Report Details

This observation was most notable for the dramatic erosion that had occurred two months since I had last walked the mile. Just prior to this January visit, there had been a couple of major winter storms with high winds and seas that occurred in conjunction with king tides - and the powerful effect of the storm surf was quite impressive. Waves had carried driftwood far onshore, overtopping the foredune and depositing it in significant quantities behind the dune. There was also considerable erosion - at least 3-4 feet of sand (and maybe more) had been carried out to sea, leaving newly sculpted faces and breaks on the foredune. Photos below illustrate the erosion. The only before/after photos I have to show the full extent of the erosion are of the exposed root structure of the 'hobbit tree'. (I've called this large piece of buried driftwood the 'hobbit tree' in honor of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Years ago, when almost all of this root structure was exposed above the sand, someone painted the whole thing with blue paint and stamped white hand prints on top of the blue paint, much like was done in the Lord of the Rings movies. Small portions of the blue paint still remain on protected areas of the wood). In the December photo, only the very topmost branch of the root structure is visible above the sand, In the January photo, nearly four feet of the root structure is exposed.The other observation of note was the extremely large amount of smaller pieces of plastic in the drift line. This is the first time I've encountered so much very small plastic (1 inch or less in width) in such huge quantities. The sheer volume of the plastic is of concern, as there is far too much to pick up manually. Maybe Coast Watch could invest in the invention of some sort of 'sand sweeper' to clean it up??

Conditions

Temperature: 54 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 3.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 52. Number of dogs: 12. Walking or running: 52. Other Activities: Two people walking along the surf were carrying fishing poles; several were wearing large backpacks and appeared to be planning to spend the night.. As best as I can recall, this is the largest number of winter visitors I've encountered in a single visit. Since it was a warm, sunny, calm winter day on the BayOcean spit, it's not surprising that lots of folks were taking advantage of the very pleasant conditions.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 38.

Notable Wildlife

At the midpoint of Mile 287, the resident pair of bald eagles was perched in the trees above the dunes and tracks and dropping indicated that elk had visited earlier in the day.

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Styrofoam, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.).

Natural Changes

Newly exposed roots/trees falling, Erosion of vegetated foredune, Evidence of wave overtopping. Dramatic evidence of considerable erosion and wave overtopping of foredune since last visit in December, 2018.

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All Mile 287 Reports

Showing 8 of 55 reports

Mile 287

Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2

March 17, 2024

The cloudy marine layer that was present when we first arrived eventually burned off, providing us with a pleasant but breezy sunny afternoon for our visit. 1) We encountered an intact hull of a fiberglass boat on the mid-section of the mile; photos and location information was provided to the State Park Ranger so it could be retrieved from the beach. 2) There had been a massive influx of velella velella (by-the-wind sailors) washed ashore several days before our visit. 3) Given the number of folks in the parking area when we arrived, we had expected to see more folks on mile 287 but encountered just a typical number of visitors. 4) There was more detritus on the beach than we've seen in recent previous visits.

C NELSON

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 287

Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2

September 16, 2023

A lovely, busy day at the beach on this sunny, late summer SOLVE clean up day.

C Nelson

Mile 287

Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2

July 4, 2023

An absolutely gorgeous summer day -- warm, clear, sunny, light breeze.

C Nelson

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 287

Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2

April 22, 2023

We were disappointed that the SOLVE beach clean-ups have not been re-initiated following the pandemic, so decided to do our own.

C Nelson

Mile 287

Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2

January 22, 2023

The primary purpose of this visit was to observe the impact of the last of this winters king tides.

C Nelson

Mile 287

Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2

January 13, 2023

Remarkably clear smooth sand with small amount of driftwood pushed high up the beach.

JuliaH

decorative elemnt for a coastwatch report.

Mile 287

Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2

December 12, 2022

A pleasant December afternoon.

C Nelson

Mile 287

Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2

April 6, 2022

A pleasant, partly cloudy spring day.

C Nelson