The crowds are back, the authorities are at work and the water is packed. While I love the change of season and warm weather I can't help but think of how much more I enjoy Fire Island when it's not summer. Don't get me wrong I love surfing in a spring suit or swim trunks and hanging out on the beach with friends and family...its just that crowds really annoy me. Many people pollute the beach and show no respect for the environment. I can't understand how people can set up on the beach with everything they need and leave their garbage at the end of the day. Then you see people drive on the beach and they are tailgating you because you aren't going fast enough for them...what is this the Long Island Expressway? You see morons getting stuck in the sand.
The authorities are also much more active now. You can go months in the offseason without seeing one park officer but for the next few months they will be out. I remember many a battle at Democrats' Point with state officials who would come down the beach and use their megaphones to get surfers out of the water (pic above). The reason? Every time it happened the reason was different. Access to the beach becomes restricted because of rules made in Albany; making the little avaliable beaches that much more crowded. Piping plovers own the beach. Parking fees are collected and seem to rise each year while services dissappear or are cutback.
Perhaps my biggest complaint about Memorial Day's arrival is the crowds in the water. Kooks fill many lineups with a total disregard for the school of lefts and rights. Yes surfing Long Island in the summer can be fun but finding that solitary stoke that we so often find other times of the year becomes much more of a challenge. Body surfers and swimmers wade in the water and always seem to get in our way. If you're going to see a fight in the water between surfers on Long Island this is the time it will happen. I once saw two kids attempting to drown each other over who had priority...the waves were like 2 foot and messy but they had it out! Us year round Long Island surfers get spoiled surfing with only a few buddies most of the year; yeah the water's cold but that keeps the crowds in check (see below). So thanks for reading my rant. i feel better already! Have a great summer.
Comments
chris lerch said on Sunday, May 31, 2009:
Glenn: Great website. It says a lot of things i’ve thought about for years but never put down on paper myself. I had to make a move out to western LI so I could have a more sane commute. Missing the days I could take my whaler,sunfish, or even the ferry to Barrett or sunken forest. Yesterday’s session proof that summer’s here. At tobay-50- mid-life crisis, receding hairline longboader’s clamoring for 1 weak peak. Overanxious Groms’ paddling around like circling sharks to cut u off for 2’ slop then not even make the wave. The classic kook paddlers who insist on lying on only the last two feet of a 7’ funshape flailing their arms around like an injured seagull. The only saving grace is that 95% of people are too lazy to walk down the beach away from the break in front of the parking lot so there are a few less ridden gems to be had and a little solitude. Can’t wait for labor day.