TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Sargassum update

Been reading about the horrendous Sargassum bloom affecting the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and hoping that is not the case in St. Martin. Can someone update us? We can't seem to find much on the internet, which, may be a good thing?

Thanks

The east side of the island seems to be getting hit hard. We didn’t get down to any of the beaches over there, but just driving through that side of the island you can smell the seaweed.

What about Orient Beach?

We were there July 9-18. Went to Mullet, Great Bay, Simpson Bay, Grand Case,Cupe Coy and Orient. The ONLY beach we saw seaweed was Orient. It was terrible. Not only only the beach, but a lot in the water.

All the recent pictures posted on Facebook and a video share on a post here show lots of seaweed on orient.

With Orient if you go down to the clothing-optional section of the beach there typically is less seaweed. Not always, but most of the time. Mullet had zero sargassum the last time we were there in March. We were in Mexico in May and there were areas of sargassum here and there on the Riviera Maya, but it appears as if it has really taken off as the summer has progressed. Two years ago the beautiful beaches of Playa del Carmen were totally sea grass free when we visited. The seaweed is also a problem that we observed in the Mediterranean on the Balearic Islands of Spain (Mallorca, Ibiza and Minorca). Different strands of sea grasses, but just as annoying. But, over there it collected in specific pockets on the beaches and if you simply walked another 50 feet it would seaweed free. Not sure what's going on worldwide with this stuff, but could it be a combination of nutrients being dumped into the waterways combined with warming temperatures? That's my guess.

Also having it here in Southern Florida.

There was very little seaweed on the c/o side of Orient today. A few small piles raked up on the beach, but nothing much, and nothing noticeable at all in the water. We’ll see what rest of week brings, but today was much better than we had expected.

Thanks Tailgater for the update. When I swim on Orient Beach that's where I go with or without the suit on. The waves are also a bit more subdued down at that end, too. I wonder if Caye Verte eastern shore is picking up some of this seaweed, or deflects more of it towards the northern end of OB? Just a thought.