Shark attacks, fishing lines, hooks, and other perils of the sea landed these sea turtles in the Port Aransas Animal Rehabilitation Keep.
After various treatments, lots of rest, and nourishment, the ARK released 5 loggerhead turtles back into the gulf at Marker 35 on Saturday. They flipper-crawled, without much hesitation, to the surf, dove down to the next sandbar and swam out to sea.
Good luck friends.
Nice but bumpy paddle to the jetty yesterday…just missed the big wind. Kayakers were entertained by several dolphin just before I paddled to the tip. And downwinder paddle to a shell beach off the ship channel a few days earlier was also pretty sweet.
The fish are out, they’re big, but high tides makes the hooking tricky. We paddled down Island Mooring’s Piper Channel to Marker 15 and got a ride back.
Kitesurfing vs. Kiteboarding. What’s the difference? Depends on who you ask but, these guys do it all.
One moment they’re doing aerials past the 3rd sandbar, the next moment a dude comes ripping by in 6 inches of water. He slows down just enough to switch out his board type; A squared off board with straps is slung off and replaced with a pint-sized surfboard he snatches from a pile of sargassum. And, this is done in seconds without losing a grip on the kite reins and he rips out over the surf again.
Even more amazing is… how do you keep your feet in contact with the surfboard while a car-sized wing is pulling you 30 mph across the chop? That’s a mystery to me. 
Dry winds, heat, swell, flies, bees, stingy things, green water, wave plumes, surfers, SUP’ers, sunhats, and gulls. It’s all good!
Sargassum is a floating, planktonic species of seaweed common in warm waters.
This year it is super thick and April’s bloom has been amazing. The fresh crops are beautiful and I’m still looking for a baby seahorse. There’s definitely a smelly period, but once it’s dried out the plants prevent erosion and become one with the sand.
This is the 15th year Port Aransas has hosted Texas SandFest, the largest professional sand sculpture contest in world. It’s a qualifying contest for the World Championship Sand Sculpting Competition, this year held in Washington state.
I had my favorites, “Mr. Peanut”, “Easter Island”, the “Bus Stop Stranger”. Our island has great sand and everyday can be a sandcastle building one!
A little less windy and a little cleaner later in the day.
Sometimes we surf the waves and sometimes the waves surf us. It was another wild surf day thanks to the steady 20 mph north wind. The Port A gulf was gorgeous!
Silent Slideshow
Marinedreams 