I spent a warm , bright and breezy afternoon at the beach by Patrick AFB, FL in December of 2007 and the red tide only made my eyes itch a little bit and also gave me a slightly scratchy throat. No big deal.
We just went through a spell with Red Tide here in Venice, Fl. that had everyone living within a mile of the beach sneezing, eyes itching and burning, throat swollen, and sinusitis. Not at all no big deal. You were fortunate. When it is bad it is very bad.