Beach Safety and Common Sense on BeachHunter.net |
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Daily Beach Report |
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Beach Safety Menu - Things You Must Know sharks | jellyfish | stingrays | rip currents | red tide | water quality | beach safety | sea lice gulf water temperatures | lightning |
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Bugs are not usually a big problem at the beach. Mosquitoes are common on all but the most overdeveloped islands after dark. This is because most of the islands have wet Mangrove forests that breed mosquitoes. During some months of the year, usually during the heat of summer, the no-see-um gnats (also called sand flies) come out at night with a vengeance You can barely see them, but they sure see you. And their bite really stings. Not long ago I went out on the beach one July evening at Bonita beach to photograph the sunset. My photography session lasted about 10 minutes before the sand flies forced me back to my car. Usually, if there is even a slight breeze, insects are not a problem. There is almost always a a breeze on the beach because of the different rates at which land and water heat up or cool off.
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Most beaches do not allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages because it makes some people get into fights, and because drunk swimmers tend to drown. Generally if alcohol is not allowed there will be signs stating this. Some beaches in major resort areas allow alcohol on the beach in front of the resort/hotel/condo.
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Overall, I have always felt very safe on all the islands and beaches. I think nothing of walking alone at midnight on most of the beaches. I would not recommend that women walk alone on the beaches late at night when there are few people around. Most crime at the beach involves property theft and car break-ins. Never leave anything on your beach towel that would cause you to be terribly upset or inconvenienced if it were stolen. There are sneak thieves who watch and wait till someone goes for a walk or for a swim, then steal their valuables off their beach towel. It is very easy to do without being caught. Also, thieves know that tourists have valuable items like cameras, jewelry, cash, etc. in their car in some far off corner of the parking lot. Lock your valuables in the trunk. Here's a tip: If you know you will be out on the beach until late at night, park your car near a lighted area. If those spots are all taken, remember to come back and move your car to a lighted area when most of the crowd has gone home, and before it gets late. Many public beaches are quite crowded until late at night, so there are always people nearby. For example, Manatee Public Beach, Lido Beach, and Siesta Beach, just to name a few.
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Falling coconuts (I swear I'm NOT making this up!)If you do a little research on the internet you will find various claims about how many people are killed each year by falling coconuts. While the accuracy of the numbers is debatable, it does happen too frequently. (Once is too often, don't you think?). Here are the facts: Coconuts grow high up on the palm tree. Coconuts are very hard and quite heavy. Coconuts fall to the ground when they are ready. Coconuts do not announce when they are ready to fall. How do I know these things? Walk around under some coconut palms that are growing somewhere that the lawn maintenance people don't tend. You will see old coconuts lying around on the ground. They fell. Bonk! Many hotels and other places
that have deep pockets to be sued, keep all the coconuts trimmed off the trees
to avoid problems.
"I'm so happy to see something about falling coconuts! My husand and I were on a golf course in Ixtapa [Mexico] and I refused to get out of the cart cause every ten feet a coconut would fall. It was actually quite scary and my husband thought I was being crazy! I won't lounge under a palm tree around the pool either if there are coconuts on it!" --a comment about this information by a poster on http://www.locogringo.com/forums/ (I told you I wasn't making this stuff up!)
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