Surfers Told To Go Home And Shelf Their Boards
The Tweet hit like an unexpected swell slapping cold water in the face.
It was from LA Beaches & Harbors and stated the current situation resulting from the COVID-19 situation: “NO SURFING allowed in LA County, for now!”
While officials and politicians wrestle with what to do from preventing a widespread infection of the coronavirus, they are – rightly or wrongly – doing things that tear at the very fabric of the lifestyle in the area.
First they closed the beaches. Then they took down the nets in LA’s South Bay, ripping down the soul of those beach cities with it. The sport of beach volleyball was created in Manhattan Beach for cryin’ out loud.
Now they have banning surfing.
This is a punch in the gut to Southern Californians. After all, surfing here is like skiing is to the Swiss, watching football is to a Southerner, drinking tea is to the Brits, drinking beer is to Canadians. It’s more than a part of the life here, it is a part of the region’s identity.
Whenever someone from Southern California travels to pretty much anywhere in the world, they are almost immediately asked, “oh, do you surf?”
Even those who haven’t even stuck so much as a toe in Pacific answer “yes, of course” because they are too embarrassed to admit they don’t surf. It’s like an Italian saying he doesn’t drive fast.
Plus, they know the person asking the question would be disappointed in any other answer.
Surfers can still get in the water south of LA County. Oceanside in north San Diego County is still open, as well as an international surfing destination known as Swami’s in south Encinitas. But other San Diego beaches and surf spots are closed, too.
And just to clarify what “beaches closed” means, LA Beaches & Harbors also sent out this Tweet:
What does it mean when beaches are closed?
❌ NO swimming 🏊♂️
❌ NO surfing 🏄♂️
❌ NO running 🏃♀️
❌ NO picnics 🍉
❌ NO bicycling 🚴♂️
❌ NO volleyball 🏐Please stay #SaferAtHome and help #FlattenTheCurve!
— LA Beaches & Harbors (@lacdbh) March 27, 2020
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