Gulf Shores Beach

Mattman3969

I generally wouldn't even post something like this, but this totally hit a nerve We were on vaca in Gulf Shores and every morning while eating breakfast on the balcony we would see a group of about 6 guys in wetsuits on the shoreline making several trips in and out of the water. I finally got to the beach to see what they were doing and it was collecting tar balls, some were as big as my head. If you pay attention to the news this was over and done with. NOT. after I started paying attention these tar balls were everywhere. There is no telling what kind of Eco damage this has caused. Ok off my rant now. This is what I got to wake up to all week

travisstrick

I think I had special time on that very dune. Nice place.

Randy1

Yea, I remember when that spill was going on. I knew there was no way it was cleared up...way too much oil. Interesting post.

Mickey

You ever been to Galveston?

henapple

It was George Bush's fault... He was in with the oil companies.

shtgunal3

I've been down there several times since the spill and haven't seen one speck of oil.

Mattman3969

We were here last year and saw nothing, this year is a different story. Don't get me wrong you are not tripping over the oil rocks but they are here. I don't know a lot bout what s goin on but it seems that what ever detergent BP used to clean this mess up only made the oil coagulate and go to the bottom and now it is finally coming ashore. I read that over 13 million tons of this stuff has been collected.

Mattman3969

Mickey said:

You ever been to Galveston?

No sir, we have not. Is that some place we need to put on he radar?

QDude

No it is not! It's a beach with brown water and jellyfish. Gulf shores is much nicer. Not trying to be disrespectful of Galveston.

henapple

Are you sure that it's oil?

boatbum

I used to live along the gulf further west than Gulf Shores.  Spent alot of time along the coast all the way over to houston. 

Unfortunately tar balls were around in the 80's and 90's.   It would suck to pull off the highway onto a beach between beaumont and houston, wade out into the water and it was a tar ball day.   Once those globs of crude oil stick to you, you don't just brush them off.

They are not a new thing, have been around for a long time.   Not sure if what you saw was related to the deep water horizon or other issues/causes.

The relative damage to the environment from the horizon seems to pale against the damage to to the Lousiana Marshes from the unfrettered exploration activity in the 60's and 70's.   Randomly cutting canals through the marsh, changing the water mixture.

travisstrick

Boatbum just said it. I was too lazy.

I lived about 25 miles down the coast and have thrown a ton of tar balls at my little brother.

nashbama

We go to Gulf Shores every year between Christmas and New Year's. In 2010 when it happened, there were little tar balls everywhere. Last year, I noticed a few but not nearly as many. The beach was still gorgeous as usual.

From what I understand, there is always a little oil leaking naturally. The sand clumps the oil together and eventually those little balls get buried. Just part of nature's clean up process. The BP clean up crews did more damage by stripping the sand trying to get every tar ball when nature can take care of most of them on it's own.

Whaler

The tar balls are coming from mats of oil that are buried under the sand just offshore.

Rough/Stormy Seas expose the mats, breaking them up into tar balls and are washed

ashore. The tar mats have been tested and are confirmed to be from The Deep Water Horizon

spill. The tar balls Travis and Boatbum saw in the 80's and 90's were probably formed from

a natural seepage of crude oil into the Gulf Of Mexico or from passing ships emptying their

Bilges at Sea. Mattman enjoy the Water and the Beaches while you are here and a little 

lighter fluid or a Luftlighter will remove the Tar from your feet/shoes easily.

henapple

Dawn dishwashing detergent works well.

cbruce

I live a few miles from south padre island. I can remember the Ixtoc oil spill that released 71,500 barrels of oil into the gulf. I was 9 years old at the time and recall the water covered in black. we couldn't go into the surf without getting tar all over us. The impact of that spill lasted all through the 80's and 90's.

brycos

I read somewhere that if you took all the oil that was leaked by BP and compared it to the Gulf it was similar to a 22 oz beer being spilled into the superdome.

Eggcelsior

brycos said:

I read somewhere that if you took all the oil that was leaked by BP and compared it to the Gulf it was similar to a 22 oz beer being spilled into the superdome.

Problem is, oil is hydrophobic, beer isn't.

Mickey

Mattman3969 said:

Mickey said:

You ever been to Galveston?

No sir, we have not. Is that some place we need to put on he radar?

SORRY, you misunderstand. Not trying to get you to put Galveston in trip. Just saying we have had tar balls forever. Nothing new. My beach vacation for the past 13 years has been Seaside in FL.

Que_n_Brew

Mattman3969 said:

Mickey said:

You ever been to Galveston?

No sir, we have not. Is that some place we need to put on he radar?

HELL TO THA NO!

QDude

Mickey said:

Mattman3969 said:

Mickey said:

You ever been to Galveston?

No sir, we have not. Is that some place we need to put on he radar?

SORRY, you misunderstand. Not trying to get you to put Galveston in trip. Just saying we have had tar balls forever. Nothing new. My beach vacation for the past 13 years has been Seaside in FL.

Seaside is an unbelievable town isn't it?  Destin is also a great vacation spot.

Mattman3969

This was a great vacation and the earliest in the yr that we have been in GS. Saying all that the beach was somewhat sparse of people therefore it was awesome. @Mickey, we will steer clear OD Galveston!! Thanks for the heads up!! After a week I will be reuniting with my egg tomorrow.