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Fun Tips and Facts On The Florida Coast
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Monday August 11, 2008 - 10:38am (EDT) Permanent Link | 0 Comments - Smile
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Tags: wavecritter Saturday January 19, 2008 - 12:14pm (EST) Permanent Link | 0 Comments - Tides, Currents, and Waves
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The rise and fall of our Atlantic Oceans tides involves a great deal of energy. Within a twenty four hour time frame, there are usually two high and two low tides. Each high tide being about twelve hours apart and each low tide spacing the same time frame. Keeping track of the tides in a coastal community is as easy as turning on your radio to listen to the surf report or checking your local paper.Surf's up basically closer to the full and new moon phases but it varies with the wind. The moons gravitational pull displaces water from both the earth's surface facing the moon and the surface directly behind it. The rise and fall of the tides, wind, and thermohaline circulation (thermo-heat, haline-salt) all drive the oceanic currents.Tidal currents are the only kind that can readily be predicted. They are created by the sun and moons gravity making a current in the ocean close to the shore and in bays and estuaries and are the only currents affected by the gravitational pulls.Wind is responsible for driving currents at or close to the ocean surface. Wind currents are generally measured in knots (1 knot is equal to 1.15 miles per hour) and effect a concentrated local area along the shore or larger areas out to sea.Thermohaline currents are a slower moving current that happens when the difference in water density is occurring because of temperature and saline changes. These currents are found at shallow and greater depths and create a kind of circulation much like boiled water in a pot, but not near as drastic.When observing the angle of a waves approach to shore, notice the break. A wave begins to break when the depth of the wave is half that of the depth of the floor where the floors grade escalates. A wind driven wave that becomes unstable, having elevated sharp angles is referred to as a breaker. Wave height is dictated by wind speed, direction, and length of time the wind has been blowing in that direction. Waves come in sets or patterns that are countable and somewhat predictable on any given day. Surfers watch the wave sets and choose which wave in the next set they will ride based on the breaking patterns of the previous set. Body surfers can tell which wave to catch by the strength of the undertow preceding the wave.Tides, currents, and waves all have an impact on beach erosion. The explosion of energy released when a wave crashes the coastline causes sediment to be displaced and taken further out to sea know as longshore drift.A rip current flows away from and perpendicular to the shore. It generally occurs between two breakers and is no more than eighty feet wide. If the waves are small, the rip currents are more numerous but weaker. If the waves are large, the rip currents are spaced further apart but more powerful. Taking some time to look at the wave patterns before you take a swim is the mark of safety and always stay close the life guard stations.Stephanie Haile aka WavecritterWhich is your favorite Florida Beach?
- Cocoa Beach
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- Daytona Beach
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- New Smyrna Beach
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- Treasure Island Beach in Tampa
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- South Beach in Miami
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- Panama Beach
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- Flagler Beach
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- Other
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Tags: tides, currents, waves, atlanticoceancurrents, eastcoast, floridabeaches Friday January 11, 2008 - 09:50am (EST) Permanent Link | 0 Comments - The Barrier Island That Is Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach
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Cocoa Beach is about a 45 minute drive down the Beach Line from the attractions in Orlando. It is a barrier island about six miles long and less than a mile wide in most spots with the Banana River on one side and the beautiful Atlantic Ocean on the other.
Cocoa Beach has been recognized as the surf capitol of the East Coast and some famous and extraordinary surfers still call this area home. The Annual Easter Surf Festival is an event that no beach and surf lover should miss.
Beach area parking runs all along the strip. Shepard, Fischer, and Lori Wilson Parks offer convenient access to the World Famous Beach. Jetty Park, just a few miles north of Shepard, is also an excellent day at the beach complete with camping sites for a more lengthy stay.
The beaches here like no other, with their coquina sand, fickle waves, and brilliant sunrises. Natives seem to continually get called back and visitors take home memories of one of the favorite destination spots ever travelled.
While the beach offers days filled with swimming, surfing, surf cast fishing, and just plain relaxing in the sun, there is much more fun to be had along the Space Coast . Viewing a launch from Jetty Park is spectacular. Whether it is the Space Shuttle or Atlas rocket, it is a site not to be forgotten. The residents windows shake as you hear the roar of the engines. Then, shooting through the sky, with a fireball and a tail of thick white smoke, emerges the rocket. The crowds eyes glued to the sky and mouths hanging open in awe until it ascends out of sight.
Venture over to the river side of the island and take a trip in a kayak and watch the Manatee play, take in a round of mini golf, tour Historic Cocoa Village, learn to windsurf, or visit the legendary Ron Jon's Surf Shop.
The dining choices are second to none and include everything from Italian, Greek, Steak, of course luscious Sea Food, German, Cuban, both English and Irish Pub style, BBQ, to on the go varieties of fast food and coffee shops.
With over 2400 rooms, there is no shortage of hotel and motel accommodation in the City of Cocoa Beach. Most everything is within walking distance and there is a trolley bus available seven days a week for transportation needs.
A barrier island full of coquina sand, space travel, and beautiful vistas. An adventure in travel and a brilliant place to live.
Stephanie Haile aka Wavecritter
The photo is of Sterling Spencer, Viking Air Show Champion 2007 of the Annual Easter Surf Festival
Tags: cocoaareabeaches, barrierislandadventures, thespacecoast, floridaseastcoastbeaches Friday January 11, 2008 - 06:31am (EST) Permanent Link | 0 Comments
