Chastain Beach is located on Hutchinson Island, south of Martin County Florida's House of Refuge Museum, built in 1876 and the last of 10 life-saving stations located along the east coast of Florida. I have passed this beach in my car many times, and the unpaved parking lot is almost always full, as opposed to Bathtub Beach, located a few blocks to the south with a large parking lot that is never full and lifeguards on duty. I have always wondered what the attraction was at Chastain, and a few days ago, not too long before sunset, I noticed a vacant parking spot and decided to check the place out.
This beach is, in fact, very beautiful, as seen in the photograph on the right, but I did not see many people around at that time of day. Once I got home, I decided to check the place out on the internet, which I have always found is very accurate, and read a number of reviews about it, two of which said it was a "surfers paradise" and "quiet and remote." I suspected its popularity might have had something to do with surfing based on the age of the crowd I have seen there, sometimes with surfboards on their car. I did note that one commentator said that there are sometimes Portuguese-Man-of-War (known for their powerful sting) in the water, especially during the winter, and also that there are often sharks at this beach from January through March when they are migrating north and looking for food. A very pretty place, but that food could be you or me. Scary.
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