Beach Conditions

hi~i just got back from my walk at the beach and the june grass ...sorry to say...is really bad...but it is good for the beach(not so good for the people on vacation).
i had to walk away from the shoreline because it was so thick.

oh...forgot to say ...i was walking at dune allen beach.

Well, that's a little disappointing - particularly since I'll be down there this weekend. I had hoped it would move out by then. Guess I'll just drive up and down the beach until I find a clear spot and set up camp there.

watersound

I just talked with some folks at Watersound (where will be next week) and they described it as heavy.

Thank you for the update. Maybe it is better that the webcam is down.

Thank you for the update. Maybe it is better that the webcam is down.

if you do a beach cam search you should have more to choose from.

Last weekend the jelly fish were happening.

<Bumpage>

An updated report on today's conditions is appreciated!

Cam

http://www.beachview.com/panama_city_beach.htm

In PCB it looks like the typical seaweed, but I don't think I see a lot of June grass. Maybe somebody with a better trained eye can tell. The folks on the beach appear to be happy.

I didn't go to the beach today, but yesterday, the Gulf was pea soup, then cleared off to pea broth conditions by mid-afternoon (water looked clearer, but June grass still very visible).

The water seems almost cold- which seems odd for mid-July. It is very refreshing!

The wind was coming outof the north yesterday, so the black flies showed up for the first time all summer. An annoyance, but nothing to ruin the day. Bring a flyswatter. I just checked the weather website, and wind today is ENE.

The water looks pretty clear on this cam:

http://www.remaxsouthern.com/cam.htm

Is Walton County some kind of June grass magnet? I mean, I never hear about June grass in Gulf Shores, Pensacola, Destin, PCB, etc.

Wow, now black flies and pea soup? I'm realllly hoping for a better forecast than that in three weeks. Last year out of 13 beach days in grayton i would say we had 3-4 really good, clear water days. When we stayed just outside of Pensacola the few years before we didn't have june grass at all.

We didn't know what june grass was then but we knew it wasn't pretty. We'd send a search party down each morning to check the water conditions, and the look on their faces walking back determined if we went to the beach or stayed at the pool:

June Grass Pool Day

No June Grass Beach Day!

I'm wondering if I should maybe change reservations and book a house in the West end of Panama City, maybe. The sand isn't as nice but the june grass would be a real drag since we are pool-less this year.

nodilberthere, I can assure that it is the same in PCB. The difference is that even though it is illegal a lot of the beach services will rake it off the beach. It's really just dependent on wind and currents. Moving 10 miles down the road won't change the possibility of it.

yeah, that did sound pretty stupid, didn't. But honestly, we were in WEst Panama City two years in a row for two week stretches and never once saw slime in the water. Then we got hooked on Grayton and for the past two years, it's really been hit-or-miss.

Driving 1500 straight-thru miles to get there to sit on the beach and not swim because the water is murky and not very appealing makes our pool here at home seem that much more appealing. This is a $5,000 trip for us, cheap by comparison to most, but it is a big expenditure this year. We could go to Duck Beach or Corolla in the outer banks in half the time. But , we really LOVE the beaches in Sowal when they are clear and emerald. When they aren't, it's just a big bummer. Does that sound superficial and bratty? hell yeah, but mother nature can be a real beeyotch sometimes.

No it didn't sound stupid, superficial, or bratty. I was just pointing out the fact that it is affecting the entire area. I don't believe it was this bad two years ago either.

We went out to Shell Island yesterday and it was gorgeous. Was a hike to get there but worth it in my opinion. We found the clear beautiful water we drove here for.

We will have some years that you can go everyday w/o a touch o' the stuff. But, I can remember one year, must've been 12-15 years ago, it was thick grass all summer..bad fishing year. Two years ago we searched for a fishing spot from inlet to the island without finding a break to cast a line. No rhyme or reason...so sorry for vacationers, tho! They don't have the luxury of shrugging their shoulders and saying, "Oh well, give it a few days, maybe it'll change." I actually love the stuff because with a really bad year of grass the sand grows right before your eyes!!!

We are at Watersound West & have been all week. The conditions have varied from really thick (only 1 day) to yesterday when there was very little where we were set up (close to Deer Lake outflow). Haven't been down yet but are on our way. Hopefully we can enjoy our last day on the beach without it!!

Hey Kimbug

I would love a report. We are headed to Watersound this weekend! I will try to give reports while I'm there if I can get my laptop to work.

I would love a report. We are headed to Watersound this weekend! I will try to give reports while I'm there if I can get my laptop to work.

Shouldn't be a problem, hotspots all over Watersound.

I rode out on Grayton Beach about an hour ago and the water is pretty clear. Lots of jellyfish tho'. Some spots off shore have june grass but close in it was clear.

Can anyone give an update to how the beach is today or was over the weekend?

Grayton was nice most of the day- still lots of June grass but not pea soup. "Semi-clear" would be a good description, since we could see the jellies despite the June grass. Lots of small harmless jellies for most of the day, then late afternoon the big bad ones came in, along with thicker June grass.

We had a great day at the beach- it was beautiful!

I've decided that I'm not going to be looking at the beach conditions anymore. It's making me second guess the plans. Bottom line is, we can't control it, so we'll just take it as it comes. I think it might be better karma for a vacation to just "let it be."

When I try to over-plan, things backfire. If you go with no grand plan except to enjoy being with each other, then things seem to fall into place. We've had some of our best times because the "real plan" fell through. And that's in life as well as vacations.

Can anyone give an update to how the beach is today or was over the weekend?

I was in Dune Allen over the weekend and it really wasn't that bad. The surf was pretty flat, so most of the june grass settled to the bottom in patches. It wasn't that hard to find some nice clear water. I think the key is getting on the beach early in the morning before the surf kicks up and stirs up the june grass.

I was at Ed Walline earlier this morning and the water was the clearest I've seen in awhile, but isn't there a storm entering the gulf today? That's sure to stir things up a bit even though it's predicted to stay far to our south.