Meandering
This afternoon I returned home after conducting some business in town and began to work on some extremely boring and tedious paperwork.
Suddenly I heard something on the scanner. The fire department was responding to some sort of emergency in the 4300 block of Central Avenue. The scanner was hopping from frequency to frequency and I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Was it a grass fire? Or a medical aid call?
It didn’t matter. I was looking for any excuse to avoid the paperwork, so I grabbed the camera, jumped in the car and rushed to the scene.
On my way there I had one of those “awe” moments as I descended northbound Highway 101 just below the Vista Point. The view of Clam Beach was fantastic, with clear blue skies and a blue-green sea. Beautiful. I live in paradise.
I noticed what looked like giant kites hovering above the beach. But they seemed too big to be regular kites.
Interesting, but I had a fire or some other emergency to photograph.
I exited the freeway and drove southbound on Central Avenue up past Strawberry Creek.
No fire engines. No smoke.
Where the hell was the 4300 block of Central Avenue?
Up ahead was the Clam Beach Inn. As far as I know, it’s not really an inn. It’s just a bar. A band called PHIST plays there. I’m familiar with PHIST because somebody plastered a bunch of my newspaper racks with PHIST stickers. PHIST plays something resembling speed metal.
I didn’t see any fire trucks at the Clam Beach Inn, just a tough looking, busty blonde in tight pink sweater smoking a cigarette out front.
So up the road I went. At Grange and Central I turned around and headed back to the freeway. Maybe I had missed something.
Where were the fire trucks?
I never did figure out where they were, but then I remembered those giant kites.
I parked at Clam Beach and walked in the direction of the kites.
They were about a mile up the beach. I walked out to the waveslope and continued north. It was a nice stroll on the beach.
Turns out the giant kites were being used by kitesurfers. Basically, each person had a wetsuit, a surfboard with foot straps, and a harness connected to a giant kite.
They were flying, sometimes literally.
The kites were moving them up and down Clam Beach and far out beyond the surf. They appear to operate kind of like sails, giving them the ability to go both downwind and upwind.
They’re pretty spectacular and look like a lot of fun.
There were also some windsurfers blasting back and forth at rocket speeds.
The other notable thing on the beach today was the fact that the motorists were actually being polite and following the rules. I didn’t witness a single speeding truck.
That reminds me – I need to contact my supervisor and ask her to relax the proposed restrictions on vehicles at Clam Beach. Or maybe I'll write an editorial.
I don’t really care if they put a few restrictions in place, like requiring permits. The fact is, there are some real assholes who abuse the beach and intimidate pedestrians. They need to be dealt with.
But what if someday I decide to take up kitesurfing? Why should I be restricted from driving down to the beach with my equipment? And what about those people I saw today. They were polite and respectful.
I don't want my fellow townsfolk restricting what I do, so why should I restrict what they do?
posted by Jack Durham at 8:52 PM
4 Comments:
"I don't want my fellow restricting what I do, so why should I restrict what they do?".
A libertarian is born?
Yes and no.
When I go to the beach and users are being respectful of each other and following the rules, then I see no need for additional rules.
But when I go there are people are speeding and doing donuts, then I have to reconsider.
With proper enforcement, we could stick with the current regs.
Perhaps revocable permits – permits available to everyone regardless of need – would be the solution.
With a permit, you can drive on the beach all you want. Violate the rules, and your permit is revoked or suspended.
Just a thought.
Sounds like a nice middle ground.
The thing is, rarely is someone around to enforce the regulations. As a surfer, I certainly appreciate the convenience of 4WD and will happily leap aboard any truck offering a ride out to the North Jetty, but as a parent, dog owner and general beach lover, I really hate vehicles on the beach.
No one uses the Jetty as just a beach hangout – it's all surfers, ATV riders and people fishing, so the vehicle-pedestrian conflict doesn't happen too much (although certainly we get our share of idiots driving too fast and with no regard for the people on the beach), but Clam Beach and Moonstone's non-motorized users should have priority. Besides the existence of too many jerks behind the wheels – I've had numerous instances of people speeding up on my kids, dog or me without any regard for safety or consideration – cars on the beach are UGLY and detract from the beauty of the ocean – which I consider more of a birthright than the questionable privilege of driving one's truck on the sand.
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