LETTER: Turning beach baloney into filet mignon

You may find this to be difficult at first, but persistence will prevail.

First, ask your butcher to slice one-inch-thick pieces of bologna; then wrap them with bacon, garnish with parsley, bed on a plate of kale and tell your guest it is “filet mignon with a twist.” If you present this often enough your guest will praise you for being the best chef in the country and follow you wherever you choose to go.

Only supportable facts will be included in my writings.  Doubtful readers of this article should visit Okaloosa Island beaches with a friend and a 100-foot tape to satisfy your own concerns.

Measured arguments: We have been told that Okaloosa Island beaches are “300-feet wide with beautiful, sugar white sand.” This has been served up many times with pictures to demonstrate.  Photos taken from an advantageous angle reflect beaches that reach from the Emerald Coast to infinity.

For those in question, start your measurements behind Surf Dwellers/Holiday Inn and measure from the crest of the sand dike to the mean high water line. You will find that the distance is only about 150 feet. Measure 300 feet from the water line inland and you will be half way to Santa Rosa Boulevard.  Beach width is measured from the dike/dune crest to the water line; not from the front desk to the water.

Making mountains out of molehills: We are told that Okaloosa Island has a “huge, mature, vegetated, 3-story dune.” A molehill, from the right angle will reach to the moon. Now, give this molehill a seven-story backdrop and snap a picture from a downhill vantage position: Whammo! We have a three-story mound of sand.  Now garnish this mound with vegetation and serve up fine wine (water); now we have converted a fat pig into a beautiful queen. This is a one-of-a-kind man made mound of sand secured by an upland retaining wall; it is not a natural dune.

You will find the queen sitting quietly on her throne behind the Holiday Inn Sunspree peering out over emerald green waters and watching over her lowly subjects to the east and west.

Beach history: It has been served up many times that the beaches are as wide today as they were in 1954 and accreting sand since 1851. This is bologna on fine china, with crystal and the best wine available. Beaches that accrete sand get thicker and/or wider.  In this case, the beaches are the same width today as they were in 2005. You can treat this as one of the half-truths.

Beaches appear to reach equilibrium at about 175 to 200 feet when measured from the dune crest.  What is not presented is that the dunes in 1954 were where the water’s edge is today. The beaches extended about 200 feet seaward from the dunes in 1954. 

The average width of the beaches on the western half of the Island is only 143 feet, dipping in to only 120 feet at public accesses No. 4 & No. 7. On the eastern half of the Island, the beaches average 170 feet, dipping in to about 140 feet. The shoreline weaves in and out.  The narrowest locations are your best indicator as to what to expect during the next storm event.  These locations are the weakest link in the chain.

Shell and shards: Not to worry, the Sandman cometh. None of our beaches are natural. The equipment that beach services use picks up pieces as small as a pencil eraser. Shell in the dunes is very desirable because it helps stabilize the dunes and breaks down to provide nutrients for plants.

Sand color: The only sand that does not bleach is the material that was placed on Okaloosa Island after storm events by FEMA. The administrative judge agreed. This is not borrow-pit sand. Notice that the older, once beautifully colored shells have bleached white over time.        

Summary: The dikes today are at the back door of your property with an overall average beach width of about 156 feet.  Okaloosa Island beach properties are as much in harms way as the western Destin properties.

Now that we have developed a taste for bologna; our grocery bill will be much less.  We will just have to remember to pick up a bottle of Tums for heartburn.

Maurice Shackelford has been an Okaloosa County resident since 1959.