Pilings Developing Personalities?

The new pilings have been on the beach for almost a year now. It seems that they are beginning to develop their own personalities as evidenced in the photo below. 'Nuff said.

Extra, Extra! Polar Bear swim takes place on January 1, 2007 at Point Richmond Beach!

Ok, so I am a little late posting the Polar Bear swim photos. Left, the line up of swimmers ready to go off the outer piling. Right, Carol Winge with the only costume entry in the swim - she wore a scarf and mittens for warmth!







Right below, Julia Rees does a Canon ball with pony tail to stir up the water (and maybe to get Brett wet). Spectators and swimmers enjoy Hor doerves under the unbrella.
















We were sorry that Cinde Dolphin was not able to attend the event due to her polar bear suit being at the cleaners.

Seals Everywhere!
It seems that it was just last month that I reported a seal floating by on a piece of styrofoam - that was last fall! Again seals are doing funny things. I saw one float by balanced on a foam filled tire yesterday and now this; a seal cuddled up on my outdrive! Go figure!

Cowabunga, Flotsam Surfing! (or board boarding)
Point Richmond tow team members Brett and Daniel take surfing to a new level with Brett's newest brainstorm idea; flotsam surfing! This amazing new sport is full of twists and turns! Here is how you do it; you drive around in a boat and look for some debris in the water, preferably something flat enough that you can stand on it, throw our a rope, hop on and away you go!

Approaching Retirement brings out Creativity in PRB resident

As retirement day approaches, Point Richmond Beach Resident Al considers possible new ways to spend his time. The first two photos find Al working with Granddaughter Peyton (5), and neighbor Sarah (5) in a therapeutic session of "beach graffiti on pipe."










Later on that same day our friend Al seemed to be all fired up by what appears to be another creative endeavour ...mass hot dog roasting (photos by Rondi Thornton)

Piling Jumping: Not just for kids!


Not to be shown up by just about every kid on the block, recent Camp Richmond guest (and first adult piling jumper in recent times) Carol Parrish gracefully exits the last piling into the frigid waters of Colvos Passage. In a plausable post jump interview the first words out of her mouth were "this water is really cold!"

Meet Lou!

Lou is Canadian Goose who seems to prefer to be with people over the other Geese. Yes I know the sign says don't feed the geese, and we don't, but Julia worked around this technicality by offering him some water in the cats bowl. Lou was fine with this until the cat found out! Hally, the cat then tried to pounce on Lou. It didn't seem to matter that Lou was (and still is) one and a half the size of the cat! All is well for now. Look for Lou along the beach, he is the goose that separates himself from the gaggle!

Tandem Skiing!
Have you seen what our young entertainers have been doing lately? - tandem skiing! Shown here are Bret and Daniel tandom double skiing! On a later run Bret was able to drop a ski for a slalom run. Keep your eyes on the water you never know what you might see out there!

Yes, there were Orca in June!
This picture gives an somewhat of an idea as to just how close these toothed jumbo dolphins came to our beach! Note: Photoshop was not used to create these whales... OK, I did use Photoshop to add the arrows. Orca are rarely seen this far south during this part of the year. These whales are not part of the J, K, or L pods that are resident in the sound but a group of 5 what are called "transient whales" - just passing through. Incidentally, the boat in the background was said to be a NOAA observation vessel. This sighting occurred on June 30, 2006. Sorry for the late post.

The Pilings are back!

Back by popular demand a new set of pilings has been installed on Pt Richmond Beach. Pictured from left to right are Daniel, Carl, Cody, Julia Sarah, Sam, Peter, Piper, and Angie. There would have been more but there was not enough perching space - the last two pilings have not been installed yet!

Did you happen to notice the newest addition to our beach? This Waterwheeler Pedal boat is pictured (from left to right) under the command of Katie, Daniel, Julia, and Cody. Rumor has been spreading of a Pedal boat race on the 4th of July between the Rees and the Silar pedal boats. If it happens, the race will take place after the hydroplane race at 5:50am. Come to think of it the entire day will take place after the hydroplane race! The recent arrival of this boat adds credence to the saying that "What happens upon Point Richmond Beach stays at Point Richmond Beach."

The sunset pit opens on Point Richmond Beach! Neighbors gather for a spontaneous Saturday night on the sand!

Summer is almost here! Jack Johnson and son Tyson check security of their boat mooring during a recent minus tide.

Cold Water Bites Polar Bear Swimmers
The third annual Point Richmond Beach Polar Bear swim got off without a hitch despite cold water. Daniel and Julia Rees foolishly convinced their father, as seen by the photo above, to join them for the chilling plunge held at noon on New Years day just as a biting wind whipped up bringing a rain shower across the area. This was not the first swim for the kids for 2006. Both children were said to have swum just after the clock struck midnight - and in the dark! What kind of parents would allow such a thing!

Common Loon sighting
It is not uncommon to spot one or two pair of common loons during the spring or fall at Point Richmond Beach. In fact for about two weeks during this time period it is common to see them swimming and diving off of the beach. The Loon in the picture was spotted around noon, midday near the center of the beach on November 8th. Other recent sightings of interest have been a sea lion here and there, as well as Dall's porpoise intermittently between our beach and Vashon Island. No Orca have been sighted this fall, to my knowledge, though there have been several Orca sightings about 10 miles away at the north end of Vashon Island.

Fall is here. I know this because the calender says so. There are other signs too; the days are getting shorter, leaves on the trees are changing color, seals are depositng their pups on pieces of styrofoam and letting them float away.

Finally, the boats have all been taken in leaving the mooring bouys all alone to be thrashed by the fall winds, rain and fog.

This seal was spotted loitering of Point Richmond Beach. The security officer was called in, but the officer arrived on the beach too late. The seal had already fled the scene. Later evidence was uncovered indicating the seal had been taking personal boats out for joy rides then returning them to the exact locations on the beach. The seal had also been sleeping on certain platforms located on the water. This incident is a "chilling"reminder of the otter incident earlier this summer where otters were suspects in using tools to drill holes in the Bortel dingy at night then as a slap in the face, leaving the dingy up side down in the water to be found the next morning!

As the summer winds to an end there has been quite a bit of activity on the beach as well as in the water. For instance, Bret Walter and Will Johnson recently played a game of Snorkel tag as seen above. There have been rumors that several salmon have been caught off the point but no pictures have been turned in for me to display, so for now they are all... well, just fish stories. If you have caught a fish, please send me your pictures as proof!

Another day begins at Point Richmond Beach. What will this day bring? If past experience is any indication of what we might expect today, the possiblites are almost unlimited! There are sure to be boats in the picture. Sealife will most likely give us a show. We will likely see our neighbors passing by as they walk the shoreline. Perhaps the neighbor walking will be us! How about an airshow? There was one last week if one was here at the right time. Wherever the day leads us, it will be a great day! Picture taken by Peter Bortel.

Who are these "cat" jumpers? The troublemakers at left were caught in the act of jumping, by a local photographer. If anyone has any information about these feline imitators, Frank would like to give them a piece of his mind. Besides everyone knows that cats do not like water and would never willingly jump into cold salt water if they didnt have to!