March 2019

• President's Message — Help keep
Haulover Beach clothing-optional!
• Beach Ambassador training for
Haulover and Blind Creek Beaches
• Another interim victory for top-
free equality in Fort Collins, CO
federal lawsuit
• SFFB March Board meeting
• New York and New Jersey free
beach status
• Cypress Cove denounces social
media nudity purges
• The Naturist Society's 2019 event
tour is under way
• Naturist happenings in Tampa
Bay Area

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

The Landon
(formerly, daddy O hotel miami)
Bay Harbor Islands, FL
Textile, but close to Haulover Beach

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 Foundation
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 16-25, 2019 (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

South Florida Free Beaches (SFFB) was established in September 1980, while there was still an informal, historically clothing-optional beach on Virginia Key (located in Biscayne Bay between Coconut Grove and Key Biscayne). That nude beach was lost in 1982 when jurisdiction was transferred from (then) Dade County to the City of Miami.

Haulover's naturist beach didn't just happen by itself, nor was it created by the government. 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.

Support this important work and help keep Haulover Beach clothing-optional. Join or renew as an SFFB sponsor / member and/or donate!

Haulover Naturist Beach has been an enormous success over the past more than 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 in Haulover Park for granted, as too many beachgoers do, but it has gone through and still faces many challenges. Through all of these, 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 Beach.

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, as described above left, although a couple of other Florida naturist organizations have since also hired him, multiplying his impact for naturist interests.

Join or renew as an SFFB sponsor / member and/or donate!

Beach Ambassador training for Haulover and Blind Creek Beaches

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, welcome wagon, and concierge. 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 training, just for those that have never been through BA training, is scheduled for Haulover Beach on Sunday afternoon, March 24, 2019. Space is limited to a small number of trainees. If you have any questions or wish to sign up for it, contact Ken ASAP by e-mail or at (594) 599-8420.

Treasure Coast Naturists (TCN) is actively recruiting Beach Ambassadors for Blind Creek Beach in Fort Pierce, FL, and is holding Beach Ambassador training there on Saturday, March 30, 2019, 2-4 p.m. The next day, Sunday, March 31, 2019, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., TCN hosts Blind Creek Beach Spring Cleaning. For additional information or to volunteer, send e-mail or call (772) 800-5841.

Another interim victory for top-free equality in Fort Collins, CO federal lawsuit

We reported in the December 2018 issue that a decision was still pending on a legal challenge to the Fort Collins, CO municipal ordinance banning the public exposure of female breasts. On February 15, more than a year after hearing oral arguments from the plaintiffs and the City, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled that the ban likely violates the U.S. Constitution's provision of equal protection of the law.

This is not the end of the case, however, as the appellate court returned it to the U.S. District Court for further review. The appellate court did, however, rule against the City in upholding the lower court's preliminary injunction against enforcement of the ordinance, which remains suspended while the case continues.

For details, read 10th Circuit backs "Free the Nipple" advocates, says Fort Collins' topless ban "likely unconstitutional" and Ban on baring of female breasts is likely unconstitutional, 10th Circuit rules. We will continue to monitor this case and report on updates as they occur.

SFFB Board meeting on Haulover Beach, March 9

The Board of Directors of South Florida Free Beaches usually meets on the second Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m. (an earlier time than last year's meetings) 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!

Cypress Cove denounces social media nudity purges

[Press release, February 19, 2019] Following the recent nudity bans by social media outlets Tumblr and Chatspin, Cypress Cove Nudist Resort, one of the largest and most well-known nudist resorts in North America, is asking why social media platforms are including simple and artistic, non-sexual nudity in their bans of "adult content."

"Since the American nudist movement began nearly one hundred years ago, nudists have worked diligently to educate society about the difference between showing the human body in a natural way versus exploiting it as a sexual object," said Peter Sewall, General Manager of Cypress Cove Nudist Resort. "Members of Cypress Cove and our visitors understand this."

Cypress Cove Nudist Resort

What they do not under-stand, Sewall explains, is why social media outlets such as Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr, Chatspin, and many others include simple, artistic, or whole-some depictions of nudity as being pornographic. The nudist philosophy has historically stood against exploitative and sexualized depictions of the nude human body, and nudist resorts like Cypress Cove offer safe places where people can recreate, socialize, and relax in an environment that respects the human body and encourages right thinking. [... Read the complete press release.]

New York and New Jersey free beach status

Gunnison Beach at Sandy Hook, NJ is part of Gateway National Recreation Area, which spans two states to include beach and other natural areas within the City of New York. Lighthouse Beach is part of Fire Island National Seashore off Long Island, NY, although it is sometimes mistakenly assumed to be part of Robert Moses State Park, its neighbor, where Lighthouse Beach visitors park their vehicles.

Both beaches have long experienced nude use, but it ended at Lighthouse Beach in 2013 after Hurricane Sandy had ravaged the dunes, destroying the natural, visual barrier that prevented contention with non-nudists. While nude use continues at Gunnison, the naturist user groups that had mentored both beaches have effectively dissolved.

With the substantial restoration of the dunes at Lighthouse and a growing need to raise awareness of naturist etiquette at heavily-attended Gunnison, there is interest in laying the groundwork for revitalizing mentoring groups to help return nude use to the former and to introduce a Beach Ambassa­dor program to the latter. (See related article above.)

Furthermore, the recent appointment of a new super­intendent for Fire Island National Seashore raises preliminary hope for positive change there. At press time, Susan Rothberg, the member of the Board of Directors of the Naturist Action Committee (NAC) with oversight of New York and New Jersey, was preparing for a get-acquainted meeting with her on March 11.

Anyone interested in actively helping with Gunnison Beach is invited to join the Friends of Gunnison (FOG) Facebook group, which Susan formed last September.

The Naturist Society's 2019 event tour is under way

After starting with last month's Mid-Winter Naturist Festival, the next event on the 2019 Naturist Tour schedule of nude gatherings and festivals that The Naturist Society (TNS) organizes or sanctions, respectively, is the Young Adult Naturists Spring Fest: Full Bloom Music Medley, April 12-14, 2019, hosted by The Tribe at Sunsport Gardens Family Naturist Resort in Loxahatchee Groves, FL (near West Palm Beach). The theme of the tour is Naturists Relax Naturally.

TNS urges participants to sign up as soon as possible after registration opens for each event that they want to attend, which helps in planning and may save them some money. For example, register by April 1 for the best rates at the Eastern Naturist Gathering (August 19-25, 2019 at Camp Timber Trails in Tolland, MA), featuring various lodging options on more than 400 acres (162 hectares) with a lake, hiking trails, amphitheater, woodlands, and fields.

Registration forms are provided on line and in N Magazine (Nude & Natural), TNS' quarterly magazine of naturist living, starting with the winter issue. (TNS membership includes a subscription to the magazine.)

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. Check the 2019 tour schedule for details and updates.

Naturist happenings in Tampa Bay Area

A brief visit to Honeymoon Island State Park (2:27)

The northern peninsula of Honeymoon Island in Dunedin, FL is the traditionally clothing-optional section of beach where Tampa Area Naturists (TAN) seeks to reëstablish naturist use. Continuing to demonstrate its commitment, TAN joins Keep Pinellas [County] Beautiful for a clothed, beach cleanup on Honeymoon Island on Saturday, March 16, starting at 9:00 a.m. as part of the "Great American Cleanup." Following the cleanup, TAN conducts a group visit to the targeted, future location of a clothing-optional beach. TAN welcomes participation and new members.

Lake Como Family Naturist Resort hosts several major events in the near future, as shown in the accompanying graphics. Click or tap on each one for details and to sign up. The deadline is April 22 to buy tickets for the Naked Burn Festival, May 3-5, 2019, or when it sells out, whichever occurs first.

The original Burning Man Festival began as a bonfire ritual on the summer solstice in 1986. It has evolved into a multi-day event with a set of spiritual principles that focus on self-reliance and community. It is held each year in late summer in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. "Tribes" are formed that add value to the overall community. At Lake Como's Naked Burn Festival, as at Burning Man, the community explores various forms of artistic self-expression, which are created to be enjoyed by all participants.