August 4, 2020

Bioluminescence in Santa Cruz, California!

Last night was the first time I’ve ever seen them! What a great surprise after the Comet! This has been really good!

I have been intrigued by bioluminescence for eternity and had plans to go to Jamaica (being a more reliable place to see the glow) sometime in the future - to be able to experience this otherworldly phenomenon. I never expected to see this at all so close to home. Although we had made a failed attempt to see them when there were sightings on the Big Sur Coastline a year and a half ago :)

Honestly speaking, I didn’t want to get my hopes up or anything, as I thought the pictures online were quite exaggerated. And that seemed accurate when I first saw them at Rio Del Mar last night. They were fantastic but not that bright. But I would be proved wrong in the next 30 minutes. Sunset beach was genuinely breathtaking; they were shining, continuous, and very blue. Waves came crashing one after the other bringing more and more glow every time. I feel fortunate to be able to see something like this! I am just overwhelmed!

I want to point out a couple of things for people heading out to see them tonight.

• I read somewhere that they are gone from Rio Del Mar, but we very much saw them last night at all three beaches - Rio, Sea Cliff, and Sunset beach. So it could entirely depend on what time you are at the beach. I think the later, the better. So at least give it a try. This shot was taken around 1:00 am.

• Moonlight could be a spoiler; it could make them look fainter. Thankfully we are blessed with the marine layer that sets in every evening. So if you could find a beach that is covered in fog, your chances of seeing them are better. Trust me; the fog could cut out a significant amount of light from the moon. We waited for about 30 min for the fog to set in to get better visibility.

• Somebody mentioned on Reddit that they are moving south, and I absolutely corroborate. They are actually moving south. The best and most continuous glow we saw was at Sunset Beach, which is around 7 miles south of Rio. So in case you don’t get a chance to see them at Rio or Sunset, go south.
  
  
• Rio was super crowded at 11:30 pm, it didn’t seem like it was so late in the night. On the contrary, Sunset Beach was empty, with just two other cars besides ours. Plus, there was no light pollution, it was pretty dark(minus the moon)

All these pictures are long exposure shots. Had to increase the ISO to catch these waves; believe me, it was way darker and bluer than it looks here.

Bioluminescence is caused by a ‘red tide’, creating a blue glow, kind of interesting - red creating the blue. Unfortunately, this phenomenon on the West Coast is not predictable enough to tell when precisely it will happen.

Enjoy the glow!