Glowing Places

Glowing creatures from the deep have been spotted in the coastal waters off Dana Point! Sea pansies pulsating with blue-green light, sea pens that light up like sparklers, even lantern fish to match the city’s color-rich street names. . . . That means the Bioluminescence Night Cruise, aboard the Orange County Marine Institute’s R/V Sea Explorer, gets a glowing review.

EVENING: 1 2

The nearest spot to grab a bite before boarding is Delaney’s Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar.

On the way you’ll pass a statue of Richard Henry Dana, the city’s namesake and author of “Two Years Before the Mast.” (A one-man theatrical adaptation of the book is being presented July 12, 19, 26 and Aug. 2 aboard the brig Pilgrim, with two shows each night; phone the Marine Institute for details.)

The first thing you notice as you walk into Delaney’s is the huge blue shark suspended overhead, painted with hot rod-style flames coming out its gills. The decor is chock-full of fun sports and nautical photos and memorabilia. Practically every table has a dockside view; enjoy some green lip mussels ($7.95) and Humpback Ale (“Thar She Blows! The finest ale on land and sea,” $4.25) as you watch the boats.

NIGHT: 3

These be rough waters, matey! If you’re prone to seasickness, take some Dramamine ahead of time.

Meet on the dock outside the Marine Institute gift shop. (The gift shop is opened so you can use stationary restrooms before boarding the Explorer; check out the live moray eel and octopus in the gift-shop tanks.) Aboard the Explorer, institute vice president Harry Helling said that the nonprofit center has a teaching staff of 70, about 300 volunteers, and that 100,000 students board its brig Pilgrim each year.

He explained that bioluminescence is not to be confused with phosphorescence or fluorescence; bioluminescence, an efficient process that involves almost no heat, results from the interaction of oxygen and certain biochemicals. Why creatures bioluminesce is not fully understood; it may involve seeing better in the dark, deceiving enemies or communication.

The crew turned on 1,000-watt commercial squid lights and used trawls and plankton nets to attract and collect glowing plankton, fish and worms--the fireflies of the ocean, as it were--during the cruise. Floodlights were used above the waterline to illuminate a sea lion lounging on a buoy, and birds including black-crowned night herons. Squid were the first sea creatures we saw, looking like chickens flying just beneath the surface.

Sea pens and sea pansies were displayed in little tanks for up-close viewing and handling. Kids used glowing crayons to make luminous art hung at evening’s end in a “light-up museum.” At one point, the boat sped up so that we could watch the effect of turbulence at the bow on microscopic bioluminescent creatures. We learned that the general glow--like black-light whitecaps--is caused by dinoflagellates; occasional sparks are the work of copepods.

The night we went, the ship gathered samples from an undersea ecosystem called the scattering layer (located 100 fathoms down a canyon a mile off shore), and tiny animals never before seen on the cruise were brought aboard: euphausids. Thanks to easy-to-use video-microscopes, the shrimp-like creatures proved endlessly fascinating. The ocean, Helling noted, “is not as known as people think. People who are out here every day see new species all the time.”

Bioluminescence Night Cruises take place 8:30-11 p.m. tonight, Saturday, July 25 and 31 and Aug. 12, 29 and 30. The cost is $20 for adults, $14 for children 4 to 12--a bargain even for the cruise alone!