Boogie Down, Baby
Topless is acceptable at this cozy little beach tucked into a corner of Dana Point.
Some swimmers even go bottomless, walking unflinchingly through the sand in their birthday suits, sin verguenza--without a care in the world.
Only the most vigilant, the most observant, the most senior lifeguards are allowed to work this beat. That’s because this is “Baby Beach,” a surfless, 150-yard-long nook in the relative calm of Dana Point Harbor where the average age of the bathers is given in months rather than years.
Here is the future, the teenagers of the second decade of the 21st century, whose language consists mostly of squeals and shouts and perhaps the earliest rudiments of the slang of 2010.
“This beach is unique in Orange County,” said Api Weinert, co-director of Laguna Beach-based U.S. Ocean Safety, which for the last six years has provided a lifeguard service for 6 miles of county beaches, including “Baby Beach.”
“Huntington Beach is known for its pier, Laguna for its scuba diving, other areas for their large surf,” Weinert said. “This beach is known for its kids.”
And the potential for danger.
This is one of the toughest beaches to guard in the county, at least partly because most of the bathers don’t know how to swim, Weinert said.
“People here get a false sense of security that because the water is calm, they are safe,” he said. “In lakes and pools, that’s where the majority of drownings occur, in calm water. The mothers and nannies, who are playing cards with their friends, turn their heads and straight down the kids go.”
Lifeguards at Baby Beach performed 122 rescues and first aids from April through August last year, the busy season. Another tricky thing about Baby Beach is that, unlike heavy surf areas where lifeguards can see the riptides and currents that spell trouble, danger can come from anywhere. Yet there has never been a drowning in the 25 years parents have brought their children to this beach.
“Riptides and currents make guarding more predictable because you can see where the danger is coming,” said Dennis Yune, another lifeguard and Weinert’s partner. “At a place like Baby Beach, kids tend to just walk down into the water and all of a sudden they are over their heads. There is often no warning.”
Still, children love it here. And parents like to take advantage of the free parking and easy access and trek to Baby Beach in droves. People like Eileen Himes of Aliso Viejo--who comes every Friday in the summertime with a group of friends and their children--have become regulars.
“We like it because you don’t have any waves here,” said Himes, who was with a group of eight on a recent Friday, including her 17-month-old daughter, Rebecca. “We used to go to the Aliso [Pier] but the waves break very close to shore. Here you don’t have to worry.”
“And the water is warmer because it’s so shallow,” chimed in Himes’ friend, Karen Tehrani of Lake Forest.
A quick survey of the Baby Beach environs confirms the report that this is the perfect beach for the careful parent. There’s a lifeguard on duty, a public bathroom, public telephone, snack bar, shade trees, a grassy area, barbecue stands, benches and free parking just steps from the sand--an added bonus.
When you are schlepping along such beach accouterments as an ice chest, umbrella, towels, blankets and toys, as well as the children, parking location takes on prime importance, said Mary Beth Carney of Laguna Niguel.
“Some of the beaches in the area require a long walk from the parking lot or a hike down some steep steps, like Dana Strands, where we were” the day before, said Carney, who brought her three children: Thomas, 6; John, 4; and Claire, 2. “Here you can put your blanket 2 feet from the water and not worry about the kids getting swept away.”
One corner of Baby Beach is also a popular launching area for kayakers such as Jim White, a Laguna Beach police sergeant who enjoys paddling around the harbor visiting friends on their boats.
“It’s real easy to launch here without the surf to contend with, especially when you have a big ocean kayak,” White said.
For the watchful parent who is not afraid to get out in the water, this is the perfect place to introduce children to the enjoyment of the ocean, said Todd Miller of Dana Point. He tugged and pushed his son Jake, 4, across the calm waters in a foam Boogie Board.
“You can’t ask for a better deal,” Miller said. “My son is taking swimming lessons, but it’s easy to keep an eye on him here. And he can stay in the water by himself.”