Luxe Beat Magazine DECEMBER 2014 | Page 40

Turtle Patrol on t Florida Pan hand By Dana Rebmann V acations, by definition, are not typically meant to involve wake-up calls and alarm clocks. But when the jarring buzz knocked me out of a sound sleep just after 5am, I hopped out of bed with little hesitation. The sun was still hours from being up, but it was busy along the beaches of lesser-known Gulf Coast County, Florida. The St. Joseph Peninsula Turtle Patrol was getting ready to hit the sand. turtles crawl ashore and across the beach toward the dunes to lay their eggs. Under the cover of darkness, female sea turtles dig their nest, lay 100-plus ping pong-sized eggs and camouflage their speedy work before disappearing into the Gulf of Mexico. The combination of dark sand dunes with reflection of the moon and stars off the water guide their night’s work. Mother Nature has a big say in what happens next; to coyotes and sand crabs, turtle eggs Time is of the essence on these early mornings. Whether it’s spotting a freshly dug nest or checking on one about to hatch, volunteers’ best chance of catching sight of any clues left in the sand comes with day’s first light. Changing tides, moving rain storms and inevitable footprints quickly cover turtle tracks. Seven days a week, vo lunteers walk miles of sand searching for answers. Every summer, loggerhead sea 40