Glass Fishing Net Floats

We have continued to have rain showers. Yesterday the sun came out a few times, but the dark cloudy sky inevitably always produced more rain. We drove into Depo Bay for lunch yesterday. Coming into that area we noticed that waves were splashing up as far as the road and even giving cars a good spray of ocean water as they drove past. The ocean has been churning away because of the strong winds. Even way off into the distance we could see very high waves. It has been quite awesome viewing such a powerful force of nature, something which is unique for me.Closer up at the shoreline the ocean appears very dark and dirty. The force of the waves has been stirring the ocean floor and bringing up dirt and debris. Maybe the picture of the ocean below can give you an idea of what I am talking about. Notice the dark lines on the waves.

Debris which we have seen on the beach has included everything from piles of driftwood, glass bottles, pieces of net, kelp, and just plastic junk of all sorts. We do need to stop our use of plastic in America!

 The strong ocean waves have also brought in some interesting valuable treasures. While walking the shore Monday John and Linda  noticed something bobbing in the water. As that object drifted closer to the shore, Linda was able to pull it out of the water. It was a green glass fishing net float with the net still around it,about 16.5  inches in diameter.  While floating in the ocean it had collected many sea shells and sea critters. Also, on this same walk, John and Linda found a second glass float. This one is bluish in color and 4-5 inches in diameter. There are no identifying markings on them.

 After touring Depo Bay yesterday we stopped at the gift shop at Cape Foulweather (there really is such a place, it was named by James Cook in 1778). The shop has glass fishing net floats, both those recently made by local artists and those which have been found on the shores of the Oregon coast. We described the fishing net floats to the clerk there and she said she thought Linda had found genuine fishing net floats, possibly made in the 1930s-1940s  from Japan. Local artists  put identifying marks on their blown-glass floats. The smaller float has no identifying marks- and to remove the net from the larger one to check for any markings would destroy its authenticity. Possible value of the bigger one is $160-$200.00. The clerk said that on an average only one antique float is found per year in this area. Guess I will continue my walks on the beach, but finding any more of those floats seems highly unlikely! I am just happy that Linda is so pleased with her finds.