Need a little help here. Sorry if this has been discussed before. Has anybody seen the illusion of mountains/or columns over the sea of cortez from rocky point? We stay at the Reef rv park and for the last 8 years we've seen the illusion. From the park looking toward Old Town, just to the right of Old Town over the water, it can sometimes be clearly seen.
Fairly certain its the light reflecting off the water but wondered if there was a web site I could get more info about it.
It was visable again this afternoon and even better in a pair of binoculars.
With a couple of glasses of wine it got prettier. (Kiddin) anybody else seen it?
Chari... yes it is Bird Island... the humidity in the atmosphere causes a mirage like illusion mostly just before sundown... some times it looks like a big old castle out there on the water... if you look closely at Terrys photo it is just an inverted reflection of the island...
Personally I think it's the spirit of the Olmec god Iziciltilie who is watching over us. He has created an illusion that it is an island and yes it ooks real when you go there.
If you check a map, it is officially known as Isla San Jorge.
That map will most likely also call the bay that is 11 miles to the north of the island "Bahia San Jorge" and the beach is "Playa San Jorge"... I would venture to say the name "Bird Island" was given by american tourist and sport fishermen due to the large variety of bird species that inhabit it... at one time in the far and distant past the bird guano that can be several feet deep in some areas on the island was harvested to use as an ingredient in biochemical fertilizers and other needs for phosphoros...
I have also heard the island called "Seal Island" which couldn't be any further from the truth... there are no seals on "Isla San Jorge", they are "sea lions" and there is a big difference between the two animals... even when you could see a performing seal at the Circus, it was actually a sea lion... sea lions have a dexterous foreped or flipper which enables them to prop themselves up and allows them to do the wobbling/hopping type of walking that they do... an easy tell-tale identification feature of a sea lion are its ear flaps, which are not found on a seal...
Jerry was this in reference to the report of a drowning out at the island this past weekend..? We just received a call and were told that a woman had suffered a heart attack at the island this past weekend and was transfered from the diveboat to the navy boat and brought back to a waiting ambulance but sadly she passed away... I'm not sure if she had passed before or after she was taken away by the ambulance...
if you are coming to RP in the early hours as the sun is rising the mountains in the far distance to the south east, imagine you are looking towards the Mayan Palace right as you get of the turn at the Pinacate entrance, you have the same type of "espejismo" with the mountains, they look like if they are inverted and floating rather than attached to the surface ground! sorry no pics while driving!
The story from De Frente says she was 65. man in rough,cold seas (way colder than usual which is killing the fishing/shrimping this winter..down to 20% of usual) it is almost criminal to take someone that old out snorkeling......
Seadweller said:
Jerry was this in reference to the report of a drowning out at the island this past weekend..? We just received a call and were told that a woman had suffered a heart attack at the island this past weekend and was transfered from the diveboat to the navy boat and brought back to a waiting ambulance but sadly she passed away... I'm not sure if she had passed before or after she was taken away by the ambulance...
Jerry was this in reference to the report of a drowning out at the island this past weekend..? We just received a call and were told that a woman had suffered a heart attack at the island this past weekend and was transfered from the diveboat to the navy boat and brought back to a waiting ambulance but sadly she passed away... I'm not sure if she had passed before or after she was taken away by the ambulance...
Mark....the word I heard from the person on the diveboat was that she died out there....I can imagine someone older hitting that cold water....must have been a shock to her system.
The story from De Frente says she was 65. man in rough,cold seas (way colder than usual which is killing the fishing/shrimping this winter..down to 20% of usual) it is almost criminal to take someone that old out snorkeling......
rockyptjoe said:
Mark....the word I heard from the person on the diveboat was that she died out there....I can imagine someone older hitting that cold water....must have been a shock to her system.
In any case it's very saddening to hear of something like this happening... I know Dave from the diveshop and I have been to the island with him on his boat, I also know he is very safety minded... being a diver myself that's a risk we all take by getting into the water...
You can dive in any temp water. All you have to do is dress for the occasion. We regularly dive in 50 Deg waters without a hitch. The diffrence is we dress for the cold... Still hate to hear of anybody passing while doing somthig they love.
I lost count of the number of survivors I annoyed in the back of the helicopter because I wouldn’t let them move. I had a rule – if they came from a cold water environment – they laid down and stayed down until the doctors in the E.R. said they could stand. It didn’t matter to me how good they felt or how warm they thought they were. Because the final killer of cold water immersion is post-rescue collapse. Hypothermia does things besides making everything colder. Victims are physiologically different for awhile. One of the things that changes is called heart-rate variability. The hearts ability to speed up and slow down has been effected. Getting up and moving around requires your heart to pump more blood, being upright and out of the water is also taxing, then any number of other factors collide and the heart starts to flutter instead of pump – and down you go. Victims of immersion hypothermia are two things; lucky to be alive, and fragile. Until everything is warmed back up – out of the water and dry is good enough – mobility comes later. SCUBA SCOOP/latest dive stories: The Truth About Cold Water interesting..hey obviously it's a dive masters call but.why not make older people wait a few months till the water warms up to jump in
I lost count of the number of survivors I annoyed in the back of the helicopter because I wouldn’t let them move. I had a rule – if they came from a cold water environment – they laid down and stayed down until the doctors in the E.R. said they could stand. It didn’t matter to me how good they felt or how warm they thought they were. Because the final killer of cold water immersion is post-rescue collapse. Hypothermia does things besides making everything colder. Victims are physiologically different for awhile. One of the things that changes is called heart-rate variability. The hearts ability to speed up and slow down has been effected. Getting up and moving around requires your heart to pump more blood, being upright and out of the water is also taxing, then any number of other factors collide and the heart starts to flutter instead of pump – and down you go. Victims of immersion hypothermia are two things; lucky to be alive, and fragile. Until everything is warmed back up – out of the water and dry is good enough – mobility comes later. SCUBA SCOOP/latest dive stories: The Truth About Cold Water interesting..hey obviously it's a dive masters call but.why not make older people wait a few months till the water warms up to jump in
Interesting clip from that article....and your point.... especially if they have minimal experience snorkeling......even if she was wearing a wetsuit, that initial shock is not very comfortable!
They drown, they panic, they take on water in that first uncontrolled gasp, if they have heart problems – the cold shock may trigger a heart attack.
Sadly Joe i think this is another case of forum members that knew of this incident not publicizing it because well "blue skies,warm water,cheap beer and naked women riding pink ponies on the beach draped in colorful beads" is all the info some people think should be given out to the rubes back in the states .Defrente....shout out to them as usual
rockyptjoe said:
Interesting clip from that article....and your point.... especially if they have minimal experience snorkeling......even if she was wearing a wetsuit, that initial shock is not very comfortable!
They drown, they panic, they take on water in that first uncontrolled gasp, if they have heart problems – the cold shock may trigger a heart attack.
Sadly Joe i think this is another case of forum members that knew of this incident not publicizing it because well "blue skies,warm water,cheap beer and naked women riding pink ponies on the beach draped in colorful beads" is all the info some people think should be given out to the rubes back in the states .Defrente....shout out to them as usual
Jerry...accidents happen anywhere you go.....for scuba, you have to have a "C" card to show that you have the required "minimal" training. For snorkeling, there isn't any requirement, and you can't expect the captain to be giving physicals to everyone. BTW, the only reason I heard about it was because I know one of the divers who was on the boat...and I only got the story late on Monday evening....
I would expect that she was wearing a wetsuit for even snorkeling with the current water temps, but a lot of the responsibility rests with the individual. I heard her husband was also on the boat trip, and she and another woman were the only ones snorkeling. That tells me her husband was doing scuba (am I making an "ass"umption?)...and should have known what to expect, and what his wife's physical condition was...... I have a "C" card, and have snorkeled in the Penasco area, but I'm so out of shape, that I wouldn't do it in these temperatures...when it hits t-shirt/bathing suit temps in the water...then I'm game!
Cheri Rae Walton, with her husband Doug, was a client of mine. I spoke with Doug 2 days after Cheri's death. He said that he was scuba diving and she had been snorkling. The tide was strong and she wound up too far from the boat. She tried to swim back. His exact words after that were, "She had a strong heart, but apparently not strong enough". It doesn't seem that water temperature played a role. Cheri was a very nice lady from Santa, Idaho. May she rest in peace.
Well this actually makes it sound worse ...maybe a extra hand on deck/spare kayak to keep an eye on people in the future...water temps would have still played a part in this ..you lose muscle power.. ....
PitiquitoRosy said:
Cheri Rae Walton, with her husband Doug, was a client of mine. I spoke with Doug 2 days after Cheri's death. He said that he was scuba diving and she had been snorkling. The tide was strong and she wound up too far from the boat. She tried to swim back. His exact words after that were, "She had a strong heart, but apparently not strong enough". It doesn't seem that water temperature played a role. Cheri was a very nice lady from Santa, Idaho. May she rest in peace.
Well this actually makes it sound worse ...maybe a extra hand on deck/spare kayak to keep an eye on people in the future...water temps would have still played a part in this ..you lose muscle power.. ....
Well those of you with water sport experience would certainly know better than I about that stuff. I'm just sorry she's gone and send am praying for her loved ones, especially Doug.
For anybody who has dove lake plesant in the summer time can relate. first 10' of water can be 90 degrees then at 30 feet it can be 75 degrees by the time you drop to 80' you are in the 50 degree temp range. I know that doesn't compare to the thermocline in the ocean (ocean or sea has less change from surface to depth) not only is it dramatic but you can visually see the diffrence in water temps. Colder is clearer..
A few yrs ago the people in the house next to us (drinking of course) started yelling that there was an iceberg coming in. They were totally serious so we took them our binaculors. Too funny
For anybody who has dove lake plesant in the summer time can relate. first 10' of water can be 90 degrees then at 30 feet it can be 75 degrees by the time you drop to 80' you are in the 50 degree temp range. I know that doesn't compare to the thermocline in the ocean (ocean or sea has less change from surface to depth) not only is it dramatic but you can visually see the diffrence in water temps. Colder is clearer..
Your 'colder is clearer' coment reminded me of this. Last time I dove, we had to break through the ice first. It was in an abandoned quarry in Pa. The water was absolutley crystal clear as we descended. There were little organisms swimming/floating around that looked like little jelly fish. We were only in a short time as we were equipped with Navy surplus 'Dry Suits' with insulated clothing underneath. There was a clamp affair that joined the shirt to the pants that we did not have so we had leaks !! Glad I was only 20 at the time !!
Your 'colder is clearer' coment reminded me of this. Last time I dove, we had to break through the ice first. It was in an abandoned quarry in Pa. The water was absolutley crystal clear as we descended. There were little organisms swimming/floating around that looked like little jelly fish. We were only in a short time as we were equipped with Navy surplus 'Dry Suits' with insulated clothing underneath. There was a clamp affair that joined the shirt to the pants that we did not have so we had leaks !! Glad I was only 20 at the time !!
They had scuba back then??? :rofl: Must have been "Sea Hunt" style stuff....
