Going Home
We know of at least a handful of very happy critters in the waters these days. On Wednesday, September 16th we released nine totally rehabilitated and very excited sea turtles back to Mother Ocean. It was a day for the "carryin’ of the Greens" as the last (minus one) of the little cold-stuns that came in almost a year ago was finally set free. Joining them were two of our larger Loggerheads, "NOAA" and "Sennet," and a little Kemp’s named "Squirt." Many of them spent roughly a year in rehab, and after the final weigh-in it was pretty clear that they sucked down a lot of fish and squid during their stay. The Greens, who more than doubled in size, began to literally throw their weight around when it came time for their weekly trip to the scale, leaving us bruised and scratched as we returned them to their tanks. And after "Squirt" finally "squirted out" that fishhook he swallowed he spent his few seconds on the scale threatening us with his open mouth. But perhaps he was just showing us his lovely tonsils - not! At least our big boys, NOAA and Sennet remained the perfect gentlemen, even when they spent time dry-docked while being outfitted with their jewelry, satellite trackers.

Photo left: NOAA heads toward home!

The weather was perfect, and the crowd that gathered at the hospital and on the beach was a lot less "crowded" when compared to our June release. After Jean welcomed the volunteers, returning interns, media and special guests and visitors to the hospital she unveiled the plans for our new facility. It was the first opportunity for the public to see what the Board of Directors has been working on. Everyone was very enthusiastic, and of course the question of the day was, "when?"  We’re marching forward, just knowing that our friends and supporters (you!) will be part of our efforts to get that last $350,000 we need.

After a short ceremony everyone was transported slowly to the release point. Upon arrival the little guys were lined up for their last inspection and final instructions from Mama Jean. They were slowly carried down the sidelines for one last good-bye to the their fans. Once in the water they zipped through the waves and were soon out of sight.

NOAA arrived at the release minus his jewelry. After several futile attempts to activate his satellite tracker it was removed. So NOAA shot through the surf for parts unknown. Sennet came armed and ready to transmit, and he tried to hasten his trip to shore by flailing his flippers in the air and getting ready for touchdown. After a short burst of speed through the breakers we caught several glimpses of him hanging around just off shore where we could see a large number of bite-sized fish, perfect for a turtle snack before a long trip. Sennet has been "phoning home" often, and has covered a lot of territory since his release. It looks like he may have a specific destination in mind, and he’s not losing any time in getting there. You can track his journey on our website: www.seaturtlehospital.org.

Photo left: Prius, all wrapped up and ready for her ride to the beach.

So nine are gone, but with twenty-two still recuperating at the hospital we’re hardly suffering from empty tank syndrome. We’ll just enjoy this little bit of a break while we can.

Those babies keep coming
We’re about two-thirds of the way through our hatchings, and we’ve been blessed with some decent weather for all those Topsail Turtle Project volunteers who "sit and protect." Carolina Beach had a lot excitement when their Leatherback nest hatched a few weeks ago. We’ve had those Hummers® of the sea turtle world nest north and south of us now, but for some reason those big mamas just keep swimming right by Topsail. We’re still thrilled that the lady Loggerheads keep coming, but a Leatherback nest would be a real event around here.

All sea turtles are federally protected animals. Harassing or interfering with them or their nests in any way is punishable by a hefty fine and/or imprisonment. Please report any incidents of hatching, injury, stranding or harassment to our Director of Beach Operations, Terry Meyer at 910-470-2880 immediately.

Hospital Closed
We are closed to the public. Now that we’ve moved our remaining patients inside we’ve used up every bit of floor space and cannot accommodate visitors. We can barely accommodate the staff, who have to scoot sideways through the maze of tanks. But take heart, because we are planning a limited opening the weekend of Autumn with Topsail, October 17-18. After that the next chance to catch us will be in June of 2010.

Lobster Dinner and Auction
Tickets will be available beginning October 1st at: Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce, Surf City Welcome Center and the Quarter Moon Bookstore for our event on Saturday, October 24th. We’ve held our price to $40 for a home-cooked plate loaded with lobster and all the trimmings. Artists, craftspeople and business owners have been very generous with their donations over the years, but we know that there are a lot of people new to our coast who would love to use this opportunity to introduce us to their work. If you haven’t been part of our auction in the past please consider donating an item or service for this year’s event. We’ll give you more details in the next few weeks, but if you have an immediate question you can e-mail me (flippers@embarqmail.com) or Jean  (loggrhead@aol.com) for information.

Join our E-mail Newsletter
To sign up for our new e-mail delivery of this column (beginning in October) plus other news of note, contact me at: flippers@att.net. If you’ve recently sent me an e-mail at flippers and it returned please re-send your request. There were some "technical difficulties" for several days that prevented mail from coming through. Questions or comments about the printed column or special events should be addressed to me at: flippers@embarqmail.com.