Gulf Shore Getaway

Five Flag Beach System comes to Orange Beach - Dauphin Island next?

According to a Mobile Register article this morning Orange Beach is adopting a standard five flag beach and surf warning system. It's a standard system used by beaches elsewhere along the gulf coast.

Dauphin Island is notably not among those communities using the system, which alerts beach goers to potential hazards according to the color of the flag being flown.

A green flag signifies calm conditions, the all clear. Yellow means conditions are moderately risky. Red indicates strong, dangerous surf and currents. A double red flag signals that the water is closed due to rough current and surf conditions. Finally, a purple flag means that dangerous marine life is present.

48th annual Dauphin Island Race

Tomorrow is a very big day for the Alabama Gulf Coast. The 48th annual Dauphin Island Race takes place Saturday, April 28th on Mobile Bay. They'll race from the northern end of Mobile Bay all the way to Dauphin Island, a distance of about 18 miles. The regatta is the longest one-day point-to-point sailboat race in the US.

Regatta officials are expecting to see over 150 boats entered into this year's race, which could turn out to be one of the longest races in recent memory. Long, as measured on the clock, that is. The time the race takes depends on the weather. No wind, no race. Or in this case, too much wind from the wrong direction could make it a very long and tough race for the boats and their crews. Saturday's forecast is currently for 18 to 20 mph winds, overcast skies and scattered thunderstorms. This could make this year's regatta a good test of sailing skills, especially if the wind comes from the south.

74th Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo

The first Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo was held in 1928. According to the official web site, this tournament is the oldest and largest fishing tournament in the country with over 3200 participants annually. This year's installment, to be held July 21-23, 2006, will be the 74th since its inception.

Anglers will compete in 30 separate categories for inshore and offshore species of fish for over $400,000 worth of cash and prizes including three boat, motor and trailer setups.

Mobile Area Regatta this weekend.

Mobile Area sailors will converge on Mobile Bay this Saturday for the country's largest point to point race. This year's event is the 48th annual, and it promises to be the biggest race ever.

Should you be interested in learning more about the regatta you could try the Buccaneer Yacht Club web site.

Johnny Roberts, a 31-year veteran of the Dauphin Island Race, has high hopes for this year's regatta.

That is, if he can make it to the starting line.

Roberts, 58, is a native of Mobile who has missed only two Dauphin Island races since 1975. He is registered for Saturday's race but does not currently have a boat ready for the 48th annual event, which is the largest one-day point-to-point sailboat race in the country.

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Red Snapper World Championship

Serious red snapper fishing swings into full gear next Friday along the Gulf Coast. For only a $5 entry fee Gulf Coast anglers can enter to win up to $25,000 in the Orange Beach Fishing Association's Red Snapper World Championship.

This year marks the third annual installment of the tournament, which begins Friday, April 21st and runs through May 21st. The tournament is hosted by the Orange Beach Fishing Association, a not-for-profit corporation whose objectives are promoting Red Snapper research, deploying artificial fishing reefs in the Gulf of Mexico and supporting organizations dedicated to saving the recreational fishing industry along Alabama's Gulf Coast. The Alabama Marine Resources Division, for instance, gets $50,000 from the tournament. They will use the money, along with $150,000 in matching funds from various federal programs to undertake various habitat enrichment projects along the Gulf Coast.

If you're in the Alabama Gulf Coast area on vacation take a day or two and go fishing. Your fishing excursion might win you a nice payoff. Gulf Coast charter fishing boats all know the GPS coordinates for the reefs which hold the big red snappers, so the best way to find one of these artificial reefs is simply to hire a charter boat. Just pay your $5 to enter the contest and have them take you to the ones they think are the best for finding the big ones. The more enterprising fisherman with his or her own boat and GPS will want to download and print out a map and the all the GPS coordinates of the artificial reef locations for himself.

Either way, be sure not to forget to enter the contest. According to the Mobile Register story the biggest red snapper caught last year was by a fellow who had not entered the contest. I guess you could say that fish cost him $25,000 - about $600 per pound. Ouch.

Scientists to study barrier islands

Interesting business this.

It would have been great to hear exactly what went on in this meeting about managing and restoring barrier islands in the face of increased storm activity and rising sea levels due to global warming.

Could these scientists have beed talking about how to keep development away from barrier islands in the first place? Unlikely. That's probably not the best way to secure a National Science Foundation grant. Besides that it's too late for that. Maybe the discussions centered around managing what goes on around these islands which could affect how storms and global warming impact barrier islands. Think about the Army Corps of Engineers dredging practices around Dauphin Island, AL, for instance. But could other processes such as shipping, drilling for oil, open loop LNG terminals or possibly even artificial reefs have an effect? Or possibly they are discussing doing something with the islands themselves which could harden them against the elements. Who knows. Unfortunately that information isn't available.

In the middle of an oversized conference room in the IP Hotel & Casino, 10 coastal scientists from across the country met this week to consider a strategy for managing North America's barrier islands.

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