West Seattle, Washington
29 Sunday
The cameraphone photo’s a bit fuzzy but you get the drift, so to speak – today’s low tide left a boat marooned on the Alki flats. Thanks to Stephanie for sending the photo; it reminded us of one we photographed last year – we looked it up and in fact, that one was in July 2008. Today’s low tide bottomed out before noon so here’s hoping today’s unlucky boater will be back afloat soon; there are minus tides for the next few days as well, but none as low as the past few days.
We took out the pocket Flip video camera for a quick pan of the beach at Alki, where we stopped to check out the exact moment this morning (about quarter till 11) that the tide hit its lowest point of the month. (As you can see in the video, no major crowds, lots of room to explore.) Tomorrow will be almost as low, in case you have a chance to get out during the late morning — it bottoms out just after 11:30 am. And tonight’s “forecast discussion” from the National Weather Service mentions a “minor cooling trend” for the next day or two, before a bigger blast of hot air comes this way over the weekend (just in time for the Alki Art Fair Saturday and Sunday, and the next West Seattle Junction Outdoor Movies on the Wall presentation Saturday night – the original “King Kong”).
(photo via Twitter from @andreajwalker, taken Monday at Alki)
Lowest tide of the month today, and John Smersh – co-proprietor of Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) and volunteer beach naturalist – says it’s the naturalists’ last day of the summer. So if you want to low-tide-walk and learn as you go – get out this morning. John will be at Constellation Park; other beach naturalists will be at Lincoln Park. They’re out 10 am-1:30 pm but John notes that the lowest tide is 10:47 am, minus 3.5 feet – it’s still low-ish again tomorrow but not as low as today.
As previewed earlier this week, the carrier USS John C. Stennis returned to Bremerton this morning after a six-month deployment. Gary Jones shares the view from West Seattle shores, in the pink light of very-early morning. He writes, “Ahoy and welcome home, USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74).”
Per the Kitsap Sun, the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis will return to Bremerton early Friday – due in around 7 am – after a six-month deployment, so that likely means West Seattle waterfront views for early risers. It’s headed this way from a stop in San Diego. (The carrier has an extensively updated website, including feature stories like this one about a father and son both currently on board.)
Even before we received that striking photo last weekend from Craig, who took it over the Kingston-Edmonds ferry route and shared it after seeing the WSB report about “gross” greenish water off Alki during the hot weather at the end of last week, we promised to follow up and see what we could find out. We finally found our way to an expert at the state Ecology Department, courtesy of its media liaison Larry Altose: Dr. Christopher Krembs is Ecology’s Senior Oceanographer in the Marine Monitoring Unit of the Environmental Assessment Program. While on the phone with us, he took a look at the photo shown above – and listened to our relayed description of reader reports about the beach-level Alki sightings. Dr. Krembs said it’s tough for them to solve the mystery without actual samples. They had flown over areas of the Sound a few days earlier to look at blooms, he explained (read about the marine flight program here), but what they saw didn’t exactly match this photo. Most interesting outcome of our conversation: They pointed us, and anyone else interested, to this page full of information about marine algae blooms. As you’ll see on the bottom of the page – they want to hear from you if you spot something like this – they didn’t receive a report of the Alki sighting – but next time, here’s what to do:
Bloom Sightings
Ecology has been conducting monthly monitoring of Puget Sound and Washington’s coastal estuaries for phytoplankton abundance and nutrients (as well as other parameters) for decades through our marine flight program. We are very interested to hear reports of bloom sightings so that we can direct our oceanographers to those locations to collect and analyze samples, and keep statistical information on their occurrence. Please note the date, time, location, and color of the bloom, and contact Dr. Christopher Krembs ckre461@ecy.wa.gov with this information
One other important question we asked: Is it safe to go in the water during an algae bloom? According to Dr. Krembs, without a specific sample/identification, you can’t say for certain, but they’re “generally” not harmful. Regarding other water quality/health concerns, there’s an Alki monitoring station in the bacteria-watching BEACH program – here’s its page (current status: “good”).
No official verdict yet but most accounts of the mucky water reported late Friday seem to conclude it was an algae bloom. Here’s an aerial view sent by Craig, who explains, “Flew up to Sequim and back (Friday), and saw this scungy yellow stuff all over the place. It was from near Port Townsend down to Alki and beyond. This picture is the Kingston [map] ferry.”
Thanks to Gatewood writer Pam from Nerd’s Eye View for that photo from low tide today (almost as low as yesterday) at Lincoln Park. We also received some great pix from “Admiral Lady” that we didn’t get around to adding yesterday, like this one:
Tomorrow’s low tide is still notably low, if you haven’t had a chance to be tide-walk yet but might get a chance tomorrow – minus 2.9, in the 1 pm hour – here’s a chart.
That’s from our favorite low-tide-viewing spot, Seacrest Pier, where the receding water reveals the colonies on the pilings. Hazy sunshine and lots of tidewalkers all along West Seattle’s saltwater shore as the tide bottomed out just before noon. Here’s a wider shot with perspective on how far down the water level fell (the round item near the top of the photo, by the way, is one of the gourds placed out for purple martin nesting):
ADDED 4:29 PM: Our video from the same spot:
We’ve also received some photos that we’ll be adding later – thanks!!!!
Thanks to those who shared photos from today’s low tide – and tomorrow will be even lower, the lowest of the summer, minus 3.9 just before noon. The starfish above and the tide explorers below are both courtesy of Amy; the crab is courtesy of Jim. All three photos were taken at Lincoln Park.
If you can make it out to the beach at midday tomorrow, you will find volunteer beach naturalists (here’s Seattle Aquarium info on the program) south of Alki Point and at Lincoln Park south of Colman Pool, from 10 am till 2 pm. P.S. Kevin points out that if you’re on a downtown-facing beach, there’s another sight to see: The cruise ship that’s in port at Pier 66 till Wednesday is The World, which isn’t just a vacation vessel – it actually sells “residences” on board.
Thanks to the WSB’er who called Monday afternoon to tip us to reddish-brown discoloration in Fauntleroy Cove alongside the ferry dock. She said the county had been out to make sure there wasn’t a pump problem; we’ve got a message out to them, but more close to home, so to speak, we have checked with Judy Pickens, Fauntleroy watershed steward and expert about all things from the creek to the cove, asking about the possibility it’s an algae bloom (it was also reported via Twitter a few miles south in the Arroyos). She hadn’t received a report yet but checked with Dr. Timothy Nelson in the biology department at Seattle Pacific, who offered:
… it could be that Ulvaria, a usually-subtidal component of green algal blooms had died and was releasing dopamine into the water. It’s very intolerant of drying, so on sunny days with a good low tide you’ll often notice the discoloration as the tide rises.
The dopamine is converted to quinones, which can some discoloration to the water. Depending on how long they’ve been in the water, and how concentrated they are, I’d describe them as pinkish, tawny-orange, or brown. (I’d include reddish-brown in that series as well!)
Take note, this would be separate from the sea-lettuce problem that sometimes manifests in Fauntleroy Cove, with not just a visual but an olfactory impact (this discoloration did NOT come with a smell). In our exchange, Judy wanted to share word of a sea-lettuce-fighting win in the most recent Legislature session:
The governor’s signature … on the state’s biennial budget could have direct implications for Fauntleroy. One of the line items, for $140,000, is for creating a grant program within the State Department of Ecology for research and removal associated with excessive growth of sea lettuce, the algae that blankets Fauntleroy Cove and gives us our summer stench.
The allocation was a fall-back position pushed by Rep. Sharon Nelson from this district and Sen. Tracey Eide from Federal Way after their detailed legislation failed during the waning days of the session. The funding will come from a portion of boat-registration fees already being collected by the state and, until now, reserved for responses to freshwater algae in lakes throughout the state. Because lakes were not fully spending the amount being collected, sharing with saltwater communities should only expand what the fund can accomplish.
We expect the money to be administered by DOE water-quality staff in Olympia, and procedures for exactly who can apply, when, and how will take awhile to be articulated. We do know the money can be used for research as well as emergency response. As we found during the run-up to summer 2008, getting permits for haul-outs of floating seaweed or beach harvesting of decaying seaweed is no easy matter, so having a pot of money is just the first step toward enabling Fauntleroy residents to breathe easier.
Judy says anyone detecting water-quality issues in Fauntleroy Cove — aside from “the stench,” for which she’s on the frontline if and when it occurs – is welcome to contact her. 5:24 PM UPDATE: Martha Tuttle from King County says, “Our operations staff were out there yesterday and determined it wasn’t a sewage spill and it appeared to be an algae bloom as you indicated. No health risk but very ugly for sure.”
Thanks to JMB for sharing that photo of a submarine passing Alki Point this morning, with a Coast Guard vessel and a Seattle-Bremerton state ferry in view as well. Northwest Navigator had a story a few days ago about the USS Ohio getting ready to leave Bangor to head back out to sea – so perhaps that’s what JMB caught on camera (we trust expert sub-watchers will correct us if you can tell from the photo it’s a different class of sub).
Thanks to JayDee for sharing that photo of tonight’s sunset. We saw the amazing color after leaving the Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council meeting (report to come) and wondered “where’s the fire” … JayDee’s note said “BC”; we found this link (where’s that, you ask? here’s a map). Also out of the inbox, thanks to David Hutchinson for sharing a new photo of the Canada geese he’s been chronicling this spring:
David writes:
The large family of Canada Goose goslings that have either entertained or irritated those using the strip of parks from Salty’s to Don Armeni, have made their inaugural journey from the western shores of Elliott Bay to the larger world of Puget Sound along Beach Drive. They have returned to Elliott Bay a number of times since then. At the age of just over 2 months, they still are unable to fly, so they make these trips by water. It’s getting increasingly difficult to tell the 19 young adults from the 4 adult geese that have been watching over them. Their favorite spot seems to be the fresh water source that enters the Sound at 63rd Ave SW and Beach Drive SW.
Here’s what we posted a month ago, with April and May photos.
Well, that’s all we could think of for a headline, given that Beach Drive Blog already took “Tern, Tern, Tern” (here’s the soundtrack). Great pix on BDB: Terns over West Seattle waters.
Yesterday and today saw the lowest tides of the year so far — but in four weeks, they’ll be even lower. Thanks to Charley Biggs for sharing another round of photos – above, a razor boring (according to Minette in comments) clam; next, a purple sun star:
Two more photos ahead:Read More
Thanks to Greg Wright for sharing photos from his low-tide sightseeing on Sunday; just before 1 pm today, the tide will be just as low as it was around noon yesterday (chart here), and that’s the lowest tide of the month before the low tides start getting higher again. A few more of Greg’s photos, ahead:Read More
We’ve been tracking the holiday-weekend low tides – very low today, and the next two days it’ll be lower still (per this tide chart, -3.6 at 12:07 pm tomorrow and the same at 12:53 pm Tuesday). We’ve received three close-up photos of tidal sights today – the first and second are from Minette (who also shared her baby-owl gallery following last night’s Lincoln Park owl-photo post) – and she shared info too:
The (first) one … is an image of a “Red octopus” (Octopus rubescens). This octopus is frequently found at our local beaches and people are always very happy to see it. However, it is venomous (for real!) and can deliver a nasty bite, so be careful out there, all you curious folks. The (next) one … is a sea slug (also called a nudibranch). This particular one is the Opalescent nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis). It can be found in great numbers at our local beaches and at all times of the year, but people rarely notice it because it’s so small.
We’ve also received photos from Rick – two views of a sun star: First, full body —
Next, close up:
Thanks again to everyone who sends photos to share — editor@westseattleblog.com any time (and if you have a sec, consider programming that into your cell-phone contact list in case you happen onto an interesting sight sometime and want to send it from your cameraphone fast).
Thanks to Gregory Wright for photos from Saturday’s low tide – and this morning, it’ll be even lower (bottoming out at 11:24 am, according to this tide chart) – with volunteer beach naturalists out again at Lincoln Park and south of Alki Point, 10 am-1:30 pm:
Also today: Extra fun at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market (10 am-2 pm in The Junction) – it’s “Live Local Day” with free draft-mule-wagon rides, free sweet-pea flower starts for kids from Langley Fine Gardens, and free cooking demos (barbecue sauces!) – plus, here’s today’s fresh sheet. Last but not least, day 2 of Colman Pool‘s first “pre-season weekend” on the Lincoln Park shoreline, schedule here. More in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup – and if you’re garage-saling, check the listings in the WSB Forums’ Freebies-Deals-Sales section (free to post YOUR future sale!).
Thanks for all the photos sent while we were away from the keyboard for a while doing a political interview for our ongoing election coverage! Don’t know who to credit for the low-tide cameraphone photo above – but, as mentioned in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, today kicks off a run of minus tides, which “peak” with -3.6 on Sunday and Monday (in comparison, the low tide this morning was -1.1). Next – Charley Biggs sent a photo of this morning’s sunrise:
And from Marco – the city’s “Pothole Rangers” in action – not technically West Seattle, but see his explanation after the photo:
Not West Seattle, but a lot of us ride that way on our bikes: The Pothole Rangers are currently repairing the many potholes on the bike lane of E Marginal Way S.
So I just wanted to shout out a huge thank you to them (I did, when I rode past them, but I’m not sure they could hear me over their machines ;)
So together with the beautiful weather, this makes Bike Month an even bigger success!
Got pix to share? editor@westseattleblog.com any time – whether it’s a spectacular sunrise, a breaking-news story, a cool event at your child’s school … thanks!
Thanks to Ian McKay for sharing that photo of the Denny Middle School Marching Band in the Syttende Mai parade in Ballard today (full coverage of the parade at MyBallard.com)! Back on this side of the bay, thanks to JayDee for sharing a shot from the King County Water Taxi – just can’t get enough of The Mountain when it’s “out”:
And thanks to Jason for a cameraphone pic from the puppet show that delighted dozens of kids and parents at Alki Bathhouse on Saturday, the Zambini Brothers‘ “The Fattest Kitty on Earth“:
That was just one of the dozens of West Seattle events on our Weekend Lineup, published Fridays; between weekends, you can find highlights for any day of the week, stretching months into the summer and beyond, on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar page.
From Anne and Doug:
We’re noticing a group or pod of whales or dolphins swimming south in the sound. Very white on the sides of one. We are south of Brace Point, it’s 8:15 Sunday 5/17. Anyone else know what they are?
Thanks to Lori Willson of Arbor Heights for sharing these photos, taken just hours ago at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint, across from Me-Kwa-Mooks Park on Beach Drive.
After this week’s humpback sightings (here and here), Lori in Arbor Heights wanted to share this:
I’d like to urge anyone who sees the Humpback (or any other whales for that matter) to please, please call Orca Network at 1-866-ORCANET to report the sighting. They will in turn contact researchers who would dearly love to find that whale and try to i.d. it. If anyone gets any pictures, especially of the underside of the tail fluke, they can call the preceeding number and get info on where to send copies of their pics to.
Also, folks can check out www.bewhalewise.org for info on guidelines for what to do if they encounter whales while out on their boats. Please give these whales LOTS of room.
With good weather … this weekend, and lots of folks out and about, I’m hoping we’ll see him or her again. I will be out looking myself in earnest.
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