Find Caribbean beaches favorable for sea glass. Three factors encourage sea glass deposits on a beach: a source of the glass, land features such as cliffs or gullies, and long-distance wave action that deposits the glass on the beach, according to the Odyssey Sea Glass.
Glass sources might include former settlements near the beach, or perhaps debris from faraway ships' garbage. In the case of former settlements, cliffs and gullies enabled pitching of trash away from the home sites and onto the beach. Finally, wave action is essential to moving and polishing the glass over long distances.
Explore the Caribbean rum connection. The Caribbean region is home to a large number of rum producers, according to the Beverage Testing Institute. Almost every island manufactures its own brand of rum. Since the late 17th century, British Caribbean colonies have exported locally produced rum back to England. British naval ships once issued regular rum rations to sailors stationed in Caribbean ports.
With the Caribbean's long rum production and export history, rum bottles have found their way into Caribbean waters. Vigorous inter-island wave action, along with ocean currents, has contributed to the breakup and distribution of rum bottle glass throughout the Caribbean. Glass shards have been buffed and polished into sea glass.
Find Caribbean islands with sea glass beaches. Because the Caribbean islands are surrounded by hundreds of miles of ocean currents, many island coastlines are likely candidates for sea glass deposits.
Caribbean sea glass has been found on beaches of approximately 20 island nations, according to Odyssey Sea Glass.
Sea glass has been found from the northern Caribbean (Puerto Rico and Bermuda), to the southern end of the island chain (Aruba and Curacao). Countries with multiple sea glass beaches include Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, British and United States Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Sea glass deposits may ebb and flow with wave action.
Visit Caribbean sea glass beaches. San Juan, Puerto Rico, features a popular sea glass site on Old San Juan's Playa Ocho beach. Accessed by steps across from the capital building, this popular beach has earned a reputation as a reputable sea glass source.
Alexandra Battery Beach in St. George's, Bermuda, has also been acknowledged as a prolific supplier of sea glass. The site also has a sea cave with additional sea glass deposits.
