Police to Monitor Bluff Cove Jet Skiers

The City Council in Palos Verdes Estates last week directed the Police Department to monitor Bluff Cove for two weekends to determine the number of jet skiers who use the popular surfing spot.

Surfers last month complained to the council that there have been near collisions between surfers and jet skiers, and asked the council to prevent jet skiers from coming inside the cove’s breakwater. The council decided Monday that it needed more information before considering further action.

The city already may take action against reckless jet skiers under the California Harbor and Naval Code, which prohibits motorized vehicles from coming within 100 feet of bathers, including surfers.

Capt. Mike Tracy, the city’s acting police chief, said Wednesday that violators will be cited under the law, though it would be difficult to enforce. Tracy said that to ticket an offender, the officer must observe the violation, then find a way to serve the summons on the jet skier, typically by driving to King Harbor in Redondo Beach to board a vessel and return to Bluff Cove.

In that time the offending jet skier may have left the area.

One jet ski hobbiest asked the council to consider designating part of Bluff Cove for jet skiing. “People have got to learn to share because there is only so much space,” Pat Hulett said.

Hulett is president of the Class A Boating Assn., headquartered in San Pedro. Jet skis are classified as boats under state law. The council expressed no interest in designating a jet ski area.