Photos for Headline Surfer / ABOVE: Getting stuck in the sand was no fun for countless motorists this extended Fourth of July weekend at the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona as shown in these pics shot by Daytona Beach-area resident Stevo Biebs (he's in the small inset image). AT LEFT: Screenshot of Volusia County Bech cam pointing north from the Flagler Avenue beach ramp in New Smyrna Beach just before 4 p.m. Sunday with a stream of cars heading south to the ramp exit.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The extended Fourth of July weekend was supposed to be huge with upwards of 250,000 visitors predicted, according to some estimates. Those huge crowd figures never materialized.
In a story published in Friday's Daytona Beach News-Journal, Andrew Etheridge, Volusia County Beach Safety director, said he expected to see “hundreds of thousands of people” flocking to Volusia County's 47 miles of beaches over the July 4th holiday weekend.
Adding to that were fears that with Volusia County's short 100 seasonal lifeguards this past holiday weekend could be disastrous. Well, it wasn't! Not even close, thanks to Mother Nature, with plenty of intermittent showers and thunderstorms along the way. The beaches were certainly packed but drew maybe half the monstrous crowds anticipated for the Fourth of July's start on Friday and running through Monday.
Even the number of ocean rescues was certainly manageable: There were 71 rescues in all - 3 each on Friday and Saturday, 38 rescues on Sunday, and 24 rescues on Monday. Beach safety personnel also had to deal with a shark bite incident on Sunday morning in New Smyrna Beach.
By comparison, there were 111 ocean rescues last Monday alone and 267 that previous weekend.
One of the biggest headaches for beachgoers and Beach Safety personnel was the proliferation of soft sand with all of the rain and motorists getting stuck in the muck.
Paul Zimmerman, president of the Sons of the Beach and a frequent critic of the Volusia County government, praised beach safety personnel on his Facebook page on Monday afternoon: "I just just returned from the beach, and as someone who is sometimes critical of our Beach Patrol, I want to say they are doing a great job on this 4th of July weekend, At least on the north end of Daytona Beach. They are moving the traffic lanes to the hard-packed sand. A week or so ago, I was told due to an abundance of caution, they had the traffic lanes up near the turtle poles and limited access to 4-wheel drive only."
Zimmerman continued: "It appears upper county management examined and rethought that policy. It is good to see that the beach patrol is flexible and has made adjustments to open our beach so more visitors and residents can enjoy the World's Most Famous Beach over the holiday weekend. Good job beach patrol and keep up the flexibility to adjust the traffic lanes as the tide changes."
Paul Zimmerman, president of the Sons of the Beach and a frequent critic of the Volusia County government, praised beach safety personnel on his Facebook page on Monday afternoon: "I just just returned from the beach, and as someone who is sometimes critical of our Beach Patrol, I want to say they are doing a great job on this 4th of July weekend, At least on the north end of Daytona Beach. They are moving the traffic lanes to the hard-packed sand. A week or so ago, I was told due to an abundance of caution, they had the traffic lanes up near the turtle poles and limited access to 4-wheel drive only." Zimmerman continued: "It appears upper county management examined and rethought that policy. It is good to see that the beach patrol is flexible and has made adjustments to open our beach so more visitors and residents can enjoy the World's Most Famous Beach over the holiday weekend. Good job beach patrol and keep up the flexibility to adjust the traffic lanes as the tide changes."
Headline Surfer was unable to reach Beach Patrol administration on Monday night after coming across Zimmerman's Facebook post.
Here's the weather outlook for Daytona Beach and East Central Florida from the National Weather Service in Melbourne:
Today: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Light and variable wind becoming east 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Tonight: A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 pm. Mostly clear, with a low around 76. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light south after midnight.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. South wind 5 to 15 mph becoming east southeast in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 76. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east southeast in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east southeast in the afternoon.
Weekend Outlook: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms on Saturday, with mostly Mostly sunny skies, with a high near 92. Sunday looks more leak with a 50 percent of thunderstorms with mostly cloudy skies and a high around 90.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.