The secrets to Sandbar:
- Go early. First light is best.
- Saturday and Sunday are the least crowded days.
- Hire your own boat (plenty of locals are authorized to take divers/snorkelers out to Sandbar — check the local phone directory) to take you there before the cruise-ship crowd arrives.
- At this time of the morning, stingrays polarize into schools of 50-70 individuals and do shallow water-strafing runs over, under and around you. I've been there about 100 times, and there's nothing quite like a legion of stingrays circling in huge schools around you and only you. If you're a photographer, the golden light over the shallows is unbeatable for images.
- And don't feed them — not yet, anyway. This schooling behavior only lasts until the squid arrives with the pink-bellied cruise-shippers. Then it's every stingray for itself, as they disperse and go from handout to handout. Get there early to ensure an encounter unlike any you've had with stingrays.
- You will probably have about one to two hours all to yourself this early in the a.m.
- If you do want to put some squid in the water to get the stingrays going, or for the best photographic opportunity, put the bait in a small, tight, mesh bag. Place weights in the bag (about 8 pounds should do), and drop it in the sand. The rays will go crazy but will not be able to eat the squid, so they'll stick around in a WWE pileup for some ultimate close-up/action/group shots.
- If you're lucky, you'll see hammerheads cruise the shallows. They have only been seen first thing in the morning.
- After the crowds arrive, either enjoy the three-ring-circus atmosphere, or head over to nearby Rum Point for a beachside lunch.
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