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South Florida Free Beaches /Florida Naturist Association, Inc.

A Message from the President

The Business End of a Naturist Beach.

There are a lot of things going on constantly at Haulover Beach Park that involve our board members and Beach Ambassadors (all volunteers). I make at least two to four trips a week to the park on SFFB/FNA/Naturist Beach business, a 22 mile round trip adventure through Miami’s worst traffic.

Several of our board members spend a few dozen hours a week on association related business. We have regular meetings with the park management park staff, Miami-Dade County Police as well as a monthly board meeting, executive board meetings and Beach Ambassador meetings and training.

All this activity is something the beach visitor never sees and is unaware that we do. We do this so that Haulover Beach remains a safe haven for those who enjoy the freedom it offers. We work so we don’t join the ranks of those former traditional naturist beaches that no longer exist.

We manage about 25 volunteers in our Beach Ambassador Corps. Most wear our traditional teal/blue safari helmet, but some choose to work undercover. They patrol the beach and staff our Info Booth to educate new beach visitors, gently settle beach disputes such as loud radios and work toward removing those who not subscribing to naturist etiquette.

A Major Threat to Haulover’s Nude Beach Status.

Over the past several months we have discovered two different and distinct inappropriate behavior patterns that can lead to the closure of Haulover’s designated naturist beach.

The Internet Porno Business:

There are porno sites that specialize in staging sexual scenes on different beaches around the world. These people have been active on Haulover Beach. Many are genitalia videos of women who lay on their back as they sunbathe.

Notice to women. Pay attention to who sets up in front of you. If you think you see a camera under a towel, gather a few beach buddies and check the person out. If there is a lot of empty beach, ask the person to move. If they don’t, maybe you should.

Haulover Beach is a public beach and each person using the naturist beach accepts responsibility for the beach. If you see inappropriate behavior, report it to a lifeguard, a Beach Ambassador if you can spot our unique teal safari hat, or Tabitha, the park ranger in the ATV on duty Friday to Monday. They can intervene or contact a police officer if need be. Or, use your cell phone and call Beach Safety Headquarters at 786 336 6990 and report the location and description of perpetrator.

Those that witness inappropriate behavior and do nothing are part of the problem. Please go to another beach.

A beach will deteriorate to the lowest acceptable behavior, like any other part of society. Speak up for naturist standards.

Hook-Ups for Sex:

People are using the internet to arrange sexual encounters (men meeting men category on Craigslist, for instance), at a designated location at Haulover Beach. Popular locations are the two men’s restrooms and spot entered via a path into a dune.

Sexual activity in a public park is a serious crime and upon arrest and conviction is a second degree felony. The majority of men involved in these activities are not beach users. They come directly into the park wearing street clothes with no intention of using the beach.

Fixing the Problem

Working in conjunction with Haulover Park management, the main dune location they were using was fenced off by 30 feet of fence. SFFB purchased the 6X6 posts (heavy suckers) and the cement and buckets to install them underground.  The Park Dept. provided the snow fence material. Paul Friderich, Louis Beach and myself provided the muscle.

One week after the fence was installed these clothed men using the dune area for sex destroyed the fence. They also vandalized our bulletin board.

They destroyed the fence, but not our spirit. We will rebuild the fence stonger and are looking at purchasing cameras to install so we may catch the criminals.

Two weeks ago, someone using an electric saw cut down two of the posts on one of the volley ball courts. We will work with the volley ball players to install new posts, most likely further south on the beach.

Why Bother?

The reason we cannot tolerate the sexual behavior of people in the designated clothing-optional area, besides all the civil reasons, is that the enemies of nude beaches will blame nudity as the cause of the sexual activity and demand the naturist beach be shut-down.

Sound unbelievable? Not so! That reasoning by the enemies of nude recreation has been used successfully to shut down several hundred traditional nude beach locations in the United States in the last 30 years.

Currently, there are two bills in the Florida State Legislature, introduced at the request of a sheriff who is having problems in the public parks in his county with men seeking men for sex. He believes if you ban nudity in the public parks in the State of Florida it will solve the problem, even knowing that most of the perpetrators are clothed.

Should those bills pass, Haulover could be at risk to nude use, based on interpretation and possibly a court review.

South Florida Free Beaches/Florida Naturist Association, the Naturist Action Committee and the American Association for Nude Recreation are working with our paid lobbyist in Tallahassee to amend the Bill to prevent nude recreation from becoming a crime in certain areas.

Tallahassee Report: 

There are two bills in the Florida Senate and two companion bills in the Florida House that are troublesome for nude recreation. They would revise Florida Statute FL.S/S 800.3 (Lewdness). This is the statute that most often is used to cite skinnydippers. Card carrying members of a naturist or nudist group are less likely to be cited with this statute and have a better defense in court.

Senate Bill SB254 & House HB161 are the more severe and if enacted into law will make a mere nudity conviction outside of a designated area and on public lands a felony upon a 2nd conviction. The other bills would make it a felony on the third offense. Both are serious moves to criminalize simple nudity outside a designated area. The bill gives the police the authority to arrest a person on mere suspicion of a crime.

Further, they may negate some case law we currently use to achieve dismissals and force a convicted person, who wants to fight a felony conviction into an expensive legal battle.  

South Florida Free Beaches' lobbyist, Ray Maury, is in discussions with the sponsors of the bills and we are attempting to modify the bills or have them withdrawn. We have the full support of the Naturist Action Committee (NAC) and are coordinating our efforts with AANR-Florida.  

While these bills would not bring closure to Haulover Beach now, the wording brings nudity on a public beach just a sliver away from being illegal. Sheriff's in other jurisdictions could use this law, if enacted, to harass traditional sites and bring closure through the fear of arrest and the severity of a felony on a 2nd conviction.

The Legislative Session starts March 3, 2014.

Look for a separate Beach Alert email that will explain the legislative bills and what you can do to help us. We’ll be sending our government affairs team to Tallahassee starting this month to meet with the sponsoring legislators in an effort to lobby to amend these Bills.

It is important for you to open and read these alerts. They will contain progress  reports and instructions on what you can do to help us fight these bills and protect nude beach rights.

As you can imagine, this effort is costly. You can support our efforts by becoming a member of SFFN/FNA and/or donating to our Political Action Fund at http://sffb.com/join.php. Checks can be mailed to:

SFFB/FNA
P.O. Box 530306
Miami Shores, Florida 33153
In the reference section write PAF/Tallahassee

We hope you had a joyous and healthy holiday season and trust 2014 brings you and your family good health, peace and love.

Suggested New Years Resolution: More trips to Haulover Park’s Naturist Beach.

Thank You for your support,

Richard Mason, President

Phone: 305-620-7090
richardm09@comcast.net

  Suppport South Florida Free Beaches

To ensure many more nude beach days, please consider joining South Florida Free Beaches,
creator and mentor of Haulover Beach since 1991, and The Naturist Society, our national affiliation.  We are currently offering premiums for new members joining SFFB and The Naturist Society. 
For details, please go to:
www.sffb.com/sponsors .  .