Island Moon A 3July 15, 2011

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GulfBreezeWorldwinds Kids Windsurfing Camps

By Mike Murphy

This summer is the third year that Worldwinds has of-fered windsurfing camps for kids 7-14 years old. Angela Hurley, staff instructor, first introduced the Kids Camp and has effectively helped all the kids learn the basics fast. The following is based on observations and visits with some of the parents and kids in the 3 day camp from June 27-29.

Campers… helper and kidsBrooke Dippo, age 16, is from San Antonio and her par-

ents also have an island home. Since her father suggest-ed a windsurfing lesson last year, Brooke completed two Kids Camps and has assisted Angela with several other camps. The most recent Kids Camp included a total of 9 campers, 6 gulls and 3 buoys, ranging in age from 8 to 12 years old.

Basics... board, sail and wind The kids learn very quickly and are generally sailing

well before the end of day one. The Kids Camp begins with a demonstration on the beach to get familiar with the equipment and wind relationships. The kids learn how to handle the board and sail then move to the water. On the water Angela demonstrates getting the sail out of the water, the neutral position and how to control the rig. In just a short time the kids are ready to give it a try and generally are able to sail a short distance jump off, repo-sition the gear and sail back.

The kids also learn about body and foot position and

how to steer the board by moving the sail forward or back. Angela shows the kids how to make a turn to change directions while sailing. Once again the kids learn quickly and practice sail-ing out and back, gaining experience control-ling the board and sail.

On day two the campers learn how to beach start and do some sail handling basics and some begin to learn how to use a waist harness. By this time most campers are able to focus on practicing the basics with coaching from An-gela and Brooke. The group takes rest breaks for liquid, snacks and questions in the shade of the Worldwinds Palapa. On the last day, the campers continue to practice the basics, fine tune their technique and have an informal race, long distance sail or some other group activity.

Campers... kids and parentsThe youngest boy in the recent Kids Camp was 10 year

old Henry Tomerlin. The Tomerlin’s live in San Antonio but also have a house on the island. Henry has now com-pleted three Kids Camps and feels he is progressing well.

Luis Requejo, enjoyed watching his kids, 12 year old Luis and 10 year old Carolina complete the Kids Camp. The kids live in Baltimore, Maryland where they are ac-tive in basketball and soccer. Their father is from Brazil, windsurfs and has lived in Austin working as a bank loan officer for the past 7 years.

Paolo and Lisa Pineda travelled from San Antonio and watched daughters Lena, age 9, and Olivia, age 11 dur-ing the Kids Camp. Both the girls are likely to wind-surf again especially since their parents have windsurfed a little. Grandparents, Jim and Terry Anderson, from Phoenix, Arizona, have windsurfed for over two de-cades. They have made several trips to Bird Island Ba-sin to windsurf and learned about the Worldwinds Kids Camps while there.

Interested... time is limitedCongratulations to all the graduates, you did well and

all hope you will be able to windsurf again. The kids are always amazing in their ability to learn to windsurf. The Worldwinds Kids Windsurfing Camps continue through July, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm with weekend and week day camps available.

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Record Crowds Attend Hatchling Releases At The National Seashore

By Donna J. Shaver, Ph.D.

Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery

National Park Service

Padre Island National Seashore

e-mail: Donna_Shaver@nps.gov

Record crowds have attended re-leases of endangered Kemp’s rid-ley sea turtle hatchlings at Padre

Island National Seashore this year. Dur-ing July 3-4 alone, nearly 1,000 people at-tended two hatchling releases that were open to the public. Between about 100 and 300 people attended each of the oth-er 19 public releases held so far this year. Hundreds more people are expected to at-tend before the release season is over.

At each release, we hear from local peo-ple that enjoy coming to the park to see releases, as well as from others that trav-el long distances and stay here for a few days with the hopes of seeing a release of these tiny turtles. We see many smiling faces and hear squeals from the children when they get a glimpse of the newborns and see them scurry towards the surf. And, the crowd claps as the first and the last hatchlings enter the water and swim away. Unless injured, the males will never come ashore again and the females will only come ashore to nest, in about 10-15 years after birth.

Hatchling releases will continue through mid-August for the eggs that have been found and are current-ly under protected care at the Padre Island Na-tional Seashore incu-bation facility. The Kemp’s ridley nesting season could contin-ue through mid-July, so perhaps a few more nests will be found. If they are, hatchling re-leases could continue until the end of August.

For information on when hatchling releas-

es might be held, visit the Padre Island National Sea-shore website at www.nps.gov/pais. We announce each release on our Hatchling Hotline at 361-949-7163 and on our Facebook page entitled Padre Island NS Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery.

A few more Kemp’s ridley nests have been found recently and this was enough to set a new record for the number of Kemp’s rid-ley nests documented on the Texas coast in a year since record-keeping began in the early 1980s. Through July 8 of this year, 199 Kemp’s ridley nests have been documented state-wide. Local nests include 117 found at the National Seashore, 9 on North Padre Is-land north of the Na-tional Seashore, and

5 on Mustang Island. Padre Island National Seashore is the most im-portant Kemp’s ridley nesting beach in the U.S., with more than half the U.S. nests located at the park.

We thank the Padre Island Nation-al Seashore staff members and more than 100 volunteers that aided with the Kemp’s ridley restoration proj-ect at Padre Island National Sea-shore this year. We also thank the lo-cal community that has been so sup-portive of our work over the years. This support and assistance made possible this very successful nesting and hatchling release season, and the special experience had by thousands of people that have attended hatch-ling releases.

Campers listen and watch Angela Hurley demonstrate on the water

Graduates of another successful Kids Windsurfing Camp

Henry Tomerlin windsurfs away from the beach