INSIDE THIS ISSUE
MAY 2017
Tale of Fiction TCSD Contacts Board Members
TRIATHLON CLUB OF SAN DIEGO
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2017 TCSD RACE CALENDAR Aquathlon Location: La Jolla Shores May 18 June 15 July 13 August 10 September 7 October 5 Triathlon Location: Fiesta Island September 9 October 21 November 5 Runing Events December, Mission Bay 10K Beginner Triathlon May 20th June, July, August Glorietta Bay, Coronado
Refer to the Club’s website for complete activity listings and information.
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New Members 4 Weekly Workout Calendar 5 Congratulations IM Finishers 6 TCSD Conversation 7 Coach’s Corner 13
Swim Truth
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USAT’s NCC 18 Race Report: Kevin Malone 20
TriNews
hey’re a feast for the eyes, a joy to the ears… but a bane to the nose. That’s the reaction of many visitors who observe or swim in the water with the sea lions at La Jolla Cove and the harbor seals at nearby Children’s Pool. This short article presents a little basic natural history of the pinnipeds and the seabirds that share the rocks and beaches in La Jolla, legal aspects of pinniped interactions with people, a few medical caveats for Cove swimmers, and some thoughts about what we might expect in La Jolla in the future. can be found along the Pacific coast between southeast Alaska and central Mexico. Their natural haul-out sites are sandy or rocky beaches, but they also find safe havens on manmade structures such as marinas, docks, wharves, and boats. Males can weigh up to 350 kg. They typically eat squid, fish, and sometimes clams. Although they are hunters, stealing food is one of their natural feeding strategies. That’s called kleptoparasitism, and it’s a source of rancor among fishermen when pinnipeds steal their catches and ruin fishing gear in the process. Natural predators of sea lions and seals are killer whales and large sharks.
The US population of California sea lions breeds primarily in the Channel Islands, which is why we don’t see young pups at the Cove. Breeding season is from May to August. When they aren’t breedby Barbara Javor ing, sea lions tend to be at sea for up to two weeks at a time before hauling out to rest. They also come to shore to molt in the fall and winter. Females are known to forage as far as 100 km from shore, while males may swim as far as 450 km from the coast when water temperatures rise. Thus the Cove population of sea lions comes and goes. The sea lion population in US waters dropped to about 10,000 in the 1950s when they weren’t protected by law. Since the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in 1972, the population has increased to about 240,000 in US waters and is no longer considered endangered. In fact, sea lions are so numerous that wildlife biologists believe the population is near the carrying capacity of the coastal ecosystem. are somewhat smaller than sea lions, and can be distinguished by their lack of ear flaps and by the spots that cover their fur. Unlike sea lions, harbor
of Seals andMen
SealLions
Harbor Seals
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