Brevard’s Beaches: A Special, Safe Sanctuary

Brevard Beaches: A special, safe sanctuary

BREVARD’S BEACHES:

A SPECIAL, SAFE SANCTUARY

BY HEIDI HATFIELD EDWARDS, Ph.D.

Author’s note: It may be fate that this issue of the Space Coast Tourism Journal features a story about Brevard’s beaches. Planned before the pandemic, the article was envisioned as a celebration of the county’s 72 miles of coastline—the one constant in the tourism mix.

In an instant everything about daily life, commerce and travel changed. Restaurants, hotels and other businesses closed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Tourism ceased. Yet, as people sheltered in place, beaches were open with limited access and drew people from their homes. Not the typical seasonal crowd but a testament to the resiliency of the people, the county, and the businesses – and the inescapable draw of the water. They could put their toes in the sand, soak up the warmth of the sun, take deep cleansing breaths, and feel the healing power of the ocean as it washed away stress and anxiety.

The beaches are seen by many as a safe destination – outdoors in open air with miles in which to distance from other beachgoers. Brevard’s beaches remain a refuge and will continue to be the beacon that draws visitors from around the world.

The sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feel of the beach inspire song lyrics, spark memories, and generate a range of feelings from peace to anticipation and excitement. Here on vacation, business, to see a launch, participate in an event or just visit family or friends, more than half of Brevard’s visitors state their primary purpose is beach related. But even if visiting one of the beautiful beaches along the Space Coast isn’t their main objective, almost all of them make a point to put their feet in the sand or catch some waves during their stay, making beach activities a clear winner in visitor attraction and satisfaction.

Let’s take a closer look at the Space Coast beaches and see why they are a draw to so many.

At the northern tip of Brevard County, Canaveral National Seashore invites adventurers, anglers, nature lovers and history buffs into a peaceful, secluded sanctuary. The numbers of visitors have steadily increased in the last ten years, with 1.88 million recreation visitors in 2019 – the most recorded since the area became a national park in 1975.

The adventure begins with a scenic drive along the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. Lush vegetation and sparse development make the northern beaches ideal for bird watching and observing the native wildlife. Watch for the bald eagles that make their home in the tallest trees as you drive along

the winding road to the beach.

Shore fishing is a popular pastime at Canaveral National Seashore. The sandy bottom and trough just past the shore break and before the first sandbar make a great place for fish to feed. Anglers frequently catch bluefish, pompano and whiting among other seasonal catches like snook. Be there

For history buffs the Turtle Mound and Seminole Rest archaeological sites offer a glimpse into prehistoric life. The Timucuan people lived in the area for 2,000 years before Spanish settlers decimated their numbers. Park visitors can also visit two rehabilitated 19th century homes near Mosquito Lagoon that were part of the abandoned town Eldora.

For 21st century space enthusiasts, Playalinda Beach at Canaveral National Seashore is one of the best places to watch launches from Kennedy Space Center. Get there early on launch days for a front row view of the impressive rockets as they break free of the earth and hurtle to their mission in space.

Student groups also come to the park to experience environmental and cultural programs. Guided experiential programs lead students through hands-on activities. Learn about the first Florida natives at the Turtle Mound archaeological site. Investigate marine animal life in the Mosquito Lagoon, and explore the barrier island ecosystem with a simulation demonstrating the challenges for sea turtles at Playalinda Beach.

Ongoing programs like guided canoe trips, and seasonal activities make the north Brevard coastline worthy of return visits throughout the year. In the winter, the night sky programs are breathtaking under the dome of stars unmarred by light pollution. Turtle watch experiences during summer nesting season are awe-inspiring.

Just a little further south are popular tourist destinations Jetty Park, Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach.

With plenty of parking and wide beaches with flat, shallow swimming areas Jetty Park is a great place for families and is by far the best location to watch the activity at Port Canaveral as cruise ships, submarines, and other water craft come and go. Amenities such as beach rentals and refreshment are close by and the campground is open for tents and RVs. Camp at Jetty Park Campgrounds for a truly unique experience. Wake up, roll out of your bunk and behold a kaleidoscope of colors at dawn.

Most beaches in Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach have access points with wooden crossovers to easily get on and off the beach – perfect to watch a launch, drop your family off or check the waves. Schedule your stay when a rocket launches and you’ll have one of the best seats for the full launch experience. See the contrail of steam and the flames as the rocket clears the tree line. Hear the low rumble as it intensifies with the rising rocket. Feel the air move as the waves of sound surge across the water moments after takeoff.

The return of manned space flight promises an influx of tourists from around the world who help support the small city’s recent growth in eating and drinking establishments. “Space 2.0 has put us back on the map,” declares Cocoa Beach Mayor Ben Malik.

The wide expanse of hard sand in the Cocoa Beach area draws visitors and enables a range of activities, like volleyball, surfing, marathons and other competitions, festivals and a variety of other events throughout the year, Malik explains.

Grab dinner or a drink at one of the Cocoa Beach Pier restaurants, listen to live music, and watch the surfers while you count down with others gathered to witness a liftoff from Kennedy Space Center. Play beach volleyball on the courts located beside the pier or schedule surfing lessons with the Cocoa Beach Surf School. So much to do! It’s no wonder visitors return year after year!

“The beach is always just a special, safe sanctuary,” evokes Mayor Malik. Tourists may come to Central Florida for other attractions, he concedes, but “people want to come to the beach, too. You can have Mickey and all the craziness of I-Drive. And you can come to our beach and you can be by yourself, and that is the beauty of it. Just the natural beauty of that coastline – it’s an instant calming effect. It’s my happy place.”

South of Cocoa Beach, you’ll find popular surfing spots near Patrick Air Force Base and Satellite Beach. Don’t be surprised to hear the thump, thump, thump of helicopter rotors as the huge machines fly up the coastline, or see a range of military aircraft from cargo planes to fighter jets take off and land.

An artificial reef recently constructed off the coast of Satellite Beach and Indian Harbour Beach is protecting ongoing beach nourishment projects. The reef creates a more stable habitat for sea life and makes that area popular for local fishermen.

All along Highway A1A, city and county parks welcome visitors with a range of amenities. Parking areas provide easy access through the dunes to the beaches. Many have restrooms and outdoor showers to rinse the salt and sand. Spread your lunch at a picnic table or reserve a pavilion for a party. If your pooch is a fan of the sand and surf you’ll want to visit Canova Beach Park, Brevard’s dog-friendly beach.

A little further down at Paradise Beach Park, teams can compete at the beach volleyball courts just west of the dunes and kids can take a break from the beach at the playground. Scents from the food truck might get your stomach rumbling. And if you need beach chairs or umbrellas, the truck is a one-stop shop for beach setup.

As you set up your beachside base, take note of nearby holes in the sand about the size of a quarter or half-dollar. You may see a curious ghost crab pop up to check out his new neighbors or scurry across the sand to an alternate entrance to his underground habitat. These harmless creatures are amusing to watch as they shift positions seeking an ever better viewing vantage.

Keep moving south to Indialantic where the boardwalk gives the casual visitor a chance to look at the ocean without venturing on the sand. Arrive before dawn to watch the dark sky turn pink and orange with the rising sun promising a beautiful day. Step off the boardwalk to set up beach chairs or walk along the shore greeting early morning anglers with their poles set in the sand and buckets ready for the catch of the day.

The sparkling Atlantic gets more bluegreen as you travel south to Melbourne Beach and the tropical feel more vivid. Here the soft sand and more pronounced dunes are a distinct difference from the beaches just to the north. The sweet, salty, tropical smell of sunscreen triggers memories of long-ago summers and tanning lotions – a scent that gives the mind permission to relax and feel the worries of the day evaporate with the fine mist generated by the breaking waves.

Morning is the best time to see tracks in the sand from the wildlife like birds, crabs and turtles. During turtle nesting season it isn’t unusual to see evidence of where the remarkable creatures crawled up to lay eggs and then returned to the ocean. If you only see one set of tracks take care – you might get a glimpse of the turtle as she finishes laying her eggs. It’s also not unusual to see hatchling tracks!

Brevard County is a natural draw for ecotourists, especially those interested in the sea turtles. “The sea turtles provide a unique dimension to Brevard County’s beaches,” says Vince Lamb, longtime Brevard County resident. Lamb is an advocate for Brevard’s natural resources and is active on several boards, including the Friends of the Carr Refuge, an advocacy group associated with the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge.

Located at the south end of the county, the Carr Refuge spans more than 20 miles – thirteen in Brevard and seven in Indian River County. The refuge is an exceptional expanse on Florida’s east coast where highrise condos, residential communities and other development typify oceanside regions.

“From a worldwide perspective the beaches of the Archie Carr Refuge are the most important beaches in the world for the nesting of loggerhead sea turtles,” explains Lamb, adding that Brevard is the most important nesting area in North America for endangered green sea turtles. The rare leatherbacks – the largest sea turtles – also nest on Brevard’s beaches.

More than 50% of the turtle nesting in Brevard County occurs from Melbourne Beach to Sebastian inlet, perhaps because the southern beaches are not as wide as the beaches to the north. The Carr Refuge

estimates the turtles lay between 15,000 to 30,000 nests on its beaches each year.

“It’s a pretty special experience to watch a nesting sea turtle drop her eggs in the sand,” says Lamb reverently as he describes the beauty of watching a turtle return to sea at daybreak.

Friends of the Carr Refuge is one of three groups that host turtle walks in the refuge during prime nesting season. The group manages a delicate balance between sharing the experience with the public and protecting the turtles. The turtle walks occur at night when turtles are actively nesting, but for those who want the experience in the daytime, the turtle digs offer an opportunity to see the hatched nests.

Nearby and further south, Sebastian Inlet State Park is the southernmost of Brevard’s beaches. A world-renowned surfing mecca, Sebastian Inlet is the place to be to see surfing champions and challengers at their best. The famed First Peak at the inlet is often described as the epicenter of Florida surfing – for good reason. For decades the magnificent waves it produced enticed the best professional and amateur surfers from the East Coast to Sebastian’s shore.

The mix of surfing superstars and aspiring champions are drawn by the waves and by events like the week-long 2020 Florida Pro Surf competition which included a World Surf League qualifying series event for men and women. Local surfing legends Kelly Slater, CJ and Damian Hobgood, and Caroline Marks are among the many great surfers to hone their skills at Sebastian Inlet.

Sebastian Inlet may be best known as a surfing hot spot, but outdoors enthusiasts can find a multitude of other activities to enjoy. The park’s website lists 23 activities alphabetically from bicycling to wildlife viewing, with experiences ranging from the primitive (primitive camping, that is, compared to the full facility camping options) to the pampered (or at least catered, as in meetings, retreats, and weddings). Fishing is also a popular pastime for Sebastian Inlet visitors who have many angling options along the beach, river and inlet. A boat launch is also available. Visitors who want to venture out on the water can bring their canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards, or rent from Bayside Marina.

This brief tour down the coast touches on only a fraction of the amazing experiences waiting for you on Brevard’s beaches. The range of activities available from the north end of Brevard to the south make the county’s beaches a beacon for locals and visitors alike. Even in the midst of a pandemic, Brevard’s 72 miles of coastline remain a sanctuary to find hope and healing amid uncertainty.

“The beach is still a free thing to do,” affirms Mayor Malik. “It’s something a family can do and remain healthy and remain active and enjoy. And that’s the draw, one of the reasons why we live by the coast.”

Brevard County is committed to maintaining healthy beaches.

Credit for the healthy habitats and hospitable hangouts along Brevard’s 72-mile stretch of coastline is due largely to the county’s long-term commitment to preserving the beauty of the beaches. Mike McGarry, Brevard County’s Natural Resource Management Department Beach Nourishment Coordinator says maintaining the beaches means constant vigilance, strategic planning, and consistent funding.

Money to maintain the beaches comes from a variety of sources. While the Tourist Tax Collection revenue also known as the ‘bed tax’ contributes to the total, the funding comes from federal, state and county coffers. Some nourishment projects along the beach have been contentious with concerns ranging from the amount of money spent to the impact on turtle nesting habitats. McGarry says the focus of the long-term project is to protect the beach habitat and make the coastline welcoming for visitors. “We are very fortunate here in Brevard County that we have a great partnership with the Army Corp of Engineers. By developing a 50 Year Plan and signing the agreement with them, we are able to tap Federal dollars that have amounted to a 9:1 ratio when it comes to

beach re-nourishment. This not only benefits visitors, but residents as well and is why we have such beautiful beaches here on the Space Coast,” said Peter Cranis, Executive Director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism. Data from photos and ongoing turtle research suggest the nourishment program has been successful.

After two decades the benefits are visible when comparing photos taken before the sand replenishment projects started and those taken today. Pictures of houses in Cocoa Beach in 1999 show houses close to the water with few or no dunes. After years of nourishment, the beach now stretches much further to the water line, leaving a wide stretch of sand for beachgoers.

Methods for beach nourishment are carefully considered for impact to the native habitat, effect on visitors and residents, and costs. Some maintenance on Brevard’s beaches are dredge projects with sand pumped in from the ocean onto the shoreline. But about 22 miles of beaches in the mid-region and south of Patrick AFB are maintained by trucks to minimize impact to rocks. The rocks are important to the marine habitat, so the scaled-back truck haul nourishment protects the beach while minimizing rock burial that would occur with the high-impact dredging. Sand comes from sand mines, shoals and offshore.

The dredge projects are more expensive, but last longer. To sustain the continuous upkeep McGarry plans for nourishment projects in the north and south reach areas of Brevard every five or six years. In the mid-reach areas, which are maintained using the trucks, the projects renew every three years. “We’ve made [the beach] narrow to avoid rock impact, which means you have to maintain it more frequently,” explains McGarry.

Those timelines can change when major storms affect the East Coast. The good news, according to McGarry, is that the effects of major weather events are less dramatic in nourished areas compared to counterparts in other parts of Florida’s coast where maintenance has not been as consistent. For example, in some areas, sea walls keep the water from encroaching on beachfront businesses, residences and roads, but leave little or no beach area for public enjoyment and wildlife habitat.

Beach nourishment projects make sea walls unnecessary. McGarry points to the positive changes to Cocoa Beach after nourishment projects helped maintain recreational areas near the pier. He stresses that a long-term commitment to the beaches is critical to protect the beach habitat. “If you value it, it is like maintaining your house.” He stresses the importance of “avoiding armor” – sustaining healthy expanse of beaches to circumvent the demand for walls.

“Sea walls are good for protecting the upland structures but they’re bad for the public beach, they’re bad for nesting sea turtles,” explains McGarry, who has an undergraduate degree in marine biology and a master’s in oceanography and coastal zone management.

Since the beach nourishment projects began the habitat has been closely monitored and the research has helped ease some of the initial concern about potential harm to nesting turtles. The data indicate no significant difference in hatching success after nourishment. Studies show the nesting success is often slightly depressed the first year after the rebuilding the beach but rebounds. “Even if the nesting success is a little different, it doesn’t stop turtle nesting,” asserts McGarry. n

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