Wednesday 18th may
What a wildly wonderfully windless waveless Wednesday! Great for swimming , not so much for the surf comp at north Steyne today … the silence, calm & serenity as we entered the water moments after “drinks express” , watching the sun rise and the moon set was breathtakingly beautiful… today felt like Mother Nature was giving us a huge hug …
Water temperature: 20.5
air temperature at 6:30am : 13.3 degrees
conditions: to quote MasterChef judge melissa: “smooth and silly”… sarah from sales seemingly taking a break letting people immerse in the moment… clear & calm
the "vibe": a bit of awe & wonder today … full of gratitude for perfect conditions & excited to maybe see the fever of cow nose rays, and of course our cuttlefish friends
creatures spotted: fish, rays (sadly no cow nose by the time I left the beach), cuttlefish, wobbygongs & flitters of sapphire blue bioluminescence aka baby jellies waiting to grow
2 birthdays today… the amazing Linda Goodwin who has coached & helped so many b&b swimmers to build confidence…
And happy birthday to the wonderful effervescent kate full of infectious energy & happiness …. Iron woman triathlete, lifesaver & all around fabulous friend!
the swim across the bay as the sun rose was beautiful … sun on water like diamonds
Paddle boarders & skis out in force
Cuttlefish seem to be the talk of the bay this week - they are back, performing their little dances to attract other cuttlefish as its mating season ... winter is near although the water temperature seems to be resisting the temptation to drop.... its about 2-3 degrees higher than the same time last year so make of that what you will. We are not complaining and deferring the inevitable breathless squeals as that first wave engulfs your otherwise dry body and you become one with the sea..
a few Cuttlefish fun facts (Thanks National Geographic!):
- They are invertebrates like octopus and Squid, the cephalopod (greek or "hefad/foot") family with 8 arms and 2 long tentacles attached to their head rather than their body
- they have three hearts (capable of LOTS of love)
- their favourite foods are fish (refer Laineys famous photo of a cuttle eating a grouper), crabs and shrimp
- they are very intelligent and although colour blind, are adept at changing colour and texture to camoflage, to hunt or avoid being hunted or to attract mates
- they have "W" shaped pupils and can see behind them and switch between peripheral and forward vision
- they cleverly control their buoyancy via the "cuttlebone" (the white bone that canarys like, and that is found in the bay at the end of "cuttlefish season") which contains tiny holes into which the cuttlefish adds liquids and gases to swim up or down, and using jet propulsion to propel forwards and backwards
- they have the largest brain to size ratio of all invertebrates, and being so intelligent, can count & remember where, what and when they last ate... a memory trait shared with humans.
- i'll leave the biology lessons on mating rituals to Lainey for another blog - suffice to say, males have been known to resort to trickery (and camoflage) to attract females, who in turn leave the males wondering which one was lucky enough to father her offfspring!
swimmers today displayed the cuttlefish interpretative choreography
Luke & speedy chris
DC
And some new canine b&b friends:
thembile (pronounced temby) - an angelic halo surrounds her in this photo - not long after she broke away to chase seagulls on to the beach … lifesaver and Manmaid dan to the rescue !
Napoleon
Mer dog chance
Fish parties are back: old wives
Yellowtail
& little ones
And todays parting shot… if only all days were like today .. .. it was hard to get out of bed pre dawn when it was freezing cold but I’m so glad I did …
Have a wonderful day, stay safe, look out for each other, stay kind & enjoy the beauty Mother Nature has provided us,
Jocelyn
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