jandkshaver Posted September 14, 2018 #1 Share Posted September 14, 2018 We are cruising on the Horizon on October 20th to the Southern Caribbean. We saw a video on YouTube about the seaweed at the Grand Turk Cruise Center. We were wondering if someone who has been recently could tell us what the current condition of the beach is? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stobe1 Posted September 14, 2018 #2 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Storms churn up the seas and can cause seaweed to wash up on shore. This can happen on any beach anywhere. To help put your mind at ease, I have been to Grand Turk 3 times and I have never seen a seaweed problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustsea Posted September 14, 2018 #3 Share Posted September 14, 2018 We were there last Saturday on the Horizon. I had been there years ago and my son was there several years ago. We both remember it being pristine. Not so now. Lots of floating bits of something (maybe seaweed?). However, we did walk farther down the beach to Jack's Shack and the water was clearer there. Chaises are free and $10 for an umbrella. Once back on the ship, I talked to a woman who went to the beach close to the ship and took one look and got back on the ship. Another woman did a scuba/snorkeling excursion and loved that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A&Jfamily Posted September 14, 2018 #4 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Its all over the Caribbean and can change from week to week, day to day, how much is in any given location. Just came back from Cancun where the beach is basically deserted because of it. There is no way to tell what you will experience a month from now. It “should” clear up in the winter but who knows... Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cherries Jubilee Posted September 14, 2018 #5 Share Posted September 14, 2018 I thought it was pretty bad last week. Near the ship was really full of seaweed. We also walked down to Jack’s Shack and while it was better in the very front of the water, the seaweed was only a few feet out and it progressively made its way towards the sand. I know it can happen anywhere so it was just an unfortunate situation. I personally find that amount of seaweed to look disgusting all packed together and dense like that so I just played in the areas where I could kind of avoid it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in TX Posted September 14, 2018 #6 Share Posted September 14, 2018 We have never gone in to the water at the cruise terminal in Grand Turk. We always go to The Sandbar and use the beach there. There is usually no one there and the beach has been pristine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizinisthebest Posted September 14, 2018 #7 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Storms churn up the seas and can cause seaweed to wash up on shore. This can happen on any beach anywhere. To help put your mind at ease, I have been to Grand Turk 3 times and I have never seen a seaweed problem. This particular situation has nothing to do with the current storms and while a natural phenomenon it's unusual to see GT like this. It will go away over time, but it was out in full force last month. I guess it's harmless, but I opted out of playing in it like some folks. We stayed by the pool the whole time this visit. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobsfamily Posted September 14, 2018 #8 Share Posted September 14, 2018 It's such a shame but part of mother nature... Hope it's gone in Jan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micahs Grandad Posted September 14, 2018 #9 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Margaritaville is a nice alternative Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmdiver Posted September 14, 2018 #10 Share Posted September 14, 2018 I don't like to get in the water when there's that much - every time it touches me I think something is after me. But, you can't really argue with nature - it will do what it will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jimbo5544 Posted September 14, 2018 #11 Share Posted September 14, 2018 We were there in July and saw nothing. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JandPB Posted September 14, 2018 #12 Share Posted September 14, 2018 We will be there on Tuesday and will let you know. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coevan Posted September 14, 2018 #13 Share Posted September 14, 2018 "Storms churn up the seas and can cause seaweed to wash up on shore." Sargassum has nothing to due with storms, Google it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengkp75 Posted September 14, 2018 #14 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Sargassum has been known since the days of Columbus, when the area east of the US was named the Sargasso Sea because of the vast quantities of the seaweed found there. When the boundary currents that form the gyre known as the Sargasso Sea change, the floating weed will travel hundreds of miles into the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. It's presence is cyclical, and this is just a bad period for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProgRockCruiser Posted September 14, 2018 #15 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Sargassum has been known since the days of Columbus, when the area east of the US was named the Sargasso Sea because of the vast quantities of the seaweed found there. When the boundary currents that form the gyre known as the Sargasso Sea change, the floating weed will travel hundreds of miles into the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. It's presence is cyclical, and this is just a bad period for it. It appears, based on the info from one of the links provided in an earlier post by fyree39, that the sargassum washing up on a lot of Caribbean shores recently is not from the Sargasso Sea population, but rather coming from further south - Brazil to be specific. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/06/mysterious-masses-seaweed-assault-caribbean-islands Dunno whether the article's statements are true (I am not involved in that field), and dunno whether in previous years it has been Sargasso Sea sargassum that typically plagued the Caribbean islands, but now things are different... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandkshaver Posted September 14, 2018 Author #16 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Thanks for all info. We were there in October 2017 and it was beautiful and clear. We go there again in February 2019, maybe it will be cleared up by then [emoji4] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneylover89 Posted September 14, 2018 #17 Share Posted September 14, 2018 We were there Aug 23 and the seaweed was bad. It was my third time at Grand Turk and only time I saw seaweed. We walked down to Jack's Shack and it was still bad. If you went out a bit the water got clearer but I can't swim and the water was about 5 feet deep, too high for me to stand, so I didn't enjoy myself at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy7 Posted September 15, 2018 #18 Share Posted September 15, 2018 My friend posted this just today, looks alot better! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahospud Posted September 15, 2018 #19 Share Posted September 15, 2018 My friend posted this just today, looks alot better! Not up close. We're here today, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy7 Posted September 15, 2018 #20 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Not up close. We're here today, too. I said it looks alot better than when it was hit with the seaweed, didn't say it was all gone LOL Hope your having a great day anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy7 Posted September 15, 2018 #21 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Deb I was saying it was a lot better than this day! I agree it still has seaweed in the water though :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahospud Posted September 15, 2018 #22 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Deb I was saying it was a lot better than this day! I agree it still has seaweed in the water though :) Definitely not as bad as that one pic. Just wish it looked like it did last time we were here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JandPB Posted September 20, 2018 #23 Share Posted September 20, 2018 The seaweed was definitely evident when we were there Tuesday. It wasn’t nice clear water anywhere. We did a snorkeling excursion instead and the water out by the reef was great. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzn4fun14 Posted September 22, 2018 #24 Share Posted September 22, 2018 We were at Grand Turk this Wednesday 19th September and we went straight to jacks shack. We noticed no seaweed there in the water and very little on the beach. There appeared to be some to the right of the pier by the ships but nothing like some of the prior pictures. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarimaJ Posted September 26, 2018 #25 Share Posted September 26, 2018 Any update within the past couple days? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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