Cape San Blas - Leave No Trace Ordinance Passed - No More Personal Belongings on Beach Overnight

Important Notice: Leave No Trace Ordinance passed - No more tents, chairs or personal belongings on beach overnight. Below are excerpts from the Port St. Joe Star Leave No Trace article by Tim Croft.

A standing-room-in-the-hallway-outside-the-meeting-room-only audience, which at times participated as if sitting at the podium with commissioners, roundly applauded as Leave No Trace passed with little discussion.

“Enforcement is the key to any ordinance we put in and we are going to do our best,” said Commissioner Warren Yeager in speaking about Leave No Trace.

A highlight of the Leave No Trace ordinance is that personal property left on the beach by non-residents one hour after sunset or one hour prior to sunrise would be considered abandoned.

The language of the ordinance permits county crews picking up such abandoned property and disposing of it.

This is great news for the nesting sea turtles and anyone who loves the beauty of the beach.  Most of the beach does not look like this but there are areas that are completely out of control.  This will be a bit inconvenient for some, but a huge improvement for the overall feel of this beautiful beach. A Tropical Breeze guests will benefit from this ordinance.

Sea Turtles Scheduled For Release from Cape San Blas

Jan. 13. 4:30 PM -- Gulf World Marine Institute along with the  help of FWC and University of Florida will be releasing approximately 50 of the cold stunned sea turtles at Cape Palms Park on Cape San Blas. The release will take place at11am EST/10am CST tomorrow January 14, 2014.

Before the turtles are released they will be weighed, measured and tagged. Six of these sea turtles are the more endangered Kemp’s Ridley, the remaining of sea turtles are endangered Greens. The temperatures of the bay water during the cold stun reached a low of 37 degrees. The turtles will be released into the warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

We would like invite the media and public to watch this wonderful event with the understanding that we will establish a designated area for media and spectators.

There are also five Green sea turtles that will be transported back to Perdido Key area of Gulf Island National Seashore for release.

There are six sea turtles that will remain in rehabilitation at The Institute due to other medical illness or and injuries. The turtles will be retained for medical treatment until cleared for release.

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Gulf World Marine Institute (GWMI) has received approximately 50 endangered sea turtles in the past two days.

These marine turtles have been stranding due to cold temperatures in shallow bay waters.

These marine reptiles are cold blooded; they cannot thermo regulate their body temperature.

As a result, the cold temperatures are placing these animals in a hypothermic state and they become very weak and can cause secondary illnesses.

The body temperature of the animals coming into rehabilitation are between 40-50 degrees and some of the animal’s heart rates are as slow as one beat per minute.

GWMI, FWC, Fish and Wildlife, Gulf Island National Seashore, and University of Florida volunteers are finding and transporting the turtles to GWMI for rehabilitation.

All the animals that we have received so far in rehabilitation are in intensive care. Their body temperatures will be slowly warmed and any necessary medical treatments will be administered as needed.

Rescue teams will continue to search until the water temperatures are warm.

Along with the current cold stun at Cape San Blas the Gulf World team is now responding to a live stranded marine animal.

We will send more details after the team has evaluated the situation. 

Sea Turtle Patrol Monitors Cape San Blas Hatch - By J. Michael Brown

 

 

 

 

  One in a thousand.  On average, that's how many baby sea turtles survive to adulthood.

The cycle of life often begins along Northwest Florida's beaches.  In Gulf County, volunteers are monitoring 96 nests in a six-and-a-half mile stretch of Cape San Blas.  Members of the St. Joseph Peninsula Turtle Patrol hit the sand just after sunrise Tuesday to check for loggerhead hatches.

The sea turtle nesting season lasts from May through October.  Nests average about 100 eggs each and the incubation period is 60-65 days.

The group first stopped on the beach behind the William J. Rish Recreational Park where two nests are marked with stakes, yellow tape and a warning sign.  There was no evidence of a hatch.

"I see that they're high and dry so they probably will hatch, probably within the next week," Penny Weining, a turtle patrol volunteer, said.

A few hundred yards farther down the beach, an excited group of volunteers gathered for the highlight of the day – an excavation of a green sea turtle nest to determine whether last weekend's hatch was successful.

Weining said green sea turtle nests are a rare find.  "It's been a couple of years since we've had one... they don't come every year and they are more rare than a loggerhead nest," Weining said.

After removing the stakes and wire that guards against predators, the digging got underway.  Volunteer John Ehrmann did the dirty work.  "The clutch is usually about nine inches to twelve inches below grade," he said.

Nearby, Katrina Larson's two home-schooled children enjoyed a day in an outdoor classroom.  "It's just an amazing place to be able to do real hands on science," Larson said.  "They see that there are real scientists working in this world to help God's creation."

Ehrmann dug down in the white sand all the way to his shoulder and pulled pieces of shell and a few whole eggs from the cavity.  The volunteers were pleased with what they found.

"It looks like everybody got out okay," Weining said.  "Most of them are hatched and only about ten of them were probably infertile."

The excavation revealed that 130 hatchlings had made their way to the Gulf of Mexico.  It's a long shot, but some of them might return one day.  Female sea turtles that reach reproductive age – in 20 or 30 years – come back to the beach where they hatched to lay their own eggs.

"They do imprint on the sand and they're familiar with their home," Weining said.  "I guess it's a natural kind of GPS system that brings them back."

Development is encroaching on the turtles' natural environment and patrol volunteers are trying to protect what's left.  "These creatures have been around for 60 million years and we just want to keep them around for a little while longer," Ehrmann said.

Sea turtles aren't cuddly, but there's a fascination with them that is wide reaching.  "One of the reasons that our visitors love to come to Gulf County is for the natural beauty and the wildlife element that we have here," Kelli Jackson, Business Manager for the Tourist Development Council, said.

After the results of the hatch were logged – the data will be forwarded to researchers at the University of Florida – volunteers returned the beach to its natural state.

Weining struggled to find the words to explain her devotion to the sea turtle's cause.  "They're massive but they're beautiful," she said.  "Everybody's fascination is for a different reason, but I just find them beautiful."

Beautiful creatures beginning life in a beautiful place.

For information on how to become a St. Joseph Peninsula Turtle Patrol volunteer, call (205) 910-4717 or email the group at sjpturtlepatrol@gmail.com.

Welcome to a Wonderful Week at A Tropical Breeze!

Summer is in full swing and we are welcoming our weekly guests to A Tropical Breeze. Even though Cape San Blas may be quiet to some, to me there is so much to do that I can never fit it all into one stay.

I was there last week for 3 nights and enjoyed a daily morning bike ride.  One day we went into St. Joseph Peninsula State Park and saw 4 deer grazing by the side of the park road.

We then went to visit my son, Cody, who is working at Scallop Cove Too, the state park marina store.  He and his co worker, Kevin  are busy renting out kayaks and sharing their fishing stories with their attentive customers.

 These two silly boys know how to fish and have been on a run with red fish in the bay. Yesterday it was so calm, they took our 19' boat that never leaves the bay, 6 miles out into the Gulf and caught a grouper!

We have a new sea turtle nest on the beach.  The sea turtle laid her eggs on May 23rd.  I would love to be back to see those little baby turtles scurry towards the sea.  If you are staying on Cape San Blas or any beach this summer, please don't leave blockades on the beach at night that keep the mama turtles from laying their eggs.  Barricades can be sand castles, large holes, beach tents or beach chairs.

As always, we enjoyed baked oysters at the Indian Pass Raw Bar. The picture is upside down :-(

Here I am in my very favorite spot, watching the sunset on the beach in front of A Tropical Breeze.

We are so blessed to enjoy the pleasures of this beautiful beach.  ENJOY!

Cape San Blas - Wildlife Paradise

We've been home from  A Tropical Breeze and Cape San Blas for a couple of days and I'm still talking about the wildlife we saw. On Saturday morning, Rob and I went into the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park ready to launch our new/used boat at the Eagle Harbor boat ramp.  On the park access road we spotted four deer right next to the road.  I told Rob, "That's a good sign, we are going to see dolphins today."  To clarify, any time I get on a boat in Florida I am looking for dolphin and my husband is looking for fish.

After multiple tries and by hogging the entire two boat ramp, we successfully launched our19' fishing boat. This was my first time backing up a trailer, to say I was nervous is an understatement). The bay was beautiful and we started catching sea trout right away.  I'm always on the hunt for dolphins so I was anxious to move around to find the dolphins. Just as we're about to move to another location, the little fish start jumping out of the water and here comes a dolphin lazily swimming by.  Our boat has a trolling motor which allows for quiet stalking so we followed for awhile.  I suggested a boat name - Dolphin Seeker.

Now that I had my dolphin fix, it was back to fishing.  Our next siting was a huge leopard manta ray about 4' feet by 4' and then the excitement of the day... A large sea turtle.  We were heading back to the marina and saw a ripple in the water and then a full size sea turtle surfaces.  It was like having a dinosaur come out of the water.  There were fish resting on it's shell, going along for the ride, and when it surfaced they swam away. New boat name- Turtle Seeker. The next day we saw a small sea turtle, sand dollars, a star fish and sea urchins.

For those wives who have ever had to back up a trailer, after 6 trips up and down the boat ramp, I went from trailer novice to trailer pro. In my husband's eyes, my worth increased with every trip up and down the ramp and was a nice glimpse into our future retired life.

We ended a wonderful weekend with a bonfire on the beach roasting marshmallows and admiring the stars until some one turned a large light on behind A Tropical Breeze. It took me about 5 minutes before I realized it was the moon rising.

After 10 years of regularly visiting Cape San Blas, I still marvel at the beauty!

42" Redfish - St. Joseph Bay, Cape San Blas

A Tropical Breeze has been booked with our wonderful guests all summer.  This past Wednesday was our first gap since mid May, so we took a quick trip down to enjoy the beach and do some fishing. This picture was taken on Thursday in the St. Joseph Bay.  My son, Cody and his buddy caught the fish about 1:30 in the afternoon using a pin fish as bait. They netted the pin fish just outside of Eagle Harbor and hooked the red fish about 1/4 mile out of Eagle Harbor.  The fish was too big to keep but after a two hour fight to land it, they managed to get this great picture to share, before releasing it back into the bay.

While they were fishing, I spent several relaxing hours sitting on the beach in front of A Tropical Breeze. The weather was perfect!  

 One of the highlights of the trip for me was seeing the three sea turtle nests on the beach in front of A Tropical Breeze.  Last year we didn't have any nests near our home so this was a wonderful surprise.  Maybe I will be there to see them hatch.

www.atropicalbreeze-capesanblas.com