Mile 287 - Bayocean Peninsula north of Bayocean site 2 - January 30, 2018

Report Details

A lovely winter day at the beach. The most notable physical changes since my last visit in December were the foredune erosion and deposition of large quantities of driftwood high on the beach, as well as on top of and behind the foredune - evidence of the size and strength of the high waves in last week's storms.

Conditions

Temperature: 48 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: SW. Tide Level: 8.7 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 2. Walking or running: 2. Unexpectedly pleasant weekday winter day on Bayocean spit, mostly sunny with just a few clouds, calm winds. There was no one else but me and my friend on Mile 287 - it was a pleasure having the beach completely to ourselves.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 5.

Notable Wildlife

There was a herd of about a dozen elk grazing in the grassy area just east of the foredune. While I've seen tracks and droppings of elk on the beach in the past, this is the first time I've seen them.

Driftline Content

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

Natural Changes

Erosion of vegetated foredune, Evidence of wave overtopping. Likely as a result of the storms and very high waves that came ashore last week, there was considerable foredune erosion and lots of relatively new driftwood covering the beaches. There was evidence of significant wave overtopping of the foredune on the northern half of the mile, with large driftwood logs deposited on and behind the foredune (see accompanying photos).

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C Nelson

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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