Anna Maria Island beachgoers bask in perfect spring break

Anna Maria Island beachgoers bask in perfect spring break Saturday

ANNA MARIA ISLAND -- Under humid, hazy and partly cloudy conditions Saturday, thousands flocked to the beach on Anna Maria Island.

The sands were packed with locals during the final weekend of spring break in Manatee County.

Lifeguards and police didn't report any major incidents. Traffic flowed more smoothly during the Easter holiday weekend than in recent days.

"Today it has been a little bit windy, pretty much a typical Saturday, not too big of a crowd. We expected a few more people," Manatee County marine rescue Lt. Karl Payne said. "Tomorrow is one of the busiest days of the year, so we expect a big turnout."

A green flag indicated favorable swimming conditions but Payne said the outgoing tide was beginning to create small rip tides.

"Keep in mind it should be a sunny day, and it still should be some wind and outgoing tide in the afternoon so be cautious of small rip currents," he said.

Local Nellr Garcia, 47, was walking back from the Coquina Beach Cafe.

"My kids wanted to come to the beach," Garcia said in Spanish.

She said they don't come to the beach too often, but did since it was spring break and Easter weekend. When they do hit the shoreline, they always go to Coquina Beach or Manatee Public Beach, she added.

"They are both so beautiful," Garcia said.

There was no rain on the beach Saturday, but skies weren't clear.

"We have so much moisture in the atmosphere and there is nothing to move it out," BayNews9 meteorologist Diane Kacmarik said. "We have clouds at all levels."

Sunday's forecast looks similar, she said.

"The morning will mostly be dry," Kacmarik said. "By afternoon, we are looking at a 30 percent chance for inland storms and a little breezy."

Sitting under a tree in his chair, Jim Bartus, 72, admired the beach. His wife, daughter and three grandchildren were enjoying the beach down near the water.

"The sun got really hot, so grandpa had to come sit in the shade," Bartus said.

Bartus and his wife split their time between their homes on Palma Sola Bay and in Michigan.

"It's better with the grandkids here," Bartus said. "I wish I could get them all here."

With eight grandchildren total, he was happy three of his grandsons, ages 2, 8 and 24, were able to visit.

Despite the number of people on the beach, traffic flowed well onto the island and throughout. Parking, however, was hard to come by, and some cars were ticketed for parking in prohibited areas.

On Manatee Public Beach, lifeguards and the Holmes Beach police reported only one incident. A boy, believed to be 4 years old, wandered away from his mother on the beach and was found about 10 blocks away and reunited with his mother, they said.

"It's been very quiet," lifeguard Austin Cobb said. "We're getting small rip currents with the wind kicking up from the west. It started out of the south, then started coming out of the west."

Jessica De Leon, Herald law enforcement reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7049. You can follow her on Twitter@JDeLeon1012.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Anna Maria Island beachgoers bask in perfect spring break ."