Conditions on Florida Gulf Coast beaches
Apr 1st, 2007, 02:02 PM
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Conditions on Florida Gulf Coast beaches
Family just returned from a wonderful week in Florida for Spring Break. One thing I noticed was the difference in the conditions on the beaches. We visited beaches on Sanibel Island, Longboat Key and southern St. Pete Beach.
Sanibel Island had the worst conditions of the 3 listed beaches. If my first priority was swimming/playing on the beach, I would have been miserable. The amount of accumulated seaweed on the beach was unbelievable. Of the 1/2-3/4 mile stretch of beach that I walked, it was impossible to get to the water without walking over huge mounds of seaweed. Once in the water, you had to deal with about a 5 foot band of seaweed. DD and I went in only once during our 3 days on Sanibel because of the seaweed. Luckily there was no sign of red tide.
Longboat and St Pete beaches on the other hand were in great condition. DH and I went in everyday at these locations. DD [17] thought the water was "too cold" - low 70's. To me, it was very pleasant since the air temps were in the mid to high 80's.
All in all, we had a great week escaping Michigan weather.
Sanibel Island had the worst conditions of the 3 listed beaches. If my first priority was swimming/playing on the beach, I would have been miserable. The amount of accumulated seaweed on the beach was unbelievable. Of the 1/2-3/4 mile stretch of beach that I walked, it was impossible to get to the water without walking over huge mounds of seaweed. Once in the water, you had to deal with about a 5 foot band of seaweed. DD and I went in only once during our 3 days on Sanibel because of the seaweed. Luckily there was no sign of red tide.
Longboat and St Pete beaches on the other hand were in great condition. DH and I went in everyday at these locations. DD [17] thought the water was "too cold" - low 70's. To me, it was very pleasant since the air temps were in the mid to high 80's.
All in all, we had a great week escaping Michigan weather.
Apr 1st, 2007, 02:17 PM
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Imagine that, seaweed on a beach. The tax payers of Florida pay a lot of money to make the beaches look like a sand box and not a real beach... They miss a spot every once in a while when they are cleaning up to make it look that way.
Apr 1st, 2007, 02:26 PM
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Red Rock, I assume you meant your response to be humorous, but the current seaweed is big news here, and hardly a laughing matter.
It has been a major problem both in Sanibel and Ft. Myers Beach in the past couple months. They are removing truckloads of seaweed, but it is hard to keep up with and the smell of it on the beach as well as the masses of it in the water really are an issue.
The good news is that everyone feels it is a very temporary problem.
Meanwhile you didn't come far enough south, SuzieTrue. I did a beach walk today in Naples and the beach is spectacular right now -- not a speck of seaweed or of red tide.
It has been a major problem both in Sanibel and Ft. Myers Beach in the past couple months. They are removing truckloads of seaweed, but it is hard to keep up with and the smell of it on the beach as well as the masses of it in the water really are an issue.
The good news is that everyone feels it is a very temporary problem.
Meanwhile you didn't come far enough south, SuzieTrue. I did a beach walk today in Naples and the beach is spectacular right now -- not a speck of seaweed or of red tide.
Apr 1st, 2007, 04:02 PM
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Yes, I do hope RedRock is kidding. I'm used to seaweed on a beach but when you have mounds 12-18 inches high and 5-10 feet wide, that is too much. The worst part was trying to walk over it and sinking into the mounds. Next time we'll try Naples.
Apr 1st, 2007, 05:52 PM
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Really?? We are headed to FMB on the 15th and I hope the mess is taken care of. I understand there being some seaweed but I didn't know this was a problem there. I hope I am not disappointed with our visit to FMB/Sanibel. We are staying at Point Estero Resort.
Apr 1st, 2007, 06:42 PM
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NeoPatrick
Humorous, yes a little and I realize it sometimes has to be done. I just get tired of the state and local governments blowing large sums of the tax payers money on some of the beach areas. I much prefer the Canaveral National Seashore with its natural beaches. http://www.nps.gov/cana/
Humorous, yes a little and I realize it sometimes has to be done. I just get tired of the state and local governments blowing large sums of the tax payers money on some of the beach areas. I much prefer the Canaveral National Seashore with its natural beaches. http://www.nps.gov/cana/
Apr 1st, 2007, 07:11 PM
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Good for you Red Rock, but the hundreds of tourists who come to Southwest Florida spending millions of dollars and literally controlling the economy of the area do NOT prefer beaches that they cannot walk on and water that they cannot swim in.
From your post one would think these beaches would always be covered with seaweed and the water would be clogged with it if it weren't for the "interference" of the government. Not the case. This is a rare and unheard of phenomenon here. So it really has nothing to do with making "fake beaches".
This phenonmenon is indirectly caused by man -- it is not a natural thing. Therefore it seems logical to me that man is the one who must try to correct it.
For those interested, here is one interesting article. You can google and find many, many more.
http://tinyurl.com/2dk3s6
From your post one would think these beaches would always be covered with seaweed and the water would be clogged with it if it weren't for the "interference" of the government. Not the case. This is a rare and unheard of phenomenon here. So it really has nothing to do with making "fake beaches".
This phenonmenon is indirectly caused by man -- it is not a natural thing. Therefore it seems logical to me that man is the one who must try to correct it.
For those interested, here is one interesting article. You can google and find many, many more.
http://tinyurl.com/2dk3s6
Apr 1st, 2007, 07:28 PM
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I'm not sure how the algae affects the turtle nesting. There are volunteer groups who check the beaches each morning in nesting season and they rope off the nests so they will be protected. But I'm not even sure how the turtles get through some of those mounds of seaweed to nest.
Apr 1st, 2007, 07:53 PM
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We spent Spring break in Florida. We heard about the red algae so we scrambled and cancelled reservations in Ft. Myers Beach and went to St. Pete Beach instead. We go to Florida for the beautiful beaches, and we have to fly so it's very expensive and the condition of the beach is important. The water in St. Pete in March was too chilly for me, but the kids spent some time in the water. The beach was beautiful and we had a wonderful time.
Apr 2nd, 2007, 06:44 AM
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NeoPatrick
The problem exists along the Atlantic coast as well. They spend hundreds of millions on beach restoration. Most of that seaside to the wall of condos and hotels along the beach. You can drive for many miles along A1A and never see the water. There are some good beach areas to the south of Melbourne along the Treasure Coast. There is always the nude beach area at the National Seashore.
The problem exists along the Atlantic coast as well. They spend hundreds of millions on beach restoration. Most of that seaside to the wall of condos and hotels along the beach. You can drive for many miles along A1A and never see the water. There are some good beach areas to the south of Melbourne along the Treasure Coast. There is always the nude beach area at the National Seashore.
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