F I R S TP R E V926NEXTLAST

The Bounty of Bolinas Beach
In 1934 Bolinas in Marin County was much as it is today, a sleepy little seaside community that's happy to keep to itself. But in March of that year a discovery was made that changed everything. A local came across a gooey, platter-sized object on the beach. It looked like a gray sponge but smelled awful. After some debate it was suggested the object might be ambergris, undigested food from a sperm whale and an integral part perfume making. At that time the rare substance was valued at $100 an ounce. A sample of the find was sent off to the Smith-Emory Lab in San Francisco and the result came back, 'pure ambergris!'

When word reached Bolinas all hell broke loose. The town declared a school holiday and the entire population of 400 was out on the beach with rakes and sacks collecting as much of the valuable, stinky substance as they could find. The seven-member Pepper family collected a valued $25K on the first day and a local sailor discovered a single 90-pound piece. Soon the small town was overrun by ambergris hunters and twelve policeman from nearby San Rafael had to be brought in to maintain the piece with shotguns. By the end of the week an estimated $16 million worth of ambergris had been collected.

While plans were being made on how to spend the largess; mortgages paid off, early retirement, studies in Europe, the bad news came in. Experts in New York claimed it was not ambergris at all but instead some sort of vegetable substance. The Marin Department of Public Works identified the material as waste from offshore shipping. Optimistic locals sent samples off to Japan and France hoping for happier results, but finally it was pointed out that amount of ambergris would have to come from hundreds of sick whales. In the end, the only money made was a few dollars that came by selling off chunks as souvenirs. By April Bolinas had returned to being just a sleepy little seaside community, wiser, if not richer.
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