Deep breath...
Besides the Gulf, whale sharks are also found in open waters of the tropical oceans and is rarely found in water below 70 °F. Modeling suggests a lifespan of about 80 years, and while measurements have proven difficult, estimates from field data suggest they may live as long as 130 years. Whale sharks have very large mouths and are filter feeders, which is a feeding mode that occurs in only two other sharks, the megamouth shark and the basking shark. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and small fishes. Sharks are terrifying creatures at the best of times, and whale sharks- despite being harmless to humans- is the biggest of all- much larger than the feared Great White (about 1/2 the size of whale sharks). But scientists have just revealed a whole new layer of wonder (and potentially terror) regarding the whale sharks. Here's cnet.com to explain:
Even though whale sharks are harmless to humans, a recent discovery showed that their eyes are covered in teeth. Yep, you read that right. The actual technical term is "dermal denticles." Dermal denticles are essentially tiny structures that look and feel very similar to scales, but are actually teeth. Shark skin, with its rough, sandpaper-like texture are also made up of dermal denticles. These dermal denticles actually help reduce friction in the water, enabling sharks to swim faster.
SURF:
In the interest of public safety, I'm not going to turn on the Emergency Boardriding System this weekend to keep everyone's froth level down. Sure the sun will be out, the surf will be firing, and wearing trunks will be in order. Nope, I'm hoping cooler heads will prevail this weekend and everyone will stay clear of each other, not lay out on the beach, and we will beat this darn virus. So if you show up to surf and it's a zoo, try again later. Don't worry, there will be plenty of surf to go around this holiday weekend.
On that note, hope you got some waves this past week. We had plenty of SW/NW combo surf and the water was relatively warm. The only issue of course was the crowds and strong winds. If you missed it, don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from.
A small but strong storm formed off Antarctica last week and new S swell will start to fill in tomorrow morning. Most beaches will be chest high in the AM and shoulder high by the PM. On the 4th of July, the surf will be firing on all cylinders with overhead sets, warm water, mostly sunny skies, and enormous crowds in the line up. On Sunday, the S swell drops slightly but is joined by NW windswell for more head high+ sets and slightly peakier conditions. All in all, plenty of good surf and astronomical crowds. As far as the sun/water temps/tides go, here's what you need to know:
- Sunrise and sunset:
- 5:46 AM sunrise
- 8:00 PM sunset
- Now that we have sun again, water temps have finally hit 70 degrees. Choose your trunks accordingly.
- And tides are all over the place this weekend:
- 0' at sunrise
- 4' mid-morning
- 2' mid-afternoon
- 6' at sunset
FORECAST:
The S from the weekend backs off slightly but the NW windswell picks up again so we're back to head high surf. On Tuesday the S continues to drop but the NW windswell holds steady so look for more head high sets.
Things start to wind down mid week and by next weekend, it looks pretty small. The tropics haven't kicked into gear yet but there may be a small tropical storm this weekend which could give us chest high sets around Tuesday- but it most likely will be lost amongst the dying S and consistent NW windswell. Make sure to check out Twitter/North County Surf if anything changes between now and then.
BEST BET:
Friday afternoon to Tuesday evening. That's a long stretch of fun to good surf. Enjoy responsibly! (I sound like a beer commercial)
WEATHER:
Just like the up and down tides this weekend, the weather will follow suit. We had high pressure building in from the SE today which will thin out the low clouds/fog this weekend for plenty of sun by mid-day and temps in the mid-70's. By Tuesday, low pressure returns and we have more extensive low clouds at the beaches and partial afternoon clearing at best. Temps will drop down to 70. And with the lack of tropical activity to our S, don't expect any monsoon moisture in our mountains/deserts for the near future. Bummer. Next weekend, models hint at good weather again.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
Just a mere 60 or so miles from the California border, the Gulf of California stretches over 900 miles and supports an extraordinary diversity of marine life, including many species of reef fish, marine turtles, and the vaquita- the world’s smallest porpoise. The Gulf of California is Mexico’s most important fisheries region with commercial species of shrimp, sardine and giant squid. One massive animal that resides in the Gulf is the whale shark. The whale shark is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species and have been seen as large as 50'+. The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate.
Besides the Gulf, whale sharks are also found in open waters of the tropical oceans and is rarely found in water below 70 °F. Modeling suggests a lifespan of about 80 years, and while measurements have proven difficult, estimates from field data suggest they may live as long as 130 years. Whale sharks have very large mouths and are filter feeders, which is a feeding mode that occurs in only two other sharks, the megamouth shark and the basking shark. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and small fishes. Sharks are terrifying creatures at the best of times, and whale sharks- despite being harmless to humans- is the biggest of all- much larger than the feared Great White (about 1/2 the size of whale sharks). But scientists have just revealed a whole new layer of wonder (and potentially terror) regarding the whale sharks. Here's cnet.com to explain:
Even though whale sharks are harmless to humans, a recent discovery showed that their eyes are covered in teeth. Yep, you read that right. The actual technical term is "dermal denticles." Dermal denticles are essentially tiny structures that look and feel very similar to scales, but are actually teeth. Shark skin, with its rough, sandpaper-like texture are also made up of dermal denticles. These dermal denticles actually help reduce friction in the water, enabling sharks to swim faster.
But despite the fact sharks are covered in them, dermal denticles on literal eyeballs is pretty unique. Scientists from the Okinawa Churashima Research Center in Japan, who authored the study, say it's "a novel mechanism of eye protection in vertebrates". The teeth are a little different from those found on shark skin, because they are designed for "abrasion resistance". Essentially these teeth are designed to help protect the whale shark's eyeballs.
In addition to the whole "teeth on their eyeballs" thing, whale sharks also have what the Okinawan researchers are describing as "a strong ability to retract the eyeball into the eye socket." Both the retraction strategy and the whole "teeth on eyeballs" thing makes sense when you consider that whale sharks actually don't have eyelids. According to the research paper, this adaption is most likely unique to whale sharks.
Pretty sure whale sharks have just officially become one of the most mental fish in the sea.
PIC OF THE WEEK:
This pic is so below sea level that it might as well be Davy Jones' locker (the graveyard of the sea that is- not the singer from the Monkees. Or maybe that's him paddling over the back of the wave)?
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
The Greatest American Hero
Caught The Last Train To Clarksville
Funny Like Jeff Spicolli, Savvy Like Johnny Utah, & Surf Like Jimmy Slade
