August 22 Bates Beach Picnic Was Great Except For…….

We had three dozen people come down on Sunday afternoon, 8/22, to join our beach party at the north end of the retaining seawall.

We also had Aaron Hunter of UCSB environmental studies join us to explain and demonstrate how they would like us to measure the changing level of the sand on Bates Beach on a monthly basis. This data will be added to the statewide beach monitoring project to help protect our beaches.

Unfortunately, the day was marred early on by a sheriff who cited a man for public nudity that was sitting at the south end of the seawall, just as we were walking down to our area. This is the first citation written on Bates since 2008. It’s also the reason we moved farther down the beach to the north end of the seawall to avoid any complaints and user conflicts. The sheriff never returned, and even though it was the talk of the day, we enjoyed a beautiful summer afternoon naturally!

The man who got the ticket was NOT in the approved clothing-optional area. Let this serve as a warning that we MUST remain where we are allowed! Our behavior guidelines are to remain discreet while the clothed beachgoers are walking nearby as many of them do not know of our agreement. Ignoring this will not only jeopardize all of our work to get the beach back but may get you a $200 net fine ($50 plus $150 admin expenses) as well.