Popular Beach Reopens: Erosion Still Marks Coast

It's been a long wait to hit the beach after severe erosion cut away the coastline last fall.

Today hundreds turned out for the grand re-opening of Bathtub Beach on South Hutchinson Island. The Martin County beach was the hardest-hit by last summers tropical waves causing severe erosion up and down the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast, closing Bathtub Beach since September.

Beach-goers say they have missed this place.

 "We only come down 3 times a year and I love thisplace, the reef, the water," said Barb Mahoney-Kenney who vacations in Port St. Lucie, "The last few times we've come it's closed, and we have one more day of vacation and its open--so we get to go!"

The beach was set to repoen a week ago, but the county did not have the lifeguards to staff the beach. Half of the beach and parking lot remains closed. Its covered in emergency dunes put in place to hold back high tides.

 Bathtub Beach was once listed as one of the top beaches in the world. It's popular with families for it's wave break, worm rock reef, snorkeling, and shallow pools.

But swimmers beware. Lifeguards warn there are still rocks and debris underwater, churned up by last summer's waves.