UPDATE photo 8-15-15 It’s a bouy collecting data –>
We drove to the ocean and just off stair access No. 13 was something I couldn’t identify in the ocean, a couple of hundred yards out. It was sticking straight up in the air and looks like the top ten feet of a golden colored mast with a short spar/yard near the top. It’s not bobbing like a bouy and it’s fairly close in what I’d guess is maybe 25-30 feet of water.
UPDATE: 8-15-15 it’s a bouy collecting data:   

A yellow-flagged buoy a half-mile off Nance Park in Indialantic has some scratching their heads. U.S. Coast Guard officials said earlier this week they were unaware of the buoy and were looking into the matter.  Turns out it was installed last month by an Indian Harbour Beach engineer, to measure waves, temperature and other data, in real time.  “It measures the actual wave height,” said Tony Cimaglia, owner and principal engineer for TNC Oceanographic, LLC, in Indian Harbour Beach. The buoy is anchored in about 30 feet of water.  Surfers, fishermen, forecasters, coastal engineers and anyone else interested could take advantage of the data, he says, through his venture called Check the Waves LLC, which puts the data on a website: www.checkthewaves.com.  He’s seeking advertisers for the site and hopes to sell the historical wave data.  “You can get an early warning when the (cold-water) upwelling’s coming through,” Cimaglia said.  Cimaglia installed another lower-profile buoy in Jensen Beach, which had been damaged a few times by boat strikes, he said. So he started painting the buoys yellow to make them more visible.  Cimaglia hopes to grow his venture and install several more of the buoys in the region.  He plans soon to put similar buoys in Cocoa Beach and Daytona Beach.  The buoys required approval from state and federal permitting agencies, which Cimaglia said he obtained.  “I’ve got the full blessing of the Florida DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) for eight locations already,” Cimaglia said.  Contact jwaymer@floridatoday.com