Beaches, Ho : While Millions Clasped Hands, Others Embraced the Sand and Sea

Yes, there was life outside of Hands Across America on Sunday afternoon. Although thousands of socially conscious Orange County residents flocked to join the human chain to fight hunger, many more of their hedonistic neighbors hit the local beaches and parks this holiday weekend, the unofficial start of the summer season.

An estimated 110,000 surfers and tan seekers spent the day at Newport Beach. “For a sunny holiday, that’s normal,” Craig Farmer, a marine safety officer, said. “This is the weekend that usually kicks the season off.”

The air temperature was a comfortable 70 degrees, and with a water temperature of 67, there were some swimmers. Lifeguards rescued about 10 people, also a “normal” number.

Huntington Beach had 32,000 visitors and a handful of rescues. About 7,000 people visited the beach at San Clemente, where lifeguards reported eight rescues. “We were more crowded than usual,” Cliff Bramlett, lifeguard assistant supervisor, said, “but there were no other problems.”

Parking lots at Seal Beach were packed by 10 a.m. and stayed that way until about 4:30 p.m., said lifeguard Dan Mills, as 18,000 to 20,000 beachgoers wandered onto the sands. “We didn’t see a great increase or decrease during the hours (that) Hands Across America was going on,” Mills said. “We could not see the people (at nearby Long Beach), though we did see the balloons go up.” in the Hands extravaganza.

Campgrounds at O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon began filling up with Memorial Day traffic Thursday night, and attendants began turning away campers early Friday. “We were telling people they couldn’t get into the camping area (but that they) they could go into the picnic area and vacate by 10 p.m.,” Patti Andrews, groundskeeper, said. “It’s not completely full as far as picnicking goes, but (Monday) it probably will be.”