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Island Moon The Island Newspaper Island Area News ● Events ● Entertainment
September 9, 2011 Facebook: TheIslandMoonNewspaper By Dale Rankin
Stuff I Heard On The Island It’s been a hot and busy summer for us hereabouts. It’s been so hot something happened to me that hasn’t happened in a long time, at least I’m blaming it on the heat.
A day off ruined It all started when I decided to take an entire day off. We recently took over part ownership of CC Magazine and writing for it and for the Moon has turned into a big job. My beach time of late has been cut to nearly zero except for the occasional Sunday afternoon at the Sand Bar. So when I took a day off I decided to spend the whole day at the beach and outdoors. We ended up in Port A riding bicycles on what turned out to be the hottest day of the summer I think. I decided I needed a new slide for my guitar so I headed over to the hardware store to buy a piece of copper tubing. I got to a point right in front of the Salty Dog Lounge when along came a gust of wind and my hat went flying. I tried to snatch it out of thin air and missed and the effort threw my momentum to one side and the bike went right out from under me. I hit the ground like a sack of rocks. I had to literally pick a piece of pea gravel out of my knee and managed to catch myself just enough to skin my chin but not too badly. Another couple of inches and I’d have been spitting out teeth. It was pretty scary and two guys happened to be walking by thought I was bad hurt. They ran over and picked me up and wanted to call an ambulance but once I got the rock out of my leg I thought I was okay. I’m sure that word went around from people driving by and saw me sprawled on the pavement that I must have come right out of the Salty Dog and wiped out on my bicycle. That would sure have made a better story than me trying to grab my hat and busting my keister by being a klutz. I headed on over to the hardware store and found a piece of copper tubing about three feet long but they don’t cut it down there so I ended up wiping out on the sidewalk for nothing. I made my way back to Station Street and then on over to Roberts Point on my bike. My wife who is in a lot better shape than I am had no trouble. She ran around taking pictures of the boats while I alternately sat in the shade and walked over to the water fountain at the restrooms for water. There were two soft drink machines but neither worked and if there was a water cooler around anywhere I couldn’t find it. I couldn’t suck enough water out of that fountain to stay hydrated and after a couple of hours I had to go. I rode to the Back Porch and by the time I got there I was seeing spots and dragging my bruised keister around behind me. It took me a week to get over that. I couldn’t stay out in the heat for more than a few minutes at a time and I drank gallons of water and still wanted more. Apparently there is a connection between being physically dehydrated and creatively dehydrated because every time I would sit down to write nothing would come out. I have been writing on deadlines for my entire adult life and that has never happened. When it’s time to write something always came out, but not this time. My brain was on vapor lock. I was working on a story about the Nueces County Appraisal District for the magazine and getting nowhere. It was a story I was really interested in but nothing was working. Finally, after about a week I started to feel normal again and sure enough the words came back. The hottest part of summer is now behind us so hopefully so is the verbal dry spell. Asleep at the switch Sometime during my dry spell I fell asleep at the switch and let a couple of items get in the paper about the music being too loud at Scuttlebutt’s. Whether it is/was doesn’t matter. We try to steer clear of such subjects, especially when Scuttlebutt’s is one of our favorite Island hangouts. We always make it over there to Dave and Kim’s place on Wednesday for all day happy hour shrimp. But this time I must have been in the throes of vapor lock, at least that’s my excuse, and in spite of proofreader Miles pointing it out to me it didn’t register and then we did it again. I looked long and hard to find someone other than myself to blame it on but no cigar. So here’s an apology for a boneheaded move on my part. I owe you one. Delicate time It is a delicate time on our Island right now, at least for us here at the Word Factory. Everyone wants to know about Schlitterbahn and when/if it is actually coming here. As I have said from the beginning I think there is a very good chance it will. But there are so many things that could happen that I try to be careful about what I know, what I think I know, and how to strike a balance between people’s understandable desire to know
and careless writing that could cause all kinds of problems. As you may have noticed we are not the New York Times but we’re not The Onion either. It’s a small Island as anyone who has ever left their car parked in front of someone’s house all night around here can tell you. But the Coconut Telegraph, while efficient is also notoriously and wildly inaccurate. This is a long way around of saying that no matter your opinion on the subject of the various proposed developments hold off until we get some solid and complete facts. I really believe the timeline for hearing something definitive is a relatively short one. Once all the facts are in then speak your mind. Rumor is just that and not the basis for any kind of rational decision making.
Next Publication Date: 09/23/2011
Year 15, Issue 396
On the Rocks
Tagging Sharks on PINS By Jay Gardener The rods sat still in the rod holders in the noonday heat. The gentle breeze had started to pick up causing the small waves on the Seashore to start to whitecap and chop up. Mullet flipped lazily in the first gut, and nothing bothered them. You could almost smell the desperation coming from the sky blue suburban parked a few feet away from Todd’s truck. We were down the beach with Capt. Billy Sandifer and Greg Stunz’s crew from
waited until we tied off because that caused quite a stir. Suddenly everyone on board was getting off and Dave was quickly having a hard time finding crew to man a line, LOL. We eventually get the boat squared away and get our gear on and jump in. Sure enough, there he is, circling the rig. Awesome! I have spent literally weeks out at the Flower Gardens on live-aboard boats, been diving for years and years in the Florida Keys, Mexico, Chinchorro Banks, Belize, etc. and I had YET to see a whale shark. Check that one off the list. Scott and I just kind of hung out, and
That’s about all I have to say for now. I’m going to go drink a gallon of water.
Port A Happenings Free Concert
Got nothing to do this Friday night? Make your way to Roberts Point Park in Port A for a free concert. From 7 to 9 pm, the Sunset Sounds entertainment on Friday, September 9th, will be George Ensle. Sunset Sounds is a monthly concert series held at the Patsy Jones Amphitheater in the park. This month will feature Texas singer and songwriter, George Ensle, a Texas troubadour, playing and singing in the tradition of Townes, Jerry Jeff and Guy. His songs are storysongs. The lyrics tell us about real people and life in general. George alternates perfectly between ballads and up-tempo tunes. He will perform unique finger-picking style originating from his classical guitar training and honed over the years. Dubbed a “songpainter” for developing story and song portraits with his seamless music and lyrics of “ real people making it in the real world.” Bring a chair or blanket, friends and family and whatever you want to eat or drink. The sunset over the Corpus Christi Ship Channel will provide a backdrop for the melodies that fill the air. The concerts are held the second Friday of the month from April through October, courtesy of the Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Department. The last concert of the 2011 season will be Tumble Dry Low, on October 14th, performing country and popular selections. After a short break, Parks and Recreation will continue with Winter Sounds concerts. Held in January and February, Winter Sounds will be in partnership with the Port Aransas Community Theatre. Due to winter weather, this series is held at the theater, located at 2327 Hwy 361.
Yoga on the beach Stretch in the beautiful natural setting of Port A beach at the next free lesson of yoga on the beach set for Saturday, September 10th, 8am, near Horace Caldwell Pier at the end of Beach Street. Instructor Nancy Myers will teach basic moves courtesy of the Parks and Recreation Department. Bring an old towel or yoga mat suitable for use on the beach.
Appreciation Celebration Keep Port Aransas Beautiful is grateful for the help of its community. The 501(c)(30 non-profit organization will show that appreciation on Monday, September 12. From 5:30 to 7pm, everyone is invited to come to the Community Center, 408 N. Alister St., and socialize while eating and drinking fare with a “worldly’ flair. The annual appreciation celebration always themed “Port Aransas: It’s Our World,” will feature different tables of food with menus from different countries and a door prize. Everyone who lives, works, visits or owns property in Port A has benefitted from this organization, and we want to see the many years of hard work rewarded. Raffle items, t-shirts and the Port A commemorative afghans will be available for purchase, along with the opportunity for join or renew KPAB memberships. KPAB’s mission is to promote public interest to create a cleaner, more beautiful Port Aransas through volunteerism and education. The organization focuses on litter reduction, beautification and community improvement, to reduce/reuse/ recycle/rebuy and provides environmental education.
Harte Research Institute on yet another shark tagging adventure for Phil’s Masters study. Phil, you have some kind of skunk going on! The rods eventually started dancing, and we started catching sharks. Atlantic sharpnose. Unfortunately those weren’t on the “list” for tagging. The action got faster and faster with each new spot our guide Billy took us to; neither Todd nor I could keep one rod in the holder for more than a few minutes. There are a bunch of Sharpnose pups down the beach right now folks. We eventually got a few bonnetheads too, although they weren’t on the list either. It sure was a nice day down the beach though. Big Shell If you haven’t been down to the channel (Port Mansfield jetties) I highly suggest you make the trek. I hadn’t been to the channel in a good handful of years, and man the beach has changed! There has been some massive erosion and there are some fairly steep drop-offs down towards what used to be Big Shell. You’ll just have to go check it out. I’m sure last weeks’ little storm out there caused a little more damage. Even my buddy Tyler got down the beach last week with Capt Sandifer and they got into some really big surf trout, Tyler’s best was 27” and they said they saw larger ones. If you want to go on a beach adventure with the best beach guide around call Capt. Billy Sandifer at 361-937-8446 and book a charter to learn how to read the surf and catch the big ones. Whale Shark! Last Saturday Dave and Heidi were in town, so we of course loaded up and headed out on the Superfishal on another run. We were going to familiar territory, although we had a new game plan. Scott “Bizzy Air” and I had a few scuba tanks on board. We pulled up to the rig and started to tie off. The boat next to us had a few kids on board, and one of them said “whale shark! There’s a whale shark down there!” I wish he would have
I snapped a few pics of various rig denizens, including red-lipped blennies, spotfin butterfly fish, a townsends’ angelfish, squirrelfish, and tessellated blennies. I also got a shot of the sun from 60’ feet down for Jacob, maybe we’ll get it in the paper next edition. Shark!
After that we snorkeled and shot a couple mangrove (grey) snappers and tried some fishing. Jason Zepplin (“Zep”) put down a large bait and had several good strikes but failed to hook up. On “the last one” he finally got hooked up and started a tug-of-war with something large and sluggish. After a few minutes, he finally gets it up to where I can see color. “Shark!” Zep is kind of bummed, he was looking for a large grouper or something. Bizzy sees the situation a little differently and jumps in the water with the hooked shark and snaps a couple photos, getting a really awesome shot. The shark finally comes unbuttoned at the side of the boat and makes his way back down to the deep. Trolling
The next day I get the call to go offshore with Tyler, Skipper, and south Padre Rob aboard a 38’ Hatteras. We make our way out to Port A and jump aboard the “Daddy’s Bones” and Capt Andy heads us out towards the blue. Come to find out, the boat used to be called the “Alleycat” and was parked behind Bluff Landing a few years ago. I actually went and looked at it and considered buying it a few years back. Andy (and his partners) have gone through the boat and it looks fabulous. Anyhoo, we head out at a blazing 13 knots and get on the troll. It was a very slow day with only one blackfin tuna to show for it, but we had an absolute blast picking on each other and fishing. Skipper says he might have even learned something. Thanks again Andy.
On the Rocks Continued on B2
25th annual Adopt-A-Beach Fall Cleanup Sept. 24
Patterson
invites everyone to help cleanup Coastal Bend beaches
The 25th Texas General Land Office Adopt-ABeach Fall Cleanup will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 24 at 11 sites in the Coastal Bend.
Volunteers may register on-line at www.TexasAdoptABeach.org or become a fan of the Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach program on Facebook. Texans who can’t make it to the beach but still want to support the effort can make a tax-deductible donation at www.TexasAdoptABeach.org. Sponsorship levels range from $25 to $25,000. The Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach program began in the fall of 1986, when 2,800 volunteers picked up 124 tons of trash. Since then, it has grown into one of the most successful all-volunteer efforts in the nation. In 25 years, 413,000 Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have picked up more than 8,000 tons of trash from the Texas Gulf Coast.
The data collected from the beach cleanups playe an integral part in the passage of MARPOL Anne V, an international treaty that prohibits the dumpin of plastics in the world’s oceans. In July of 1991 the International Maritime Organization designa ed the Gulf of Mexico and the Wider Caribbean a a “special area” where the dumping of trash, wit the exception of finely ground food scraps, is pro hibited.
Shell Oil Company is the statewide sponsor for th 25th Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beac Fall Cleanup. Other sponsors include HNTB Cor poration, AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry LLC, E Paso Corporation, Halliburton and the Ocean Con servancy.
For more information about how you can get in volved, call 1-877-TXCOAST or visit our Web sit at www.texasadoptabeach.org.