The weirdest stuff found on Point Reyes beaches

There are 80 miles of rugged coastline at Point Reyes National Seashore, and when it comes to debris found on the beach, there’s some weird and occasionally deadly stuff.

Sometimes that stuff leaves more questions than answers, according to those who work at Point Reyes. The vast park, located just north of San Francisco in West Marin, is made up of more than 100 square miles and known for its sprawling beaches, Tule elk, great hikes and up-close-and-personal experiences at elephant seal breeding grounds.

Home to 1,500 species of plants and animals, and given there’s nothing to the west of Point Reyes besides thousands of miles of uninterrupted Pacific Ocean, it should come as no surprise that out-of-place things occasionally wash up on the beach.

“Ocean currents are strong,” Point Reyes spokesperson Christine Beekman told SFGATE. “The National Weather Service issues beach hazard statements regularly. Point Reyes’ Great Beach is 10 miles long and, during a strong surf, unwary visitors can get swept off their feet quickly. Imagine what that strong of a current can do to an object floating in it.”

An SFGATE survey of Point Reyes’ staff on the topic turned up some interesting answers, the most mentioned of which was this unexpected onslaught of fat innkeeper worms in 2019. The creatures, referred to as “penis fish,” arrived on Point Reyes’ Drakes Beach in what was believed to be a mass stranding after a storm.

That’s not the only odd animal to appear on the beaches of Point Reyes. Described as “a gross-looking, rubbery, usually pink oogy organism,” hunks of sea pork are known to make an appearance from time to time. “They are made up of colonies of organisms called zooids that are enveloped by a rubbery exoskeleton and are actually considered one of the more evolved marine invertebrates,” one staffer said. The species of tunicates that can be forced afloat by Pacific “wave action” comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors, like “orangey-red, purple, pink, yellowish and black.”

In another instance, a dead orca washed up on the shore near Tomales Point. This was apparently “an offshore orca,” meaning it spent its time away from the coast. While not much is known about the species, it was discovered during the orca’s removal that its teeth were “very worn down.” Marine experts thought that likely meant it preferred preying on sharks (shark skin is like sandpaper). The skeleton was later reassembled and is now on display at the California Academy of Sciences, officials said.

Other dead animals recovered along Point Reyes include “a rare, very decayed beaked whale species,” great white sharks, leatherback sea turtles and an entire pygmy sperm whale.

But perhaps the most interesting stuff isn’t natural at all.

There is boring, sometimes odd trash like face masks and a Japanese road sign, but some of the objects that have been recovered are actually very, very dangerous. According to a Point Reyes park biologist, someone once found “an unexploded naval phosphorus bomb” at Limantour Beach, a place park officials list as a “popular beach among families.”

The Bay Area, particularly the coast, still has strong remnants of its military past. Deadly debris found at Point Reyes in the past decade also included a pair of compressed gas cylinders adorned “with barely legible Japanese [markings].”

“They looked like they had been floating around in the ocean for a decade,” a staffer said. “Since the contents were unknown and they were in such fragile, decrepit condition, we had to contract with a hazardous disposal company to get rid of them … to the tune of $20,000! Turns out one of them contained chlorine gas!”

Stories of debris from the devastating 2011 Japanese tsunami have also been widely reported. There have been many such occurrences here in California and up and down the West Coast, including so-called “ghost ships,” trash and items carrying invasive species that have hitched a ride across the Pacific.

The next time you find yourself at Point Reyes enjoying a sunny day at the beach with your family and friends, keep your eyes peeled and camera ready.

You never know what might find you.