Vol. MMVIEditor: Lloyd Johnson Issue: August

The Beach in General:

We faced quite a heat wave through much of July. The beach was definitely the place to face it. There have been a few overcast days, and even days with sprinkles of rain, but it was still warm and comfortable.

Water temperatures have been in the seventies all month and even up to 79 for a few days. The sand has been too hot for bare feet, so sandals are necessary for walking in dry sand. This pushed volleyball games to late afternoon, when the sand was cooler.

Only a few hundred people have been taking advantage of weekdays, but thousands show up on weekends. Many of those people spend a lot of time in the water, trying to cool off and riding the surf.

Past Events:

Black’s Beach Bares hosted several picnics through the month of July. The two grills we set up have been in high demand. We've been sharing a variety of chicken recipes, hot dogs, hamburgers, sausages, squash, sweet corn and pineapple. Dave has been experimenting with poached eggs cooked in grapefruit skins.

Catalina was seen silhouetted by the setting sun July 11-13, but not July 14. That was close to the predicted 11-14. Next year we should check July 10-13.

Future Events:

We will continue to provide body boards and sand castle molds for general use. There will often be volleyball games and horseshoes. We will also sponsor a surf event. It doesn't matter if you think you're no good. You will find others to match your skill level.

We will continue to host Sunday picnics through August and September. Participation is simple, prepare a dish and cook it on our grill. Don't just set it on the table. Pass it around. That's how we mingle.

Look for us between two flags, one American, the other a yellow flag.

Aug 6 / Sunday Picnic
Aug 13 / Sunday Picnic
Aug 20 / Sunday Picnic
Aug 27 / Sunday Picnic
Surf Event
Sept 3 / Sunday Picnic
Sept 4 / Labor Day Picnic
Sept 10 / Sunday Picnic
Sept 17 / Sunday Picnic
Sept 24 / Sunday Picnic

Surf Event:

We will host another nude surf event, organized by Geoff. As last year, it will include surfing, body surfing and body boarding. This year it will be held August 27th. Last year there were prizes for best ride, best wipeout, most improvement and longest ride. Check the website and contact Geoff for further details.

Torrey Pines Reef 2:

There is an artificial reef offshore, about ½ km out and 30 feet down. This reef is host to a variety of life, fish, lobster and other invertebrates. Attempts to find it last year failed, but it has been found this year. Hopefully swim expeditions to the reef will resume this year. Ambitious swimmers should look for buddies between our two flags, or contact Lloyd through the website.

Spring Tide:

Spring tide is a condition of very high and very low tides in the same 24 hours. Don’t be caught off guard when it reaches you.

moon / low / high
Aug / 9 / full / -1.4 / 7.4 9:49pm
Aug / 23 / new / -0.3 / 6.3 9:42pm
Sep / 7 / full / -1.0 / 7.0 9:38pm

Keep in mind that the tides a few days before and after are comparably high, but earlier, by about 45 minutes. While the highest tides are closely tied to the new and full moon, this month they are actually a little higher a few days before.

Stingrays:

There are stingrays in our water all year, even knee deep. Sting rays don’t attack people, but if you step on one, you will learn that their defense mechanism is very painful. It’s treated with heat. Bury the affected area in hot sand. The pain takes an hour or two to pass, and rarely requires medical attention.

A Contribution From Kevin:

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a paraglider, and it's crashing into the sea. Hey, everybody look north!

I stand and start walking as a paraglider crashes into the waves, chest high. So I run. I pass one person saying, "He looks ok." I say, "Better safe than sorry."

As I approach him in chest deep water, he's released. Yet he's wrapped his wrist in the cords, in order to pull it ashore. My second command to go to the beach sent him there.

He's fully clothed with a harness, emergency chute and helmet. Twice he felt I assisted. By then Tom and J.C. had arrived to help me pull the sail ashore. Wow! I've learned a few things. Also, no lifeguard had even responded.

Rockslide:

There was a significant rockslide just north of Valentine Slide, the gray rock area. That was 6am, July 7th, according to eyewitnesses. The area has been active for several years. A few rocks and dust slide down daily. People should be cautious about sitting among those rocks, since bigger rocks will fall, once enough of their support falls. The Valentine Slide fell after years of similar activity.

A contribution From Dave:

A short update from the women's questionnaires that was passed out on the Fourth of July weekend...

I passed out 200 questionnaires and got 94 back. Thank you very much to all that took the time to fill them out. This is my first attempt at doing anything like this and I'm told that anything more than a 10% to 20% return is wonderful.

So far I have only been able to get a little demographic info. I'm not sure how to analyze the written answers yet. I got 57 back from the 2nd of July and 37 from the 4th. I got an age range from 17 to 66. There were 3 that had no age on them, 4 from 17 to 19, 24 in their 20s, 18 in their 30s, 28 in their 40s, 13 in their 50s and 4 in their 60s. There was an average age of 34.7 years.

For 19 of these women this was their first visit to Black's Beach, and this was the first clothing optional experience for 17 women. Everybody but one said they felt safe. That one didn't mark hers either way. There was one that marked both yes and no when asked if she felt safe. 47 women were from San Diego and the rest were from all over the country as well as Canada, Switzerland, Spain and Mexico.

So far this is all I've been able to work on. Again thank you to everybody that helped out with this.