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What would offshore oil drilling mean to Pinellas County beaches?

There’s supposed to be crude oil reserves out in the Gulf of Mexico, not too many miles west of the Pinellas County beaches. Most of us agree that a higher degree of energy independence would be a good thing.  So, drill baby drill. Right?

People are pretty split on this issue. Those in favor of drilling say we need the oil, and we need to depend less on foriegn sources. Those against say the Gulf reserves would only produce oil for a decade or so, and an oil spill in the Gulf would foul the beaches and be devastating to Florida’s major industry, tourism. 

Polling seems to indicate that Floridians are fairly split on the issue, with the edge going to the pro-drillers.

Yesterday (that would be Feb. 14, 2010), hundreds of people turned out on the Pinellas County beaches to protest the possibility of oil drilling along the coast. Hundreds more turned out at beaches around Florida. Most of them wore black, to represent the color of crude oil.

St. Pete Beach near the Don Cesar

Anti-drillers say we need to invest in alternative sources of energy — solar, wind, even nuclear. Pro-drillers say we still need to drill in places like the Gulf to get the energy we need while those alternative sources are developed.

How do you think Pinellas County would be changed by drilling in the Gulf?

Oil drilling would create some high-pay jobs (although not a whole lot of them), and the oil that gets produced (some of it, anyway) could be refined into jet fuel which could power the planes that bring tourists to the county.

On the other hand, one good spill could foul Pinellas beaches for years to come, driving away tourists and ruining the natural habitat for many sea creatures and plants.

And what would all this mean to real estate values? (This is a real estate blog, after all).

Not a simple issue.

Tags: beaches, oil drilling, pinellas county, real estate, values

Caladesi Island in Dunedin is US’s best beach

Caladesi Island beach

What’s the best beach in all of the US? According to Dr. Beach, who rates America’s beaches every year, it is none other than Caladesi Island, right here in lovely Dunedin, Florida.

What makes the beach at Caladesi Island the best bit of Dunedin real estate there is? For one thing, it is the limited accessibility and the total lack of auto traffic.  Caladesi Island is a mile off the Dunedin coast and is reachable only by private boat or by a ferry, the Caladesi Connection,  which runs from Honeymoon Island State Park in Dunedin.

Only a limited number of people are allowed on the island, and pets are not allowed on the ferry.

But once you are there, there’s plenty to see and do. A mangrove-covered kayak trail winds from the marina three miles to St. Joseph Sound, and kayaks are available for rent. Wildlife that range from gopher tortoises to ospreys can be spotted. Dr. Beach also loves the powdery white sand and the crystal clear Gulf of Mexico water.

The ferry will set you back $10 per person, $6 for kids between the ages of 4 and 12. If you miss the ferry, don’t worry — it will be back in an hour. Once you are on the island, you have four hours to swim, sunbathe, hike  or do a little beachcombing before you must return to the ferry for the return trip.

Picnic tables and shelters are available, and you can rent picnic pavilions. If you bring your own boat, a marina offers electric and water hookups. If you forgot your picnic basket, don’t worry – a snack bar/gift shop, Cafe Caladesi, is nearby.

By the way, Dr. Beach is really Dr. Stephen Leatherman, director of Florida International University’s Laboratory for Coastal Research. He has selected the annual Top 10 Beaches in the country since 1991.

Tags: beaches, caladesi, Dunedin, dunedin real estate

Fort De Soto is Pinellas County gem

North Beach, Fort DeSoto

Q — What is the very best beach in America, according to TripAdvisor, the world’s largest online travel community?

A — Fort DeSoto Park, right here in Pinellas County.

Fort De Soto is at the very southern tip of Pinellas County, within sight of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which connects Pinellas County with Manatee County (home of Sarasota) to the south.

And TripAdvisor isn’t the only outfit that thinks so. In 2005, Dr. Beach (who rates beaches around the country, too) named Fort De Soto’s North Beach the best beach in the U.S.

Pinellas County maintains a number of parks, and Fort De Soto is the largest by far. It is made up of five separate islands and covers 1,130 acres. It was first opened in 1962, and almost 3 million visitors come by every year to sunbathe, swim, boat, kayak and fish.

Shore birds at Fort De Soto

The county bought the property from the federal government for just $12,500 in 1938. But then war broke out a few years later, and the property was sold back to the federal government (for a profit — $18,404) which used it as a bombing and gunnery range during World War II. After the war ended, the federal government sold it once again to Pinellas County, this time for $26,500.

We had some free time on Sunday afternoon and we visited Fort De Soto with our two grand-daughters. A lot of people were there enjoying the day, but the sheer size of the park made it feel sparsely populated. There is a 35-cent toll on the road that leads to the park, but Fort De Soto itself is free — not even a parking charge. But that may change soon, so this summer is a great time to explore the park for free.

Tags: beaches, fort de soto, pinellas county