12 Things Every Alabamian Learned Growing Up Near the Gulf

If you grew up near the Gulf in Alabama, you can tell a yellow flag from a red one, and you likely date your memories by hurricane names.

Here’s what life by the water taught you, and what folks from farther inland are missing.

1. Jubilees

A jubilee is a window of a few hours when people along Mobile Bay can gig hundreds of fish or catch tubs of crabs.

Many people who grow up along Mobile Bay learn to watch for a jubilee.

Oxygen-poor water moving up from the bottom of the bay is the main cause of a jubilee.

Jubilees happen most often along the bay’s upper eastern shore, from Great Point Clear to just north of Daphne.

A jubilee comes only in summer, usually in the early morning before sunrise.

Jubilees depend on the weather.

Jubilees usually end at sunrise, when plants in the water start making oxygen again.

If you hear a jubilee is on, grab a tub.

2. Beach Flags

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach use a beach flag warning system to keep visitors and residents updated on conditions in the water.

Yellow flags mean a medium hazard from moderate surf or currents.

Red flags mean a high hazard, so all swimmers are discouraged from entering the water.

Double red flags mean the water is closed to the public.

3. Mardi Gras Holidays

Mardi Gras is a state holiday only in Baldwin and Mobile counties.

If you need a state office in Baldwin or Mobile County on Mardi Gras, it will be closed.

Krewe members often spend thousands of dollars on costumes and the items they throw from floats.

At Mobile’s parades, marchers have tossed MoonPies, beads, stuffed animals and plastic cups.

4. Storm Names as Dates

On the Gulf Coast, you often hear people date events by hurricane name instead of year.

On Sept. 12, 1979, Frederic’s northern eyewall moved ashore on Dauphin Island shortly before 10 p.m.

Ivan made landfall on Sept. 16, 2004, just west of Gulf Shores.

Sally came ashore at Gulf Shores on Sept. 16, 2020.

That was 16 years to the day after Ivan.

5. November’s Flounder Closure

Any flounder you keep in Alabama has to be at least 14 inches long.

Many bay anglers have thrown back a short flounder.

The limit is five fish per person.

If you’re fishing in November, the harvest is closed from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30.

The closure protects flounder while they gather to spawn.

6. Mullet Toss

The Mullet Toss lets you fling a dead fish across a state line.

In 2026, it cost $20 to toss a dead mullet.

Throwers stand on the Florida side and hurl the fish over the line.

The Flora-Bama bar that hosts it straddles the state line at Perdido Key.

All proceeds from the 2026 toss benefit local youth charities.

7. Evacuation Zones

Baldwin County's plan runs from Zone 1 to Zone 4, and a wider Category 5 order adds Zone 5.

If you live on Pleasure Island or in a manufactured home, a Category 1 storm puts you in Zone 1.

In a Category 2 storm, Zones 1 and 2 evacuate, including areas south of State Highway 98, the Eastern Shore south of Interstate 10 and west of Highway 98, river residents, manufactured homes and low-lying areas.

If officials order the wider plan, everyone in Baldwin County should evacuate in a Category 5 storm.

8. Sea Turtle Nests

Sea turtles nest on the same beaches you visit.

Volunteers found more than 140 sea turtle nests in Alabama in 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says.

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach have both passed lighting ordinances for new construction along the coast.

Ideal lighting for sea turtles is low, shielded and red or amber.

A federal biologist worked with the volunteer group Share the Beach to build ties with coastal cities, including Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island.

If you stay on the sand after dark, you can help by keeping your lights low.

9. USS Alabama's Dime Drive

In spring 1964, a statewide campaign collected more than $800,000, enough to bring the USS Alabama to Mobile.

More than one million students helped the cause, raising about $100,000 in nickels and dimes from lunch money and allowances.

The ship entered Mobile Bay on Sept. 14, 1964.

Since 1965, more than 13 million people have visited the park.

If you lead a Scout troop or church youth group, you can book an overnight program on the ship.

Youth ages 6 to 18 sleep in 1940's-style bunks below the main deck.

10. Blessing of the Fleet

The Blessing of the Fleet is an annual event in Bayou La Batre in May.

At the 76th annual Blessing of the Fleet in 2025, you could find a 5K run, a gumbo cook-off and a boat parade.

As of 2025, seafood and shipbuilding are still mainstays of Bayou La Batre's economy.

11. Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo

The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo is held off Dauphin Island over three days in July.

In 1929, 260 anglers competed in the first fishing tournament at Fort Gaines Pier on Dauphin Island.

The Mobile Jaycees took over in 1948.

The rodeo now attracts more than 3,000 contestants.

If you fish, the rodeo has 30 prize categories, from inshore flounder and speckled trout to offshore red snapper and wahoo.

12. Fort Morgan

Fort Morgan sits on Mobile Point in Baldwin County.

Builders worked on the brick fort from 1819 to 1834.

The brick fort has a pentagonal design with five bastions.

The Battle of Mobile Bay began on the morning of Aug. 5, 1864.

Confederate Gen. Richard L. Page surrendered the fort on Aug. 23, after the siege.