Finding fireworks in the water Microscopic single-celled algae called dinoflagellates cause phosphorescence

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If anyone had any better weather than we did here last weekend, drop me a line and tell me about it.

I don’t think it could have been any better if we had special-ordered it.

It looked for a time Friday evening, however, that it wouldn’t be the case. I hotfooted it out of work to get to Castine so I could go on a phosphorescence paddling tour. The minute I got in my Jeep to head south …

What, you ask, is phosphorescence? It’s dinoflagellates in the water. Yep, microscopic single-celled algae called dinoflagellates. They cause phosphorescence. They emit light when they are disturbed, say with a paddle or your hands or the bow of your kayak. This leads to a chemical reaction within the organism resulting in light production – tiny fireflies in the water, so to speak.

Anyway, I was headed toward Castine feeling like I was on a fool’s errand, when the dark gray-black clouds overhead opened up to the tune of thunder and the flash of lightning. Great! My one chance to get on the water last week and it would be washed out by errant electrical charges and torrents of falling water.

All the way to Castine I mumbled to myself about what a waste of my time it was and how much gasoline I was wasting.

Even though I drove out of the rain, I knew it was right behind me. When I got to town and began looking for a parking place, the raindrops caught up with me. They gently dripped on my head as I unloaded my kayak and packed it with all my safety gear. Surely the evening would be a washout.

I left the cockpit cover on so my seat wouldn’t be flooded.

As I strapped on the wheels I use to move the kayak around and began dragging it toward the town dock, I still thought I’d be turning around in a few minutes and heading home. When I located Karen Francoeur of Castine Kayak Adventures at Dennett’s Wharf Restaurant to report for duty, she was upbeat, saying the intermittent rain would disappear and the evening’s paddle would be great.

Dino whats, you asked?

They’re in salt water all the time, but there are a number of things that “promote growth and reproduction,” according to a Web site I found. The Australian Museum says the factors influencing the numbers of these tiny plant/critters are “light, water quality, temperature, availability of nutrients and depth of tidal exposure.”

And here’s the interesting part: “As dinoflagellates depend on photosynthesis to get their energy for growth, light is a major factor in their survival. The intensity of phosphorescence by photosynthetic dinoflagellates is strongly influenced by the intensity of sunlight the previous day. That is, the brighter the sunlight, the brighter the flash.” It’s as if they store up the sun’s energy, right?

“If the preceding few days are sunny, and the ocean is calm so that the dinoflagellates are not disturbed, this can result in a buildup of phosphorescent ‘potential.’ This buildup when released can look like fireworks in the water,” the site says.

Oh, yeah, fireworks in the water. It’s eerie, mystical, magical, fascinating. It looks like hundreds of tiny fireflies emitting their bluish-green glow in the water. When you dip your paddle in the water, there’s a glittery pool of light. When water drops fall from your paddle, there are little circles of light. The bow wake of your kayak forms a string of pearls on the water. No matter how many times I’ve seen this phenomenon, I’m always blown away by the show.

At 8 p.m. our gang of 12 or so headed to the dock to get fitted into kayaks and launched into the almost darkness. Actually it wasn’t all that dark at all, what with the fireworks going off overhead. It was like the Fourth of July! It was the Fourth of July, I guess. See, the town contracted for a fireworks show for The Fourth but something happened and the show had to be postponed.

So that’s why I had to look all over town to find a parking place! The town dock was closed to parking for the evening and much of the citizenry had descended on the waterfront to watch. It all made sense when the first shell lit up the night sky as we struggled to get our kayaks off the dock.

As the last smoke from the finale slowly drifted away and the appreciative cheers from onlookers faded, we slowly paddled northward on the Bagaduce River, away from the lights of town – the darker the better to see these little critters.

We rafted up to watch in silence, punctuated with oohs and ahs, the pinkish, golden moonrise over South Brooksville. It was a day past full but still round as it crept over the horizon to fill in the gap between the clouds and the earth, then climbed slowly into the cloud cover. What a show!

For phosphorescence watching it was a good thing the moon took refuge in the clouds. The night sky remained mostly dark. And the dinoflagellates put on a very nice show, more spectacular in some areas than others, but awe inspiring nevertheless. In some places my bow wake lit up, each stroke of the paddle, each splash was bathed in an eerie blue hue. You could splash the water with your hands or slice it with the paddle. Either method produced a glittery display – truly magical.

Well past 10 p.m. we reluctantly headed back to the dock.

Saturday dawned warm and clear, a perfect day to explore the waters. I led a group up the Bagaduce River through The Narrows to the Youngs Islands where we had lunch on the middle one. It was warm enough to take a dip – well, warm enough for at least one guy to go for a dip. We paddled up to Gravel Island and turned south to ride the wind and waves back to Battle Island and the Bagaduce. Just north of The Narrows, six to eight seals, part of a colony that lives in the area, entertained us. We all stopped paddling and let the critters pop up around us, giving us inquisitive looks.

The tide had begun to turn so the time was ripe for a benign paddle through The Narrows. (There are times during the tidal flow that currents through here can be treacherous.) We rode the gentle current back to Castine Harbor and took a side trip into Smith Cove to check out a shipwreck before heading home for the day.

Walking with Freedom

The other day I found this e-mail amongst the myriad of trash I get every day, and it sounds like it might be interesting if you’re into long-distance hiking or just plain adventure. A hiker by the name of Michael Daniel has a Web site, Walking with Freedom, devoted mostly to himself and hiking and his adventures on the Appalachian Trail during his through-hike in 2003.

He has produced a documentary and released it on DVD and is hawking it to all who’ll listen. I don’t know as I’m all that interested, but I know a few people who are hiking nuts and this should hit them right in the boots. To get a taste (without buying) you could go to his Web site (http://www.walkingwith

freedom.com) and check out his extensive journal entries done during his hike. You’ll find a prominent link to Amazon if you’re interested in buying the DVD.

Jeff Strout’s column on outdoor recreation is published each Saturday. He can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@

bangordailynews.net.