Disappearing Island - Seashells by Millhill

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.

tide pool sandy beach boating Florida island hopping — Sitting in a warm tide pool on this “island”

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!

jetty Ponce Inlet — Fishing along the north jetty wall

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.

low tide island saltwater — First island, north of inlet

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.

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Red Egret, Blue Crabs and Tiny Dosinias

We took the boat up to Disappearing Island the other day and spent some time in the water. On the way, we passed this huge yacht. (Disappearing Island is at the mouth of Ponce Inlet in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on the East coast. I hate to read blogs when I have no idea where people are, so thought I’d just include that bit of into.)

The ocean and Indian River water temps are now in the mid to upper 80’s, and hotter in shallower water. The air temperature was also very hot, so I pretty much stayed submerged in ocean water as much as I could. It was not refreshing, but at least I didn’t feel like I was baking in an oven!

However, I did walk around a bit and got some photos of a few interesting bits of wildlife, which is all mentioned below. I saw the usual crown conchs, lightning whelks, shark’s eyes, pear whelks, which were being carried along by hermit crabs. I write about those endlessly, so search my blog posts if you are interested.

I also found many tiny Dosinia shells, which are a favorite seashell find of mine. Usually the ones I see are much bigger. Maybe the back of this island is a good place for the babies to hatch, I don’t know, but something ate these. It could have been a red egret, like the one I watched feeding in this area. Actually I don’t know if they eat mollusks.

Tiny Dosinia seashells — Little Dosinias

This Egret Was Fun to Watch

The top photo is mine, and the bottom, much nicer photo, was taken by another Floridian who shares his photos on Pixabay. Since I am not at all a good wildlife photographer, I had to show my readers what a pretty bird this is.

I watched as this egret danced around, apparently to confuse the fish, then he would grab up a little fish to eat. He worked hard for his meal!

The Fiddler Crabs

The Fiddler crab lives in sandy grass areas and we see them quite a bit out on the islands. They are very small – maybe an inch across – and scurry into their holes as soon as a human approaches. I had to stand very still to get the photo of the crab just emerging from his hole. I don’t have patience, but soon enough the little crabs would peek out.

Sheepshead fish love to eat the Fiddler crab, and fishermen use them as bait when targeting Sheepshead. I’m guessing that hundreds of fiddlers live in this grassy area. I see them run as I approach!

Grass and sand where fiddler crabs live — This is home to fiddler crabs

The Blue Crab

This crab with the blue legs and claws must be a Blue Crab, but it doesn’t look like the other blue crabs we saw, which were bigger. It was either a juvenile or a female – at least that is my guess. I don’t know much about these crabs.

blue crab young juvenile — This little thing made himself all big and bad by showing me his outstretched claws!

As I approached this little crab he / she stood up on back legs and spread her claws. As I got closer she tried to spread them out wider to fend me off. Pretty brave little thing! I didn’t want to bother her too much so took a few pics and left him / her alone.

Water, Water Everywhere

Florida is a state that exists just above sea level. I feel like one big tidal wave could wash us all away.

Beached behind Disappearing Island — Enjoying the hot summer at Disappearing Island

This last photo is looking east, toward the ocean beaches, with the high-rise condos. Before we beached our boat here, we rode out the inlet (Ponce Inlet) into the ocean (photo below). Our Hewe’s Redfisher flats boat is not made for ocean boating, but my son likes to go out, just off the inlet, when the water is calm.

Below is the photo I took looking back at the beach from the ocean. So basically these photos are front and back of the condos.

Indian River Boating Photos From Ponce Inlet

We seldom make the trip up to Ponce Inlet in our boat but the other day (this past summer- 2019) we did. Our usual boating area is farther south around Edgewater and Oak Hill. My son dislikes the trip north as it is slow going with mostly minimum wake zones.

A Trip North on the ICW

As we ride up to Ponce Inlet (see my photos from the beach) from the Edgewater area we pass many beautiful homes and see some amazing boats and yachts. We passed a couple of huge yachts on the waterway, but I didn’t have my phone out. The speed is slow the whole way, and we saw paddle boarders as well. It’s a pretty ride with nice views of how the wealthy live.

Boating north on the Indian River ICW toward Disappearing Island and the Ponce Inlet. — Along the river heading north

At the Inlet

The ocean is behind us, just out the inlet. — Our wake as we ride around the Ponce Inlet area

Even though we don’t own an ocean-going boat, my son wanted to see how rough the inlet was. The water was too choppy so we turned around and came back in by Disappearing Island. In the shot above, the ocean is behind us.

View of Smyrna Dunes Park from our boat — South side of the Inlet, beach and condos near Smyrna Dunes Park

It seemed like the channels were all different in the area, and I know they had been dredging, but we found ourselves in a very shallow area where we had to go slow. The water moves the sand around so even unmarked areas can be shallow and especially at low tide.

Condos in the distance as we boat across a shallow area near Ponce Inlet

Photo above: Heading toward the fishing pier at Smyrna Dunes Park, with condos behind it.

coast guard station — Coast Guard Station, Ponce Inlet, Florida

We didn’t see any manatees, but they should be enjoying the warm water this time of year. Boats have to go slow and watch for them. For the most part the manatees stay near the shore and out of the main channel, but we wouldn’t want to hit one. When they are swimming they leave a big bubble-looking wake.

My son will usually drop me at an island so I can explore while he trolls and fishes just offshore. That is when I take most of my photos like the one below with the Ponce Lighthouse in the distance.

Ponce lighthouse beach water — A view of the Lighthouse at Ponce Inlet

My favorite time is when the tide is low or going out. It leaves lots of sandy beaches to explore. No one was on this particular island with us. I believe this beach is part of Disappearing Island, or just south of it.

Ripples in the sand at low tide along an island near the Ponce Inlet in New Smyrna Beach — Outgoing tide leaves a wide beach

Just thought I’d share some riding photos since I usually only share photos from my beach excursions. In this northern area if the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway), just south of Ponce Inlet, the houses are very big and so are the boats / yachts in their front yard.

Nice homes and big boats along the Indian River — Must be nice!

Photos While Boating in the South

Since we mostly stay in the backwaters while we ride, our boating photos are pretty boring. It’s just mangroves and water with the occasional muddy flat. My phone is tucked away in the plastic bag because it’s not waterproof. Even when we see dolphin playing or catch a nice fish I don’t have it handy. Soon I’ll have a new phone which should make things easier.