(live here in the sea) – During the spring, northerly winds blow from noon to evening. This is the period when kitesurfers from all over the country gather at the Atlit Fortress Beach – a beach where there are exceptional conditions in northerly winds. Fortunately, the beach is not declared a bathing beach and is therefore free for surfing activities, without endangering bathers.
This time I accompanied a surfer named Ronen Noah, who came to Atlit from Bat Yam. Ronen is one of the most prominent surfers in Israel. He was surfing on a size 10 Trigger kite from Fone. The wind was a bit weak for a size 10 kite of Ronen's weight, but he made up for it skillfully.
Watch the broadcast from the water:
Surprise at sea: Brown sea turtles mate
Photographed by chance while surfing from a considerable distance (so as not to disturb)
A chance encounter with sea turtles
Kitesurfers are exposed to nature in all its glory. The quiet surf in the middle of the sea, the sound of the waves, and the salt-saturated air are the great gift of surfers. But sometimes chance encounters with large sea creatures also occur. This is what happened during the surfing photos I took at the fortress beach. About 500 meters from the shore, I saw something unclear above the water, shining in the sunlight that was already tending to sink and dazzling above the sea, which was painted silver. I got a little closer to figure out who it was there, maybe a swimmer in distress? Maybe a sea turtle or a shark or a dolphin that got tangled in a fishing net and needed rescuing? (A sea turtle or dolphin that got caught in a fishing net would be on the surface of the water and fighting for its life to breathe... I started to think about how to give up on the surfing photos and go to the beach, to call a marine wildlife officer to rescue an injured animal...).
Fortunately, it wasn't an animal in distress and I also had my helmet camera with me, which filmed everything. When I realized that it was a mating sea turtle and not a sea turtle caught in a fishing net, I kept a considerable distance so as not to disturb them in their work (the close-up is digitally zoomed, so it's a bit blurry). I immediately continued on my way and moved away from the pair of lovers, so as not to disturb nature, and they continued their business.
The Turtle Nest Farm is located in this area, which is a nature reserve and sea turtles maintain a healthy community in the area.
Sea turtles mate in early spring. After about 8-10 weeks, the sea turtle will lay her eggs in a nest that she digs in the sand. Most often, the sea turtle will come up to lay her eggs on the beach where she hatched.
The sea turtle nesting season begins in May and lasts until August. During the nesting season, it is very important to observe rules of conduct in order to protect the sea turtles that come ashore, the nests (and the eggs inside them), and of course, the little turtles that will eventually hatch and make their way to the sea.
I also surfed that day and saw Ronen's spectacular performance.
It would be nice if she also filmed the rest of the group surfing a little bit into the frame.