Red Tide

Vero Beach (wikimap)
27 39.646N 080 22.224

Is there ever trouble in paradise? Sure there is. Now it's our turn. There is a red tide spreading from Cape Canaveral southward, and it has reached us here in Vero.

The symptoms started appearing a few days ago. Libby started having a cough. Then, we noticed that many other people were coughing and sneezing too. It even affects me once in a while.

Then we learned that the coughs were a symptom of allergies caused by red tide. We have been getting onshore winds for the past few days, and the winds blowing across the breaking surf at the beach release the allergic toxins from the red tide alge in to the air. The closer one is to the beach, the worse the symptoms. Nobody is swimming.

Our daughter Jenny frequently has allergy problems. This would not be the place to be for her right now.

What about all those people who paid millions of dollars for beach front apartments? Should we feel sorry for them?

How long will the red tide stay? Local experts say that it is impossible to tell. However, if the wind shifts direction, it might blow the stuff away from us.