Crap on the beach

[Smiling JOe]

Here is my warning again to all of you who may not know about it. Leave your crap on the beach overnight, and it may be gone when you come back the next day. If I don't take it, the storms may. This morning while kayaking in the Gulf, I collected floating bottles, a play tug boat,a boogy board and two beach chairs, and can you believe the owners were screaming at me that the chairs belonged to them, though they wouldn't come in the water to get them because they didn't like the seaweed? It didn't make for too exciting of a kayak experience this morning. I made them promise to take their crap off the beach everyday in exchange for the chairs. There were tents in the water this morning, crumbled tent frames and tops on the beach, etc. It really sucks that some people do not have the courtesy to remove their crap daily.

Warning: You can take it off the beach, or I will. I am tired of it. Now get a move on before I decide to open a can of whoop-@ss on you rude, inconsiderate people.

[bsmart]

Here is my warning again to all of you who may not know about it. Leave your crap on the beach overnight, and it may be gone when you come back the next day. If I don't take it, the storms may. This morning while kayaking in the Gulf, I collected floating bottles, a play tug boat,a boogy board and two beach chairs, and can you believe the owners were screaming at me that the chairs belonged to them, though they wouldn't come in the water to get them because they didn't like the seaweed? It didn't make for too exciting of a kayak experience this morning. I made them promise to take their crap off the beach everyday in exchange for the chairs. There were tents in the water this morning, crumbled tent frames and tops on the beach, etc. It really sucks that some people do not have the courtesy to remove their crap daily.

Warning: You can take it off the beach, or I will. I am tired of it. Now get a move on before I decide to open a can of whoop-@ss on you rude, inconsiderate people.

Good for you Smiling JOe. It makes me ill to see folks doing that all of the time too. I especially have a problem with huge holes being dug and left alone.

[Miss Kitty]

They have been properly warned, again. Sorry about your visit with the trash.

[Beach Crazy]

Good for you Smiling JOe. It makes me ill to see folks doing that all of the time too. I especially have a problem with huge holes being dug and left alone.

Did you hear about the kid in California that was digging to China beside his mother at the beach and the hole caved in on him? He was without oxygen for like 5 minutes. The lifeguard and others were trying to dig but the hole kept caving in, finally they were able to stack up three deep and remove the sand that way. The boy is ok, he and his mother were on the today show this week. Very scary. Another great reason not to dig big monster holes on the beach.

[Diane4145]

GO JOE, GO JOE, GO JOE!!! Nice to have ya, lookin' out for SOWAL!!!!! You people had better listen, cause BIG JOE'LL really mess with your vacation and rightfully so!!!

[Unplugged]

You are so right Joe - unfortunately, the people who need to see your warning probably do not frequent this space

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[Diane4145]

You are so right Joe - unfortunately, the people who need to see your warning probably do not frequent this space

__________________________________________________ _

I agree, but others to come in the future and might see this, will hopefully GET IT! I suppose that there will always be some, that don't even care to "get it"!

[InletBchDweller]

I am in need of a good umbrella with a big sand screw on it. (that sounds funny??)

let me know if you find one.....heheheheheheheheh!!!!!

[Smiling JOe]

I am in need of a good umbrella with a big sand screw on it. (that sounds funny??)

let me know if you find one.....heheheheheheheheh!!!!!

What color? Canvas or nylon?

[kurt]

Last week when I was on Grayton Beach there were 8 holes at least 6 feet wide and several feet deep up and down the beach and by the lake. This was in the evening so they weren't going to get filled before the next day, if then, which I doubt. One hole was 5 feet deep and 12 feet wide.


What is wrong with this?




I wonder if we shuld open a rental shop with bikes, kayaks and Kubotas (delivery/pickup at the beach of your choice)? After all, what kid wouldn't want to get behind the stick of a kid-sized tractor?

[InletBchDweller]

really dont care just one that works.....

What color? Canvas or nylon?

[Mango]

Wow SJ. Giving them back their chairs after they got ansty with you?
You are so nice. I would have used them as a frisbee, aimed at the head, and told them to catch.

[laurawood]

"I wasn't lost, I just didn't know where I was for a few weeks. What I had lost (at least for a while) was my appetite for the life I had left: city surroundings, old friends, familiar comforts. It had occurred to me that comfort was only a disguise for what will always change." -- Gretel Ehrlich - The Solace of Open Spaces

-love that quote sj-

So sorry the idiots ruined your morning kayak. It is inconsiderate and ignorant to leave your things on the beach. GET A CLUE PEOPLE!!!!!
Oh, and digging large holes on the beach is very dangerous. I knew of at least one childhood friend to die this way. Tunnels are a bad idea as well. common sense is a hard thing to come by these days, no?

[scrltbegonya]

We enjoyed a Friday on the beach last week and I was very surprised at all the things that were left. It was hard to find a place to park the truck bc of all the belongings left. I did think about picking up some new chairs...

[katie blue]

This morning in Seacrest there were about 15- 20 pop up tents (some without tops, all with crap under them) within a block of our access on either side. Never seen so many at once. Considered making a sign for our access path. Went bike riding with the Mers instead.

[Jdarg]

This morning in Seacrest there were about 15- 20 pop up tents (some without tops, all with crap under them) within a block of our access on either side. Never seen so many at once. Considered making a sign for our access path. Went bike riding with the Mers instead.

"It's a jolly holiday with Mermaid."

[peapod1980]

Did you hear about the kid in California that was digging to China beside his mother at the beach and the hole caved in on him? He was without oxygen for like 5 minutes

Yes, saw them on TV. And the mom ended the whole story by saying she wanted to let everyone know it's dangerous to dig big holes at the beach and not to do it. I'm hoping maybe their story and her word of caution impacted someone who's never thought about it.
SJ, you skeery.

[John R]

stealth mission. mayhem needs some ez-ups.

[JB]

While I commend SJ for standing up to these mullet-heads, you can bet there are dozens of other idiots standing in line to take their place.

For some odd reason, folks who vacation in Sowal (among other places) seem to think they have some divine right to trash whatever they want because they are spending money in the area. They seem to think no further than their own little world of enjoyment.

Like I've said a jillion times, no one has any manners anymore.

The county/TDC needs to do a better job of educating and enforcing. If there is no law on the books about crap being left overnight on the beach, there needs to be. And it needs to be enforced.

[Bobby J]

SJ,

Remember when I told you there was a business in this. Lets get with Walton County and see if we can make a nightly swoop. We pick it all up every night and bring to Caring and sharing. Caring and Sharing begins to sell beach stuff to tourist and they make money and we get a nice big tax break! I got the truck and I bet I could get authorized to do it.....

[InletBchDweller]

this sounds great to me

SJ,

Remember when I told you there was a business in this. Lets get with Walton County and see if we can make a nightly swoop. We pick it all up every night and bring to Caring and sharing. Caring and Sharing begins to sell beach stuff to tourist and they make money and we get a nice big tax break! I got the truck and I bet I could get authorized to do it.....

[TooFarTampa]

SJ,

Remember when I told you there was a business in this. Lets get with Walton County and see if we can make a nightly swoop. We pick it all up every night and bring to Caring and sharing. Caring and Sharing begins to sell beach stuff to tourist and they make money and we get a nice big tax break! I got the truck and I bet I could get authorized to do it.....

What a phenomenal idea. No expensive storefront to rent or insure, just a truck ... word would get around fast too, so fast you would probably be out of business pretty quickly. Talk about a free market solution!!

[Amp22]

There is a law against it but it is not enforced.It will have to be one day soon.

[Jdarg]

I think I have mentioned it before- my bee-yoo-tiful turquoise crank umbrella, size very large, and very nice too, is now ours courtesy of the schmucko that left it on the beach overnight, 2 years ago.

I'm looking for matching chairs- y'all keep your eyes peeled please!

[Destiny]

Although I don't live in SoWal, I love to visit the beautiful beaches. I love Bobby J's idea of collecting the crap and allowing Care and Share to resell it to the same tourists that probably left it there. As a tourist (but one that has loved t0 visit the best kept secret) for over 20 years, I would love to see the area enforce strict rules as the growth has been tremendous over the past 5-6 years. Just my thought and I realize I have no say-so in the matter.
Hope everyone enjoys the beach today!!

Thanks to SJ for his concern for his living environment and his courage!!

[JB]

There is a law against it but it is not enforced.It will have to be one day soon.

Again, I think trying to educate people as to what is/what is not acceptable would go a long way.

While it would be a massive printing project, the TDC could place flyers in every single rental unit in the county outlining beach do's and dont's.

OR the owners and rental agencies could take the initiative and do something similar.

Either way, I agree with all on this issue. It's a big problem that is getting worse.

[John R]

Again, I think trying to educate people as to what is/what is not acceptable would go a long way.

While it would be a massive printing project, the TDC could place flyers in every single rental unit in the county outlining beach do's and dont's.

OR the owners and rental agencies could take the initiative and do something similar.

Either way, I agree with all on this issue. It's a big problem that is getting worse.

imo, a more pragmatic approach would be to place notice at beach entrances.

[JB]

imo, a more pragmatic approach would be to place notice at beach entrances.

True. But I think they would go largely unread, plus the folks who stay gulf front would use their own private walkway.

I think the rental agencies could go a long way toward solving this problem. Of course, they would have to give a damn first, which they don't.

Maybe the state and/or the county needs to adopt the old "Leave only footprints" campaign from the 1970's.

[kurt]

I agree that signs and flyers alone won't do it. It will take a few years of enforcement for it to become accepted fact that it is not allowed. Once all the rental agencies and owners know it as a fact it will get passed on to renters in a few different ways.

I like the idea of notices left for a "warning" on the articles themselves, at least for the 1st year or 2 of enforcement, before items are removed by patrols. Items removed by officials, or "donated" to a private group will leave a very bad taste in visitor's mouths that the TDC is not going to do without pressure. Paying patrols to remove items would also take away from advertising capiital which is hard to make happen.

The good news is that Rosemary Beach, WaterColor, WaterSound, etc. have signs up AND they enforce the rules on their beaches. As our beaches get more and more popular, people will have easier access to beach services instead of worrying about bringing or buying their own stuff. The problem is that items have gotten cheaper to buy, use a week, and throw away than to rent.

[pmd8]

Now I know why I feel so smug when I go to the beach and take a towel or sheet, a container of frozen water and nothing else.
(I refuse to buy bottled water because it just adds more plastic to the landfills and tap water is no less healthy.)

Watching tourists take 50 pounds of junk to the beach is always good for a laugh. When they're too lazy to pack it up daily, I think that "liberating" the structures is justified.

When I was growing up and one trekked to Seagrove it usually meant a quarter mile or more slog through the sand dunes. In August that could be brutal. Especially if your car got stuck in the dirt roads. I guess we knew even then it couldn't last forever.

[SHELLY]

Seems like every year that passes this situation just gets worse.

My idea would be for the commissioners to pass an law that says "everything that is left unattended on the beach after 8pm is FREE for the TAKING"...stick that on a flyer and put it in the rentals--PROBLEM SOLVED!

[Bobby J]

It is free for the taking after dark. I do not think we need another law. The people just need to start seeing the stuff go bye bye!

[Mango]

Are you talking about the beach services? I see beach chairs and umbrellas up all the time by the beach rental set up companies in off season. Seems if this is the law, the people who do business in the area should be fined and accounted for who leave their goods on the beach at night as well.

In LBI- a barrier island off the Jersey shore, they pay for beach raking every day. Anything left on the beach gets disposed of and carted away early in the am.

[John R]

"I wasn't lost, I just didn't know where I was for a few weeks. What I had lost (at least for a while) was my appetite for the life I had left: city surroundings, old friends, familiar comforts. It had occurred to me that comfort was only a disguise for what will always change." -- Gretel Ehrlich - The Solace of Open Spaces

-love that quote sj-

crazy about that quote, gretel comes to mountainfilm every year. she's a great lady.

[kurt]

Are you talking about the beach services? I see beach chairs and umbrellas up all the time by the beach rental set up companies in off season. Seems if this is the law, the people who do business in the area should be fined and accounted for who leave their goods on the beach at night as well.

In LBI- a barrier island off the Jersey shore, they pay for beach raking every day. Anything left on the beach gets disposed of and carted away early in the am.

The beach service companies do not leave items out overnight. Beach raking is not believed to be an environmentally sound practice.

[Mango]

The beach service companies do not leave items out overnight. Beach raking is not believed to be an environmentally sound practice.

Not entirely true Kurt. I have been on the beach at 10-11 pm many times during off season and chairs and umbrellas are still there in my neck of the beach. Not to mention kayaks and other beach paraphenalia under the beach walk overs.

Was not aware of the effects of beach raking, but I suppose recreational vehicles, sea walls etc. have no effect?
Sand raking effects on barier islands require more investigation on my part, but it is only done a couple days of the week, and 8 weeks of the year. The area where it is done is only where people go on the beach. The rest of the area is protected pine barrens and a dedicated widlife reserve that is oceanfront and on the bay.

[Smiling JOe]

There is no need to rake the beach here, but we could use the guys who clean up the crap, eg - chairs, tents, umbrellas, towels, coolers, toys, etc.

[Kimmifunn]

Jfunn and I furnished our Mexican Hideaway porch at Patrone's with stuff people left on the beach in Seagrove overnight. So if you have chairs that went missing in 01'...we stole them. And used them all summer.

[Franny]

It is free for the taking after dark. I do not think we need another law. The people just need to start seeing the stuff go bye bye!

I believe this is the only way to stop people from leaving their junk on the beach, what better education for these idiots. I have never seen beach junk left on the beaches in J'ville, St George, etc. I wonder how they control this problem? Our problem is only getting worse and I also saw that huge hole Kurt referenced and they were using it to STORE their beach stuff!! This is just plain ridiculous.

[aquaticbiology]

my beach cleaner design is coming along quite nicely - can be set to only get surface stuff like cig butts and the like (leaving everything else behind for beach building) or go up to 2 1/2" deep for buried bottles and punji sticks - the big problem to overcome is how do you know what's seaweed, sticks and shells (leave behind) or fireworks parts, used condoms and bird poop (take away) - everything else is about height and weight and is working ok

you will still need a gang of workers to load the busted tents, coolers, etc onto the truck that the beach cleaner is dragging behind so you can even go down the beach to clean it - i suppose i could move it up front on the truck and make it like a snowplow!

[JB]

The beach service companies do not leave items out overnight. Beach raking is not believed to be an environmentally sound practice.

At the condos where the beach service people are on property, they indeed gather up all the chairs and umbrellas each evening.

But I have seen countless beach setups in areas where there are homes along the beach where the chairs/umbrellas stay there for days on end. When a renter contracts with a beach service company, I'm pretty sure they set the items up the day of your arrival, and the items stay there until you leave.

This doesn't bother me too much as long as the people using the setups remove their personal effects and trash at the end of each day.

[jessifunn]

I believe this is the only way to stop people from leaving their junk on the beach, what better education for these idiots. I have never seen beach junk left on the beaches in J'ville, St George, etc. I wonder how they control this problem? Our problem is only getting worse and I also saw that huge hole Kurt referenced and they were using it to STORE their beach stuff!! This is just plain ridiculous.

i know how they control it in jacksonville it's called bums. if you leave your stuff out there then it's free for the taking. i had a friend that went surfing and left his t shirt on the beach and when he came up he couldn't find it. the next day we went to a little beach bar on the board walk where a lot of the homeless people hang out and some guy was wearing his shirt

[Rita]

i know how they control it in jacksonville it's called bums. if you leave your stuff out there then it's free for the taking. i had a friend that went surfing and left his t shirt on the beach and when he came up he couldn't find it. the next day we went to a little beach bar on the board walk where a lot of the homeless people hang out and some guy was wearing his shirt

Ah.... a new definition for "Beach Bum"!

.

[ShallowsNole]

As far as educating visitors goes...you can try, but you would not believe the letters that OFTEN come back with beach safety citations, and I KNOW that most of our accommodations post info on the beach safety program, or at least have flyers prominently displayed.

Most of the letter-writers are so outraged and indignant that it is actually ...but one such dodo actually called out the deputy in the Walton Sun a couple of weeks ago...and two have actually tried to contest it with the judge . They all say they didn't know.

There are folks who honestly believe that if they have spent $$$$ for a week here, they have the right to do as they please, the heck with everybody else. Even if it trashes our beach, or could possibly cost them their lives.

[Smiling JOe]

Recently, I was pm'd and informed that it was not against County Code to leave crap, ie- canopies, on the beach over night. I replied that they are considered to be camping equipment according to WalCo Code of Ordinances.

THere is the some of the information upon which I base my interpretation of the law. According to WalCo Code, here is the definition of Camping:

Camping means the erection of shelter or a similar structure for the purpose of sleeping; or sleeping or lying upon the beach either under or outside of any shelter, vehicle, bedroll, blanket, or other protective garb.

and here is the ordinance:
ARTICLE IV. REGULATION OF RECREATIONAL BEACH AND WATER ACTIVITIES*
Sec. 22-54. Regulation of use and conduct on the beach and water bodies. (a) Overnight camping. It shall be unlawful to camp overnight on the beach.


any questions?

[Beachbummett]

We walked on the beach late Saturday night and in front of our house in Seagrove there was S&#T! everywhere. Chairs, tents, volleyball nets and all sorts of items. I have never seen it so bad. I started to pick up what I could and haul off to the dumpster.

Can we not put up signs on the beach that states..."If you leave your crap on the beach it will be gone by morning!" ?

I went to our condos Sunday and wrote in our book to be sure and not leave any items on the beach overnight.

Any suggestions?

[Franny]

i know how they control it in jacksonville it's called bums. if you leave your stuff out there then it's free for the taking. i had a friend that went surfing and left his t shirt on the beach and when he came up he couldn't find it. the next day we went to a little beach bar on the board walk where a lot of the homeless people hang out and some guy was wearing his shirt

Whatever works!! Beach Bums for hire!! The folks who leave stuff on the beach overnight have to receive hefty fines and have their names in the paper or else they will not stop this bad behavior!

[Franny]

Anothe wonder. If all this junk is removed and placed at the beach access trash area's then the county/our taxes would have to pay to haul the stuff away. Then we have the counties attention and they finally do something to improve this messy problem.

[melissa]

Here is my warning again to all of you who may not know about it. Leave your crap on the beach overnight, and it may be gone when you come back the next day. If I don't take it, the storms may. This morning while kayaking in the Gulf, I collected floating bottles, a play tug boat,a boogy board and two beach chairs, and can you believe the owners were screaming at me that the chairs belonged to them, though they wouldn't come in the water to get them because they didn't like the seaweed? It didn't make for too exciting of a kayak experience this morning. I made them promise to take their crap off the beach everyday in exchange for the chairs. There were tents in the water this morning, crumbled tent frames and tops on the beach, etc. It really sucks that some people do not have the courtesy to remove their crap daily.

Warning: You can take it off the beach, or I will. I am tired of it. Now get a move on before I decide to open a can of whoop-@ss on you rude, inconsiderate people.

Saturday morning we took a walk and retrieved a chair, beach bag and tent from the water. We were dragging the tent frame and top from the water when these people walked up and said, "ooh, we think this tent is ours."
They didn't even thank us or offer to help drag it out.

[kurt]

Anothe wonder. If all this junk is removed and placed at the beach access trash area's then the county/our taxes would have to pay to haul the stuff away. Then we have the counties attention and they finally do something to improve this messy problem.

You could do a beach cleanup every morning at dawn.

Last year when Cindy was approaching I remember gathering a lot of stuff, mostly trash, and lashing it all together so it wouldn't end up in the water or buried or scattered.