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May 2016 President's Message
by Richard Mason
What SFFB does for you, and why you should join
or renew your sponsorship / membership
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Membership renewal notices have recently gone out by regular mail to current SFFB sponsors / members. I'd like to take this opportunity to extend the appeal for existing sponsors / members of South Florida Free Beaches to renew their membership, if they haven't already done so, and for non-members to consider joining SFFB.
South Florida Free Beaches was established in the early 1980s when access to an informal, historically clothing-optional beach on Virginia Key (located in Biscayne Bay between Coconut Grove and Key Biscayne) was lost in a transfer of jurisdiction from (then) Dade County to the City of Miami.
Through diligent research, planning, organization, and execution, SFFB launched the clothing-optional section of Haulover Beach, which is part of a Miami-Dade County park, in 1991. Its existence is based on the facts that there is no anti-nudity ordinance at the County level and the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that mere nudity in the absence of lewd and lascivious behavior is not a violation of Florida Statute 800.03, the state's indecent exposure law. (Note, however, that certain other counties and various cities in Florida have their own municipal ordinances regulating or banning nudity.)
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South Florida - A Naturist Perspective
SFFB President Richard Mason's monthly column in NUSA Sun
April 2016: Moving Day at Haulover Beach
Richard introduces the American Nudist Research Library and recounts the efforts of volunteers, working with staff, to relocate the newly refurbished chickees (thatch-roofed shade structures) on Haulover Beach in late March. Read...
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Haulover Naturist Beach has been an enormous success over the past quarter-century, providing a clean, safe, pleasant, and easily accessible place for naturists to sunbathe, swim, and socialize nude in the open air. Countless friendships and even marriages and other long-term partnerships have resulted from its peaceful and welcoming ambience. It has also had an enormous, positive economic impact on Miami-Dade County as a significant draw for tourism.
It's tempting to take the nude beach for granted, as too many beachgoers do, but it has gone through and still faces many challenges, including past resistance from neighbors, frequent introductions of hostile legislation at the state level (including in this year's session), behind-the-scenes intrigue by developers coveting the open beachfront, and more transparent pressure from business interests seeking to increase the commercialization of the park, with impacts on access.
Through all these challenges, SFFB has been and continues to be the mentor, advocate, and watchdog for the naturist beach, vigilantly monitoring for threats and opportunities, lobbying, cajoling, and protesting, making carefully considered campaign contributions to naturist-friendly candidates for office, and rallying the public to resist encroachments on its right to nude recreation on Haulover and other beaches.
It's SFFB that meets constantly with Haulover Park staff, Miami-Dade County and adjacent city officials, and state legislators and administrators in Tallahassee, Florida's capital. It's SFFB that for many years solely carried the cost of a lobbyist there, although another Florida naturist organization has since also hired him, multiplying his impact for naturist interests. Read what our lobbyist accomplished for you in this year's session.
SFFB does have some essential allies. Foremost is B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute, SFFB's 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and charitable adjunct, which provides naturist education (including the much-emulated Beach Ambassador Program; see related article below) and raises funds to help provide beach improvements and programming such as handicapped access (e.g., beach wheelchairs), beachside showers where you can rinse off nude, and chickees (thatch-roofed shade structures).
SFFB and B.E.A.C.H.E.S. also work closely with The Naturist Society and its adjuncts, the Naturist Action Committee (NAC, which performs advocacy work similar to SFFB's at the national level, but also provides valuable assistance with local challenges) and the Naturist Education Foundation (NEF), along with a growing collaboration with AANR Florida (Florida region of the American Association for Nude Recreation), with which SFFB shares its Florida lobbyist. Please see below left about joining The Naturist Society through SFFB.
In its dual role as the Florida Naturist Association, SFFB/FNA is also concerned and involved with nurturing and supporting clothing-optional beaches throughout Florida. SFFB and B.E.A.C.H.E.S. are actively involved in assisting kindred groups in defending or gaining clothing-optional beaches around the state. (See Blind Creek Beach for the latest success, in which they had an important role from the outset.) B.E.A.C.H.E.S. is also a main driver of an ongoing project to build unity among naturist organizations, businesses, and other entities throughout the U.S. and Canada. If you live or travel outside South Florida, I encourage you to get involved with the nearest clothing-optional beach advocacy group.
Thank you for your continued support and, if you are not a current member, please consider becoming one - numbers matter. Join at sffb.com, fill out an application on printed page 7 of the Naturist Beach Guide booklet found in the news dispenser boxes on Haulover Beach, or see below left for a special membership offer.
Even if you're not ready to (re)join just yet, please consider donating to SFFB/FNA's Legal Defense & Political Action Fund (not tax-deductible) to help with current challenges. Thanks!
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Beach Ambassador training
Do you spend a lot of time on Miami's nude beach? If so, you have a chance to give back by volunteering as a Beach Ambassador (BA) to help maintain naturist standards on Haulover Beach and keep it safely nude for all to enjoy. Sign up for and attend a training to become part of a wonderful corps of volunteers.
BAs serve as beach monitors and greeters, a combination of block watch and welcome wagon. For their service, BAs at Haulover Beach get a cool hat, ID badge, and free parking on their duty days. Seasonal residents are welcome to participate.
The next Beach Ambassador training is scheduled for Haulover Beach in Miami on Saturday, May 14. The dates of subsequent training sessions in 2016 are Sunday, August 21 and Saturday, November 12. If you have any questions or wish to sign up for a training session, contact Ken.
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Naturist action update: Victory in Oregon
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Oregon's Tillamook State Forest as seen from Wilson River Trail
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There is good news regarding a grassroots action alert from the Naturist Action Committee (NAC) that we forwarded to the SFFB newsletter e-mail list three months ago, concerning proposed new rules, including a ban on nudity, for state recreation areas managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). In response to overwhelming public reaction in opposition, rallied by the NAC alert, ODF agreed in late March to strike that ban completely, adopting new rules without any mention of nudity.
NAC issued an official update on March 31, relaying the satisfactory outcome. It's noteworthy that ODF received 175 public comments against its proposed ban on nudity, and none in favor. Public pressure, intelligently applied, works. You can hear that in the audio recording of ODF's discussion and decision. To all that helped with the Oregon situation or with the ongoing Mazo Beach crisis in Wisconsin, thank you - you rock!
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News from County Commissioner Sally Heyman
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| Commissioner Sally Heyman
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Sally Heyman is Miami-Dade County Commissioner for District 4, which includes Haulover Park. The April 2016 e-newsletter from her office contains some info of interest to Haulover Beach patrons.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Ocean Rescue lifeguards are now certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for animals. Their training in pet CPR came out of a tragedy in 2015 when a dog drowning at Haulover Beach succumbed to cardiac arrest despite rescuers' attempts to apply concepts of human CPR. With its "Dogs on the Dunes" area operating every day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. between lifeguard stations 2 and 3, across from its dog park, Haulover Park offers a safe welcome for dogs to frolic on the beach and in the surf.
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| Miami-Dade Ocean Rescue lifeguards receive training in pet CPR.
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The Surfrider Foundation is a global, environmental, non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of our world's oceans, waves, and beaches. Accomplished through a powerful, grassroots, activist network, the Miami Chapter, which was established in 1990, focuses on reducing the negative impacts of single-use plastics and seeks solutions to minimize the litter of our coastal zones. Surfrider Foundation Miami is engaged in the following programs: beach cleanups; Rise Above Plastics; Blue Water Task Force; ocean-friendly businesses, dune restoration, and education. Find out more and join at SurfriderMiami.org.
 If you would like to receive Commissioner Heyman's monthly e-newsletter, you may subscribe for free.
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Nude Sea & Sun Seekers hit the road again
Nude Sea & Sun Seekers, a nudist social club formed in December in Pasco County, just north of Tampa, held a successful bus excursion to Blind Creek Beach in Fort Pierce, FL on Saturday, April 9. Forty-three participants made the day trip with the club.
Their next beach trip, to Playalinda at Canaveral National Seashore, takes place on Saturday, May 21, departing Paradise Lakes Resort at 7 a.m. and arriving back at the resort at 10 p.m. There is a stop for dinner at 5 p.m. at Dixie Crossroads Restaurant in Titusville, FL before the return trip. Round-trip fare per person is $40. Contact Claudia to reserve or to request information about the club.
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| Nude Sea & Sun Seekers group on Blind Creek Beach, April 9, 2016 |
Club members usually gather at 7:30 p.m. every first Wednesday of the month in the meeting room of Neighborhood Associations of Paradise Lakes in Lutz, FL, when membership and grounds fees for the resort are waived for couples and women. May 2016 is an exception, when the monthly meeting occurs on the second Wednesday, May 11 at the regular time.
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25th Anniversary of Haulover Naturist Beach
SFFB and B.E.A.C.H.E.S. have started to plan for the 25th Anniversary of Haulover Naturist Beach, to be celebrated there July 9-10 as part of the annual Nude Recreation Week. Naturist clubs and resorts and businesses catering to the naturist market will be invited to participate and display their banners and literature on both days.
Committees are working on lining up decorations, entertainment, light refreshments, and signage for Saturday. Keep an eye out at sffb.com and beachesfoundation.org for more info as the dates approach.
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Haulover Beach update: horseshoe toss
In last month's issue, we reported that the Miami-Dade County Department of Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces (MDPR) was reminding patrons that Haulover Park rules prohibited horseshoe toss on the beach or anywhere else in the park for safety reasons. We passed along that  MDPR was willing to consider designating a location for this activity in an interior section of the park, but not on the beach.
There was a spirited response from horseshoe toss players, who pointed out that this activity had gone unchallenged on the beach and questioned what appeared to them as a sudden change in rules. The rules actually had not changed, but the enforcement was going to. Since then, MDPR has agreed to authorize horseshoe toss on the beach, south of the volleyball area, provided there are no flags, stakes, or other boundary markers that could pose a risk of tripping.
Tournaments will start toward the winter, and we hope to have more information about them then. For now, it's just for fun. Of course, the horseshoes are made of rubber. We hope players will safely pitch many ringers!
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SFFB Board meeting
The Board of Directors of South Florida Free Beaches meets on Saturday, May 7, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. on Haulover Beach in the meeting / training room inside the Ocean Rescue Lifeguard Station building. Enter through the door on the right as you face the building with your back to the ocean, or through the garage on the north side if it's open.
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Recycling on Haulover Beach
Haulover Park management has placed recycling receptacles on Haulover Beach. They are identified by blue covers with holes cut out for depositing cans and plastic bottles. (Glass is not allowed on the beach for safety reasons.) Please dispose of your beverage containers in these special receptacles and continue to discard other waste in the regular trash cans.
"The affinity between the naked body and respect for nature makes every day Earth Day for nudists."
- American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR)
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Hoe a row in the buff on World Naked Gardening Day, Saturday, May 7
World Naked Gardening Day (WNGD) is celebrated on the first Saturday in May. This year's 12th annual observance is on May 7, when people are encouraged to tend their portion of the world's garden unclothed, as nature intended. 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) 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.
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| Mark Storey, WNGD co-founder
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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.
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Naturists upbeat about nudity this summer on Wasaga Beach in Ontario, Canada
We reported in the April 2016 issue that the Town Council of Wasaga Beach, ON, Canada had reversed its initial endorsement of a clothing-optional section at the northern tip of Beach 1 in the adjacent provincial park of the same name. About two weeks thereafter, an article appeared on April 1 on the website of Bayshore Broadcasting, indicating that the naturists' plans for nude use this summer could be in jeopardy. The article includes a link to an audio clip of an interview with the Superintendent of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, saying that nudity is not a permitted use.
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Wasagabares, the local naturist group pressing for designation of a clothing-optional beach, remains upbeat on the basis of the lack of any dress code in Ontario park regulations and a written statement presented to the Council by its Chief Administrative Officer (town manager). In it, he stated that the Superintendent had told him the park authorities would accept temporary, stand-up signs to be placed by Wasagabares while naturists are using the beach, although they do not agree to permanent signage. The co-founder of Wasagabares feels confident that this solution will hold, and the group has already unveiled the design of its sign, shown above. For questions or to get involved, contact Wasagabares.
Meanwhile, Wasagabares has produced a bold and humorous anthem, Wasaga Man, set to the tune of Elton John's hit song, Rocket Man. It extols the glories of being nude at Wasaga Beach. You may listen to a recording by a singer who captures Elton John's style uncannily. Pump up the volume!
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Why did Huntington Beach, CA ban naturists from a public pool they had used for years?
We reported in the February 2016 issue on the abrupt cancellation of organized nude swims in the municipal indoor pool of Huntington Beach, CA. These monthly swims, sponsored by Naturists in the OC (NitOC), had taken place for more than eight years without trouble. In justifying the action, the city attorney made general reference to "incidents" and "complaints" from city employees but, as of six months since the ban was put in place, he has yet to enumerate or document those.
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On April 21, OC Weekly, an alternative newspaper for Orange County, CA, located between Los Angeles and San Diego, published an in-depth article about the situation. In addition to providing history and background on naturism in Orange County and the nude swims, the article devotes considerable discussion to the innuendo some Huntington Beach officials appear to be making about the family-inclusive nature of the nude swims. An aspect in which NitOC takes pride is thus turned into an object of suspicion and disapproval.
"They said it was against the law, but it's not," the organizer told the reporter. "The city attorney told me as much when I met with him. Then they told us it was because they were unable to get volunteers, but that just wasn't true. So then they said it was 'incidents' and 'complaints,' but they've yet to present us with so much as one of those. They won't tell us what this is really all about. We have an idea, but we really need to hear from them. We really would like to talk about it and work with them on this."
The city attorney responded that the group is welcome to return at any time, but only if they're clothed. Read the article.
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