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60 - CAPE GAZETTE, Friday, January 10 - January 16, 1997
Cap!. Tom's ashes
scattered in waters
at Cape Henlopen
Captain Elmer L. Thomas,
much better known as Captain
Tom, was buried at sea on Satur-
day. In a ceremony that combined
two of his great passions, flying
and the sea, his ashes were spread
across Delaware Bay.
Capt. Tom died Dec. 27 of heart
failure at the ripe old age of 81.
He always seemed much younger.
A big, strapping man of many pas-
sions, he was a founder of the
Delaware Captains Association
and a well-known figure along
Delaware's waterfront,
A stickler for "getting it right,"
his charter captain's course al-
lowed many a would-be captain to
set a course and prepare for the
tough Coast Guard exam. The ex-
am is needed to become a captain.
Many of those who attended the
services and funeral last weekend
owe their captain's license to
Capt. Tom and his course.
Pairs of Coast Guard auxiliary
members flanked either end of his
coffin at Friday night's viewing.
They stood in full uniform, ap-
proaching the coffin and stiffly
saluting before taking their posts.
On Saturday, 48 friends, family,
students and captains boarded the
Pappy's Lady to say goodbye.
They rode through near mirror
calm seas to the Harbor of Refuge
Light off Lewes Beach.
The captain positioned the boat
between the tip of Cape Henlopen
and the refuge light. It's one of the
most beautiful spots on the
Delaware coast and porpoises of-
ten play there in the early evening
as the summer sun sets.
OUTDOORS
Mike Short
The sun came out before 2 p.m.,
just in time for the service.
There where the ocean meets
Delaware Bay, where currents
swirl and dolphins play, Captain
Tom was laid to rest. Friend AI
Chorman piloted the airplane that
carried his ashes. The two were
close and Tom often flew with
Chorman.
The plane banked low over the
lighthouse and breakwater, flash-
ing its lights before turning back
toward the ship. Chorman slowed
and dropped low as he released
Captain Tom's ashes to flutter
slowly seaward.
On board, two wreaths were
placed in memory of Captain
Tom. They were placed to drift
oceanward, the red carnations,
vivid green leaves and pastel
chrysanthemums floating on a
nearly waveless sea.
A single carnation separated
and drifted alongside the wreaths
as Chorman made a last, final pass
TIDES
m [,.m--7
Indian River
Date Inlet
i0ii9 [ 3:30
1/12
i1:161 4:18
1/13
Rehoboth
Beach
9138 13:27
10:351 4:15
Roosevelt
Inlet
101331 4a8
11:281 5:18
1/14
1/15
1/16
1/17
3:28 19:02 1 2:4718:59 I 3:54 1i0:03
Oak
Orchard
- 16:59
12:511 7:47
1:48 18:37
2:44 19:31
4:39 1i1:32
5:3S 112:24
and waggled his wings in good-
bye.
Eagle survey results
The mid-winter Delaware eagle
survey on Jan. 2 and 3 found 15
mature bald eagles in Delaware.
That's about the standard for the
mid-winter count, although the
numbers can vary considerably.
Last year's count found only
four birds, but it was done in
frigid, blizzard-like conditions
that probably forced eagles to
more hospitable climes. The two
years previous to 1995 found 11
and 17 birds.
Eagles are slowly rebounding in
Delaware, although they continue
to face problems and their recov-
ery has been slow.
This count is a good way to
keep track of Delaware's resident
birds, according to Lisa Gelvin-
Innvaer, the Delaware Depart-
ment of Natural Resources and
Environmental Control' s
(DNREC's) director of non game
and endangered species.
Commercial striper
take debated
The commercial take of striped
bass in Delaware could be in-
creased next season. On Friday,
Jan. 10, the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission will con-
sider increasing what is now a
very small commercial harvest.
The increase is expected to
meet with opposition from recre-
ational fishing interests. Striped
bass fishing has been quite good,
but charter captain Jerry Blakeslee
urged caution and said that not
enough is known about the fish
and its relatively recent recovery.
He also questioned whether
enough notice of the meeting was
given and said that a fall commer-
cial season could set up a conflict
between recreational and com-
mercial fishermen if they are fish-
ing the same areas. That is be-
cause the fish are concentrated in
relatively small areas and netting
and hook and line fishing just do
not co-exist well.
Blakeslee hopes to mobilize
recreational fishermen to attend
Friday's session. The current
commercial quota is considered
almost unimportant and the state
fisheries division is on record as
supporting an increase for
Delaware fishermen.
The current quota is approxi-
mately 90,000 pounds and it could
possibly double.
The meeting is open to the pub-
lic and will be held in the DNREC
Auditorium in Dover at 7:30 p.m.
on Jan. 10.
Mako my day
A slide show will be given b"
Tim O'Connor concerning the
plight of our Atlantic coastal
shark populations along with an
update on the current regulatory
processes impacting them. This
public event is sponsored by the
Sierra Club which welcomes your
attendance on Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at
the Carmine Environmental Cen-
ter at Camp Arrowhead (off Route
24). For more information, call
644-0627.
Rehoboth
continues a holiday tradition
Christmas bird count
By Michael Short
The still, calm morning was
perfect weather for birding and
Saturday's (Jan. 4) warm temper-
atures made the annual Rehoboth
Beach Christmas count a pleasure.
It has not always been so.
Bob Lego recalls waking up to
do the Christmas count when it
was two degrees. That is cold
enough to freeze the lubricant in a
birder's binoculars. Lego was one
of about 32 people who gathered
to conduct Saturday's count.
The Delmarva Ornithological
Society conducted the count, one
of three Christmas counts in Sus-
sex last weekend. The count is
conducted over a 15-mile radius
which includes Rehoboth Beach,
Indian River Inlet and the sur-
rounding area.
Birders spend the night at Camp
Arrowhead, enjoy a home-cooked
dinner and then spend the day, of-
ten in bitter weather, counting
birds. It is camaraderie, competi-
tion and fun which keeps them
coming back. "This was [always]
a social aspect of Christmas," said
Jim White, one of Lego's com-
panions.
Delaware, according to Lego,
White and birding companion
Mike Lennon, is a fine place for
birding. "It is definitely one of the
most overlooked," said White.
Cape May is known as a birding
hot spot, which attracts thousands
of bird lovers. But Delaware has
been slower to find the spotlight.
Delaware has its share of rare
birds and birders on Saturday, Jan.
4 hoped to find a Ross's Gull, a
rare gull known for its pinkish
coloration, which has been spied
at Indian River Inlet.
The dove-like bird was nowhere
to be seen early on Saturday, al-
though a kestrel, or small falcon,
was seen perched at the inlet. The
trio found hundreds of birds and
dozens of species, including tri-
colored herons, American bitterns
and redhead ducks.
Among the rarest birds ever
found in Delaware, the bird
which White said put Delaware on
the map, was a whiskered tern. It
was the first time the European
species was spied in North Ameri-
ca, though not this year.
The count begins early, before
light, when birders seek out owls.
By early morning, the trio was to
be found at the Rusty Rudder,
watching loons and great blue
herons as the sun rose high above
the calm bay waters. Then on to
Silver Lake and its hundreds of
canvasbacks in search of the simi-
larly colored redhead. White, who
led Saturday's nip, explained that
Delaware's unspoiled lands and
location which attracts both north-
ern and southern birds helps make
it an ideal spot for birding.
On a good day in the spring,
over 200 species of birds can be
seen, at least theoretically. On the
Saturday count, birders would
have been happy with half that
number. The count was one of
Mike Short photo
The Rehoboth Beach bird
count was held on Jan. 4.
From (1.r) are Bob Lego, Jim
White and Mike Lennon scan-
ning Indian River Inlet.
seven holiday counts conducted
by the Delmarva Ornithological
Society.
The Delmarva Ornithological
Society will review the counts on
Jan. 15 to consider the birds
counted.
Birding is actually quite com-
petitive and the cellular phone car-
ried by White is to alert other bird-
ers in case of a truly rare find, like
a Ross's Gull.
SPORTS FANS!
YOU
DIDN'T
KNOW
Brought to you by' Kelly Raez
It seems hard to believe, but the
National Football League champi-
onship game one year was played on
a field that was only 80 yards long
instead of 100 - and despite such a
short field, there was hardly any scor-
ing! The title game of 1932 was
scheduled for Chicago, but a blizzard
came, and officials moved the game
inside to an arena where the longest
they could make the field was 80
yards. The Bears won 9-0, with oddly
enough, only one touchdown and one
safety scored on that short field.
• • •
One of the most amazing college
football teams of all time was the Army
team which featured Heisman Trophy
winners Doc Blanchard and Glenn
Davis. The three years they played
together, from 1944 through 1946,
Army never lost a game and outscored
their opponents 1,179 to 161.
When was the first time a football
game was ever on television? First
football telecast in history was on
Spet. 30, 1939. The game was
between Fordham and Waynesburg
and it was televised in New York City.
I bet you didn't know...
You get a FREESet-Up, Tune-Up end
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