Category Archives: California Coastal Notes of Interest

Escape to Catalina

Posted on by in All other recreation, Beach and Ocean Recreation, Boating, California Coastal Notes of Interest, Catalina / Channel Islands, Coastal Dweller Reference, Fishing, Misc., Visitor Guide  |  Comments are closed

By Doug Hansen, Special to the U-T

This mid-September trip to Catalina doesn’t even compare with the last one I did, 25 years ago. What’s different this time? Everything. My wife and I have been traveling a great deal, and I’m familiar with 75 countries, but I have to tell you that our four-day stay in Catalina rivals any trip we have done.

During my last visit to Catalina, I made the mistake that many do — of just walking around Avalon, shopping and eating, spending the night and then leaving.

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THE TRICKLE-DOWN TECHNOLOGY OF THE AMERICA’S CUP

Posted on by in Beach and Ocean Recreation, Boating, California Coastal Notes of Interest, Coastal Dweller Reference, Misc.  |  Comments are closed
By Alden Bentley - Yahoo! Australia SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Software titan Larry Ellison's decision to race the 34th America's Cup on high-speed 72-foot catamarans, which are harder to build and sail than keelboats, has been criticized for pushing the competition too far beyond traditional sailing and pricing out non-billionaires. But this is the America's Cup, Silicon Valley's style - it's all about technology, ideas and information - and advances made in preparation for the races are already being felt in television, aerospace and sporting gear. "The America's Cup has a long history of innovation on all kinds of levels," said Gary Jobson, the tactician on Ted Turner's 12-meter yacht Courageous when it won the Cup in 1977. "The boats have always had the leading edge of technology, whatever the technology has been." Continue Reading... ...
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Pacific Oysters May Clamp Down On Sensitive San Diego Habitat

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KPBS.com SAN DIEGO — Pacific oysters have a long history of gracing restaurant menus in Southern California. The water-filtering shellfish has also been grown in local waters for nearly a quarter of a century. The Japanese mollusks are Dennis Peterson's bread and butter.
On the half shell
"It's a very robust oyster. It grows fast. It grows well. And it tastes really good," Peterson said. Continue Reading... ...
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FRIENDS OF CHANNEL COAST STATE PARKS TO HOST TWO VOLUNTEER SERVICE EVENTS

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VCstar.com EVENTS TO TAKE PLACE ON BACK-TO-BACK WEEKENDS VENTURA, CALIF. (September 10, 2013) – Friends of Channel Coast State Parks (FCCSP), the nonprofit organization that serves the Channel Coast district of the California State Parks, has announced it will be hosting two volunteer service events at San Buenaventura State Beach during the month of September. The first event will be Coastal Cleanup Day, to be held on Saturday, September 21st. This event, backed by the California Coastal Commission, is the state’s largest volunteer event. On Coastal Cleanup Day, volunteers across the state pitch in to remove trash and other debris from California’s coastlines and inland lakes and waterways. Last year’s event drew over 65,000 volunteers across the state who removed almost 770,000 pounds of trash and recyclables. FCCSP will serve as the site captain for San Buenaventura State Beach on September 21st. Coastal Cleanup activities will commence at 9:00 am and end at 12:00 pm. Volunteers of all ages are encouraged...
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U.S. enjoys coolest summer since 2009

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Doyle Rice, USA TODAY After a series of sweltering summers, the USA caught a small break this year with its "coolest" summer since 2009, the National Climatic Data Center reported Thursday. However, the nation as a whole was still 1 degree Fahrenheit warmer than the long-term average and experienced its 15th-warmest summer on record. Eight states in the West and four states in the Northeast had one of their 10 hottest summers on record, the climate center noted. Continue Reading... ...
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Ocean species relocate in response to climate change, study finds

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By Melissa Pandika - Los Angeles Times As climate change heats our oceans, you’d expect temperature-sensitive marine species to flee poleward to cooler waters. So why have some headed to warmer regions toward the equator?
Scientists have solved the puzzle. For the most part, these animals are relocating to cooler waters. But since the effects of climate change can vary widely across regions, sometimes those cooler regions are closer to the poles and sometimes they’re closer to the equator. Continue Reading...
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Film Festival Benefits Protection and Restoration of Catalina Island

Posted on by in All other recreation, Beach and Ocean Recreation, California Coastal Notes of Interest, Catalina / Channel Islands, Coastal Dweller Reference, Misc.  |  Comments are closed
eCatalina.com AVALON, CATALINA ISLAND - Tickets are now on sale for the five-day Catalina Film Festival (CFF) starting on September 18 through 22. Now in its third year, the festival continues its celebration of foreign and domestic independent films, shorts, animation and documentaries. The festival benefits the protection and restoration of Catalina Island. CFF is a competitive festival and film market with awards in up to 10 categories, including the prestigious Charlie Chaplin ICON Award, Stanley Kramer "Social Artist" Award and the Isla Earth Award. “I am very proud of the Isla Earth conservation documentaries that provide young filmmakers an opportunity to bring pressing ecological issues into focus.” said Ann Muscat, president and CEO of the Conservancy, a non-profit dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Island’s wildlands. “We once again welcome the Catalina Film Festival. Several of the Island’s beautiful locations have been used in many memorable motion pictures.” Avalon Mayor Bob Kennedy said he always enjoys seeing the Catalina...
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Sea Otter Populations Growing in California

Posted on by in California Coastal Notes of Interest, Catalina / Channel Islands, Coastal Dweller Reference, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Misc., Orange County, San Diego  |  Comments are closed
By Laura Poppick, Staff Writer - livescience.com The California sea otter population, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, has grown since last year, according to a recent population census published by the U.S. Geological Survey. The otter population is reported annually as a three-year-running average, and rose to 2,941 this year, up from last year's average of 2,792. The animal still retains its threatened species status, and will continue to do so until it reaches an average of 3,090 individuals for three consecutive years, according to a USGS statement. ...
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Passenger ship Harvard runs aground

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The grounding was reported in the May 31, 1931, Los Angeles Times: Unscathed and undaunted by the shipwreck that interrupted their voyage, nearly 500 passengers of the stranded San Francisco-Los Angeles passenger ship Harvard last night were landed at Los Angeles Harbor by the U.S.S. Louisville, when the new Navy speed cruiser anchored at 7:10 p.m. after having dashed through fog and darkness to their rescue. At almost the moment of their arrival, Santa Barbara reported lines were being put aboard the Harvard by the tug Tamaroa in preparation for floating the vessel from the rocks at Point Arguello, where it went aground before dawn Saturday in heavy fog. Damage to the ship may be greater than first estimated, according to a boat’s crew which brought a line ashore from the Harvard. They said the vessel apparently dragged its entire keel over a reef…. Continue Reading... ...
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