Coral Spawning

My son and his family gave me a fascinating book as a Christmas present: Deep by James Nestor.  Deep is about "Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves."

I wasn't so sure I would find the book to my liking. I have absolutely no interest in freediving (underwater diving without any breathing apparatus such as scuba equipment), especially (and I repeat, especially) extreme freediving.  In June 2012, Herbert Nitsch, World Record Holder Freediver, dove to a depth of 253.2 meters (831 feet) on one breath of air! 831 feet is the height of a 100 story building!

However, because I live on an island in the Atlantic, I was intrigued by various facts about the ocean that I learned from the book. 

For example, Nestor writes that "Every year on the same day, at the same hour, usually within the same minute, corals of the same species, although separated by thousands of miles, will suddenly spawn in perfect synchronicity. The dates and times vary from year to year for reasons that only the coral knows."

Coral Found on Ocracoke Beach

With a little research on the Internet I discovered this beautiful 2 1/2 minute video of coral spawning in the Gulf of Mexico: http://www.oceanfutures.org/learning/kids-cove/creature-feature/coral-spawning. Another wonder of Nature!

Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is the seldom told story of the 1837 murder of Willis Williams by Jacob Gaskill. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news112114.htm.