after eating contaminated seafood.

  - Knysna-Plett Herald

Mosselbaai: Vreemde voorwerp spoel op strand uit

 

GROOT-BRAKRIVIER NUUS - 'n Vreemde staal voorwerp het by die mond van Groot-Brakrivier uitgespoel.

Dit is die eerste keer op Dinsdag, 19 November in die see opgemerk.

Die struktuur is ongeveer 19 meter lank. Die onderste 12 meter was, te oordeel aan die skulpdiere en mossels daaraan, vir 'n geruime tyd onder water en waarskynlik geanker.

As enigiemand weet wat die oorsprong van die voorwerp is of aan wie dit behoort, kontak gerus die kantore van die Mossel Bay Advertiser by 044 690 7156 of los 'n boodskap op ons Facebook-blad.

- Mosselbaai Advertiser