Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page: 10 of 64
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10A Thursday, July 11, 2013
Islanritlntilnfirg
Port Aransas South Jetty
Island observer
Witnessing Apartheid; weird wildlife discoveries
'NY
tWIOS
In my travels as an oceanog-
rapher I have been to several
countries where the political
situation was unstable, even
dangerous. In particular, Egypt
and Yemen in the 1960s, just
before the 1967 War, Argentina
during the time of the “Desa-
parecidos” and the Falkland’s
War, and Chile throughout
the Frei and Pinochet years.
The news of Nelson Man-
dela’s illness and President
Obama’s visit to South Africa
made me recall the time I was
there in the early 1970s, when
Apartheid was the law of the
land. Here are a few of my
experiences. I witnessed some
of the brutality of that regime
but tell here a few stories that
illustrate the absurdity of dis-
crimination.
We were in Cape Town in
1973 for a several-day port
stay aboard the Research Vessel
Robert D. Conrad, belong-
ing to the Lamont-Doherty
Geological Observatory of
Columbia University, where I
worked. We had been down
south in the rough south-
ern seas around Antarctica,
“measuring the ocean,” as I
Unusual sights
Courtesy photos by Tony Amos
Above: Rare to Texas waters, a manatee drinks from a hose
at a Teal Harbor dock at Dennis Dreyer Municipal Marina
in Port Aransas. Right: A Kemp’s ridley sea turtle lies dead
at the edge of Up River Road in Corpus Christi, about two
miels from the nearest saltwater.
used to tell my son Michael,
when he asked me what I
did. Among our crew were
electronic technician George
G, an African American and
chief cook Louis L, who was
gay. George’s problem must
have been awful to bear; he
simply could not come with
us to visit local tourist attrac-
tions, restaurants, hotels and
nightspots. He did not know
where he would be accept-
ed among local blacks, “co-
loureds,” as people of mixed
race were called, or Indians.
Louis knew where to go, but
he was taken advantage of by
the gay community and would
lose all his money.
Everywhere one went, ac-
cess was restricted by race
indicated by posted signs.
Blacks were called “African”
and Whites “European.”
South Africa had two offi-
cial languages, English and
Afrikaans. The ridiculous
nature of such discrimination
was brought out to me by
one sign in particular posted
outside restrooms: Women’s
room signs in Afrikaans read
“Blank Dames.” The magnifi-
Freedom
Manatee makes rare visit
to marina in Port Aransas
Dan Parker
Reporter
A wayward manatee recently
made its way into Port Aransas
waters, surprising and charm-
ing a few lucky folks who hap-
pened to get a glimpse of the
big marine mammal.
It’s not surprising to see
manatees off Florida, but
they’re unusual in the Texas
part of the Gulf coast.
The manatee was spotted
Monday, July 1, at Teal Harbor,
a condominium at the Dennis
Dreyer Municipal Marina in
Port Aransas.
“It swam up and pretty much
hung out a couple hours,” said
Kevin Deerman, a boat captain
who saw the manatee.
“I was pretty impressed. I’ve
seen them in Florida a lot, but
never saw one in Texas, ever,”
said Deerman, who has been
a boat captain in Texas waters
for 26 years.
Deerman said a spectator at
the dock offered the manatee
fresh water from a hose, and the
creature gladly accepted a long
drink. Manatees commonly
enjoy drinks of fresh water.
Technically, the animal seen
in Port Aransas is a West Indian
manatee, according to Tony
Amos, a research fellow with
the University of Texas Marine
Science Institute. Amos shot
video of the manatee as it drank
from the hose. (Check out part
of the video on the South Jetty’s
Web site, www.portasouthjetty.
com.)
Amos said the manatee that
visited Port Aransas also re-
cently was seen near the USS
Lexington Museum on the Bay
in Corpus Christi.
The animal was about 10 feet
long and appeared to weigh
Courtesy photos by Kevin Deerman
Hi, big guy
A manatee enjoys a drink
from a hose (above) and
nudges up close to a boat
(at left) during an unusual
visit to Teal Harbor at Dennis
Dreyer Municipal Marina in
Port Aransas Monday, July 8.
perhaps 1,000 pounds, Amos
said.
A few other wayward
manatees have been seen
in Coastal Bend waters in
past years. At least two were
reported during the winter
of 2010-11. Sightings were
reported around the North
Padre Island canals, Goose
Island State Park and Copano
Bay. One washed up dead,
near Fulton Beach Road, in
the Rockport area.
Manatees are federally pro-
tected by the Marine Mam-
mal Protection Act and the
Endangered Species Act.
Amos said people shouldn’t
touch manatees or get in the
water with them, because
it could be interpreted as
harassing them, a violation
of the law.
There’s another reason for
not jumping in the water and
getting too close to a man-
atee, Amos said. It could be
dangerous.
“They are powerful ani-
mals,” he said. “Although they
are sluggish and look tran-
quil, if you try and touch one
or grab one, they will thrash
around, and you will sudden-
ly realize what big, powerful,
heavy animals they are.”
Amos said he’d like to get
a call from anyone who sees
a manatee in local waters.
He can be reached on his cell
phone at (361) 442-7638.
cent Table Mountain National
Park had two monuments to
famous navigators who first
visited the Cape of Good Hope
with separate trails leading to
them. One said, “Bartolommeo
Diaz, Africans Only,” the other,
“Vasco de Gama, Europeans
Only.” Who decided which
race as worthy of seeing which
statue, I can only guess. Once,
I went to the post office to buy
some stamps and stood in line,
but when I got to the window
the clerk went away, and I just
stood there, wondering what
was going on. I found out I
was in the wrong line, and they
wouldn’t serve me.
Later, when my project
was finished, I left the ship
and drove the 1,000 miles
to Johannesburg. What a
stunningly beautiful country
it was (and is). People stared
at me a lot. One thing in par-
ticular that got the stares was
my t-shirt. It had a picture of
Tio Pepe on it at a time when
even in the USA, illustrated
t-shirts were a new form of
apparel and in South Africa
were completely unknown.
With long hair, too, perhaps I
looked a bit hippie-like?
Fast-forward 40 years to
another era and another con-
tinent, and I still look some-
what hippie-like. This year is
now half over and I am fully
engaged in animal rescues (I
don’t think I had any inkling
in 1973 that I would be doing
such things in the future).
Monday, July 8, I recovered
sea turtle number 210 for the
year, and the year is only 188
days old. This recovery was
very strange. The three-year-
old green sea turtle was lying
dead alongside Up River Road
in Corpus Christi, adjacent to
Interstate Hwy. 37, with its
traffic roaring by. What was
a sea turtle doing about two
miles from anything resem-
bling the sea (the Nueces River
Estuary)?
I do know what the several
tiny Kemp’s ridley sea turtles
seen by campers were doing
on Mustang Island State Park
beach the day before. They
were emerging from an un-
discovered nest and going
into the sea to begin their
perilous lives. There was
evidence that at least 20 made
it to the sea. One was found
dead in the dunes, and one
was found alive but very weak
and brought to the Animal
Rehabilitation Keep (ARK),
where it died overnight. I do
hope none of them end up
anywhere near 1-37!
Too many things to report
and not enough room or time
to report them, especially as
past adventures come to mind.
A West Indian manatee
visited the Teal Harbor ma-
rina this week and was later
seen near the USS Lexington
in Corpus Christi. It’s not the
first time a manatee has visited
Teal Harbor. (See related story,
this issue, and video Amos
shot of the manatee at the
South Jetty’s Web site, www.
por tasouthj etty. com)
Tony Amos is a research fel-
low at The University of Texas
Marine Science Institute in Port
Aransas and director of the
ARK - Animal Rehabilitation
Keep.
Walking on water
Staff photo by Donald Hatch
The Animal Rehabilitation
Keep (ARK) released
several sea turtles on the
beach Saturday, July 6.
More than 200 folks turned
out to watch as the turtles
crawled into the Gulf. Above:
Spectators watch as a large
loggerhead turtle heads to
the surf. Left: Folks record
the event for posterity.
Staff photos by Dan Parker
Blake Kappel of Port Aransas paddles a stand-up paddle board, also known as a SUP,
through Dennis Dreyer Municipal Marina on a recent day. Kappel built the wooden craft at
Farley Boat Works, an arm of the Port Aransas Museum. He’s a volunteer there.
Port Aransas
Softball League
Coed League
Tuesday, July 16
Snapper success
Courtesy photo
Tom Gregory and Skip Bonner took out a group of friends
and relatives on board their boat Flyboys, Friday, June 28,
for one last try at red snapper. From left Larry Gregory of
Dickinson, Tom Gregory of Friendswood, Bonner’s grandson
and daughter, Bonner Johanson and Kathryn Bonner, both
of Houston, and SkiD and Sallv Bonner of Tomball.
7:15 p.m.
IGA v. Coldwell Banker
8:15 p.m.
Cherokee v. IGA
Port Aransas
Softball League
Men’s League
Thursday, July 11
7 P.M.
Cell Phone Isl. vs. El Gato
8 P.M.
Ragin Cajun vs. Coast Guard
9 P.M.
Wolf Jaw v. Marlins
Thursday, July 11
7 P.M.
Coast Guard vs. Cell Phone Isl
8 P.M.
El Gato vs. Wolf Jaw
9 P.M.
Ragin Cajun v. Marlins
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Judson, Mary Henkel. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 11, 2013, newspaper, July 11, 2013; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth505890/m1/10/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.