To the pigs who trashed Ha'Penny Beach Last Night

Respect.....hard to give if you have none for yourselves!
I agree, just sickens me!! Wish I knew who done it & would help gladly in trashing their home.
All these supposed fines for littering.........I've watched police cruisers toss garbage out their windows........guess being called a pig is actually correct!

Trash spawns trash.

I told you so, bonfire on the beach is bad!

There was a big party out there last night--a 1-yr memorial party for the brother of a continental-transplant resident who died last year (I'm trying to be careful not to name any names since I don't know if they read this board or not). From what I know, the people there were primarily the young continental restaurant worker crowd. Hopefully they show up to clean up their crap. It's inexcusable.

Due to the turtle nesting that is starting to kick into gear this time of year, I don't think bonfires should be allowed on any beach. There are several turtle nests every year on Ha'penny as well as other beaches and you cannot tell whether you are setting up a bonfire on top of a nest or not. I've tried to talk to people about it but a lot are just so insistent about partying all night with bonfire on the beach. Personally I don't get it.

GRRRRRRRRR What a way to remember someone.........trashing the beach - classy! :-X

OK - I know this is changing the subject a bit, but we were at Sandy Point Sunday afternoon. There was a group that brought their dog. Now, I love my dog, and I don't mind dogs on some beaches, but there are signs all over the place that say "No Dogs!" To top it off, they decided to place their beach chairs, etc. in one of the "sweet little holes" - where it was obvious that there was at one time a turtle nesting area. Then, they decided to let their dog run all over the place. It made me so angry that I just had to leave.

.... I'm still mad and sad. I know many of the wait staff on this island and I would like to think that, while they party hard, they are smart enough to pick up after themselves... leaving trash strewn everywhere, smoldering glass filled fire pit, and tire tracks all over the beach... extremely irresponsible and ignorant ... they know better. I certainly hope they get the word that this will not be tolerated and I hope they went back yesterday and cleaned up their messes.

Regarding dogs. There is an old saying, One bad apple can spoil the bushel. I love to walk the beach and so do my dogs. I go exclusively to Ha'Penny beach and there are many other people that walk their dogs there. I call it 'Dog Beach'. Once you walk past the first 200 yards... the only people there are joggers and dog walkers. 🙂 We are all aware it is a turtle beach and we watch our dogs at all times, they are not allowed to roam or dig. They typically stay right with us and walk at our heels. They play in the surf with other dogs. When someone passes us without dogs, we call our dogs to us. We always have our leashes and we use them. We always carry baggies and we pick up after our dogs. I moved here from a place that had many dog parks and dog beaches and I believe in well socialized dogs and 'doggie play dates'. 🙂 To me, having the priviledge of being able to walk my dogs on this glorious beach is one of the great perks of living here. I would hate to lose that because of the stupid actions of a few... or the inability of whoever would be in charge (DPNR, SEA, etc.) to see that there can be responsible pet inclusive solutions.

Meowruff... that person should not have had their dog there at all if it is posted 'No Dogs'. Someone should be enforcing this? I hope the anti-dog-on-the-beach sentiment dies though... Even at Sandy Pointe... a responsible dog owner with a dog under control (on leash or under voice command), playing at the surf line... poses no threat to turtles...and would be no bother to other beach goers. Its just that bad behaviour has caused the 'authorities' to take away the entire priviltedge. Pretty soon we will have no freedoms left because 'one bad apple' will have caused them to be taken away from all the rest of us who enjoy our freedoms/priviledges responsibly.

I don't want them to take away the freedom to have a beach bonfire either... I just want people to do it responsibly and clean up after themselves. Geez.

Sad.

I'm a little further north, west coast of Florida, but I'm with you limetime about dogs on the beach. There are very few coastal beaches over here where you can take your dog at all. I understand that desire to keep the beaches clean for everyone, but it's very annoying to be a responsible dog owner, live by the gulf, and not be able to walk your dog along the beach. Fortunately they do still allow dogs on most of the intercostal beaches, but I worry that they'll take that privilege away too someday.

Dog owners everywhere: BE RESPONSIBLE, take a bag or three and put what comes out the back of your dog into it. Also have your dog fully under your control. My dog Henny's voice recall is sketchy at best; we're working on it, but until it improves she stays on-lease when we're outside of our house or fenced dog-park.

Those who set laws regarding dogs: punish dog owners that fail to fulfill the above mentioned responsibilities of dog ownership without making broad bans on all dogs that ruin it for everyone.

You were too kind. You should have gathered the chairs, blankets, tents, etc. and put them in the center of the ash-pit and restarted the fire...

I, too, love to walk my dog on the beach. But...
-I always have my plastic baggies with me
-She is always leashed or stays with me
-She is never allowed to "roam" while I just sit and enjoy the sand

Unfortunately, it only takes one person (or dog owner) to ruin it for everyone. How do we "kindly" educate people on dogetiquette??? Or beachetiquette in the above case???

Lets not get off the subject. These people are no better than the trash they left. Simple as that. No way to coat it. I don't care about the fire but I do care about how they left the beach. I don't care if it was a party for their dead mother. I don't care if was for a friend. This problem is core to the problems we have here. Some people, and NOT the majority, just do what they want to do and let others clean it it. You see it in the cars that are left to rust. You see it in the way people drive. The laws were made for others, not me. I can pass on a curve. I can pass on a double line. I can stop anywhere. I can throw out that empty bottle. It is ME, ME, ME and the hell with others.

I hope that these people read this page. They should be ashamed, but they won't. Because it is that Me attitude that tells them let others pick up after ME!

billd

I know the people who stxem is talking about. I'd like to think that they're eco-friendly and clean people....but maybe I don't know them well enough.

I know the people who stxem is talking about. I'd like to think that they're eco-friendly and clean people....but maybe I don't know them well enough.

If you know them, Chef, please talk to them. I'm sure somebody in that group has a conscience.

Ha'Penny/Southshore Road Note:
3 nights ago I came within inches of hitting a cow on that road.
It was about 8 pm/dark, and the cow was very dark brown, and just sort of meandering across the road.
I didn't see it until I was about 30 feet from it, -which at 45 mph caused me to go Joey Chitwood.
Cow's hair doesn't reflect light very well. Probably an anti-predator camoflage thing.

I didn't get back to the beach again until this morning. I'm happy to report that someone cleaned up the rest of that mess on the beach and took it away. I don't know when they did it, could have done it Monday... but thankfully gone is the tarp, the chairs and the remaining trash. The fire pit isn't "gone' but most of the glass was picked out of it. Tomorrow I'll take my shovel and get rid of all of it completely. Their is a small pile of firewood still there (seems reasonable) and 4 pallets are stacked neatly back under the trees far off the beach along with some sheets/towels that are hanging to dry on the trees.

All in all... a decent clean up. Thank you to whoever did this and I'd like to think it was the organizer come back after a little sleep. (I'm an optimist that way).

However, I'm hoping that all of us beach bonfire lovers out there will heed a few rules of 'Bonfire good conduct'.

1. We will each be responsible for our own trash and 'pack it in , pack it out'... every last bottle and pop top. This is easily accomplished by bringing your own trash bag with you and/or use your cooler. Make sure your friends do the same.

2. We will only bring the wood we are going to burn and 'pack it in, pack it out'.... or at least stack it off the beach so that it is
not an eyesore.

3. We will not use the bonfire as a personal trash can... the glass in that firepit is a hazard to beach goers for days and months. Long after the water has washed away the soot and remnants of firewood, the shards of glass will be left there, ready to cut someone. It takes a long time to make beach glass!

4. We will make sure the fire is out before we leave. Hot buried coals are not enough. Get a bucket of water and put it out completely. Brush fires start easily and winds like we've had recently can carry embers long distances... not to mention the potential for someone to get burn't walking unexpectedly through a buried pit.

5. As an organizer of such an event... don't leave the beach until all signs of you having been there are gone.

6. Don't drive on the beaches. Ever. I don't care if you had to get your equipment there... carry it. Exceptions make for broken rules and driving on the beaches is illegal. You want a beach bonfire... then you are going to have to be a little inconvenienced when it comes to getting your "stuff" on and off the beach!

It's easy really. Be responsible beach users, whether building a fire, walking a dog, camping, or spending the day on the beach. Pack it in, pack it out and pick up after yourself. Leave it as you found it. Simple.

Thanks for all the comments. I feel better having been able to vent a little and believeing that the people did go back and pick up their mess.

I would hope that anyone throwing a blow out would pick it all up. Maybe it took them a few days to shake the hangover 🙂

I IN NO WAY CONDONE THIS OR WOULD EVER DO THIS. Mainly because I would have a few garbage cans/bags at a blowout lik that.

What would you have thought if they would have left a sign that read, "coming back to clean as soon as we sleep off the booze?"

I would think if they were sober enough and concerned enough to write the sign, they were capable of just going ahead and cleaning up. Leaving the mess leads to opportunities for it to spread, via wind or animals (possibly even harming an animal). Bad form, no matter what they were "celebrating". (I don't mean that flippantly, just can't think of a better word.)

Very good point Juanita. That never even crossed my mind.

If they were sober enough to drive home (hahaha) they were sober enough to clean up when the party was over.