Collection Report March 17, 2011

I re-read last week's tome. Realized I needed to keep this one much shorter! So, Bay View, March 17, 2:40PM, low tide.

50 degrees F, snow all gone, has spring arrived?

Gorgeous, and busy. Clam diggers, dog walkers, and metal detectorists all shared the beach. As well as a large cadre of live sand dollars.

A hundred-plus along the low-tide terrace

The week had seen some energy. There were lines of organics cast up on the shore. And that means flotsam. Zone N:

80 finds:

• Building materials: 5 (plastic siding, 2 wooden blocks, aluminum strip, brick)
• Foam/Styrofoam: 3 (coffee cup scrap, styrofoam disk, pipe insulation foam scrap)
• Fishing misc.: 34 (2 ropes, ball of monofilament, bait bag, 6 claw bands/scraps, 24 lobster trap coatings)
• Food-related plastics: 4 (crazy straw, gum, Reese's PB cup bag, top from 2-liter bottle
• Food-related metal/glass: 6 (can, 5 can scraps)
• Non-food/unknown plastics: 22 (inc. black tape, Lego, o-ring, wristband, anchor, pen, tampon applicator, sock hook, bag of dog poo)
• Cigarette filters/plastics: 3
• Paper/wood: 0
• Misc./unique: 3 (2 leather scraps, glove)

A tampon applicator two weeks in a row. Lovely. More interesting was the Lego. In July last year, I found a pristine one. I'd read of the Tokio Express, a container ship that foundered in a storm off of Cornwall, UK, in 1997. It lost 62 containers, one of which carred 4,756,940 brand new Lego pieces. At the time, I thought the one I found might be from the ship. But, knowing what I know now, 14 years of ocean bashing is far more likely to look like this:

From where and when have you come?

No way to tell the full story on this little generic white Lego. But I do know it's been out in the ocean a long time, and is now part of my "favorites" stash.

On to Zone S:

47 finds:

• Building materials: 9 (all chunks of asphalt)
• Foam/Styrofoam: 1 (styrofoam)
• Fishing misc.: 12 (rope, monofilament, lure, bumper, 4 claw bands, 4 coatings)
• Food-related plastics: 1 (polystyrene cup scrap)
• Food-related metal/glass: 2 (can scrap, glass)
• Non-food/unknown plastics: 18 (bubblewrap, shopping bag, umbrella base, 2 vinyl upholstery scraps, bottle cap, plug?, clasp)
• Cigarette filters/plastics: 1
• Paper/wood: 1 (tissue)
• Misc./unique: 2 (leather shoe heel, stamped leather scrap)

The only thing of real interest was this old, battered, and thankfully hookless lure:

The one that got away

So, another week down. A quite typical ratio of Zone N to Zone S this week. And proof, after slow weeks, that there's still very much in the sea.