Boating North to Ponce Inlet and Disappearing Island

This May has been beautiful for being outdoors and we’ve been getting out on the water as much as possible. The other day we went boating north to Ponce Inlet. It’s a different area where fishing can mean catching the big ocean fish. Beach-combing is not so great, but the sandy islands are hard packed and the water is a beautiful blue.

Here we are pulling up behind an island to dock the boat.

Low Tide Islands Are Popular For Boaters to Gather

After staying at this sandy island for a while my son wanted to fish the inlet. We stopped to fish near the north part of the jetty but didn’t stay long because the water was rough. He also didn’t catch any fish!

Where is Disappearing Island Now?

This area is popular with boaters and at least one of the islands is called “Disappearing Island”. I say “one of the islands” because we saw a few. It used to be that the one named Disappearing was right across from the end of the Inlet. Now the place looked very different to me, with the boating channel way back behind a sand bar. In fact we got a little lost trying to find that channel.

They do dredging along this area too and I think between that and the natural movement of the sand by the water the place is ever changing. So the islands may move, but there are still a lot of beaches to roam at low tide.

We Stay Away on Weekends

Florida is a busy place and that includes on the water. This area is the place to go to have fun in the sun and water. Weekends must be ridiculously crowded. In fact if you look for pictures of Disappearing Island you will see some of those crowds.

With many island beaches created by the low tide, boats of all kinds can pull up and anchor. If the tide is going out boaters must be vigilant and make sure they don’t get beached! If the boat gets stuck, you have to wait around for the next high tide. Some people stay all day, but we only spent a few hours.

A Place for Dogs

Loads of people also bring their dogs and let them run all over the islands. A big poodle was on the boat next to us and the dog loved swimming in the channel, although the current was strong and his owner had to keep hold of him.

By the time we came back in from fishing at the inlet, we went to this second island near the Lighthouse. I think most of these big sand bars are “disappearing” when the tide comes in, so it really doesn’t matter which island is which.

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When my son and I go boating we generally don’t come this far north. It’s a slow ride because of the posted slow zones between Edgewater and the Inlet. In the summer months, when thunderstorms can build quickly, we don’t want to get stuck out on the water.

We did spend a day here when the tide was coming in and the water was wonderful. The whole area is very different from the River backwaters where we mainly spend our time.