Sargassum at Turtle Beach (Ocho Rios Bay Beach) today
First bulletin for this beach lands with tomorrow morning’s update.
Turtle Beach, also known as Ocho Rios Bay Beach, is the town's own waterfront, set inside Ocho Rios Bay next to the pier where cruise ships tie up. It is the easiest sand to reach on foot from the centre of Ocho Rios.
This page gives the sargassum picture at Turtle Beach for the current day: a score from 0 to 5, a map covering the bay and its neighbours, and an update built every morning. Enough to choose between swimming in town and driving out east or west along the coast for the afternoon.
Turtle Beach (Ocho Rios Bay Beach) on the sargassum map
What to know about this beach
The beach looks northwest from the back of a bay that a headland closes off on its eastern side. That headland matters, because it stands across the path of material drifting west from Tower Isle and Oracabessa: weed following the coast has to work around it before it can enter the bay at all.
A working harbour bay is slow water, though. Piers, quays and the dead-end shape all cut down on flushing, so anything that arrives on a westerly or northerly push can linger at the surface near the shore for several days. Jamaica's Caribbean coast sees less than the island's eastern shores, but this layout is why the Ocho Rios score does not always track the open beaches on either side.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Turtle Beach more sheltered than the coast further east?
The headland closing Ocho Rios Bay on its eastern side blocks weed drifting along the shoreline, and the beach itself faces northwest, away from the prevailing flow, so little of it arrives head on.
How do I check before walking down to the beach?
Pull up the FanGass page for Turtle Beach that morning. Its 0 to 5 reading and the bay map are rebuilt daily at first light, so you know whether the walk across town is worth it before you start.
Can sargassum stay in the bay for days?
It can. The bay is enclosed, harbour structures reduce circulation, and the water turns over slowly, so material that gets in may sit near the shoreline longer than it would on an open beach.
What are the alternatives if the bay is loaded?
Mahogany Beach a kilometre east, Reggae Beach over at Tower Isle, and the Runaway Bay beaches all meet the sea at different angles, and two of them rarely post the same figure on a given morning.