“Red tide is caused by tiny organisms, some of which emit phosphorescence when disturbed. It can be toxic and has been linked to various maladies in humans. It appears as a red tint in the water during daylight hours. …”
…yuk !
And do you recommend people to surf in that ???
…sounds more like pollution to me.
I thank god the water here is relatively clean … considering Perth is a city of a million or so people , it’s a miracle really .
AS far as I know surfing during red tides and such is not dangerous. The danger is eating filter feeding organisms like clams, oyster,mussels, and occasionally fin fish that concentrate the toxin in their tissues during the blooms. Redtides usually occur when there is a warm surface layer of water with a nutrient rich cold layer underneath,ie, the summer months. It is not pollution,but pollution can increase the frequency of the blooms because shit equals food for plankton. In Calif. red tides are usually caused by photosynthetic protist called dinoflagellates. The toxin can cause severe brain damage or death. That is why filter feeders are quarantined during our summer months. Mike
Wow - I feel pretty stupid for having suggested surfing during a red tide without having researched it a little better. In all the years I’ve been in and around it, I’d never experienced or heard of any problems.
As far as I know it is relatively benign on the west coast unless you EAT something that has filter fed it - (Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning) This contamination of shellfish seems to be the primary concern on west coast.
I don’t know of any accounts of rashes or other problems on west coast after exposure to a red tide.
East coast is a different situation and why I originally mentioned the links to human maladies. In Florida and Gulf Coast there can be problems even with skin contact.
Your mileage may vary so check out all local variations of red tide before jumping in!
red tide is caused by a ‘bloom’ of microorganisms - you see it here on the pacific side during the dry season occasionallywhen the NE trades blow off topwater and allow cooler water to come up. sometimes you’ll be fishing and see it a like a billowy cloud in the middle of some clear water – ocassionaly you’ll see a whole coast red with it, although this is rare, and it can stink too cuz fish will die in it if they stay in too long – however it’s a natural phenomena. fish actually duck in and out of the billows no problems.
the phospherescent water at night is also caused by a microorganism, and has nothing to do with pollution. (at least not here) typically you see it in clear, clean waters - both pacific and atlantic (Carib) sides - anything that disturbs the organism causes it to emit the light, producing some killer light shows sometimes - waves breaking, turbulence from props. Once we were going fishing out to the Perlas, and cruising out in the middle of the night we’d see dolphins flying past us all lit up. same thing that causes the firefly to lightup.
The toxin is called a brevetoxin (from the dinoflagellate K. brevia (?)) and is harmful if injested, most commonly from eating oysters, clams, etc that have fed on the organism. If ingested, it causes nasty gastrointestinal problems and temporary nervous disorders. People also often get sick if the toxin is aerosolized in ocean spray and inhaled, causing severe respiratory problems. Most of the time, people get sick, but recover. Deaths are very rare. In severe cases, people need to be put on a respirator as the toxin interferes with the nervous system.
We don’t get red tide blooms here in NJ, really. But the Gulf, Carribean, and southeast up to the Carolinas do.
As far as I know, phosphorescence and red tides are different events. The dinoflagellate that causes red tides is not bioluminescent.
So go surfing at night and trip out on the sparkles!
Chip, not everything about the US has to do with pollution. Please don’t assume our media, leadership, corporations, and foreign policies are representative of the all land or all the people.
Red tide and bioluminescense are generally not the same thing, nor are they related to pollution. Red tide on the west coast, like John says, is safe to swim in…just not to eat from. In my experience, bioluminescense is not related to red tide, but is certainly more spectacular. I lived on Catalina for 5 months about 15 years ago and night dives & snorkels among the green glows were the most surreal experiences of my life.
the only drawback from frolicking about in the red tide i have experienced over the years is some pretty stanky smelling trunks,towels and wetsuit(when the dry out)…but the light show is well worth it!
The strangest case(60 Minutes many years ago) I heard of was a college math teacher who was poisoned from eating commercial oysters or mussells on the east coast of US. The toxin detroyed his short term memory. So, he was still able to work and teach because his subject was stored in long term memory. However, he was unable to learn new information including the names of people. Very debilitating. There can be “red tide” blooms from organism that have no color or others that have a yellowish color. Hence, the names Yellow Sea or the Red Sea. Or, so I’m told. Do a search on Ciguatera to learn of fin fish that can cause problems. We collect mussells around here most winters, steam them, dip them in butter, cold beers, Yummy!Mike
Used to night surf in Cape Town when younger, bright full moons were best… wouldn’t do it now though because of all the sharks!!!
New past time though is surfing the Severn Bore at night. Mates have been doing it for a while now, it’s amazing how much you can actually see at night once your eyes have adjusted, the light reflected from nearby towns and Gloucester itself enable you to see quite a lot, however you have to stay well out from the bank…otherwise you end up stuck in a tree!! A friend got stuck up in one last month, ripped his wetsuit to shreds and had several mean scratches on his back and legs… Great bonus is you have the wave virtually to yourself though and at night it is usually glassy smooth, just fantastic adrenalising fun…!!
I did night surfing for the first time 2 days ago, some funny small waves at san blas. spend the last 4 days surfing there, first time in pacific ocean, sleeping at the beach, waking up at 7 am, surfing 2-3 hours, then eat something, watch the girls, back to the water at 5 pm. I decided to surf at night the second day. one of my top surfing experiences. the best: met a girl that night, and she ended giving me one of the best blowjobs in my life.
I use to surf HB peir all the time… plenty of light from the pier.
First time at Rincon was full moon @ midnight… thoght i’d be all alone… ha! a dozen guys out, did that lots of time. I was always struck by the moon before it was “over” the waves - easier to see the waves when riding, but after it passed over head easier to see the sets coming…
also surf some perfect beach set ups into the dark w/beach house lights twinkling in the face, felt like surfin in space.
I usually surf the dawn patrol, but when conditions are good or dawn gets late during the winter, I find myself surfing in the near dark pretty often
I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than a moonlight session during a red tide. The way the flourescence lights up as the waves break, in your wake, and the eddys of light peeling off your hands as you paddle is surreal.
i remember some bodyboarding i did right after the sunset it had just gotten black, pitch black and my spidey senses told me i was beign tugged at by a wave so i whipped around and paddled into, ended up getting a really deep smooth barrel, inside the avbailble light would get all refllected and it was awesome.Riding in the dark is like training blindfolded. I was quite good in the barrel on a sponge(not trying to brag). I would often surprise myself, thinking i would never make the section and closing my eyes and get ready to pull out then from nowhere just feel some acceleration and see the wave open a hair and fly out. Anyone remember Coming of theDawn in Greenough’s Innermost Limits? I wanna ride in Phosporesence, like GG would do at rincon back in the 60’s(Renny Yater article in TSJ).
I’ve never done it,but think about it all the time. Full moon with one of those water proof spelunking head mounted lights. Mike
We tried a bunch of different lights and none worked. They do weird things like light up the spray and mist so you just get blinded and can’t see anything but white right in front of you. Street lights, building lights or the best is the full moon light without flashlights… We even surfed no moon darkness. That was a trip! Too dark though…