Sandbar brings boaters and non-boaters together

It wasn’t technically a miracle when David Warren spotted people who appeared to be walking on water near a friend’s boat last month off the coast of Siesta Key.

But the cadence of the Manchester native’s brogue races as he describes the miraculous scene he encountered on a sandbar that emerged last month on the northern tip of Siesta Key Beach.

“I’ve lived here for nine years, and I’ve been coming here for more than 20,” Warren said. “And I’ve never seen a sandbar that big in that area.” He would know: The owner of Banana Bay Club rarely misses a Sunday boating excursion.

Peter van Roekens, president of the Sarasota Boater’s Coalition and vice president of the Siesta Key Association, said the sandbar isn’t new. He would know: He lives in Terrace East that overlooks the sand mass and has taken millions of depth sound measurements of Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay waters.

“I don’t think it’s ever been as pronounced as it is now,” Roekens conceded.

The size of the ocean oasis — a football field’s length and width at low tide — makes it ideal for Sunday meet-ups, a tradition for Sarasota boaters.

“It’s easier to meet on a sandbar than drop anchor,” Warren said. And the sandbar is safe from laws barring canines from beaches: Warren’s daughter and other boaters give their dogs a pseudo-beach experience on the sandbar.

But boaters aren’t the only ones able to experience the thrill of watching a Siesta sunset at a closer distance than possible from the beach. The depth of the ridge of sand connecting the sandbar to the beach barely reaches 4 feet.

Roekens said the sand movement in the region makes predicting how long the sandbar will remain difficult — especially with several plans to stabilize and renourish Longboat Pass being considered.

“The Coast Guard had to remark the area because it was too shallow,” he explained about the surf of northern Siesta Beach. “I would guess (the sandbar) is so big because of the dredging on Lido Beach.”