Endless Bummer : Ban’s Retention Raises Wave of Criticism

At stake for surfers was year-round access to some of the best spots in Orange County to ride the waves.

But the City Council did not see it that way, and a day after it voted to uphold a surfing ban during certain hours over the summer months for safety reasons, some beach-goers cried bummer.

With his hair wringing wet from surfing, Jason Moller, 22, of Newport Beach said it did not matter to him that the council altered the ban so that lifeguards will have latitude to relax the prohibition, conditions permitting.

“It’s another way for the City Council to try and make everybody happy without making a decision,” Moller said.

Surfer Bill Sharp, 34, who helped organize the city’s surfers in an unsuccessful bid to lift the 29-year-old ban, called the council action “a farce, a joke.” Opponents of the ban contend that Newport Beach is the only California coastal city that does not have a year-round surfing area.

The council rejected a proposal crafted by surfers and others that would have allowed surfing any time at three 4-block-long areas. Those are between the jetties at 36th and 40th streets and between 44th and 48th streets and 52nd and 56th streets.

The council was not swayed by impassioned pleas from surfers including Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), one of Washington’s few elected officials who can hang 10. He attended Monday night’s meeting and urged the council to accept the surfers’ proposal, warning that young surfers might turn to crime and other delinquent behavior if they can’t surf.

But in the end, the day was won by those who believe that in summertime, at least, the beaches should remain open to all--without the worry of being hit by a surfboard.

Some residents had said that property values would suffer with year-round surfing because of what they contended was the sport’s negative image. Others complained about a proliferation of collisions between surfers and swimmers.

Lifeguards have been raising a yellow flag with a black circle in the middle to call surfers out of the water since 1966. Currently, the ban is from noon to 4 p.m., June 15 through Sept. 10. Known as “blackballing” among the surfing community, the ban was established as a safety measure to separate bathers and surfers.

“I think the blackball situation is fine,” said Mike Cortez, 18, a Boogie boarder from Orange. “You can get hurt by getting hit by a surfboard.”

“I respect everybody,” said Cortez’s friend Jesse Montesdeoca, 21, of Santa Ana. “The beaches are open to everybody.”

Lifeguard Rob Maier, 35, said he surfs but that he must obey his supervisors. “The blackball is a tool,” Maier said, “and the bottom line here is ocean safety.”

Those who don’t surf supported the ban, given the fact that thousands of swimmers, Boogie boarders and surfers hit the beaches during the summer months.

Sharp fins underneath surfboards that help them turn have caused serious injuries and also death. In August, 1987, a 27-year-old swimmer was killed in Newport Beach after the bottom fin of surfboard slashed an artery in his neck. Lifeguards had dropped the blackball flag when the accident occurred.

But when swells boom in from Mexico during the summer, causing Newport’s prime surf spots to catch fire, it’s difficult to keep local surfers from the water at any hour, Moller said. Newport’s 56th Street is one of the best spots on the coast for south swells, he said.

“But there aren’t enough people out in the water usually to blackball every beach here,” Moller said. “Lifeguards give surfers [citations] for being in the water after they have been told to get out. But they should put the blackball on every other beach so everyone is happy.”

Under the council’s resolution, lifeguard lieutenants will be given greater discretion, said John Blauer, Newport’s acting marine safety captain.

Although the new policy has not been spelled out, Blauer said that in the future, lifeguards in the towers and Jeeps will have little say as to the lifting of the blackball flag.

“The bottom line is, the marine safety lieutenant, acting as the watch commander for the day, will have the authority,” Blauer said. “Right now, we do have discretionary abilities to put up a blackball flag earlier, but we don’t have a discretion to take the flag down earlier. . . . If conditions warrant, [lieutenants] can order the flags down. But in my opinion, taking them down early will be very rare.”

Blauer said he intends to hold staff meetings and will report information on the new policy to the City Council in a few weeks.

Many surfers and Boogie boarders remained miffed.

John Clarke, 40, a property manager of Newport Beach who Boogie-boards regularly, disagreed with council members.

“When the city says they will leave it up to the discretion of lifeguards, that’s politics,” Clarke said. “The lifeguards will do whatever the politicians want.”

Sharp, 34, who is president of Katin USA, a surfwear company, said: “Well, now lifeguards have some authority to use their discretion. The $64 question is, will they ever exercise it?”

The council’s decision, Sharp said, “left surfers with a bad taste in their mouths.” He added that it was disappointing after he, other residents and members of the city’s Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission worked on a compromise for months.

“It was three months down the drain,” Sharp said. “The council members didn’t even read the information we put before them and we created a committee and researched locations, liability, and dealt with a fairly complex and detailed issue, and they just said, “No.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Surf’s Up for Discussion

Changes to Newport Beach city code, which bars summertime midday surfing, will allow lifeguards to lift the ban at their discretion. To indicate when surfing is not permitted, lifeguards raise a yellow flag with a black circle in the center; thus surfers call the restriction “blackballing.”

THE BLACKBALL DECISION

* No surfing from noon to 4 p.m. from June 15 through Sept. 10

* Marine safety lieutenant can restrict surfing before official blackball dates and times.

* Lieutenant can also lift the ban in summertime when conditions allow.

Source: Newport Beach lifeguards

Changes

* Marine safety lieutenant will decide when areas can open for surfing.

* Decision to take down blackball flag will be based on safety.

Example: It’s raining, no one on beach and school is in session, then blackball flag could come down.

Criteria for lifting ban

Lifeguards will look at a variety of factors before removing the blackball flag:

* Water temperature

* Wind condition

* Wave height

* Day of week

Source: Newport Beach lifeguards