theres an "expert" saying now that covid can be carried up to 6ft by a seabreeze and he is warning all surfers to not to crowd together in the surf

www.surfer.com/features/coastal-breeze-can-carry-covid-19-more-than-6-feet-says-virus-expert/

knew we could blame seabreeze for something

In all honesty, you do not need to be an expert to understand that molecules get blown downwind on large distances.

Even animal predators knew this for million of years.

Is this why kitesurfers should stay downwind of all other surf users.

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colas said..
In all honesty, you do not need to be an expert to understand that molecules get blown downwind on large distances.

Even animal predators knew this for million of years.

Correct, and 6ft is not 1.5m, but hey why believe Francis Boyle who quoted also 6ft and wrote the Biological weapons act for the UN. Your Gov loves you, maintain 1.5m

That is why asian all put a mask...they are shocked to see that westerners are not wearing masks ...

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anchorpoint said..
That is why asian all put a mask...they are shocked to see that westerners are not wearing masks ...

If you can find a stock of them in Australia that aren't required by Health workers, or haven't already been raided by expats living here and sent overseas, I think you'd find more westerners would probably be likely to use them. As it stands they're just not available in Australia for most people, and TBH I would be donating any I had to emergency services a workers who are on the frontlines of this thing

Another reason why SUP is better . Stay away from crowded peaks . Damn too many proners still hanging in packs and giving us all a bad name

There's an article on Beach Grit, written by Charles McDermott, with an open letter to her (the "scientist") about it. Starts something like this: "As someone who is very close to the SARS-CoV-2 mitigation efforts (as a scientist and CEO of a biotech company developing a novel TLR7 agonist to treat SARS-CoV-2) I am very disappointed that you went to the LA Times with very strong claims about a virus you don't have any data on and have not ever studied."Turns out Kim, our "expert," has no training in virology, public health, immunology, medicine, pandemic mitigation, etc.


Charles goes on to say: "Humans have been shedding trillions of infectious viruses and bacteria into the ocean via sewage, run off and simply by being in the ocean. Some of the pathogens that are being released all the time are: e-coli, hepatitis A, influenza, herpes, norovirus, HPV, etc.And yet the North County surfing public is just fine."


What we don't need right now (or ever) is more baseless fear mongering by so-called experts, looking for their five minutes of fame.

beachgrit.com/2020/04/an-open-letter-to-scripps-scientist-kim-i-wouldnt-go-in-the-water-for-a-million-dollars-prather-surfline-and-surfrider-if-the-public-continues-to-get-hammered-with-conjecture-as-fact-from-sa/

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OkiWild said..
"Humans have been shedding trillions of infectious viruses and bacteria into the ocean via sewage, run off and simply by being in the ocean. Some of the pathogens that are being released all the time are: e-coli, hepatitis A, influenza, herpes, norovirus, HPV, etc.And yet the North County surfing public is just fine."

Be careful, hepatitis infection due to sewage in sea water is far from a legend. Beaches are regularily closed, and surfing forbidden here in the Basque Country on heavy rains when the water treatment plants are overwhelmed. And the problem is that they can then take host in shellfishes for months, so in France for instance, shellfishes are heavily scrutinized for viral infections and temporary bans are commonplace.

But hepatitis is a blood-borne virus, mush more resistant than coronaviruses. It can stay on surfaces for months. Although I have seen a study saying that SARS could survive quite some time in fresh water, I have seen no conclusive study yet on coronaviruses in salt water. Plus the UV kiils most of the viruses after some time. Also, since (sterilized) salt water in the nose is a very efficient cure for the common cold, which is for a part due to coronaviruses, this covid may not survive long in the water. But we do not know yet.

So, my advice would be to surf on sunny days, in clear waters, and away from rivermouths in underdelevoped countries or after heavy rains, but more by fear of the other pathogens than the covid... and even 3 meters ones with big sharp teeth :-)

To follow up on Oki's reply, I knew other news outlets would pick up on her BS. Reading the initial article, you could pick out she had no data backing up her crying.

"In her research, Prather has found that the ocean churns up all kinds of particulate and microscopic pathogens, and every time the ocean sneezes with a big wave or two, it sprays these particles into the air. She believes that this new coronavirus is light enough to float through the air much farther than we think. The six-feet physical distancing rule, she said, doesn't apply at the beach, where coastal winds can get quite strong and send viral particles soaring."

I find it interesting that the surfer article conveniently left out the part that she " believes". Glad that dumb bitch got called out.

I "believe" I should win the lottery this weekend so I can go surf the earth....we'll see if that happens

Yup her "Chicken Little" panic sounds like bull**** to me!

Researchers get all excited when there is the possibility to cash in big on a crisis.
Fodder for bureaucrats

My response to the article when I first saw in on FB:
The article sounds reasonable, and she has the credential to be taken seriously,
BUT you also can't deny the 40 million dollar grant she has to justify.... and a appears to be a bit of a nervous Nellie.

Later in the article it says, none of this has been proven and may be highly unlikely.

Times like this we are ALL easy marks for overreaction,
so I stay skeptical about "models" or "theories"
Let's see:

Airborn particles arriving from Africa.
Every wave potentially sneezing out the virus.
Don't breath near the ocean! ????

Heck, we should all be dead now!

Talk like hers, using this current panic, could easily morph into all of us begging to live in "bubble world"

Me? I'm going out to breath some refreshing ocean air ??

.

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supthecreek said..
Yup her "Chicken Little" panic sounds like bull**** to me!

Researchers get all excited when there is the possibility to cash in big on a crisis.
Fodder for bureaucrats

My response to the article when I first saw in on FB:
The article sounds reasonable, and she has the credential to be taken seriously,
BUT you also can't deny the 40 million dollar grant she has to justify.... and a appears to be a bit of a nervous Nellie.

Later in the article it says, none of this has been proven and may be highly unlikely.

Times like this we are ALL easy marks for overreaction,
so I stay skeptical about "models" or "theories"
Let's see:

Airborn particles arriving from Africa.
Every wave potentially sneezing out the virus.
Don't breath near the ocean! ????

Heck, we should all be dead now!

Talk like hers, using this current panic, could easily morph into all of us begging to live in "bubble world"

Me? I'm going out to breath some refreshing ocean air ??

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colas said..

So, my advice would be to surf on sunny days, in clear waters, and away from rivermouths in underdelevoped countries or after heavy rains, but more by fear of the other pathogens than the covid... and even 3 meters ones with big sharp teeth :-)

Our water here is clean, crystal clear, and the UV's from spring to autumn make it almost inhospitable.

That said, I still find myself getting upset when I'm on a peak alone, and someone else feels the need to come to where I am. But that has nothing to do with the current situation