Cruising Gulf Coast - Hypoxia Dead Zones Concern

[argalax]

Ahoy,

We cruised West FL during the earlier months of 2023. It happened to be when Hypoxia Dead Zone (aka Red Tide, etc.) was in the area. It pretty much spoiled our time there. Dead fish everywhere, but most importantly constant smell and associated respiratory issues caused us to cut our trip short.

We are planning to cruise along the N Gulf Coast - from Tampa to Louisiana and back - this Feb - May '23, but really concerned about the Hypoxia, and whether it's a good idea or we should sail elsewhere.

Any thoughts?
Local observations? Cruising experiences with Hypoxia in that area during that time of the year?

Any feedback will be appreciated.

Ref: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hypoxia/


Fair Winds,
~~
Alex

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by argalax

Ahoy,

We cruised West FL during the earlier months of 2023. It happened to be when Hypoxia Dead Zone (aka Red Tide, etc.) was in the area. It pretty much spoiled our time there. Dead fish everywhere, but most importantly constant smell and associated respiratory issues caused us to cut our trip short.

We are planning to cruise along the N Gulf Coast - from Tampa to Louisiana and back - this Feb - May '23, but really concerned about the Hypoxia, and whether it's a good idea or we should sail elsewhere.

Any thoughts?
Local observations? Cruising experiences with Hypoxia in that area during that time of the year?

Any feedback will be appreciated.

Ref: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hypoxia/


Fair Winds,
~~
Alex

I went through days and days of that last year too and have respiratory issues.

how i dealt with it:

1) bring n95 masks. they worked really well to keep the aerosolized toxins out of your respiratory tract and keep the smell out completely.

2) get a very small and energy efficient hepa filter for the cabin to sleep.

With both of those, even i was able to make it through those red tide blooms with no issues.

also, get to know the smell of the toxins. any time you get a small whiff, masks go on. sounds like you already got to know this smell. lol

try to choose areas without the blooms to stop and enjoy. forecasts are pretty accurate

[argalax]

Originally Posted by Chotu

... try to choose areas without the blooms to stop and enjoy. forecasts are pretty accurate

Thanks for the info, Chotu!



Which Hypoxia forecasts people can follow in the area? I.e., which websites, radio stations...?

Thanks.

[Captain Bill]

The NOAA Hypoxia forecast referenced by the OP will not help with red tide. Toxic Red Tide on the Gulf coast for Florida is caused by a dinoflagilate which releases a toxin into the water and if the concentration is high enough it causes fish kills. It really has nothing to do with the hypoxic zones along the Gulf coast near the Mississippi river mouth. Any hypoxia related to Red Tide is primarily caused by rotting dead sea life killed by the toxin though if the concentration of the cells is high enough they can consume all of the oxygen in the water at night. Oddly enough these organisms give off oxygen during the day. The irritating smell is from aerosolized toxins, though the smell of rotting fish is generally unpleasant, it is not usually irritating. If you can get carbon impregnated N95 masks they will work better than plain ones. The Florida FWC puts out a weekly report on Red Tide blooms around the state of Florida. You can subscribe to these reports and get them in your email at www.myfwc.com

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

I sail out of Panama City and it is quite nice now. I don’t think we got hit as bad as areas to the SE in 2023 but there have been times in years past when the red tide is in and it wasn’t healthy. As Bill suggests, I don’t know of any good forecasts; just reports from FWC with testing observations from various areas which can be used to some degree to predict where the funk will go.

[Chotu]

sorry. I hadn’t looked at this since I responded. Here are the forecasts:

https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/scie...ulf-of-mexico/

Mix that together with the observations from FWC and you have a pretty darn good picture about what’s going on.

but actually, everything you need including the FWC link is right on that page

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

That’s a good link.

Thanks