Photo Tour of Select Treasure Coast Treasure Beaches.
Photo of Beach at Sebastian Looking South Towards McLarty Museum.We've been waiting for rough seas for sometime. Some pretty nice waves finally showed up, especially in southern St. Lucie County even though there wasn't much wind. Surfers were out in numbers around the Walton Rocks area.
Photo of Wabasso Looking South Towards Disney.I often say that it takes more than big waves to create erosion. That was proven today. There were some pretty good waves, but they were hitting directly on the beach rather than at an angle. The best and most productive cuts, in my opinion, are those created when the wind is blowing from the north and the waves are hitting the beach at a good angle.
Turtle Trail Beach Access Looking North.The most promising spot I saw all day was north of Seagrape Trail.
You can see here and in the last photo, where about 15 yards of sand (less at the spot of this photo) was recently piled in front of the dunes. You can see the plantings lined in rows on top.
That will keep old items from being washed out of the dunes until that new sand is gone. And that could happen in a day or two if we every got a good storm. Until then, the dunes as a source of shipwreck items has been pretty much removed up in those areas where the beach renourishment projects were recently completed.
John Brooks Park Looking North.You can see that there is no erosion here. Notice the sea weed, which appears all along the Treasure Coast. Sea weed is a sign that light material is washing in rather than out.
Walton Rocks.I've shown this beach quite a few times recently. Notice that it is more sanded in than it was a few weeks ago. Even though there were some really nice surfing waves there today, there was no erosion.
Well, I've pretty much given you an idea of what the beaches are like along the Treasure Coast today. I didn't show all of the beaches, of course. I have other things to do. But I think you can see that even though there was a nice increase in the height of the seas, there was very little erosion.
I won't say there wasn't any erosion. I would be very surprised if that was the case. Somewhere, I'm almost sure, you can find some erosion if you go out and scout around long enough. My guess is that the more southern areas have a better chance, and areas around obstructions like jetties. But what I showed today are some of the more common shipwreck beach sites.
I'd look for a change in wind direction. North winds coupled with these swells could do some good, but there is an awful lot of sand to be moved.
Follow the sand. Follow the sand.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
