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December, 2008 Vol. 14, No. 3 THE DRIFTING SEED A triannual newsletter covering seeds and fruits dispersed by tropical currents and the people who collect and study them. Distributed to more than 20 countries. Ed Perry, Editor and Publisher Dr. Charles (Bob) Gunn, Advisor Patricia Frazier, Production Editor John Beerensson, Columnist Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, Columnist Patty Foreman, Columnist Ed & Biddy Jarzembowski, Columnists Margie Mitchell, Columnist Dr. Gerald Sullivan, Columnist Dr. John Williams, Columnist Paul Mikkelsen, Web Site Manager for www.seabean.com The 14th Annual International Sea Bean Symposium will be held at the Cocoa Beach Public Library, October 16th-17th, 2009. Pages 2-5 Thirteenth Symposium Review, Margie Mitchell Pages 11-12 Sea Beaning in the Bahamas, Patty Foreman Pages 6-8 MIB, Sullivan and Williams Pages 12-14 Matagorda Island, Curtis Ebbesmeyer Page 9 Giant Bay-Bean, John Beerensson Page 15 Drifting Seeds in England, Ed & Biddy Jarzembowski Page 10 Wild Hearts, John Beerensson Pages 16-17 News and Notes Page 18 fold-over seed I.D. cover page For Newsletter Subscription Information, Submissions, Donations, For Seed Identification: contact: Ed Perry, P.O. Box 510366 Melbourne Beach, FL 32951—USA E-mail: [email protected] (Paul Mikkelsen) or [email protected] (Ed Perry) 1 Thirteenth Annual International Sea-Bean Symposium October 17 - 18, 2008, Cocoa Beach, Florida by Margie Mitchell, [email protected] It’s time to re-calibrate our beachcombing eyes! Instead of focusing on all those little black blobs in the wrack line, now we’ve learned to spot colorful bits of frosted glass in the shell hash. Yes, beachcombers, this year’s symposium theme was sea GLASS, not sea BEANS. Our keynote speaker, Richard LaMotte, author of Pure Sea Glass, Discovering Nature’s Vanishing Gems, gave us a whole new view of walking the beach. Maybe we won’t completely give up on the magic of seabeans, but now that we’ve learned where and when to look for those rare and beautiful multi- colored jewels, beachcombing will never be quite the same. The key to finding the best sea glass, as it turns out, is to find a location where a large river drains into the ocean, especially on the southern shoreline. Bays are good, but not so the open ocean. Unlike seabeans, glass does not travel on the ocean’s currents. Most is fairly local to where it originally went into the water. But, as with seabean hunting, full moons and high tides are helpful to the search, as is wind, which may expose what’s already there. As plastic has gradually conquered the world, sea glass has become more and more rare, but it is still possible for the lucky and smart beachcomber to find some of these exquisite gifts of the sea. But don’t take my word for it. Get a copy of Richard LaMotte’s book and see for yourself. Other speakers we enjoyed this year included perennial favorites Ed Perry, with his excellent primer, “Beginners’ Beachwalking,” and Dr. Curt Ebbesmeyer, with “What’s Floating in our Oceans Now?” Curt’s talk led off with a twist toward the macabre, as he discussed his work in forensic oceanography, tracking dead bodies and body parts across the ocean in search of their origins. On a somewhat lighter note, Curt gave us some ideas about where to go in search of the best ocean-borne garbage around the North Atlantic gyre: Mexico (the Yucatan), Texas (Matagorda), and Florida (right here on the east coast). He also addressed the history of flotsam, noting that the Atlantic garbage patch dates back to at least the time of Christopher Columbus, who erroneously believed he must be nearing land when he encountered North American garbage off the Azores. The Drifting Seed, 14.3, December 2008 2 On Saturday, our most far-flung wandering drifter, Izumi Hanno, returned to the symposium after a five-year absence, to give a presentation about what she’s been doing since we last saw her. In a nutshell, she’s been living a beachcomber’s dream, traveling the South Pacific in search of seeds and fruits, their origins and uses in their native environments. She and husband Jim Godfrey first re-located from Japan to Malaysia, and then began a voyage of discovery, mostly with all their possessions on one small motorcycle, to such exotic locales as Sumatra, Borneo, Brunei, the Philippines, and Thailand. Everywhere they went, they visited botanical gardens and beaches, seeking out local seed experts and traditional medicine practitioners. Their plan is to return to Borneo and establish a seed museum near Mount Kinabalu, their favorite spot in all their travels. They’re off to a good start. They’ve already shipped 250 pounds of seeds to Japan from their travels! Also on Saturday, Alice Lowe and Bill Blazek reprised their hugely popular talk on seabean polishing. Using two completely different approaches – Bill using his hands, Alice with tumblers – these two experts produce amazing results. Everyone in the capacity crowd left inspired to try it themselves. The Odd Bean Contest this year reflected the sea glass theme of the symposium. The most popular category was not a bean at all. “Rarest Sea Glass” brought in a small mountain of entries which overwhelmed the contest table. With so many entries, guest judge Richard LaMotte generously donated several copies of his book so that we could award honorable mention prizes. Those went to Joanne Powell for “Best Figural” (a small liquor bottle in the “spirit” of Marilyn Monroe), Betsy Fagan for “Prettiest in a Rare Color” (red warning light fragment), and Alan Rammer for the “Best of the West” (bullseye from a fishing float). The grand prize for the overall rarest entry went to George Bowman for a whole snout-nosed case gin bottle lip, which Mr. LaMotte dated at around 1780. Other Odd Bean awards went to Joan Clark for the shiniest sea heart and to Alice Surrency for the largest Mary’s bean. Joanne Powell won the Bean-a-thon this year with twenty- seven species. Other Bean-a-thon winners were: - Youth Award: Jonathan Galka (12), runner-up Grace Wiggins (9) - Cool Bean: Elizabeth Eubanks (sugar apple fruit) - Non-Bean: Sheri Ryson (sea pig) The Drifting Seed, 14.3, December 2008 3 The room was filled with interesting exhibits, some new, some old favorites. New faces included David McRee, author of Florida Beaches – Finding Your Paradise on the Lower Gulf Coast. If you want to know anything about Southwest Florida beaches, David is your man. He’s also the beach and surfing expert for visitflorida.com, the state’s official source for travel planning. Visit his own web site at www.beachhunter.net and download a free e-book on how to stay safe from sharks, jellyfish, and other scary things. Also joining us as a new exhibitor was Linda McBrearty with a collection of sea glass, along with unusual shells and stones, including a whole tray of “Boo! shells,” which, yes, absolutely did resemble little ghost faces. Long-time attendees Elaine Norton and Carol Agnew were first-time exhibitors with sea glass, “cool bean” shirts and hats, and cool-fact seabean giveaways for the kids (visit www.WrackWear.com). Other exhibits included: - Krieger Publishing’s ocean, beach, and plant books; - Cathie Katz’ sand box and display boards; - Nan Rhodes’ exotic seed jewelry and tiki art. - Dr. Blair and Dawn Witherington’s fantastic book, Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber, as well as cards and prints with Blair’s photography and Dawn’s clever art. - Izumi Hanno and Jim Godfrey’s display of Izumi’s art and other materials designed to inspire us all to follow in their footsteps to the Pacific (Jim swears it’s really cheap once you get there!). - Jim Angy’s beautiful wildlife photography, including some new daylight photos of hatchlings and nesting adult sea turtles. - Alice Lowe’s polishing expo, complete with three tumblers running continually and samples of her seabean art. This exhibit always had a crowd! - Curt Ebbesmeyer’s usual, and unusual, collection of trash and treasures: a message in a bottle, Nan Rhodes’ “nail man,” a sea pig (complete with lipstick in honor of the election season), an emergency lifebuoy marker, doll parts, crustacean tags, light sticks, and a weather balloon. - Still Nature’s latest project: Florida Beach Basics – The Space Coast. The first in a series of pocket guides to Florida’s beaches, each packet contains a DVD and a series of take-along references cards to help visitors find their way around the best of the Space Coast’s beaches. Check The Drifting Seed, 14.3, December 2008 4 out the web site at www.FloridaBeachBasics.com and be sure to take a look at Marge Bell’s beach blog while you’re there. - Bill Blazek’s ever-growing collection of hand polished seabeans. This year he also brought along his collection of 1,000 or so beachcombed chapsticks (but I don’t think he’s figured out how to polish them yet!). Thanks to everyone who donated the wonderful collection of raffle prizes to help support publication of The Drifting Seed for another year. We couldn’t keep afloat without your generosity and creativity. We sold a lot of tickets and all the winners were thrilled. Thanks also to everyone who helped with set-up and clean-up, worked the hospitality table, and pitched in with all the other minute-to-minute details of running a successful symposium. It's a group effort and we appreciate everyone's contribution. Special thanks to Nan Rhodes, who designed this year's “speed beaning” t-shirt.