Man Injured In Truro Shark Attack

Authorities have confirmed a shark attack off Longnook Beach in Truro.

A sixty-one year old man, Gary Sharpless, was the victim. He was bitten on the leg and the torso, and was said to have suffered puncture wounds. He was flown to a hospital in Boston. It is said that he was responsive.

Truro had a shark attack several years ago when a man was bitten on the leg, as well as one in the 1990s. There was also a shark attack in Manomet a few years ago.

The beach was closed after the attack.

We will be back with more information as it presents itself.

Bug Light

We caught a boat ride that took us close enough for a few shots of Duxbury Pier Light, aka Bug Light. Bug Light sounds like one of those zapper things that you hang in the yard to kill moths, but in actuality it is a 47 foot high lighthouse in Plymouth Bay, built to warn sailors about the treacherous shoals around Saquish Neck.

She first went up in 1871, and was automated in 1964.  She has 100 tons of rock around her. She was the first Sparkplug light in the US of A.  She survived vicious hurricane and nor'easter surf, but automation nearly did in the sparkplug style, as the Man wanted to replace her with a more generic type. Locals ganged up, formed Project Bug Light, collected money and restored the lighthouse. She now has solar power and a new foghorn. She was added to the National Register Of Historic Places in 2014.

She is tough to get to, but every harbor cruise out of Plymouth goes by it. It is a must-have for any South Shore lighthouse tripper, especially where she is near the also-hard-to-get-to Gurnet Light. Her wooden interior, including the former keeper's quarters are gone, but the locals love her.

Edwin Heap echoed the sentiments of the doctors who once saved me when he said, "It's an ugly old thing, but we're glad that we saved it."

Photos by Teresa Neves and Stephen Bowden

Minke Whale In Plymouth Bay

We went on an ice cream cruise on Plymouth Bay, but it turned into a whale watch as a pair of Minke Whales made a rare, close-to-shore appearance.

Minke Whales get their name from a Norwegian whaler named Meincke. It rhymes with "stinky," not "mink." They go 25 feet or so in length, with really big ones getting up to 35 feet.  Average weight is 5 tons, but they can hit 10 tons if they eat well. They can hit 25 mph swimming, and typically dive for 1-20 minutes. They feed on krill, but will also eat cod if one swims by. 

They are fairly common, and are often targeted by New England whale watches. The 20 minute dive times earn them the wrath of whale watch captains, who call them the "Stinky Minke." They often end up in harbors when evading predators (typically orcas), although ours was more business casual. My people tell me that he has been chillin' off Duxbury Beach.

You can see him pop out of the water for a sec in the video below.

Photos and video by Teresa Neves and Stephen Bowden.

Hurricane Inundation Maps: Duxbury (and Gurnet/Saquish)

Standish Shores

The maps are a bit blurry, because they download poorly and we were forced to take pictures of the monitor.

Bay Road, Miramar

They work like this...

Any area that is colored in means that inundation is possible during a hurricane. FEMA estimates as to what hurricane intensity would be needed to flood certain spots are shown by color differencs.

Washington Street

Light green = Category 1 (74-95 mph)

Dark green = Category 2 (96-110 mph)

Yellow = Category 3 (111-129 mph)

Red = Category 4 (130-156 mph)

Powder Point, Bluefish River, Alden area

Click on the maps to zoom in.

Duxbury resident parking lot

These Maps can be deceiving. I have seen areas listed as vulnerable only to a Category 4 hurricane on this map that actually flood during a 40 mile-an-hour Nor'easter

North Duxbury Beach

Duxbury Beach is rather long, so we will skip the uninhabited parts.

Gurnet Point

It should be said somewhere in this article that the girl who normally does the tech stuff fell and broke her arm, and is in no condition for journalism. Thus, the stealing-pics stuff fell to the stoner guy who we normally leave the words stuff to.

Saquish Beach

You can view better versions of these maps here.

Saquish Neck

Hurricane Inundation Maps: Westport and Dartmouth

The maps are a bit blurry, because they download poorly and we were forced to take pictures of the monitor.

They work like this...

Any area that is colored in means that inundation is possible during a hurricane. FEMA estimates as to what hurricane intensity would be needed to flood certain spots are shown by color differencs.

Light green = Category 1

Dark green = Category 2

Yellow = Category 3

Red = Category 4

Click on the map to zoom in.

Tree Down On Bridge Street In Fairhaven

It appears that a lightning strike took down a tree on Bridge Street, and it is blocking half the toad. Worry not, we called Johnny Law and help is on the way.

New Bedford Street Flooding

Roddy French Blvd. is flooded, over by the (Holla Holla) Family Dollar.