The Great White Sharks are Still Here

Posted on September 2, 2017September 3, 2017 by Dusty Roads

Great White Sharks Hang out off Cape Cod

The sharks of Cape Cod aren’t leaving anytime soon. Our vacations may be over but according to Dr Greg Skomal of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy August and September are active months for our Great Whites.

It’s been A busy August

With a cool spring Shark season took its time ramping up but August was a busy month.

July 31: A Great White tried to snack on one of the research cameras.
On August 10: Chatham beach goers watch a real life “Jaws” as a Great White chomped a seal in half in clear view of the beaches.
August 11: Whale Watchers spotted 2 Great Whites feasting on a dead minke whale
August 12 : A fisherman had his catch stolen by a shark. The video became an internet sensation
August 21 A Shark enjoyed a seal lunch as beach goes looked on
August 24 A shark tasted a paddle board off Marconi Beach.

Great White Shark

Staying Safe with Great White Sharks

There are a few things you can do to stay safe with these apex predators in the water.

Avoid swimming with the seals
Swim or surf in groups
Stay in Shallow water
Don’t wear shiny jewelry

Survey Says…..

The good news is that even with this shark activity the beach going public remains fascinated by the sharks. The Polls and surveys show that public opinion is against the politician’s ill advised suggestion that the sharks be culled. According to Chatham natives, at least some of the beaches may be monitored by balloons equipped with cameras to provide an early warning system.

2 More Months

If the past is any indication we’re looking at 2 more months of Great White activity. The season winds down off Cape Cod at the end of October. I guess the Great Whites don’t like our winter weather any more than I do.

White Shark

The Day has A Seal of Approval

Posted on August 29, 2017August 30, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

The Seals of Cape Cod

Nothing like spending a day with herd of gray seals in Chatham, Cape Cod. I confess I didn’t just want to see the seals. I thought there might be a small chance that I’d get a glimpse of a Great White Shark. It’s been 7 years since I’ve been back to see the seals so I figured it was about time. Of course it meant another weekend drive over one of the bridges but I was hoping I’d be going against the traffic. Turns out I was. The Sunday exodus from the Cape had route 6, the Cape Highway, backed up for miles leaving the cape.

Beachcomber Seal Tours

I’d called Beachcomber Seal Tours before I started for the cape. They said they had room for me on the 12 pm tour. I knew it would be close but I jumped in the car and headed off. With luck and traffic on my side I arrived with 10 minutes to spare! The folks at Beachcomber Seal Tours are very warm and welcoming. They make sure the children are fitted with life jackets and everyone gets a “pit stop” before we are all loaded onto a bus for the trip to the marina.

Chatham Harbor and waterways

The little orange boat holds about 29 people. We boarded by climbing a little step stool and stepping over the side. The captain stands at a center console to pilot the boat. It makes it a little hard to hear his commentary but the fresh sea air in your face on a sunny day is a pretty awesome way to spend a summer afternoon.

Seals, seals and more seals

We passed Nauset Beach, recently the scene of a Great White sighting. As we swung toward North Beach the seals were suddenly right in front of us. They looked like they were piled on top of each other but our captain explained that each one has it place. A steady moaning sound came from the piles of seals. A few were in the water. They would rise up from the bottom and then sink back down. This is how they sleep. True enough, none of them had their eyes open!

Pile of seals

Before heading back we took a run past the shark buoy and Lighthouse Beach.

Shark ping buoy

Too soon it was time to return to the dock. The very successful 90 minute tour was at an end. No great whites but lots of seals.

Shark!

Posted on November 29, 2016November 29, 2016 by Dusty Roads

You hear about shark attacks. California, Florida, Hawaii even Cape Cod but the shark attack off a Maui beach while we were there seemed to carry more punch.

Maybe that’s because the headline “Woman bitten by shark off South Maui beach” was on the front page, above the fold on Tuesday , November 15. Guess what I was scheduled to do that day? I was going snorkeling. Yup I was going into that shark infested water to do my imitation of a great white whale.

shark

I wasn’t even sure I could still swim! Its been so long. I tested out the pool first and found that I’m pretty buoyant. Its all that fat you know.

Don’t laugh, I kid you not! When I used to scuba dive I’d start the season with 30 lbs on my weight belt. As the season progressed and I toned up and lost weight I dropped not only body weigh but lead weight from my weight belt. By the end of the season I’d be down to around 18 lbs of lead at my waist.

Right now I have more to fear from a shark attack than I do drowning. I bounce right back to the surface! Should be an interesting afternoon.

great-open-mouth-shark-portrait-tattoo-1

But back to the Shark bite victim. Karnaole Beach is 31 miles from Ka’anapali Beach where we were staying. That’s if you follow the coastline, less if you just flip that tail and make a bee line.

She was 58 years old but she was a tough cookie. She told everyone to get out of the water as well as getting herself to shore! She was quoted as saying this wasn’t going to keep her out of the water. I guess most shark bites off Maui occur in October so this was a straggler.

Well, that’s all I have to say on the subject of sharks. I plan to get back to all the fun we’re having.

Until then,

aloha

Maui Ocean Center

Posted on November 14, 2016November 14, 2016 by Dusty Roads

One of the “perks” of attending the resort orientations is that they gave nice discounts if you sign up that day.

We knew we wanted to go to the Maui Aquarium so when they gave us a 2 for 1 price and it was valid for a week we jumped at it. Plus they gave us coupons for a gift at the aquarium. With passes in hand we hopped in the car and headed down RT 30. The Aquarium is right on RT 30 next to the Coast Guard station.

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This Aquarium has the world’s largest collections of live Pacific corals. There is a mix of indoor and outdoor displays covering such diverse animals as sharks, turtles, stingrays and other rare marine life found nowhere else in the world.

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Outside there was live entertainment while we looking at the outdoor exhibits and later enjoyed some ice water from the refreshment stand.

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We plan on going back when Kathy gets here but this will be a preview.

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Inside there are great exhibits, from the octopus to the white and black tip reef sharks.

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There are benches strategically placed where you can sit in front of the huge viewing window and relax.

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As we turned one corner we found a crowd sitting in bleachers. They were watching a diver and another employee was narrating. It was really geared to the children who were sitting mesmerized. But as an adult I can say I enjoyed it too.

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Then it was on to the “Tunnel” which is just a big plastic tube running through the huge tank. Fish, sharks and rays along with the colorful little fish swim over you under you and beside you.

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Gives a nice perspective. The Maui Aquarium is one of the top 25 Aquariums in the US according to trip adviser.

A Seal Of Approval

Posted on August 16, 2013August 16, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Great White Sharks are prowling the shores of Cape Cod once again as the seal population continues to explode. If there was any doubt that the great predators are here to stay it was dispelled when the discovery channel aired Shark Week and the Great Whites of Cape Cod were prominently featured.

I would still like to see a Great White Shark but I would hate to have to go to South Africa to see “air jaws” when we have our own crop of “Jaws” right here at home. At first they were just hanging out in Chatham eating the seals of Monemoy Island but now it appears that they are spreading northward toward Orleans and Truro.

So on a sunny day last week I headed to Chatham to see for myself. My last visit to the seals on Monemoy was back in 2010.

A lot of changes can happen in 3 years. The first change was that the little shuttle isn’t running. I’m still researching ways to get to the island but in the meantime I called the Beachcomber Seal Tours and made a reservation for an afternoon trip.

The tour didn’t leave from the Fish Pier this time. They said that parking had become impossible there so they had us go to their marine showroom and then shuttled us to the boat in a green trolley.

We had a full boat for the afternoon trip. The boats stay in the harbor so are pretty small, certainly nothing like the whale watching boats. As we loaded a seal popped it’s head up right by the dock.

Even though we could say we’d seen a seal, that wasn’t part of the tour. We actually had a bit of a ride to get to the harbor near the seals. As we approached North Beach we saw the first of the seals.

The tide can swing up to 9 ft. here between high and low tide. The tide was still low so the sand bars were just below the surface and the seals were sitting in the water on these submerged sand bars.