Went to the Beach Today

[FragOutpost]

I went to Washington Oaks beach today and took a ton of photos. I fished for a couple of hours and didn't catch anything. Although we did collect about 30 limpets. This has to be my favorite beach in Florida. The water was cold and the air temperature was in the high 70's. Lots more photos to come.

[FragOutpost]

Here is the sign that explains the different zones of the beach. Anemones and starfish and urchins can be found in the red zone at very low tides. Today the edge of the red zone was exposed for less than an hour. Most of the photos that I took are of the green zone when the tide had already started to come back in.

[FragOutpost]

Here are the limpets that can be found in the thousands out there. Each rock in the green zone has at least a hundred visible limpets on it. The green algae is very similar to Ulva.

[FragOutpost]

If you dig around in the sand you can find tons of these sand fleas which are good for bait.

[FragOutpost]

The rocks in the green zone are covered with whelks, which are not welcome in my aquarium. :)

[FragOutpost]

Here is some of the algae that grows in the red zone. It is hard to tell in the photo but the algae is red.

[FragOutpost]

More beach photos -

[FragOutpost]

Check out these gigantic protein skimmers at Marineland!

[FragOutpost]

And more! :D

[FragOutpost]

Another great thing about this beach is that every time I've been out there the beach is almost empty. I don't know if it is because not very many people know about it or if people avoid this beach because the rocks make it impossible to swim or surf. If you are on the east coast of Florida then you have got to visit this beach at low tide.

[Teeka01]

Just beautiful!!! I will have to go so as my tank is cycled and then the next low tide.

[dickie52]

Great beach.....

Great pictures....

I would love to spend a day exploring that place!!!!!:p

[FragOutpost]

Yeah that place is great. I have seen the tide drop much lower than what it shows in the above photos. You have to time it with a lunar neap tide and then that beach is really amazing. At very low tides all of the rocks are almost completely exposed and the critters have no where to go. I have seen blennies trapped in the tidal pools before too.

[reefergirl]

Great Photos,Wish I was there I havent seen green in about 3 months.

[D12monkey]

Awesome beach... Notched on the to do list.

Will prob go up in 2 weeks time. Shoot you an e-mail when I do.

[FragOutpost]

Just be sure to check the tides for St. Augustine Beach before you go. Low tide at Washington Oaks will be +/- 30 minutes from St. Aug Beach. The lower the tide the better. During high tide almost the entire beach disappears.

[D12monkey]

:p Scuba Gear? Do some high tech snorkeling?

[FragOutpost]

:p Scuba Gear? Do some high tech snorkeling?

I've been thinking about doing some snorkeling there but I think the rocks would make it extremely difficult, not to mention how shallow it is out there.

[Teeka01]

Guess where I am going tommorrow? Today is the lowest tide and tommorrow at 3:43. So I will probaby go for the afternoon. Yipee.

[FragOutpost]

Low tide at Washington Oaks is about 24 minutes off from the the tide reports given for the St. Augustine pier. Make sure to get there at least an hour or two before low tide as once it hits low tide it begins to rise quickly. The water temps are warmer now than when I went last month so there should be more activity on the rocks. When I went in March the water temp was only in the 60's. Good luck and have fun! :) You will have to tell me what you think when you get back.

[Teeka01]

The park was about a 2 hour drive from here. But boy was it worth it. We had a great time. As hard as we looked we didn't find any urchins or gobies We did find the limpets. Which are happily grazing the rocks now. The rock formation was great to look at. Your pictures tell the story of their beauty. After a day in the sun we grilled some brats, then headed home. We had a really fun day. .

[FragOutpost]

Glad to see that you could make it out there Teeka. Was it crowded when you went? I usually try to go on a weekday and it is usually almost completely empty. When the water temps rise a little more the rocks become very active with life. I didn't notice any urchins when I was there last month but when I went last summer we saw at least a dozen of them and a couple of gobies or blennies trapped in a tidal pool (if only I would of had a net with me). :)

[Teeka01]

It wasn't too crowd. There was people there. But the parking lot never got over half full. Everybody else was on the beach looking for shells.

[D12monkey]

I still haven't had an opportunity to go up. :mad:

[marineflora]

beautiful pics FO! those protein skimmers are HUUUUUGGGGEEE!!! i have a 3-4 ft protien skimmer also. it's actually taller than my son :D
i like the pics of the algae also! thanks for sharing man!