DAN’S PAPERS
Page 54 August 24, 2012
danshamptons.com
Sharks (Continued from page 51) I might add, that people can confuse sunfish with sharks because they are so large. Sunfish are completely harmless, but do sometimes have their fins stick out of the water like a shark does and can be scary to people who don’t know what they are seeing. Sunfish are so harmless that surfers and lifeguards in Everyone out of the water! the Hamptons have been known to swim out to them on longboards and play with them like you would with a group of dolphins.
BBPA (Continued from page 51 )
PREMIER SHOPPING
show of hands, she stood up on her “soapbox,� as she put it, and supported Pluto’s demotion to a dwarf planet in a convincing astrophysicist manner. It’s just a big ball of ice. As expected the Mayan prediction for 2012 arose, but Rice debunked the misconstrued prediction and comforted the crowd by informing that the Earth has another 5 billion years before the Sun will burn out.
ON THE
NORTH FORK
Mars and Saturn, and the Virgo star Spica, were all visible against a black sky as the waxing crescent moon caused little light distraction. Finally, the sky was dark and light pollution minimal when Rice pointed out the surreal space triangle of Mars, Saturn and Spica making the three points. Mars distinguished itself with its reddish glow. Before concluding for the evening, Rice finished with a big bang showing the stargazers on the beach one of the most astonishing spectacles, seeing the Milky Way. Rice had the crowd seek out the “Teapot� in Sagittarius and identify its spout, which marks the approximate location of the Milky Way’s center. The “teapot� looks to be pouring out steam, a hazy band stretching all the way across the sky. The name derives from the hazy band, which is really just countless stars that the eye cannot distinguish. But in this moment in time, since the galaxy is spiral, you are looking into the middle of the Milk Way. “I thought it worked out well considering all the rain we had earlier, everyone did a great job tonight,� stated Mulhearn after the event. “Dr. Emily Rice is a wonderful speaker.�
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Still, in Montauk, a shark sighting was reported at Gurneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Inn, and in East Hampton, one was supposedly spotted at the Maidstone Club. Is there anything to worry about? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Take it from me, a former lifeguard in East Hampton, who can tell you that there has absolutely never been a shark attack on Long Island, EVER. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never happened. You need to worry about being a strong swimmer and being smart about rip tides. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the worry. Although I will admit that, even I, when out for a swim, can get in my mind that image of Jaws lurking beneath my feetâ&#x20AC;Ś Da dumâ&#x20AC;Śda dumâ&#x20AC;Ś.da dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, AHHH!!! Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;M TAKING THE NEXT WAVE IN! RmacDowell1/Flickr
Cape Cod Beach. The sightings took place not up near Provincetown in the north but at the elbow of Cape Cod at Chatham in the south, not far from where the Atlantic Ocean links up with Block Island and Long Island Sounds. It would take a Great White just a day of high-speed swimming to reach Montauk and the Hamptons. Still, there is no reason to panic just yetâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;no Great Whites have been seen off our shores for at least the last ten years. Back in East Hampton, the main guy when it comes to lifeguards is John Ryan Jr., who is the son of John Ryan Sr., and the entire family is like the lifeguard mafia in East Hampton. They are in charge, and Ryan Jr. and Sr. have seen their fair share of large fish in the water. John Ryan Jr. stated, and quite accurately
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The BBPA is having their first 5K race on September 8, hoping to get all residents of Westhampton Dunes to participate by running or volunteering. Additional information can be found at the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website, barrierbeach.org.