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Category Archives: Beaches

Popular Goa beaches to have security up till midnight

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Panaji, Oct 15, 2013, (PTI)

The Goa tourism department has decided to increase security on the state's popular beaches by extending deployment of policemen till midnight.

A decision to this effect was taken yesterday at a high level tourism security committee meeting which was chaired by state tourism minister Dilip Parulekar.

Beaches like Baga, Anjuna, Calangute, Colva and others which are popular and have highest footfalls will be given security cover till midnight, Parulekar told PTI.

India Reserve Battalion (IRB) has been deployed at the beaches in addition to the Tourism Security Force, which is currently facing manpower shortage.

The IRB will remain posted at lesser popular beaches till 10 PM, he said.

It was also decided at the meeting to strengthen Tourism Security Force, which currently has 75 personnel.

"Additional 125 personnel would be recruited in the force soon, strengthening it further," Parulekar added.

The meeting was held to review security arrangements in the backdrop of commencement of the tourist season in the coastal state.

The first chartered flight carrying Russian tourists arrived in the state on Sunday.

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Popular Goa beaches to have security up till midnight

LETTER: Destin beaches: A no nap zone

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Published: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at 16:17 PM.

Here is my opinion about how loud the Destin beaches have become these days.

In 1974 my wife and I visited Destin for the first time and stayed at Silver Dunes, the only condominium on the beach at the time. We immediately fell madly in love with the sleepy little fishing village called Destin. Today, of course, Destin is no longer a sleepy little fishing village and has sadly evolved into a major resort town and a giant magnet for every man, woman and child in all the surrounding states to hit the beaches.

Even in spite of all the madness and crazy traffic in Destin these days, my wife and I still visit often to enjoy the sunrises, sunsets and beautiful views of the gulf. Weve experienced a few years of owning and renting a condominium, but now always spend a couple of weeks in May and the month of October enjoying the Destin beach at the Destin Gulfgate Condominiums.

One of the greatest joys of mine has always been my afternoon nap under the umbrella with a small breeze blowing on my face. You cant find or enjoy this unique treasure in too many other places around the world. However, Im now afraid that my favorite joy is slowly disappearing. And, unfortunately, it appears that nothing is being done by the city of Destin to guarantee the future of napping on their beach.

Its impossible to relax and take a snooze these days because of the never ending new helicopter ride business that sends a helicopter up and down the beach almost every 15 minutes or so. When they pause, the large helicopter training flights come along with even louder noise. Then the lighter-than-air plane with its rear engine zooms by very low and near the beach. Add tour boats blowing their horns along with the WaveRunners and there isnt much time to relax and absolutely no way to take a nap.

This letter is my way of making a public announcement that effective immediately all daytime napping and snoozing is no longer allowed on the beaches of Destin until further notice.

Im confident that The Destin city fathers and the local Chamber of Commerce can come together and find a common solution and some reasonable restrictions to this serious noise pollution problem. The challenge and mission is very simple ... try to please all the people all the time.

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LETTER: Destin beaches: A no nap zone

Firefighters tackle house fire on Sydney's northern beaches

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Firefighters tackle house fire on Sydney's northern beaches

A home at Newport on Sydney's northern beaches has been destroyed by fire.

Several fire crews managed to stop the blaze from spreading to neighbouring properties.

The blaze broke out in a two-storey weatherboard home on Herbert Avenue at Newport, around 2pm.

Thick black smoke could be seen billowing into the air.

The house fire follows what's been a very busy weekend for authorities.

Police are reviewing CCTV footage as they investigate the cause of a fire that tore through the Sydney Aquatic Centre car park, destroying 47 cars.

It's believed the blaze started when a motorist flicked a cigarette out of their car window during Sunday's scorcher.

The cost to Sydney families who had parked outside the Aquatic Centre at Olympic Park is reported to be in the tens of thousands of dollars, since many of the cars incinerated in a freak blaze were uninsured.

Out-of-control bushfires destroyed six homes in the NSW area of Port Stephens on Sunday.

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Firefighters tackle house fire on Sydney's northern beaches

You beauty: our beaches in running for award

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Oct. 14, 2013, 10 p.m.

Accolades keep flowing for the Illawarra's coastline, with several local beaches in the running to be crowned NSW's most environmentally friendly beach.

Wollongong, North Wollongong, Warilla and Coalcliff are among 32 beaches around NSW that will be assessed this week by Keep Australia Beautiful for awards as part of the Clean Beaches program.

After passing through a nomination process, beaches around the state will be graded on a host of measures, from environmental protection and waste management to water sustainability and community partnership.

"The awards recognise individual endeavours to protect and enhance coastal communities across the state," assessor Colin Besley said.

Mr Besley, from Sydney Water, is assessing beaches across Sydney and the Illawarra this week, and will be in the region on Thursday to see our beaches first-hand.

"Coastal groups or councils send in nominations, then we meet with them at the beaches so they can give local knowledge of the area."

The Illawarra, no doubt, has reason for confidence when the awards are announced in Sydney on December 13. A recent State of the Beaches report, published by BeachWatch, graded water quality at all 13 Wollongong beaches as "very good" or "good". Warilla and Wollongong beaches received the highest ratings, while North Wollongong received a "good" ranking.

The quality of Illawarra beaches is no secret, but that is not the only reason for diving in for a swim. Sea temperatures are much warmer than average for October, with the mercury pushing an almost balmy 22 degrees in local waters last weekend.

"Sea temperatures on the east coast have been very warm in recent months, with the northern parts of Australia seeing the highest temperatures on record," said Julie Evans, a meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology.

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You beauty: our beaches in running for award

No sign of 'Rena' oil on BOP beaches

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Two years since the Rena grounded, Tauranga beaches appear to have recovered with no recent signs of tar spots.

But what's brewing below the surface and the long-term effects of the grounding are subjects of research and monitoring, and next month a series of scientific environmental impact reports are expected to be made public.

Speaking from Wisconsin, University of Waikato Professor Chris Battershill said a range of impact research projects had been conducted during the past 20 months.

The Tauranga-based professor said once peer reviewed, the reports would be released to the Environment Ministry, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, and other key stakeholders, including iwi, before being released to the public.

Research showed local beaches and most of the off-shore islands from Waihi to the Bay of Plenty's east cape had recovered "extremely well" because of the massive clean-up efforts .

Although that was great news, he said some areas were still subject to intensive monitoring, including Astrolabe Reef and around the wreck.

Prof Battershill is leading an Environment Ministry-funded study into eco-toxicity, including research on the mixture of Corexit and oil in this country's sea temperatures.

The study was due to take at least 18 months, he said.

Corexit dispersants were used during the clean-up and sprayed on deep water about 20km off the coast of Tauranga in days following the October 2011 grounding.

Prof Battershill is in Wisconsin for a week-long World Environmental Restoration Symposium.

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No sign of 'Rena' oil on BOP beaches


  1. Beaches