May 2018

• The President's Message
• Florida free beach news roundup
• World Naked Gardening Day
• Sunsport Gardens celebrates
natural and sustainable gardening
• Club Orient vows to rebuild
• Eastern Naturist Gathering
• SFFB May Board meeting
• Correction to article in prior issue
• Newsletter delivery problems

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Join South Florida Free Beaches

Beach Education Advocates for
Culture, Health, Environment
& Safety (B.E.A.C.H.E.S.)

501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and charitable adjunct to SFFB

Find a nude beach group to join!

Grand Lido™ Negril
Au Naturel All-Suite Resort
Negril, Jamaica
An upscale and elegant naturist resort
Represented by Fox Travel American Express

daddy O hotel miami
Bay Harbor Islands, FL
Textile, but close to Haulover Beach
Mention SFFB for 10% discount.

Lake Como Family Nudist Resort
Lutz, FL
The place to be ... naturally!

Sunsport Gardens
Family Naturist Resort
Loxahatchee Groves, FL
Clothes-free recreation in a
natural, tropical paradise!

The Naturist Society
Body acceptance is the idea.
Nude recreation is the way.

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Learn all about Haulover Beach! Click on above image to download this informative, 20-page booklet.

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Bringing Together the Largest Nudist Community in the World
nusasun.com
Pick up a free copy at a newspaper dispenser box on Haulover Beach.

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Gay Naturists International, Inc.
Life is Great; Live it Nude! ©

Find a men's naturist club or naked yoga group to join!

Read GNI BuffBuzz, GNI's official blog.

Register to attend GNI's annual nude Gathering for men, August 17-26, 2018 (shorter options available).

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Nudist Florida, an online magazine by AANR-Florida (Florida region of American Association for Nude Recreation), helps you find places to enjoy nude recreation.

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Looking for additional naturist places in Florida?

Click on above image to search for naturist clubs, resorts, yoga classes, and other businesses statewide. See alphabetical and geographical listings and an interactive map. Also includes a list of beaches.

by Richard Mason

A leader on the political and legal fronts, the Naturist Action Committee (NAC) monitors legislative activities from city hall to the halls of the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament, issuing alerts and lobbying on behalf of naturist interests. When lobbying fails, NAC can be found in the courthouse, filing briefs and intervening directly on behalf of naturists and the naturist cause.

NAC's ongoing work and vigilance, along with its sister organizations (see below left), The Naturist Society and the Naturist Education Foundation, and support from the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) and the Federation of Canadian Naturists (FCN), help make our continued enjoyment of the naturist lifestyle possible.

This work does not come cheaply. Sometimes grappling with several hotspots, NAC is stretched to fund it all. Please consider donating to NAC (not tax-deductible) today to help protect your right to nude recreation.

Florida free beach news roundup

Palm Beach Naturists (PBN) held a public conversation on April 11 in Boynton Beach, FL on its vision to reëstablish a clothing-optional beach in Palm Beach County. Nearly 30 attended, including board members of PBN, SFFB, and B.E.A.C.H.E.S., as well as several Haulover Beach Ambassadors. PBN's pizza social on April 30 in West Palm Beach drew around two dozen people.

Additional events are planned (see Upcoming Events at left), including PBN's annual meeting on Monday evening, July 16 in Lake Worth, FL. The meeting is open to all interested, but only PBN members may vote on matters. Annual membership per household is usually $25, but it is on sale for only $5 through July 31, 2018. Lifetime founding memberships are available for $250 through the end of 2018.

Also, PBN continues to collect signatures on its online petition for a clothing-optional beach in Palm Beach County. Signatures recently passed a milestone of 500 on the way to the goal of 1,000. If you haven't signed yet, please do so now via the preceding link. "Like" PBN's Facebook page at facebook.com/PBNaturists to be kept informed regularly.

Tampa Area Naturists (TAN) has stepped up its campaign for a clothing-optional beach in the Tampa Bay Area and continues to collect signatures on its online petition. Signatures recently passed a milestone of 5,000 on the way to the goal of 10,000. If you haven't signed yet, please do so now via the preceding link. The petition page includes a fundraising button in case you would like to donate to the effort. You may download a flyer about TAN's petition to send or give to friends. "Like" TAN's Facebook page at facebook.com/TampaArea
Naturists to be kept informed regularly.

The project to obtain a Free Caspersen Beach in Venice, FL (near Sarasota) is being reactivated. It is associated loosely with Suncoast Naturists. Signatures continue to be collected on its online petition, and have recently passed a milestone of 1,600 on the way to the goal of 2,000.

Treasure Coast Naturists (TCN), the group that mentors Blind Creek Beach in Fort Pierce, FL, held its first nude bowling night on April 22 in Jensen Beach with around 45 participants. The annual meeting that was supposed to have taken place earlier that day on Blind Creek Beach was postponed. At press time, a new date had not yet been announced. The free naked yoga class on the beach resumed on April 14 and is scheduled for every Saturday, 9-10 a.m. (weather permitting) through mid-June. TCN's 4th Annual Blind Creek Beach Skinny-Dip takes place on Sunday afternoon, July 15 in conjunction with the annual Nude Recreation Week. "Like" TCN's Facebook page at facebook.com/TreasureCoastNaturists to be kept informed regularly.

Hoe a row in the buff on World Naked Gardening Day, Saturday, May 5

N (Nude & Natural), The Magazine of Naturist Living, quarterly publication of The Naturist Society. (Subscribe.)

World Naked Gardening Day (WNGD) is celebrated on the first Saturday in May. This year's 14th annual observance is on May 5, when people are encouraged to tend their portion of the world's garden unclothed, as nature intended. (See related article below for a WNGD celebration in South Florida.) WNGD was co-founded in 2005 by Jacob Gabriel, an avid horticulturist and naturist activist in Seattle, WA, and Mark Storey, who is Secretary of the Naturist Action Committee (NAC; see related article above) and consulting editor of N (Nude & Natural, The Magazine of Naturist Living), the quarterly publication of The Naturist Society. Mark continues to lead the project.

Mark Storey, WNGD co-founder

The WNGD website, which is sponsored by ClothesFree International, states, "Gardening has a timeless quality, and anyone can do it: young and old; singles or groups; the fit and infirm; urban and rural. An elderly lady in a Manhattan apartment can plant new annuals in her window box. Families can rake leaves in their back yard. Freehikers can pull invasive weeds along their favorite stretch of trail. More daring groups can make rapid, clothes-free sorties into public parks to do community-friendly stealth cleanups.

"Why garden naked? First of all, it's fun! Second only to swimming, gardening is at the top of the list of family-friendly activities people are most ready to consider doing nude. Moreover, our culture needs to move toward a healthy sense of both body acceptance and our relation to the natural environment. Gardening naked is not only a simple joy, [but] it [also] reminds us — even if only for those few sun-kissed minutes — that we can be honest with who we are as humans and as part of this planet.

"Events like WNGD can help develop a sense of community among people of every stripe. Taking part in something that is bigger than any one household, naturist group, or gardening club can move gardeners with an au naturel joie de vivre toward becoming a community. And, in the case of WNGD, it's fun, costs no money, runs no unwanted risk, reminds us of our tie to the natural world, and does something good for the environment."

WNGD's aspirational slogan is: "Make World Naked Gardening Day every day!" Find out more.

Sunsport Gardens celebrates naked and natural gardening and prepares for Naturist Family Youth Camp

by Morley Schloss

For the third consecutive year, people are gathering at Sunsport Gardens Family Naturist Resort to learn, grow, and laugh in celebration of the annual World Naked Gardening Day (see related article above) on Saturday, May 5 and International Permaculture Day on Sunday, May 6. From our talented ranks, our intention is once again to host another unforgettable event with hands-on activities around useful aspects of natural gardening and permaculture.

Join us for two days, clothed with the sky, barefoot in the dirt, and surrounded by nature! Get details and RSVP. A bloodmobile is on site that Saturday afternoon for you to donate the gift of life. [Editor's notes: The free, monthly first Friday night nude drum circle is on May 4. Sunsport Gardens is located in Loxahatchee Groves, FL, around 17 miles (27 km) west of West Palm Beach.]

The always popular Island Brothers band plays great reggae music poolside on Sunday afternoon, May 27, during Memorial Day weekend. Women in Nude Recreation (WINR) Weekend is June 2-3, when special rates for women apply. Please notify the Sunsport Gardens office if you would like to help with WINR Weekend. The next Young Adult Naturists Fest takes place August 20-22.

Take a video tour of Sunsport Gardens Family Naturist Resort (13:41).

As usual, special, reduced summer rates for ground fees and camping start in May. This is also the month when people can opt for year-round camping rates, which are exactly halfway between the summer and winter rates. There is a small increase in site and accommodations rates, necessitated by increased operational costs. (There was no adjustment in these rates last year.) Also starting in May, the restaurant is closed on Wednesdays.

Now is the time to enroll your children or grandchildren in Sunsport's Naturist Family Youth Camp, July 14-22. Children aged 4-17 and their families experience a fun week of growth and community, emphasizing interpersonal relations skills, learning, and creativity in a natural environment. As usual, we have an ocean beach day, a variety show, crafts, nature exploration, boating, non-competitive sports, and lots of pool time, with individual attention for each camper.

The camp directors are the same as before, and most of the favorite counselors are returning. Enrollment forms are on Sunsport's website via the above link. If your child is attending, please contact me at (561) 791-1361 or by e-mail. I need to know the names and ages of campers and any activities adult family members might like to lead.

Club Orient in St. Martin vows to rebuild, reopen soon

Famed naturist resort Club Orient on Orient Bay in St. Martin was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The resort has been out of commission since then except for the Perch Bar, which is improvising a light, lunchtime operation, and beach amenities such as umbrella and chair rentals. It remains closed to guests, but it has plans for a partial reopening this year, with more capacity to be added in 2019.

In late April 2018, resort management met in Orlando, FL with Club Orient homeowners, who own a majority of the units in the resort's rental inventory, to chart a path forward and to persuade more of them to invest in reconstruction even before they receive final insurance settlements. While acknowledging that it may take up to two years to complete the rebuilding of facilities such as the full-service restaurant, the resort aims to have 30 lodging units available by November 2018 and 18 more by April 2019.

For details on the devastation of St. Martin and Club Orient's ongoing efforts to recover, read Hurricane Irma aftermath: Destruction, recovery in St. Maarten and Club Orient 'absolutely intends' to rebuild, says managing director.

SFFB Board meeting on Haulover Beach, May 12

The Board of Directors of South Florida Free Beaches usually meets on the second Saturday of every month at 2:00 p.m. under the North Chickee (thatch-roofed shade structure) near lifeguard tower 15 on Haulover Beach unless another date and time or location is announced. See below for the long-term schedule. Any planned exception to the second Saturday pattern is noted with an asterisk.

The meetings are open to SFFB sponsors / members, supporters, and invited guests. Prior to setting out, check the upper left-hand corner of SFFB's home page at sffb.com (under Today's Beach Reports) for any change in date, time, or location due to unavailability of Board members or in case of bad weather, when the meeting may take place indoors.

Don't miss an SFFB Board meeting — add the schedule to your calendar now!

Eastern Naturist Gathering, June 27 - July 1, 2018

The next event on the 2018 Naturist Tour (themed, "Have a Nude Attitude") of nude gatherings and festivals that The Naturist Society (TNS) organizes or sanctions, respectively, is the Eastern Naturist Gathering, June 27 – July 1, at Camp Timber Trails in Tolland, MA, near Granville. It features a variety of lodging options on more than 400 acres (162 hectares) with a lake, hiking trails, outdoor amphitheater, woodlands, and fields.

TNS encourages volunteers to lead a workshop or other fun activity. For the Eastern or Western Naturist Gathering, e-mail Nicky with a brief description, which day(s) and date(s) you will be attending, and your preference for morning, afternoon, or evening. To help organize your submission, you may use the Naturist Gathering Activity Signup Form. For the other events on the tour, volunteer through the venues organizing them.

Correction to article in last month's issue

In the article recapping the 2018 Florida legislative session in last month's issue, an editing error caused a significant understatement of the estimated impact of Haulover Beach on direct expenditures to the economy of Miami-Dade County. The correct figure is $1.2 billion, not million. The above link leads to a corrected version of the article on line.

Hope for improving delivery of this newsletter

We reported in the February 2018 issue of this newsletter on a deterioration in its delivery due to a sudden increase in spam filtering on the receiving end against our bulk e-mails. We have since been working with the Postmaster of our bulk e-mail service to reroute our traffic, and early indications are that most of that erroneous blocking should now end. We regret any prior inconvenience caused by missed issues.