Vol. MMVIIIEditor: Lloyd JohnsonIssue: May
The Beach in General:
There were two different heat waves in April, giving us two summer weekends ahead of schedule. Perhaps a thousand people have visited each of those two weekends, only hundreds on weekdays. Few people get in the water, since water temperatures have been 63 most of the month. The sand has been too hot for bare feet several days so far.
Future Events:
The time of year when Black’s Beach Bares sponsors events begins this month. We will host picnics Memorial Day weekend and Sunday picnics July through September. They will all be contingent on good weather. Ice cream will be made on exceptionally hot Sundays. You don't have to bring food, but the key to participation is to bring something to share. We provide the fire, but you cook it. Then you pass it around in bite-sized pieces and mingle.
May 3 / World Naked GardeningMay 25 / Sunday Picnic
May 26 / Memorial Day Picnic
May 28-31 / Catalina Sunsets
July 4 / Independence Day Picnic
July 6 / Sunday Picnic
World Naked Gardening Day:
This is a new idea from Seattle's Body Freedom Collaborative. The idea is simply to try gardening nude, indoor, outdoor, private or public, according to what your community will bear. You can plant, rake or pull weeds. If you will be at Black's that day, I suggest removing exotic (non-native) plants. One example I know of is the tumbleweeds. I know I would like to step on their thorns less often.
Catalina Sunsets:
Catalina is seen silhouetted by the setting sun late in May and mid-July. We don't always have a clear horizon, but if we can confirm the dates, we should be able to predict this every year.
Shark Attack:
There was a fatal shark attack at a nearby beach, Solana Beach. The man was swimming about ¼ mile from shore with several buddies. They were training for a triathlon. The shark attacked from below and bit both his legs in half. His buddies towed him to shore, but he lost too much blood.
Local news stated that 17 miles of beach were closed; meaning beach users were discouraged from getting in the water for three days. Although Black's Beach was included in that area, no lifeguard said anything when I got in the water. Sharks are always a risk, but there have been very few attacks, 3 in 50 years.
Planets:
After sunset people sometimes like to watch the sky, so I'm including some highlights.
Facing west Sirius will be the first star you see. Far to the right is the constellation of Gemini. They will look like three stars, but one is Mars. Castor is the star on the right, Pollux in the middle and Mars on the left. Mars will move noticeably from night to night.
Saturn will be about straight up when the sky gets dark, brighter than the nearest star, Regulus, in Leo. While Saturn also moves from night to night, Mars moves much faster and will be nearest Saturn July 10.
The Value of Etiquette:
Newcomers should come to understand that etiquette has made our survival possible, and continues to preserve our nude oasis. In answer to the common question, "Why can’t we go nude everywhere?" I offer the following explanation.
I can offer no rational reason for this beyond the political reality. The fact is that we are the minority, and the majority only allows us to exist within set boundaries. It’s all we can do to keep these small oases open. Nudity outside the boundaries provokes a backlash, sometimes a devastating backlash.
Twice in the last few years the beach has been clothed for the day. Both times the cause was that somebody went out of bounds and somebody else complained. It is everybody's business when somebody crosses the line. Please stop them, if you can.
We all know there are boundaries; otherwise we would be going nude everywhere. Please wear the clothing compulsive “norm” if you go north of Mussel Rocks, south onto the City Beach, or up any trail. Don’t try to expand our boundaries on your own. The more likely result would be further loss. That was the reason cited when we lost 1/3 of the beach in 1999. We can only keep this beach open if nudity stays within bounds.
Parking Lots:
The US Open is at Torrey Pines this year, June 9-15. Considering that the Buick Invitational always impacts our parking, we must expect parking and traffic problems those days too.
As summer use increases, the west lot will fill and people will be forced to use the east lot. Keep in mind that those no parking signs mean that you should leave a clear path so people can get through to the north lot. Overflow parking has been allowed on the other side of those signs, the east lot.
The parking lot is often locked promptly at 8pm. Newcomers should know how to get out if they find it locked before they leave. Left of that gate and a ways across the gravel lot is another exit. Look to the right.
Spring Tide:
Spring tide is a condition of very high and very low tides in the same 24 hours. The highest tides in the summer typically occur at about 9pm. We get a wide beach during the busy day, but there's a sharp rise late in the day.
Consider this before taking a long walk. You wouldn't want to return to find your stuff has been washed out to sea. When you're laying down watching the waves get closer and closer, consider that the next big wave might reach you.
Spring tides are closely bound to new and full moon, but comparably high a few days before and after. Also the time of highest tide gets about 40 minutes later each day.
moon / low / highMay / 5 / new / -1.5 / 7.2 9:34pm
May / 20 / full / -0.6 / 6.1 9:41pm
Jun / 3 / new / -1.8 / 7.5 9:18pm
Jun / 18 / full / -0.7 / 6.3 9:28pm
Membership and Subscriptions:
Both are rather casual. There is no official list of members and I rarely check subscription expirations. Subscriptions by US mail are $10/year, and I ask $2/year for email subscriptions.
Free copies from the bulletin board and website will continue because keeping people informed is the point. Please consider making a donation anyway. There are monthly expenses for operating the website. Donations can also be directed to Black's Beach Diggers for trail work. You decide if the newsletter, the website or the trail have made your visit better, and donate accordingly.