Cover of Beach Survival Guide from Beachhunter

This is the cover of my Beach Survival Guide e-book. If someone wants to pin this image on their Pinterest account, that would be cool.

It’s still FREE!

Back in 2005 I wrote an e-book about staying safe at the beach and offered it for free on my web site.  Since that time I’ve gotten countless emails from people telling me how much they like it and how much they learned from it. Many have even wanted to purchase a printed copy, which I do not currently offer. However, I may soon offer a printed edition of the book–I’m working on it. It won’t be free though (unless I can get a grant).

I haven’t really promoted the book, but it has been downloaded by tens of thousands of people. Here’s a sample page from the book:

Beach Survival Guide, sample page  | author David McRee at Beachhunter.net

The book covers sharks, jellyfish, stingrays, water currents, things that pinch or stab, sun exposure, surf, seafood safety, and a lot more. Below is a complete table-of-contents:

Beach Survival Guide Table-of-Contents | author David McRee of Beachhunter.net

Beach Survival Guide Table of Contents continued | author David McRee of Beachhunter.net

Download BeachHunter’s Beach Survival Guide here.

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Coastal Living Magazine screen capture

Coastal Living Magazine has picked “the 15 most blissful places to live along our [USA] coasts.”

Naples, Florida is in the #2 spot and offers:

  • Abundant fishing.
  • Temperate Gulf of Mexico climate.
  • A great view.
  • Rich cultural offerings (including orchestra and theater).
  • Great beaches.
  • Strong Arts community.
  • Great shopping.
  • Has recently undergone a culinary “boom.”
  • A “walkable” city.
Photo: Naples Beach by David McRee @ BlogTheBeach.com

Naples Beach, looking south from the Naples Pier.

Jupiter, Florida places #9 in the Coastal Living list and, according to the article, offers:

  • Favorite nesting beaches of Loggerhead turtles.
  • Easy-going, low-key lifestyle.
  • Close to spring training of St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins.
  • Beaches consistently ranked among the healthiest beaches on the list.

If you’re looking for a new home, or just a great vacation in a coastal town, the Coastal Living list would be a good place to start.

If you picked the list, what would be your top choice for a “blissful coastal town?”

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4th of July, Sanibel Style

by beachhunter on May 12, 2012

If you want to combine a small-town atmosphere, the beach, and the 4th of July, you can’t do much better than Sanibel Island. They’ve got fireworks, a road rally, a parade, and more. Above is a video with some scenes from the annual 4th of July Parade on Sanibel island.

Below are some scenes from the Sanibel fireworks display in 2010:

For 2012:

Info on the 2012 Sanibel Parade and Road Rally

More info on the 2012 Sanibel 4th of July fireworks display

Some fun photos from the 2011 4th of July Parade on Sanibel Island

Adventures in Paradise 4th of July Fireworks Cruise

Here’s a thread on the BestOfSanibelCaptiva.com forum from last year. It will give you a picture of what’s available generally on Sanibel on the 4th of July.

An old Trip Advisor Forum thread with some tips about the 4th of July fireworks on Sanibel

 

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In Summer 2011, a time-lapse photographic study of sea turtle nesting was done on Florida’s Brevard County beaches (Melbourne Beach area) to analyze the behavior of the sea turtles. There was some concern that the educational guided turtle walks conducted by various sea turtle monitoring organizations could be contributing to the number of false crawls (when the turtle crawls onto the beach but returns to the water without laying eggs).

I’m not sure if the data gathered was helpful in determining any effects on false crawls, but it certainly resulted in some interesting photographs, as displayed in the video above.

 

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Image: Beachhunter publishes Insider's Guide to Florida Beaches on CheapFlights.com

Click the image to read the entire article.

I’ve just had an article published on CheapFlights.com about Florida beaches. They were looking for a “list” type of article where I would describe 5 beaches in each of 5 categories.

If you like exploring beaches, you might discover a Florida beach or two on the list that you’ll want to check out.

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Go For an Educational Sea Turtle Walk this Summer

May 4, 2012

If you’re looking for something different this summer, how about watching a sea turtle laying eggs at night on a Florida beach? You’ll have the best chance of seeing a turtle on Florida’s Atlantic coast beaches on a guided turtle walk. Sea turtles do nest along Florida’s Gulf coast, but not in the huge numbers [...]

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Is it a Gull or a Tern? What’s the Difference?

May 3, 2012

It’s shorebird nesting season again, so when you visit the beach between May and July you are likely to see lots of birds on the beach.  Some areas may be marked as bird nesting zones and humans are asked to keep clear so as not to frighten the birds off of their nests. The noisiest [...]

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Product Review: The Noblo for Beach Umbrellas

May 3, 2012

We’ve all seen it happen. A gust of wind rips a beach umbrella right out of the sand and it goes tumbling end-over-end down the beach. Not only is it a pain to try to catch it, but it could cause serious injuries if it hits someone. This Noblo beach umbrella anchor consists of a [...]

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Photos: Bradenton Beach Sunset

May 3, 2012
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Photo: Blue Mountain Beach

May 2, 2012

Florida’s panhandle (aka northwest Florida) has many miles of pure white quartz sand beaches. The water is usually very clear, and the dunes are much taller than dunes on the peninsular Gulf coast.  Blue Mountain Beach has some of the highest dunes on the Gulf of Mexico. Check out the tall stairs leading up the [...]

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