Sapelo Island Trip, Page 2
Day 7
We have ventured into the Bald Cypress groves,
hunted for the rare Long Leafed pine needle stands, and scoured the beaches and
found thousands of fiddler crabs, oyster beds and snails. I found a rare Lettered Olive seashell and a beautiful
sand-dollar urchin. I am so amazed
by the intricate detail found in such small creatures. Brooke and Dorsett, our resident hosts, are marine estuary
biologists and patiently explain the growth patterns and unique habitat distinct
to each species.
We
had the opportunity to visit the newly restored Lighthouse on the island with
David Freedman, Project and Restoration Engineer for the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources.
During the late 1800’s this particular
lighthouse was painted the distinctive red and white alternate banding to
distinguish it from other Southeast Atlantic coast lighthouses.
This told the mariners exactly that they were directly off the Coast of
Sapelo Island, for no other lighthouse could be painted in the same fashion.
Day 8
Maurice
demonstrated another fishing technique. He
provides tours to visitors and school groups on island habitat and ecology and
leads mule drawn wagon tours for mainlanders.
This bright morning he was demonstrating the "cast net" fishing style
to the encouraging cheers of a mainland Brownie Troop from Savannah.
You hold one end of the ring of weighted net in your teeth and two other
edges in each hand. There is a center pull rope, which when tugged, closes the
circle to trap what ever is unfortunate enough to have been underneath the
dropping net. The trick seems to be
to let go simultaneously with hands and teeth.
We heard of one visitor who lost his dentures by forgetting to let go
just at the right instant. Maurice
caught fish and crabs, and as the kids teased, "just water", as he pulled an
empty net up on the dock. Sapelo is
certainly a special place to learn and explore!
Day
9
A
few days ago, Brooke Vallaster, left, the education coordinator for Sapelo, took us to one of
the pristine beaches. She said I was very fortunate to have found the
3" Lettered Olive shell at my feet. A beautiful smooth, elongated
shell with subtle sienna and honey- brown markings. Today is the day
before the full moon. This means the island will have highest and lowest
tides of the last 6 months. This means ... excellent shelling!
So off we went to try our luck.
The
beach had been scoured flat by the high tide. The waves moved all the way
up into the low dunes and the high waves had created a tidal creek with a myriad
of water patterns in the sand. Neal went one way and I the other, to see
what we could find. My hope was high, but after much walking, it
plummeted, as I found only small cockle shells for my efforts. I caught up
to Neal only to find him beaming with satisfaction. He lead me over to a
pile of 12 Lettered Olive shells. But ... his find still had
occupants! He must have happened upon the Lettered Olive Social
Club. We soon quit counting at 40 on this stretch of tidal
creek.
We
decided to host the '1st Annual,
Lettered Olive Snail Races'.
We lined
them up in a row at the edge of the tide water and waited. One small
snail, we named Darrell Waltrip, took off immediately and sunk quickly into the
wet sand, leaving the typical snail slick as he disappeared. Left those
other old duffers in the dust ...
ahem, I mean, the sand. They appear to burrow through the sand just below
the surface looking for food like small cockles and even sand crabs. When
stranded, as in a low tide, they just close-up and wait for the tide to
return. As they burrow through the wet sand their streamlined shells
become highly polished, making them highly desirable shells for
collecting. Maybe next year, we will be back to film the mollusks version
of 'Dune' or the 'Snail shell 500' (inches not miles)!
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