Enjoy the CDU Newsletter
Published: Fri, 11/21/14
Issue
444
21st November 2014
Message Bank
This week I found a few slides I took in Malaysia in 1976
of Leatherback turtles. I still remember the
amazing experience
that I had watching these turtles lay their eggs
on a beach
for three nights. The Leatherback turtles were
huge and to
see them come out of the water up the beach, dig
a big hole,
lay dozens of eggs, cover them up so they are
hidden and then
make their way back to the water and disappear
into the night
was just such a happy and exhilarating
experience.
I was just flabbergasted when I searched the Internet this
week for more information on the turtles in
Malaysia to find
that nowadays they are virtually extinct. To
think that back
in 1950 there were 10,000 nests along
the Malaysian beach and to find out that there
are now next
to none is just unbelievable. How could that
happen in so
few years?
The reason is simple, it is because of mankind. Egg poachers,
fishing nets, plastic bags, these are just a few
reasons why
they are no longer around. Thank goodness there
are people
around the world who are trying to save our
wildlife.
On my paddling trips up north I have come across many turtles,
some have even tried to make their nest next to
my tent and
I have loved being in their world but the
leatherback turtles
were just the ultimate, they were so enormous.
It's sad to think that I can go back to the Grand Canyon,
Niagara falls, Uluru, Mitchell Falls and many
other unique
places but I can't go back to Malaysia to see
the Leatherback
turtles anymore.
Read the article and snippets further down. Hilary Chiew
mentions that the Leatherback were virtually
extinct in Malaysia
2003. When I was there in 1976 there
were just heaps of them.
Leatherback Turtle on a Malaysian beach in
1976. In the 1950s there were over 10,000 nests
in this region,
now they are virtually extinct.
The villagers in Rantau
Abang have accepted the inevitable – that the
leatherback
may cease to nest on their beaches and that
future generations
may never see this gentle giant.
********************************************
Last Sundays Moore River race was another success, it was
a great day for flat water racing paddles, but
we will have
to wait a few weeks for the next flatwater race.
The next
few weeks we have four weekends of Downwind
races
Happy Birthday Helen Moreby
Helen far right is celebrating her birthday
at Moore River.
John, Ann, Alaine, Alan, Helen and Helen having
a sip a champagne.
Some of our Saturday morning crew ready to
race. Craig, Jason, Kevin Kris's dad, Bonnie,
Kris. Bailee,
Ray, Michael, mature Ray, Chris & Jarrod. Photo
Ray Smith
collection.
We all love paddling but when you have a great
group of people to paddle with it doesn't get
any better.
***********************************
The West Coast Downwinder
Singles this Saturday and the doubles on Sunday
Walter Chalupsky breaking through the surf
***************************************
Bolland before the Beard
In Malaysia 1976. Enjoying some shellfish.
Training & Courses
Saturday
Morning Fitness Training
Sandy Beach Reserve, West Road, Bassendean
7.30am start
PFD compulsory
*********************
Clint Robinson
Clinics
On Tuesday, Wednesday, 25th, 26th November
We still have a couple
of places left for flatwater and a downwind
session on Wednesday.
2 hours each session and $200 pp.
These 1-on-2 sessions really get down to the
nitty gritty
For booking and for more
information contact Terry at 9378 1333
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Stories
Malaysia 1976.
Checking out
Leatherback Turtles lay their eggs
The turtle comes out
of the ocean and starts digging.
Poaching of the eggs
is common but this man is a ranger who collects
the eggs to
incubate them back at the depot.
He uses a thin iron bar
to locate the eggs as the turtle disturbs a lot
of sand when
finished laying to disguise the location of the
hole.
She digs a hole and starts
laying her eggs.
Average clutch size is around 110 eggs. After
laying, the
female carefully back-fills the nest, disguising
it from predators
with a scattering of sand.
After she has finished
she backfills the hole and wanders back to the
water. Photos
Terry Bolland
********************
I have seen many turtles
up north whilst paddling although they are no
where near the
size of the leatherback turtle but still a treat
to see.
A smaller turtle comes
into my Kimberley camp leaving its tracks.
*************************
The Leatherback
The leatherback sea turtle
(Dermochelys coriacea), is the largest of all
living turtles
and is the fourth-heaviest modern reptile behind
three crocodilians.
It is the only living species in the genus
Dermochelys. It
can easily be differentiated from other modern
sea turtles
by its lack of a bony shell. Instead, its
carapace is covered
by skin and oily flesh.
Leatherback turtles have
the most hydrodynamic body design of any sea
turtle, with
a large, teardrop-shaped body. A large pair of
front flippers
power the turtles through the water. Like other
sea turtles,
the leatherback has flattened fore limbs adapted
for swimming
in the open ocean. Claws are absent from both
pairs of flippers.
The leatherback's flippers are the largest in
proportion to
its body among extant sea turtles. Leatherback's
front flippers
can grow up to 2.7 m (8.9 ft) in large
specimens, the largest
flippers (even in comparison to its body) of any
sea turtle.
The leatherback has several
characteristics that distinguish it from other
sea turtles.
Its most notable feature is the lack of a bony
carapace. Instead
of scutes, it has thick, leathery skin with
embedded minuscule
osteoderms. Seven distinct ridges rise from the
carapace,
crossing from the anterior to posterior margin
of the turtle's
back.
Instead of teeth, the leatherback
turtle has points on the tomium of its upper
lip, with backwards
spines in its throat to help it swallow food and
to stop its
prey escaping once caught.
Leatherbacks are the largest
turtles on Earth, growing up to seven feet (two
meters) long
and exceeding 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms).
These reptilian
relics are the only remaining representatives of
a family
of turtles that traces its evolutionary roots
back more than
100 million years. Once prevalent in every ocean
except the
Arctic and Antarctic, the leatherback population
is rapidly
declining in many parts of the world.
The beach of Rantau Abang
in Terengganu, Malaysia, once had the largest
nesting population
in the world, hosting 10,000 nests per year. The
major cause
for the decline was egg consumption by humans.
Conservation
efforts initiated in the 1960s were ineffective
because they
involved excavating and incubating eggs at
artificial sites
which inadvertently exposed the eggs to high
temperatures.
It only became known in the 1980s that sea
turtles undergo
temperature-dependent sex determination; it is
suspected that
nearly all the artificially incubated hatchlings
were female.
In 2008, two turtles nested at Rantau Abang, and
unfortunately
the eggs were infertile.
Habitat
Leatherback turtles can be found primarily
in the open ocean. Scientists tracked a
leatherback turtle
that swam from Indonesia to the U.S. in an epic
20,000 km
(12,000 mi) foraging journey over a period of
647 days. Leatherbacks
follow their jellyfish prey throughout the day,
resulting
in turtles "preferring" deeper water in the
daytime,
and shallower water at night (when the jellyfish
rise up the
water column). This hunting strategy often
places turtles
in very frigid waters. One individual was found
actively hunting
in waters that had a surface temperature of
0.4°C.
Its favored breeding beaches are mainland
sites facing deep water, and they seem to avoid
those sites
protected by coral reefs.
Feeding
Adult D. coriacea turtles subsist almost
entirely on jellyfish. Due to their obligate
feeding nature,
leatherback turtles help control jellyfish
populations. Leatherbacks
also feed on other soft-bodied organisms, such
as tunicates
and cephalopods.
Pacific leatherbacks migrate about 6,000
mi (9,700 km) across the Pacific from their
nesting sites
in Indonesia to eat California jellyfish. One
cause for their
endangered state is plastic bags floating in the
ocean. Pacific
leatherback sea turtles mistake these plastic
bags for jellyfish;
an estimated one-third of adults have ingested
plastic. Plastic
enters the oceans along the west coast of urban
areas, where
leatherbacks forage; with Californians using
upward of 19
billion plastic bags every year.
Several species of sea turtles commonly
ingest plastic marine debris, and even small
quantities of
debris can kill sea turtles by obstructing their
digestive
tracts. Nutrient dilution, which occurs when
plastics displace
food in the gut, affects the nutrient gain and
consequently
the growth of sea turtles. Ingestion of marine
debris and
slowed nutrient gain leads to increased time for
sexual maturation
that may affect future reproductive behaviors.
wikipedia.
**********************
Leatherback
Turtle - Decline of the giants
Story by HILARY CHIEW Tuesday, July
01, 2003
For decades the giant leatherbacks of
Rantau Abang in Terengganu were a crowd-puller
as nesting
females drew tourists by the thousands. But
today, the beaches
are deserted. The impending extinction of the
leatherback
has brought scientists and policy makers to
examine what went
wrong, and start the course to protect other
viable turtle
species.
JUNE is the peak nesting month of the
leatherback turtles at Rantau Abang beach in
Terengganu. Back
in the heyday of the 1970s and 80s, tourists
would arrive
by the busload at the premier nesting ground of
the leatherbacks,
bringing a carnival-like atmosphere to this
sleepy hollow
on the East Coast.
By the 1990s, these giant reptiles were
getting more elusive, as grim reports of dead
turtles found
entangled in fishing nets coincided with the
modernisation
of the fishing industry.
Now, as we walk on the same, albeit
desolate, beach that stretches as far as the eye
can see,
hoping against hope to chance upon a nesting
leatherback,
the only sound we hear is the lapping of the
waves and the
symphony of the forest fringing the coast.
“This is a far cry from the days when
busloads of visitors hung out on the beach
blasting loud music,
setting bonfires and harassing the poor mother
turtles,”
recalls turtle scientist Dr Chan Eng Heng who had
conducted
extensive research on the leatherback.
“Now that the turtle has gone,
so have the tourists and the bustling
beach-front chalets
and restaurants,” sighs Chan. Chan predicts that
the
leatherback will be extinct this millennium,
going by the
prevailing trend of egg consumption, increasing
mortality
rate caused by fishing gear in international and
territorial
waters, and poor hatchery management.
The Fisheries Department reported zero
nesting last year although officers from the
Turtle and Marine
Ecosystem Centre (Tumec) insisted there were
three nests but
they were all poached. Bureaucratic
contradictions aside,
a record of three nests pales miserably in
comparison to 10,000
nests in the 1950s.
The drop in turtle landings on the 15km
beach prompted the Terengganu state government
to amend its
Turtle Enactment 1951. Rantau Abang was gazetted
as a turtle
sanctuary and a total ban on leatherback egg
consumption was
included in the 1987 amendment. A council was
also set up
to manage the endangered species.
Under the Turtle Enactment 1951, egg
collection was legalised through a tender system
that also
allows the licensee to operate turtle watching
areas. This
has resulted in all the eggs being consumed
until the introduction
of the hatchery programme in 1961.
In 1991, another layer of protection
was created, this time to protect turtles in the
water during
the inter-nesting period. Chan and fellow turtle
scientist
Liew Hock Chark, from the University College of
Science and
Technology of Malaysia in Terengganu, conducted
radio tracking
of the nesting turtles in 1989 and mapped out
the movement
range of the reptile. This led to the
establishment of the
Rantau Abang Fisheries Protected Area in 1991,
which banned
the use of destructive fishing gear such as the
trawl net
and gill net.
Dr. Chan Eng Heng with the carcass of
an adult green turtle believed to have drowned
in a discarded
fishing net. The carcass was washed ashore on
Terengganu's
beaches.
It is regrettable that the steps taken
to protect the eggs and eliminate threats in the
water failed
to make Rantau Abang a returning point for the
leatherback.
According to Chan and Liew’s research
paper, Decline of the Leatherback Population in
Terengganu,
Malaysia, 1956 to 1995, the diminishing trend in
nesting is
alarming: 37 nests were recorded in 1995 compared
to 10,155
nests in 1956. The annual decline averaged 260
nests over the
39-year period.
The rapid development of the fishing
industry in Terengganu between 1972 and 1974,
and the introduction
of Japanese high seas squid drift nets in 1978
had an adverse
impact on the leatherback population in
Malaysia, according
to the research paper. Tagged individuals from
Rantau Abang
were recovered from as far as Taiwan, Japan and
Hawaii.
The report also pointed out that newly-released
hatchlings would be attracted to the
brightly-lit fishing
boats, thus reducing their chances of making it
to the open
seas.
Not only were the eggs poached and the
adults killed by fishing gear, even the eggs
incubated in
the hatchery had disrupted the gender balance of
the leatherback
population.
The high temperature in the incubators
had resulted in a predominantly female batch of
hatchlings.
A study by Chan in 1987 showed that since all
the hatchlings
came from the hatcheries, this could tip the sex
ratio of
the leatherback population.
Female turtles which do not have adequate
mating chances will eventually deposit eggs
which are largely
unfertilised. Unfertilised eggs due to sex-ratio
imbalance
has emerged as a unique problem in Rantau Abang
and presents
an additional hurdle to the survival of the
leatherback. The
latest confirmation was the discovery in 2001 of
21 clutches
of eggs which were found to have no embryonic
development.
Too Late
The villagers in Rantau Abang have accepted
the inevitable – that the leatherback may cease to
nest
on their beaches and that future generations may
never see this
gentle giant.
*******************************
Moore River
Race
The Moore River Race is always a fun
race and a beautiful place to paddle even if you
are not having
fun. I try to paddle this race in a different
kayak every
year, last year it was a canoe, the year before
a multisport
kayak, this year I'm paddling a K2 in the mixed
pairs competition
with Alaine.
Alaine eager to race away
The weather when we arrived was pretty
perfect, in fact it was a lot cooler than we
expected which
was going to top 31. There was also a great turn
up of paddlers
and the WAIS paddlers also help boost the
numbers.
The wind eased by the time we got on
the water. The mixed doubles were off first
which included
many of the WAIS paddlers so Alaine and I knew
we were only
here to make up the numbers. We were all on the
line and with
a few seconds to go the WAIS paddlers were
chewing at the
bit and before the final siren had gone, they
were gone. I
know none of us non WAIS paddlers would stand a
chance at
winning the race but it would have been nice if
all paddlers
started at the same time instead of the fast
ones jumping
the gun. There needs to be a video review and if
anyone jumps
the gun they get penalised. Anyway in a flash
they were gone
leaving us ordinary folk to wallow in their
wash.
The start of the mixed
K2s. The WAIS paddlers have already gone. Photo
Ann Smith
Photo Ann Smith
Within 500 metres most boats had sorted
themselves out. We had Peter Martin and partner
Agnus Pajor
just ahead of us on one side and Kelly and Dene
Waru on the
other. Peter really wanted to beat us and we
them but they
seemed to have the upper hand at that moment. I
didn't recognise
the female paddler he was paddling with but
whoever it was
she seemed to be going okay. Eventually Kelly
and Dene slipped
in behind Peter and we slipped in behind them.
Unbeknown to
us it was only the second time young Kelly had
paddled in
a race and hadn't done a lot of paddling, but it
didn't show.
The water at times shallowed which made
our job of wash hanging just that little more
difficult. The
boat dragged and we fell behind, but once it
deepened we were
able to get back on their wash and get closer to
their stern
and things were good again.
Some of the faster div 1 paddlers started
passing us. Their wash upset our washhanging
attempts but
we kept close. A little later we met the fast K2
paddlers
in a tight diamond returning to the finish after
going around
the top turn. Young Bronwyn Martin had the
pleasure of paddling
with Olympian Stephen Bird so I'm sure she was
happy.
We soon arrived at the island turning
point where there was a fallen tree which had to
be ducked
under on the left hand side. Two young paddlers
in a double
were having trouble after going under the tree,
we passed
them by and headed for the next fallen tree. The
other two
doubles ahead had now left us behind as we had
to get in single
file and wait. Going to the left of the next
fallen tree meant
you had to duck under the big branch but going
to the right
was longer but it looked clearer. The other K2
had little
trouble getting over it and when we paddled over
it we suddenly
stopped when the rudder hit the trunk. We
wobbled and I did
a big brace stroke on the left to stop us from
capsizing.
Bugger we nearly did capsize but our luck was in
unlike the
luck of Martin Watson who capsized trying to get
under the
log on the left. Another boat had also capsized
in front of
him.
As you can imagine we were grateful
that we hadn't capsized. Since Alaine and I have
been paddling
together we have never capsized, so it was good
to keep our
record clean.
By now the other two doubles were well
ahead and although we tried to catch them we
couldn't. A few
more faster paddlers passed us and I tried to
use their wash
to gain a few metres but in doing so, we tired
ourselves out
as they were too fast. As the river widened the
wind whipped
down the river creating a head wind which I
thought would
be there all the way back home, but it died
again only to
come back later but it wasn't that bad.
The top mixed K2s return.
Photo Ann Smith
Young Matthew Greed suddenly passed
us. He had started 2 minutes behind us yet he
was paddling
by. Matthew was only light and giving little
wash but we tried
desperately to keep on whatever wash he had. I
was hoping
we would get closer to the other two doubles
ahead by washing
him, but we didn't. As luck should have it we
were able to
keep up with him until the last 200 metres where
Warren Southwell
started passing us. We tried hard but they both
managed to
keep ahead with Matthew crossing the line first.
Another group of paddlers
return. Photo Ann Smith
We didn't do so bad considering Alaine
hadn't trained, but our eyes were on Colin and
Julie in the
racing C2. We hold the record in the canoe so we
were hoping
that they hadn't beaten it. They hadn't, we had
beat them
by 9 seconds, but we hold the 45 record and they
now have
the 55+ record. Looks as if we will have to race
in the canoe
next year to see if we can beat them and get the
55 record
as Alaine is now 55.
Vince, Simon and Alan
had a great race in their Multisports
The young and the old.
Young Zac beats Jon over the line. Photo Peter
Ashby
Michael just beating
Doug and Bonnie over the line. Photo Ann Smith
We watched other paddlers coming over
the line. Rob Riggir who once was my equal did
extremely well
and has now gone beyond my fitness level. In
fact there are
too many paddlers to mention that are now better
than me.
Michael Liddle came across the line just before
Bonnie, Doug
and Bailee so he would have been happy.
Paddlers in the grids behind kept streaming
in and when everyone was home and they had
worked out the
times we managed to get a bronze medal in the
over 45s mixed
pairs.
Colin and Julie in their
new C2. Photo Peter Ashby
For full results: http://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=32964
Race of the Week
G'day Terry
Long time no see
We often think of you, your adventures,
books and canoeing instruction in the top end.
I Finally got around to creating a book
from my diary written 50 years ago about a motor
scooter trip
we did as detailed in the introduction below. It
would be
nice if you could give it the once over and some
advice.
To add to the excitement I have just
purchased a Blue 1959 Heinkel motor scooter. The
same vintage
as the red Heinkel that I rode 50 years ago.
Hope you are well.
Kind regards
Bob & Emma from Townsville
On October 15th it was 50 years since Ralf,
Wolfram and I
commenced our never to be repeated journey on
Heinkel motor
scooters from Braunschweig Germany to Darwin
Australia, encountering
a variety of conditions.
I've just published my diary with some
photos and converted it into a historical
document. The 355
page story has excitement, drama, happiness,
sadness, humour,
disappointment and satisfaction. It's available
to preview
and buy from the link below.
I would like you to take a look to comment
and share it with your circles to help me spread
the word.
http://au.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/4983853/d2b5b232cec5ccd796d3da96a1b841472ba3480c
Hope you like it.
Race of the Week
West Coast Downwinder
(Ski Race)
22nd of November 2014
1:30pm - 2:00pm
******************
The Doctor Race (Rottnest to Sorrento)
29th/30th November 2014
For the more experienced Ski Paddler
******************
07-Dec-14 Sunday
Mandurah Duel
******************
14-Dec-14 Sunday Bay 2 Beach
******************
28-Dec-14 Sunday 10 Km Champion Lakes
******************
18-Jan-15 Sunday Marathon # 3 Claisebrook Race
******************
2014/15 Summer
Series Time Trials
Next one
4: 17 January 2015 City Beach Sorrento Beach
3:30pm
Sponsored by Canoeing Down Under
5: 14 February 2015 City
Beach Sorrento Beach 3:30pm
6: 14 March 2015 City Beach Sorrento Beach
3:30pm
7: 18 April 2015 City Beach Sorrento Beach
3:30pm
The Rules
Leg leash and PFD are mandatory on all paddles.
Surf Life Saving craft and members have the
right to tell
you to get off the water.
Photo
of the Week
Photos taken by our Canadian
friend Dan whilst diving on the barrier reef
last week.
What amazing colours