Seaweed???

[evandbob]

Has anyone been affected lately by mounds of seaweed, either red drift algae or sargassum accumulating along beaches?  I've seen it in the past in Punta Cana, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, St Maarten,  and it is even here in my hometown area along Sanibel Island, Fort Myers and Naples beaches.

 

Just looking for current conditions as I have a western in August, southern in October and land vacay in Punta Cana booked for November.

[Velvetwater]

 

There was a thread about this last year somewhere. 

 

Seaweed will only ruin your holiday if you let it.

 

 

[iancal]

You could google it.   There was a little in the Puerto Morales/Playa area when were were there last Nov.  We intended to go back this winter for a months or so.   Alas, the reports that we have seen indicate that the situation is much, much worse and is impacting many other areas.   The photos that we saw were terrible...not a little washed up on the beach but masses of it 10 and 20 feet out from the shore.  Impossible to swim.   This sargassum smells to high heaven like sulpher.    We are doing wait and see but I suspect that we will be going to the Pacific coast instead.  But who knows, perhaps is has lessened over the past month or so.

Edited July 18, 2019 by iancal

[slidergirl]

The sargassum was all over the beach at Cocoa Beach (by Port Canaveral) when I was there the end of May/Beginning of June.    I didn't let it bother me - I either sat in front of it or sat in back of it.  Yes, it smells, but I got used to it.  

[mom says]

Everything I've read says that this year is a very bad one for sargassum in Florida and most of the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico. I've got my fingers crossed that it will ease off as winter approaches.

[cb at sea]

Seaweed and jellyfish are tide dependent.....what has happened in years past won't predict what your cruise time might be.

[mom says]

13 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

 

 

Deleted

Edited July 18, 2019 by mom says

[Aplmac]

Now you see it -now you don't!

It is entirely unpredictable! At all locations.

 

We can't even establish an industrial process, to handle it

here in beach-tourism Barbados -because of the erratic supply.

Maybe we shouldn't have messed with the oceans and atmosphere,

thirty years ago?

 

We saw rafts of it, on our last cruise thru the Caribbean Sea!

 

[FredT]

National Geographic had a large article on it a couple months ago.   While they spent most of the article extolling the virtues of sargassum, they did mention that the current explosion in the gulf is "most probably" due to fertilizer runoff from the Mississippi.   (and other rivers) 

[iancal]

The photos we saw last month were much worse than this. 

[#1TravelMom]

We were at Paradise Beach in Cozumel last month.  There was definitely seaweed.  It made the water murky.  They did their best scooping and raking it.  Although we love the crystal clear water, it certainly didn't ruin our day.

[leaveitallbehind]

It is transient and can be present any time and in any location.  Very hard to predict now what the conditions will be in any given location between August and November.  I have, however, never experienced it in the Southern Caribbean or St. Martin.  Our experience with it has always been in the Western Caribbean - in particular along the Mexican coast, with our most recent occurrence in Costa Maya this past March.  But they were working diligently on removing it and it did not overly affect our visit.

[iancal]

We will be making plans in Dec.   I expect that we will check the tripadvisor forums and dial up google earth and see for ourselves.  Early days yet for us.

[evandbob]

20 hours ago, Velvetwater said:

 

There was a thread about this last year somewhere. 

 

Seaweed will only ruin your holiday if you let it.

 

 

When the sea water along a beach has tons of scratchy sea weed floating about, I don't even go in the water.  As I said in my post, I've seen it in the past at some ports, even St Maarten pre-Irma, and my enjoyment of the Orient Beach Day was diminished.  Heck we even saw tons of it floating every day in the mid Atlantic on a recent TA from Fl to Spain.

 

I realize tides and winds are vectors that affect the direction that the sea weed travels.  My point in posting though, was to get the current status of seaweed accumulations via eye witness reports - if there are several recent sightings of sargassum. then maybe I won't plan a beach day in that port.

 

So far, no one has posted a current report.  Anyone????

 

[FredT]

4 hours ago, evandbob said:

Heck we even saw tons of it floating every day in the mid Atlantic on a recent TA from Fl to Spain.

Of course you did... Thats where it has massed for millennia. (And why they call that area of the Atlantic the "Sargasso Sea")

 

https://www.oceanfdn.org/resources/sargasso-sea

[Velvetwater]

On 7/19/2019 at 2:39 PM, evandbob said:

When the sea water along a beach has tons of scratchy sea weed floating about, I don't even go in the water.  As I said in my post, I've seen it in the past at some ports, even St Maarten pre-Irma, and my enjoyment of the Orient Beach Day was diminished.  Heck we even saw tons of it floating every day in the mid Atlantic on a recent TA from Fl to Spain.

 

I realize tides and winds are vectors that affect the direction that the sea weed travels.  My point in posting though, was to get the current status of seaweed accumulations via eye witness reports - if there are several recent sightings of sargassum. then maybe I won't plan a beach day in that port.

 

So far, no one has posted a current report.  Anyone????

 

 

As a Brit who is very used to the ragged and seaweed drenched coasts of certain bays here I genuinely see no problem with it.

 

If the sea has been fabulous I have waded around it and through seaweed...no biggie.Seaweed will wash up on beaches create that seaweed smell but I am on a beach so all is good.

 

Seriously, if you want a beach day go for it. 

[mom says]

On 7/19/2019 at 9:39 AM, evandbob said:

So far, no one has posted a current report.  Anyone???

 

Since no one has been able to provide a current report, I wonder if you might get the answers you're looking for on the TripAdvisor forums. Most of them have local experts  ( Local residents and/or frequent visitors) who could likely be of more help.

[evandbob]

12 hours ago, mom says said:

 

Since no one has been able to provide a current report, I wonder if you might get the answers you're looking for on the TripAdvisor forums. Most of them have local experts  ( Local residents and/or frequent visitors) who could likely be of more help.

Thanks, Mon says!

 

14 hours ago, Velvetwater said:

 

As a Brit who is very used to the ragged and seaweed drenched coasts of certain bays here I genuinely see no problem with it.

 

If the sea has been fabulous I have waded around it and through seaweed...no biggie.Seaweed will wash up on beaches create that seaweed smell but I am on a beach so all is good.

 

Seriously, if you want a beach day go for it. 

Seriously, you can wade in the seaweed you want.  I won't.  Now, wasn't that easy?

[Velvetwater]

57 minutes ago, evandbob said:

Thanks, Mon says!

 

Seriously, you can wade in the seaweed you want.  I won't.  Now, wasn't that easy?

 

In all fairness though,  I'm not the one letting  a little seaweed stop me having a day at the beach.

 

Your call, I was just being positive about the situation.

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by Velvetwater

[evandbob]

15 minutes ago, Velvetwater said:

 

In all fairness though,  I'm not the one letting  a little seaweed stop me having a day at the beach.

 

Your call, I was just being positive about the situation.

 

And I'm being positive about not wanting to expose myself to the odor of rotten seaweed or to the creatures that use it as a breeding ground.  Caribbean waters are warm incubators of all types of sea life that spend their early days rafting along in and on top of sea weed growths.  I think it's very healthy not exposing my skin to contact with these creatures or my lungs to their rotting odorous emanations.

 

I spent many days on a vast majority of the beaches on every island of my upcoming cruises from both land and cruise vacations. I thoroughly enjoyed them when they were sea weed free.  As long as they are not inundated with tons of the stuff, I will continue to enjoy them, but when there's floating mounds of it in the water I do not need that exposure.

 

I can easily and cheerfully choose another activity.

Edited July 21, 2019 by evandbob

[zqvol]

On 7/18/2019 at 10:43 AM, evandbob said:

Has anyone been affected lately by mounds of seaweed, either red drift algae or sargassum accumulating along beaches?  I've seen it in the past in Punta Cana, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, St Maarten,  and it is even here in my hometown area along Sanibel Island, Fort Myers and Naples beaches.

 

Just looking for current conditions as I have a western in August, southern in October and land vacay in Punta Cana booked for November.

As you know, it comes and goes. It might be horrible one day and non existent the next. You just have to deal with it when you get there.