NEWS DESK
Check ‘clean beach’ report before going in for a swim THE Environment Protection Authority Victoria says beachgoers should check its forecasting service or sign up for its SMS service before going to the beach on the Mornington Peninsula this summer. EPA chief environmental scientist Dr Andrea Hinwood said the Beach Report, which came on stream last Sunday (1 December), provided information about water quality in Port Phillip. The service ends on the Labour Day weekend next March. The water quality report comes two weeks after South East Water warned that sewage spills into Tanto Creek may have polluted beaches south of Mills Beach, Mornington (“Beach warning” The News 26/11/19). “Our beaches are great places to visit, but they are also complex ecosystems. In certain conditions they can be home to types of bacteria that pose health risks to swimmers,” Dr Hinwood said. Dr Hinwood said more stringent water quality standards, being used for the first time this summer, would help ensure that EPA’s Beach Report was more protective of health. “The new standards take a precautionary approach to protecting public health. They rely on scientific studies linking microbial levels in water with the actual risk of illness,” she said.
“This is good news for swimmers and means they can have an even higher degree of confidence in our forecasts.” A common swimmer-related illness is gastroenteritis. Children, the elderly and people with vulnerable immune systems are at the highest risk of getting ill from water-borne germs. EPA’s forecasts for 36 Port Phillip beaches are published on the Yarra & Bay website, as well as on Twitter by following @EPA_Victoria. On the website people can also sign up to EPA’s free SMS service to receive a text when the water at selected beaches is forecast to have poor quality. Dr Hinwood said people should see a doctor if they have a suspected illness after swimming. The new water quality standards have been introduced as a result of the State Environment Protection Policy (SEPP) (Waters), which came into effect in 2018. Last year, Santa Casa (Queenscliff) beach was ranked the highest for good water quality in Port Phillip. Rosebud and Portsea were the only peninsula beaches included in the EPA’s top 10 cleanest beaches for last summer. Keith Platt
Step carefully: Bluebottles littered Sorrento back beach last week. Picture: Gary Sissons
Ocean nomad arrives with a sting ARMADAS of the stinging bluebottle jellyfish (Physalia utriculus) have been washed up on the Mornington Peninsula’s ocean beaches and may soon be entering Port Phillip. The bluebottle, or Pacific manof-war, is an occasional visitor to Victorian beaches but more common in Sydney and further north. The wind and currents determine its journey before being brought ashiore by incoming tides. Wikipedia says bluebottles differ from other jellyfish in several ways.
The gas-filled float supports a number of specialised tentacles, which are actually members of a complicated colony. The individual members, or zooids, cooperate to form what looks like one jellyfish. Some zooids are specialised for stinging and capturing tiny fish and other marine animals, some eat the prey, while others reproduce. Up to 30,000 stings each year are reported along the east coast of Australia from Physalia with about 500 reported from Western Australia and
South Australia. Treat a bluebottle sting by washing off remaining tentacles with saltwater and then rinsing the affected area with seawater to remove any invisible stinging cells. Immerse the stung area in hot water as the heat kills the protein in the venom. Studies have shown that 40 degrees Celsius will produce relief after 10 minutes. If the symptoms persist or for stings that cover a particularly large area, or across the throat and face, call 000.
Learn to Sail! Anybody can learn to sail! Everybody can learn to sail! At Mornington Yacht Club our accredited instructors can teach any age and we’ll supply all the gear you’ll need. You don’t need to be a member and our range of sea-happy programs will include the one that’s perfect for you! “Tackers” - Fun game-based “learn to sail” courses for 7 to 12 year olds. There’s even an introduction to sailing program for “Little Tackers” 4 to 6. “Out There Youth Sailing” - An active, fun program for 12 to 17 year olds. Dinghy “learn to sail”, Stand-Up Paddleboard, Windsurfing and Keelboat experiences are available. Adult - We have courses from novice to the more experienced in dinghies and keelboats. Know the basics? Try our “Learn to Race” program. Cop that: Table tennis star Nathan Xu in action. Picture: Supplied
What a great Christmas gift!
Table tennis stars at Mornington
A life-changing opportunity for someone special! Or how about a “Learn to Sail” package for the whole family? Togetherness has never been so much fun!
Act now. Find out more by contacting the club or going to our website.
Mornington Yacht Club Schnapper Point Drive, Mornington VIC 3931 Phone: (03) 5975 7001 www.morningtonyc.net.au 1178
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Mornington News
3 December 2019
MORNINGTON Peninsula Table Tennis Association will this week play host to the best players from Australia and the Oceania region. Stars of Oceania include Heming Hu, Nathan Xu, Melissa Tapper, Grace Yee. They will be competing for a ticket to the teams’ events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, as well as the 2019 ITTF Oceania Tour of Australia, Friday to Sunday 6-8 December. Residents are invited to get in on the action at Civic Reserve Recreation Centre, Dunns Road. Association president Max Coulthard said: “We welcome all spectators to come and cheer
and a give a warm welcome all our Aussie and overseas athletes.” The event will bring together the best players in the International Table Tennis Federation and Oceania region, which includes Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. The teams’ events on Friday 6 December will be followed by two days of competition for the second last stop on the 2019 ITTF Oceania Tour on 7-8 December. Players will compete for prizemoney of $4000 as well as ranking points to qualify for the 2020 ITTF Oceania Cup.