Tag Archives: possible tsunami debris

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Cece Case and Eric Nordvold went for a hike at Bowling Ball Beach several weeks ago, and they found something interesting tossed up on the beach. Cece wrote, “Eric found a large fishing float with a Japanese name on it – Musashi. I read on the Internet that identical ones had been found in British Columbia and Washington state.

“The one in Washington had been traced to a Japanese oyster farming area that had been affected by the tsunami. I remember there was someone tracking tsunami debris, so please forward this to them.”

We haven't learned if this is tsunami debris. The California current brings items from halfway around the world to occasionally land on one of our beaches. One of the strangest items found was this intact light bulb, possibly tossed off a fishing boat. It was found by Gary Humfeld.

Just after a storm is the perfect time to search beaches for treasures from afar.

Thanks to Cece and Gary for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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A towel with Japanese characters washed up on a rock at Shell Beach on The Sea Ranch last week. Lynda Frye was walking with a friend when she found it. Of course we don't know if it is from the tsunami but it certainly could be. This is a very unusual item to find on the beach.

We will be alert in the weeks and months ahead to see what might show up on our beaches from a terrible disaster half the world away.

To see several other photos of possible tsunami debris, here are the links: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/06/21/the-first-wave-of-tsunami-debris-has-arrived-on-the-mendocino-coast/
http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/09/17/a-few-more-views-from-our-day-at-manchester-state-park-including-possible-tsunami-debris/

Thanks to Lynda for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

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As I showed you yesterday, there is a lovely little lagoon on the northern portion of Manchester State Beach. There I saw two birds wading in the water. The one on the left was about half the size of the other one. Ron LeValley identified it as a Pectoral Sandpiper. The bird on the right is a Short-billed Dowitcher.

Below there is a portion of a boat, with the metal piece that held the anchor, that recently washed up on the beach. Someone has already incorporated it into a driftwood "building."

And below Mel Smith and Linda Bostwick are standing next to a small refrigerator. It's very heavy. This and the portion of the boat might be precursors of the tsunami debris head our way from the Japanese disaster.

We were lucky and had a sighting of an Elegant Sheepmoth for our own!

And as we picked up debris, a flock of Canada Geese passed by, their wingbeats were audible in the calm morning air.

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Yesterday, Saturday, was Coastal Clean-up day so Rick and I met Linda Bostwick and Mel Smith at the northern end of Manchester State Beach. The fog was just off the coast and the air was cool, perfect for scouring the beach and lagoon for trash.

Here's the path from Highway One. The woods contain walk-in campsites.

Below Linda Bostwick with her poodle, Devi, stand in one of the campsites.

As we walked further into the park we saw beautiful grasses and sedges. A group of Cattails waved in the breezes. The Point Arena Lighthouse stands to the far left.

Below is a beautiful, small lagoon. Tomorrow I will show you two Sandpipers who were fishing in it.

And here is the result of our labors. Rick, Mel and Linda with the debris we picked up. Two items were left on the beach because they were too heavy - a small refrigerator and a small but heavy tire. These could be precursors of the tsunami debris that will  hitting our coast in the months to come.

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The Japanese tsunami debris is still supposedly several months away from the West Coast but Gary Humfeld can't help but wonder if this water bottle might be from that catastrophic event. Gary found this at Manchester State Park beach.

We first need to determine if the characters are Japanese. When a large buoy was found a month or so ago, it turned out to have Korean characters on it. Here's the link to see that buoy and a smaller one found by Gary.
http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/04/16/asian-buoys-found-washed-up-on-manchester-beach-are-they-possibly-of-japanese-origin-and-from-the-tsunami/. And to see a lightbulb (!) that washed up on our Coast, here's that link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/04/17/ushio-light-bulb-washed-up-at-manchester-state-beach/