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November 2017 President's Message
by Richard Mason
Haulover Beach after Hurricane Irma; last chance to enter nude cruise raffle; showing appreciation to SFFB volunteers
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Last chance in 2017 to win a nude Caribbean cruise or other great, naturist vacation prizes for two!
B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute and South Florida Free Beaches / Florida Naturist Association are in the final month of our 2017 Keep Our Beaches Bare fundraising raffle. Make a donation* and enter the drawing for a chance to win a deluxe, Ocean Suite stateroom for two on Bare Necessities' The Big Nude Boat Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Victory, sailing round trip from Miami, FL, February 2-12, 2018, to the Dutch ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao), the Dominican Republic, and a private island in The Bahamas, with four days at sea, or one of eight three-day, two-night naturist vacation packages for two in Florida (except as otherwise noted), including stays at:
• Hidden Beach Resort - Au Naturel Club by Karisma, Kantenah, Riviera Maya in Mexico's Yucatán peninsula (four days / three nights, all-inclusive, near Playa del Carmen and an hour from Cancún)
• Grand Lido™ Negril Au Naturel All-Suite Resort, Negril, Jamaica (four days / three nights, all-inclusive)
• Cypress Cove Nudist Resort & Spa, Kissimmee (near Orlando, two prizes)
• daddy O hotel miami, Bay Harbor Islands (textile, but near Haulover Beach)
• Lake Como Family Nudist Resort, Lutz ("loots," near Tampa, two prizes)
• Sunsport Gardens Family Naturist Resort, Loxahatchee Groves (near West Palm Beach)
Get all the details and order your raffle tickets at: beachesfoundation.org/fundraiser
Raffle ticket ordering closes on November 24, 2017. The drawing takes place on November 26, 2017 on Haulover Beach. Winners do not need to be present to claim their prize; they will be notified.
We are grateful to our prize donors, without whom this fundraiser would not be possible. Please patronize them!
* Donations of $10, $25, $40, or multiples thereof, will be used for naturist education, free beach advocacy, capital improvements to Haulover Beach or other clothing-optional beach sites, disability beach access program, and other purposes as listed in the scope of B.E.A.C.H.E.S.' mission and SFFB's mandate.
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How you can help get the word out
1) Visit the Facebook listing for the raffle and do the following:
• Click on Share.
• Important: Make sure that Include Original Post is checked to retain B.E.A.C.H.E.S.' introductory message!
• Share on your timeline and in every naturist group or page that you follow. (If you're not comfortable sharing on your timeline, share with specific naturist friends.)
2) Visit the tweet for this event and retweet it to your Twitter followers.
3) Download and print a flyer to give to friends, or pick some up on weekends at SFFB's information booth near lifeguard tower 15 on Haulover Beach.
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IMPORTANT: Please read the information in the column at right about our 2017 Keep Our Beaches Bare fundraising raffle with great prizes! You may order raffle tickets on line through Friday, November 24. The drawing is on Sunday, November 26.
Haulover Beach report
The effect of Hurricane Irma on Haulover's naturist beach was a mixed blessing. While it blew the steel waste baskets into the dunes and beyond, there was very little damage to the lifeguard towers or the three chickee (thatch-roofed) huts and the one chickee umbrella.
As mentioned in last month's issue, we did gain a lot of new sand, much of which was blown onto the beach and into the dunes. It is estimated that we have 1½ to 2 feet (.46 to .6 meter) of new sand on top of what was on the beach before Irma. The beach is a little narrower, however, than it was before the storm.
This layer of soft sand now covers the hard-packed road that runs along the front of the dunes. As a result, it is difficult to walk on and too soft for vehicles to drive on the beach. This has created a problem for Ocean Rescue (lifeguards) and beach maintenance, as well as for South Florida Free Beaches (SFFB) when we drive on the beach to set up our information table. Ocean Rescue has resorted temporarily to using ATVs to ferry the lifeguards to and from the towers. We are waiting to find out how the beach maintenance folks are going to solve the issue.
This beach road is extremely important because it is used to get Ocean Rescue's EMTs and their equipment quickly to the scene of beach emergencies, which occur several times per year. These range from heatstroke to alcohol poisoning to heart attacks to dehydration to Portuguese man o' war jellyfish poisonings, to asthma attacks, and more. In fact, the beach in Haulover Park is probably the safest outdoor space in Florida in which to deal with a medical incident.
| The certified lifeguards have to pass ... training and tests[, and] [t]hey have the latest equipment, including heart defibrillators, on the beach. |
Ocean Rescue is part of the Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Department. The certified lifeguards have to pass the Department's training and tests. They have the latest equipment, including heart defibrillators, on the beach. There is a fire station in Haulover Park with an ambulance stationed there. The open space across from the beach can be used by emergency helicopters to transport a person to Jackson Health Systems' Ryder Trauma Center.
We have the two relatively new restroom buildings, though off the beach. They would have been built on the beach except for environmental issues. Being where they are, they can be used as a shelter during lightning storms. (One person to a stall, please!) These restrooms are shared by other park visitors.
| When there is an electrical rainstorm, do not head for the chickees. They attract lightning and are the most dangerous place to be on the beach. |
Most important: When there is an electrical rainstorm, do not head for the chickees. They attract lightning and are the most dangerous place to be on the beach. Head for the pedestrian tunnels. You can wait there, if you wish, for the storm to pass. It is important to listen to and obey beach safety personnel. They are risking their lives when they are on the open beach asking you to leave.
Not bad for a naturist (nude) beach — chair and umbrella rentals, a food cart, and showers on the beach. Beach visitors need to be aware that all the amenities on the beach were the result of efforts by the volunteer members of South Florida Free Beaches and B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute, SFFB's 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational and charitable adjunct.
| [T]he beach showers were built by B.E.A.C.H.E.S.[, which] ... had to raise the entire amount of money... South Florida Free Beaches contributed a portion of the funds. |
Most importantly, the beach showers were built by B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Because the beach and dunes are environmentally sensitive and protected, it took three years of persistent effort, dealing with several layers of government agencies — county, state and federal — to get the permits. Before granting those, they required professionally-drawn architectural designs with the location of water lines and drainage considerations.
B.E.A.C.H.E.S. had to raise the entire amount of money to build the showers. South Florida Free Beaches contributed a portion of the funds. We had plans to add two shower towers to the existing shower facility and build a second shower location farther south on the beach. Because donations were few and we don't beg, those additional improvements were shelved. Maybe we should have put a fee on the existing shower with the funds going to the expansion of the showers.
Etiquette for beach visitors
It is a shame that, after all the work the volunteers from South Florida Free Beaches have put into developing the naturist beach, keeping it open to nude use, and raising money from our members and supporters to pay lobbyists and lawyers, whose work is essential to defending it, so many beach regulars can't find the moment to say, "Thank you" when they are on the beach.
| [A] smile and a thank-you can ... help keep [Beach Ambassadors and other volunteers] motivated. |
Signing up for this newsletter (if you're not already subscribed), becoming a sponsor / member, and making a donation at the SFFB information booth will go a long way to preserving nude recreation on Haulover Beach and elsewhere in Florida into the future. When a Beach Ambassador or other volunteer is there handing out informational literature or working at the booth, you may learn something by accepting a flyer, and a smile and a thank-you can't be that difficult to help keep them motivated. Curiosity may lead to appreciation and active support for the clothing-optional beach.
If you are not a current member of South Florida Free Beaches, please consider becoming one — numbers matter. At $35 per year for your household, it costs just 67¢ per week. A key benefit is the continued, clothing-optional use of Haulover Beach. How much is that worth to you? Join or renew at sffb.com.
SFFB also has a separate Legal Defense & Political Action Fund that supports its government affairs efforts and assists individuals cited for nude sunbathing. Even if you're not ready to (re)join just yet, please consider donating to this fund (not tax-deductible) to help with current challenges. Donations by bank check should be mailed to the address below (in e-mail version of newsletter). Thanks!
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Young Naturists America to shut down by year's end
by Felicity Jones and Jordan Blum, Co-founders, Young Naturists America (YNA)
It is with heavy hearts that we announce our decision to close Young Naturists America by the end of this year.
We originally started this organization about seven years ago with a few goals in mind — to bring about social change, to bring naturist values back into the modern nudist movement and to introduce more young adults to naturism.
And we did succeed in this through our grassroots outreach, hundreds of published articles, online social groups, gatherings and events, media coverage, radio / TV appearances and more.
Our events brought together hundreds of people from all over the USA (and a few from overseas as well) who were looking for an acceptance-based community of people like them. Every single event we ever did brought people that had never tried social nudism before, many of whom had a life-altering transformational experience. These events and gatherings also resulted in many new friendships being formed and even a few marriages! We ourselves met so many beautiful people over the course of running this organization.
We brought up important social issues and addressed many of the problems within the nudist movement today. We pushed clubs and resorts to become more inclusive in many different ways. We got many to discount their rates for young adults, to stop discriminating against transgender people and got many to drop their archaic exclusionary policies against nipple / genital jewelry, to name a few.
We collaborated with other mainstream companies and artists on newsworthy projects that would promote body acceptance and show that the naked human form is not shameful or immoral.
We created a second website — Ask A Nudist — just for people to get answers to every question they could possibly have about naturism.
Though others have tried to characterize us as a profiteering corporation (funny, right?), YNA has always been a labor of love and never covered all its expenses. We sunk in tremendous amounts of time, energy and our own finances to sustain this organization, driven not by money but by a strong desire to make a positive impact on the world.
Despite a surprising lack of support from the established nudist groups and naturist organizations as well as pathetic attacks from other "young naturist" organizations, we persevered for seven years.
Sadly, we can no longer continue investing so much of ourselves in YNA, so the time has come for us to close up. The YNA site and content will be moved to a new website, where Felicity plans to continue publishing more articles and blogs. We learned a lot in running YNA and hope to continue sharing our knowledge and experience to help others. (Please note that if you participated in our Gunnison Beach photography project, this will be published on the new website.)
We don't know what the future holds for the nudist movement, but hope that we made positive impact and helped change it for the better.
THANK YOU to everyone that supported us, became a YNA member, donated, volunteered or contributed to our work in any way. Thank you to the nudist clubs / resorts that graciously hosted our events over the years, advertised on our site or joined our affiliate network to support us.
We love you all.
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Big Hickory Island Preserve nude citation thrown out
Within Big Hickory Island Preserve in Bonita Springs, FL is a small, unimproved beach, known as "Little Hickory," that can be reached only by boat, where there is occasional nude use by a few locals. On September 23, a Lee County park ranger issued to a beach patron there a $160 citation for "failure to obey sign." The ranger had come up from behind the patron, who was seated, and asked if he was wearing anything, and the patron answered honestly that he was nude. It wasn't so stated in the citation, but it was assumed that the sign referenced was one declaring that nudity is prohibited, although there is no ordinance behind that.
The patron reported his experience to Hickory Beach Nude User Group (HBNUG), an informal group of beach regulars, one of whom sent a certified letter on his behalf to the Lee County Parks Director, laying out Florida case law and previous discussions with county authorities and reminding her that mere nudity, in the absence of lewd and lascivious conduct, is not a violation of Florida's indecent exposure statute (800.03). The letter writer asked the Director to void the patron's citation.
Nearly a month went by without a response. Once the patron had filed a request for a court date to contest the citation, however, the Director called the letter writer on October 19 to apologize, informing him that she had briefed park rangers on the law and that the patron's citation would be rescinded and he would be notified by certified letter. HBNUG expects no further harassment at the beach.
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Tampa Area Naturists launches fundraiser
Tampa Area Naturists (TAN) continues to solicit signatures on its online petition for a clothing-optional beach in the Tampa Bay Area. TAN has recently added a donation option to the petition. (Sign the petition and then scroll down to the Contribute to fundraiser button.)
Funds will be used for a direct mail campaign, continued representation by government affairs specialists, sponsorship of European tour operators to meet with government officials and tourism industry leaders, and support materials and activities. For additional information, "like" TAN's Facebook page at facebook.com/TampaArea
Naturists.
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Sunsport Gardens announces major events schedule
Sunsport Gardens Family Naturist Resort in Loxahatchee Groves, FL (near West Palm Beach) has recently announced its schedule of major events for December 2017 through December 2018. See the Upcoming Events section (above) for event titles, dates, and links to preliminary information.
The three most immediate events are the free, monthly Friday night nude drum circle, November 3, 2017, the Winter Wonderland Music Medley weekend for young adult naturists in conjunction with The Tribe, December 8-10, 2017, and the Mid-Winter Naturist Festival, February 15-20, 2018. We plan to include an article about the Festival in the next issue, once details are posted on line.
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Could there be nude bowling in Jensen Beach, FL?
Treasure Coast Naturists (TCN)'s annual coastal cleanup took place on October 21 on Blind Creek Beach in Fort Pierce, FL. Approximately a dozen bags of trash and some larger debris were hauled off the beach, although some refuse remains. TCN asks beachgoers to try to pick up and remove whatever they can when they visit.
The TCN naturist pool party that was planned for November 11 at a private home in Jupiter, FL had to be cancelled because of a sudden work schedule conflict for one of the co-hosts. TCN hopes to reschedule it soon. Meanwhile, TCN is trying to put together a nude bowling night in Jensen Beach, FL for either November 19 or early December, but a minimum of 40 participants must commit in order to reserve the bowling alley. If you would attend, please contact TCN immediately at blindcreekbeach@yahoo.com.
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SFFB Board meeting on Haulover Beach, Nov. 18
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, such as this month's, 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!
| November 18, 2017*
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December 9, 2017 |
January 13, 2018
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| February 10, 2018
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March 10, 2018 |
April 14, 2018
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| May 12, 2018
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June 9, 2018 |
July 14, 2018
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| August 11, 2018
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September 8, 2018 |
October 13, 2018
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| November 10, 2018
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December 8, 2018 |
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Mixed outcome in federal lawsuit against Springfield, MO anti-top-free ordinance
We reported in the January 2016 issue on an initial ruling in a federal lawsuit against a more stringent indecent exposure ordinance passed in September 2015 by the City Council of Springfield, MO, reducing the area of a female breast that may be uncovered in public and banning any portion of buttocks from public exposure. The suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of two members of the local chapter of Free the Nipple.
A U.S. District Court judge on December 29, 2015 declined the City's motion to dismiss the lawsuit and enjoined the enforcement of the new ordinance, pending the outcome of the case. The City then repealed the new ordinance, reverting to the original, less restrictive law banning public exposure of the female aureola.
Fast-forward to October 4, 2017, when a final decision on the lawsuit was rendered. (The wheels of justice do indeed turn slowly.) In a disappointment to the plaintiffs and their attorneys, the judge rejected their claim that Springfield's current, less restrictive ordinance is unconstitutional on the basis of unequal treatment of males and females. Judge Phillips stated, "The City has a legitimate interest in promoting decency and protecting morals by prohibiting public nudity."
On the other hand, the court permanently enjoined the City from reënacting the stricter version of the ordinance. Also, in September, the court had ordered the City to pay each plaintiff $750 and the City had agreed to pay attorneys' fees and court costs totaling nearly $15,000. These costs could increase if the ACLU appeals the ruling. We will continue to monitor this story and bring you updates.
For details of this latest development, read Judge rules in favor of Springfield's ban on exposed female nipples and Judge rules Springfield can prohibit women's exposed nipples.
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