Bathtub Beach has been a popular spot in Martin County since before I was a kid. I can still remember going there with my parents to take me snorkeling at the nearby reef just off shore. During low tide, the reef juts out of the water and can be easily seen from shore. At high tide, the reef is just barely obscured by the water making it a virtual aquarium in the ocean to snorkel around and watch tropical fish in the real world.
That was then, this is now. Today, the beach is closed and no one knows when it will re-open. Beach erosion is to blame for the beach being closed. The beach, which was once a narrow stretch of sand between the dunes and the water is virtually nonexistent now. Stormy conditions have washed away the beach and damaged the dunes and even some of the parking lot. The real dangers to beach goers are what you can’t see. Below the water at high tide are old tree stumps that were once covered by feet of beach sand. On top of that, the trough just off shore has deepened, this means that sharks will be more likely to come in closer to shore.
The lagoon created by the rocks and the shallow water leading up to the reef was a safe haven for families and made the beach so popular. Everything that made the beach a family place is now gone and it’s not clear whether that will be coming back anytime soon. County officials have been meeting to discuss plans to do repairs to the beach, but it looks like right now the plan they are going with is to let mother nature do the job for them. The only plans currently being evaluated are plans to rebuild the protective dune to protect beach infrastructure so it is available when the beach does reopen.
Now, the beach will eventually repair itself and bring in new sand. How long will that take? I have no clue to be frank, I’m no expert. But an educated guess says not any time soon. The good news? Glad you asked, there is a good side to the story, at least in my opinion. The reef itself is flourishing with the lack of human beings around. The reef is a worm reef, millions of tiny worms on the surface of the rocks that were constantly being crushed by uneducated people climbing out on the rocks of the reef. The reef is a very delicate ecosystem and the lack of beach goers can only mean good things for giving the reef time to repair itself. And hopefully time for the county to figure out a way to protect the reef in the future from unaware visitors. We need suggestions for keep the reef safe once it reopens. Life guards to watch the swimmers and the reef? More signs educating beach goers about the ecosystem? I don’t know, what do you think they should do?
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