Beach Archive

On the heels of new research investigating a variety of technologies to further reduce the 0.1% of global carbon emissions from recreational boating, the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) announced recently a first-ever pilot program allowing for the use of sustainable marine fuels. The pilot program, taking place at St. Andrews Marina in Panama City, makes new high-performance, 93-octane, ethanol-free premium gasoline available to boaters for the first time at a local marina.

A new program from the Navarre Beach Lifeguards will bring educational opportunities to local and visiting beachgoers.   The new program, known as the B.E.A.C.H series, will take place in four sessions over four weeks and feature beach safety lessons and water skills activities for participants.

Each morning, people flock to Espresso Lane on Navarre Beach for coffee and conversation. While many people may talk about the day’s weather or summer plans, on Tuesdays, patrons spend the time talking about sea turtles.

The site formerly slated for an RV park on Navarre Beach has been placed on the market. The 23.12-acre site, located directly west of Paradise Point Drive, was approved for an RV park by the Santa Rosa County Commission in October 2023. According to the Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser’s website, the site has been owned by Santa Rosa Development LLC since December 2012 and is appraised at $12,737,250. The sale price is listed as $26,500,000.

The Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center got an unwanted gift when a woman tried dropping off 19 least tern eggs at the education and conservation organization’s building on Navarre Beach.

May is the official start of sea turtle nesting on Navarre Beach, but June has been three times as busy as May this year. According to Cathy Holmes, founder of Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center, four nests have already been found on Navarre Beach. Three of those nests were found in June. With an average of between seven and 15 nests per season, seeing four halfway into June is a good trend toward a higher-than-average number of nests by October, when the season ends.

One in 11.5 million. That’s the odds of being attacked by a shark, according to the Florida Museum, a state natural history museum.

While the odds are low, shark attacks still do occur, as Northwest Floridia residents saw Friday, June 7 in the Gulf of Mexico off Walton County. Three people (one woman and two teens) were injured when a shark bit them. It is not known if it was the same shark or if multiple sharks were involved.

On the beaches of the Florida Panhandle, there is a visitor that has overstayed its welcome.

Beach Vitex, a dune plant which likes dry, sandy soils, has been managed and studied in northwest Florida since 2012, when it was found in Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach. Since then, Beach Vitex has been observed along beaches in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Bay and Franklin counties.

April showers, bring May… sightings of Manta Rays?

Okay, that’s not exactly the saying, but during the month of May, Navarre Beach visitors had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of a Giant Manta Ray on at least two separate occasions.

Third year lifeguard Zachary Miller is taking a break from keeping his eyes on beachgoers to keep his eyes on a group of adolescents bent on being the next generation of lifeguards. The week of June 3 through June 7 marked the beginning of the fourth year of the Junior Lifeguard program.