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OC Beach Blog ~ The latest news on all things along the 42 miles of beach in Orange County, Calif.

Archive for the 'sting rays' Tag

OC coast profile: Seal Beach

August 26th, 2009, 2:45 pm by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

seal_-blogEach week, I’ll be out exploring a new spot on OC’s coastline, snapping shots and giving tips about the beach. I’d love for readers to get involved, so if you have a suggestion/tip, add them into the comments area below.

Check out photos I snapped today at Seal Beach.

Quick guide to Seal Beach:

Seal Beach, Orange County’s northernmost beach, is one of the few that still has a quaint feel. Expect families and college students here, with mostly gentle waves. It’s one of the few that has an old school wooden pier, with a statue of a seal greeting people who take a relaxing stroll.

How to get to Seal Beach.

Where to eat:

There’s a Ruby’s at the end of the pier that offers great sandwiches and soups, and you can’t beat the view. Right across from the pier, Bogart’s coffee shop is perfect for a few snacks, and they have wireless if you want to plug in to work from the beach. Farther up Main Street, you definitely don’t want to miss Nick’s for a breakfast burrito, best for after a morning surf session.

Surf:

Seal Beach is a great beginner’s or longboard spot, with an easy break north of the pier. If you want lessons, contact M & M Surf Lessons. There’s also a less crowded spot near the San Gabriel River, parking at First and Ocean. Beware of sting rays in the area.

What to do for cheap:

Each Wednesday until Sept. 2, they have a concert at the pier from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. It’s free to attend, and a great relaxing way to spend a weeknight with family or friends.

Parking:

Both sides of the pier, $3 for two hours.

Want more on this beach? Check out this Beach Wiki that will give you tons of great tips on the area.

Posted in: Beach culture • Events • Sand Shots • • • | 1 Comment »

Stingrays jabbing feet at the beach

July 14th, 2009, 1:48 pm by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

stingraysWith the water warming up and smaller waves coming to shore, stingray reports to lifeguards are on the upswing.

Both Seal Beach and Bolsa Chica State Beach - areas known for high populations of sting rays - reported about 20 hits at each beach on Saturday.

 Seal Beach lifeguard Capt. Joe Bailey said several could be seen near the San Gabriel river jetty, where the rays like to hang out because the water gets warm in that area. Just this morning, one lady came in with sting ray hits on each foot.

Sting ray encounters can be hit or miss, Bailey said. While there were 23 reports to lifeguards on Saturday, only three came in on Sunday. Last week, they had 21 reported injuries. On average, they are having anywhere between three and 10 reports each day. 
There’s a number of factors that may cause sting rays to be close enough to shore to sting beachgoers. Generally, they are more likely to be near the shoreline when surf is small, or the tide is low.

“We’re definitely in one of the higher end of sting ray injuries,” he said.

This is what can get stuck in your foot

This is what can get stuck in your foot

Cal State Long Beach experts say that anywhere from 16,000 to 40,000 sting rays can be found in Seal Beach, figures obtained from tagging research they have done in the past.

Last year, nearly 500 victims reported injuries to lifeguards, nearly double of what they saw in 2006. Seal Beach has 1/3 of the nation-wide reports when it comes to sting ray injury reports. Read more about that here.

Down in Bolsa Chica, lifeguard Diego Busatto said Saturday was a busy day for sting ray injuries, because of the number of people at the beach. Bolsa is averaging about five to 10 reports a day. 

“Generally, we have a lot during summer when the water warms up,” he said.  

Busatto said that the sting rays can be found in high numbers north of the new tidal inlet, because they enjoy the nutrients that are coming from the estuary.

He said that victims should soak their feet in hot water for about 30 minutes. Lifeguard headquarters at both beaches have hot water buckets for people hit by sting rays.

Stingray hits usually happen when they are stepped on, so lifeguards recommend doing the “stingray shuffle” when entering the water, moving feet back and forth along the ocean’s bottom.

stingrays3

Posted in: Beach culture • Beach news • Environment • • | 7 Comments »

Reporter details stingray encounter; Seal Beach reports hundreds of hits

September 4th, 2008, 3:41 pm by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

Sting RayIt’s one of the questions people have to answer before learning to surf - can I face the creatures that lurk below the ocean’s surface?

One of those that makes people cringe at the thought of them is the sting ray, which tend to come close to shore when the water warms (like as of recent). Seal Beach - known casually as “Ray Bay” - is on track to have 700 reports come into the lifeguard station this year. On a heavy day, up to 20 victims can come limping into the lifeguard headquarters for treatment.

O.C. Register business writer Jeff Collins recently was stung by a stingray at Bolsa Chica State Beach. Here’s his account of what happened:

I had just finished riding my first wave early Sunday morning when I put my right foot down and stepped on something hard, round and slippery. “A bottle,” I thought. Suddenly, the “bottle” rolled and I felt a sharp stab on the top of my foot.

“Was that a stingray?” I asked myself. I paddled in, yanked off my rubber bootie and spotted an even, horseshoe-shaped cut on the top of my foot, about 2 millimeters long.

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I had to soak my foot in warm water, a female surfer nearby advised. Don’t put anything cold on it.

“Go to the lifeguards,” she said. “To the headquarters building.”

Soaking wet, wearing a wetsuit and burdened with my 9 1/2-foot Bettis board, I hobbled about 200 yards over to the imposing, brick lifeguard HQ, the top of my foot throbbing.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Beach culture • Weird stuff on the water • What do you think? Latest polls • • | 12 Comments »

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