How is the water quality these days? (Sarasota, Fort Myers: real estate, vs)

[Samiamnh]

Originally Posted by hiker45

That's interesting, Samiamnh. Why do you go to Blind Pass instead of Bowmans, which looks much nicer on Google maps?

Actually we go in the Sanibel side....true it is much smaller but interesting.No crowds,good shelling,good fishing and a nice sand bar at low tide.We noticed that it has eroded a little this year which narrows the beach at high tide,but still a nice relaxing beach to hand out on.

[hiker45]

Originally Posted by Samiamnh

Actually we go in the Sanibel side....true it is much smaller but interesting.No crowds,good shelling,good fishing and a nice sand bar at low tide.We noticed that it has eroded a little this year which narrows the beach at high tide,but still a nice relaxing beach to hand out on.

Thanks for the advice. We will probably go to Sanibel several times and we will definitely check out Blind Pass.

I looked at the tide charts. As expected, there are two low tides each day, but the one low tide is MUCH lower than the other, and it comes just after the highest of the two high tides.

Is shelling the best at the lowest of the two low tides?

[Samiamnh]

I don't shell much but wifey likes to shell on any outgoing tide

[hiker45]

OK, we will see you all tomorrow afternoon. We are staying near Santini Plaza for two weeks.

I was born in 1945. My dad was a farmer in Ohio, and every winter we would live in a trailer on San Carlos Island and I would attend the Beach School. It was a fun place to grow up. There were several other kids on the island and we had a lot of freedom. When I was 12, we moved into town.

We used to love hanging around the shrimp boat yards on San Carlos Island. One of my friend's father lived and worked at the one where the Parrot Key Grill is now, and I thought that was so neat - living in a shrimp yard. Could life be any more exciting?

I heard the owner of Santini Plaza is Truman Santini, one of my Little League friends. When I was about 13, we went bowling and I kept staring at a very beautiful teen-age girl on the next lane. I found out later it was Joan Santini.

When I was 10, I would ride my bike to the grocery store on FMB and read all of the comic books. When we were there last year, I noticed the building is still there, but it is now the liquor store.

One of my friends Jean Foster wrote a book "We Never Wore Shoes", which tells about growing up at FMB. Maybe we can find it in the library.

When I was home from college, I used to like going to Bunche Beach. One time I got a shell stuck in my foot and it later turned into a terrible plantars wart, which was hard to remove in those days. This time, I'm going to protect my feet better. From what I see on Google maps, Bunche Beach is just like it was 50 years ago.

After our trip, I'll let you know how it went.

[Hawaii4evr]

Originally Posted by justNancy

I wouldn't care if the water tasted like wine. It is 68 degrees in the Gulf of Mexico.

However, all the beaches are still beautiful! I agree. Magnificent sunsets too.

The Gulf is already that cool? I visited Miami-Fort Lauderdale Area just earlier this month and the water was 80F! Must be because the weather is cooling off slightly...

[Samiamnh]

Nice srory,Hiker45......must have been nice growing up on the beach.Thanks for sharing.

[Samiamnh]

BTW......Went for a cruise the other day and the water was still very murky around FMB but less so around Lovers Key and cleared up nicely as we got into Bonita Springs

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by Hawaii4evr

The Gulf is already that cool? I visited Miami-Fort Lauderdale Area just earlier this month and the water was 80F! Must be because the weather is cooling off slightly...

Entirely different body of water. However, you can always get the coastal temperatures from NOAA. 11/29 water temperature in Naples - 68 F

[url=http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/egof_tmap.html]NODC Coastal Water Temperature Guide[/url]

Interesting - the Sun-Sentinel reports water temp averaging 79 degrees in Miami.

[url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/marine/]South Florida Marine Forecast - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com[/url]

Edit: Maybe someone will have better luck searching, but I can't find any temperature listings in local papers. Maybe I'm just not seeing it.

[url=http://www.naplesnews.com/weather/FL/Naples/]Weather Forecast and Radar for Naples Florida and the Surrounding Areas.[/url]

Okay - on the right there is a link to beach information. Good luck..I'm done searching, since I don't have plans to go to the beach!

Last week the evenings were cool for a couple of nights, briefly dropping into the 40s, so maybe that affected the water temperature. It's been a little warmer this week, however.

Have fun!

[Hawaii4evr]

^^^I know it's a different body of water, but I thought the Gulf Stream affected the Atlantic, so there would be roughly the same water temp.? Oh well...
Wow I didn't know the nights had gotten into the 40sF already. Interesting.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by Hawaii4evr

^^^I know it's a different body of water, but I thought the Gulf Stream affected the Atlantic, so there would be roughly the same water temp.? Oh well...
Wow I didn't know the nights had gotten into the 40sF already. Interesting.

We get cold spells and then it warms up quickly. For example, it's 61 in Fort Myers now and it's after 2AM. However, I remember a couple of years when we experienced 40 degree lows in October. This time of year the weather is really nice most of the time. An average of 75-80 during the day, and 55-60 at night.

I just checked and the air temperature is 73 in Fort Lauderdale. Naples is 64. Fort Myers Beach is 61. As a full-time resident, I like it when the temp drops to 55 at night - no a/c! Right now it's very pleasant in Fort Myers, just a little humid. Dew point is 54.

Here's an article in the News-Press from earlier this month about the cold snap.

[url]http://www.news-press.com/article/20121109/WEATHER/311090025/Southwest-Florida-s-latest-cold-snap-will-short-lived[/url]

"Temperatures fell into the mid 40s inland early this morning as the latest cold front worked its way through Southwest Florida."