PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Exposed Dunes, high tides, and scattered debris was left on Mickler’s Landing Beach after Tropical Storm Nicole hit the area.
Early Friday morning, a group of surfers came to check the waves.
“We really don’t get to much waves during the summer season so Hurricanes are really what we’re looking for," Jacob Tauzel, an avid surfer, said.
Tauzel has been surfing for years so he felt safe to go out in a group, but officials are warning even the most experienced swimmers to stay out the water due to floating debris, and strong coastal tides.
Beside the few surfers, most people came to see the damage left behind. Some bringing metal detectors to rummage through the debris.
Bob Davenport, or Bucket Bob as he is known locally, comes out there most mornings to do beach clean-up.
“These were under sand, you couldn’t see these yesterday or the day before. Those red buckets, they use to be about 20 feet forward, I pulled them back to get them away from the waves, and only three are left on top of the dunes, the rest are out there somewhere in the waves," Bucket Bob said.
Officials added sand to these dunes early in the year as part of the St. John’s county dune restoration project. No breaches were reported after the storm but Bucket Bob is concerned about their future
“The new dunes did their job, the protected the old dunes. If we have another storm, the old dunes are going to be impacted," Bucket Bob said.
A tip that Bucket Bob shared with me, if you are heading to beaches following the storm, it’s best to leave your shoes on, as there is risk of stepping on sharp objects washed ashore in the storm.
Officials are in St John’s County are assessing the damage left after the storm.