Tsunami hitting California..??

Photo of the damage in Samoa

It was 7:15pm when I showed up at a dinner party and was told a small tsunami might hit the harbor (where my boat was) at 9:11pm. What?! 

The Samoan 8.0 earthquake/tsunami that wiped out villages was just 1.5 meters. It hit Hawaii at about half that size and was enroute to California at an estimated 0.6 meters. The Harbor Patrol seem unconcerned on the phone but my boat lay uninsured right next to the breakwater. Damage to itself or other boats is not in my budget. Even though the threat was low, they say an ounce of prevention is best..

so I scrambled rudely away from the dinner party and had the engine going at 8:56pm.
we were out of the harbor at 9:05pm
and lay anchored in 35 feet of water at 9:12pm

Did the tsunami go through? Apparently their effects can last 1.5 hours. But nay... this was a false alarm. For a natural catastrophe "drill", this was pretty night with stars and altogether enjoyable... here anyway.

...hearts go out to the islanders in the Samoa and nearby who lost their lives and homes. May lots of aid go their way!

..and what about Southern California MPAs

closer to home...

You can support the version of the  SoCal MPA network (soon-to-be established) that you prefer by going to this link - just need your name and city.

The map shows an image of the Group 3 proposal, which has the most biodiversity conversation (although not nearly as much as the scientific panel recommended).

Still, it does retrict fishing livelihoods and lifestyle, and is controversial. But I suppose so did the National Parks 100 years ago, and now they are incredibly valuable.

Kiribati and Hawaiian MPAs join forces

The two largest marine protected areas (MPAs) in the world have now joined forces as "sister sites". They are the areas in Kiribati and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and together they make up 25% of the world's total MPAs.


The Kiribati (Kee-ree-bas) site, established in 2008, is called the Phoenix Islands Protected Area and is about the size of California.

The Hawaiian site is called Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument and is slightly smaller. They encompass about 300,000 square miles of ocean.

"Our sites provide ocean insurance for the Pacific against the depletion of marine life that has accelerated across the globe," said Tukabu Teroroko, director of the Phoenix Island Protected Area.

For more details see ENS.