Red tide not going away

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — Lucinda Wierenga wore a dust mask as she built her sandcastle, trying to block irritants rising from the toxic algae bloom known as red tide.

Red tide’s aerosol drifted along the beach yesterday as Wierenga and other artists carved their sculptures for the Island’s 28th Annual Sandcastle Days, to run today through Sunday.

“It looks good but it’s hard to breath,” said Wierenga, the artist known as Sandy Feet who co-founded Sandcastle Days in 1988. “It affects individuals so differently. Some people are more strongly affected than others. Some people don’t seem bothered at all.”

The South Padre Island Triathlon also remains set for Sunday.

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