Preserve Our Beaches: American Lifeguard Association Urges Visitors to Maintain Natural Conditions
9 beach rules for not being the absolute worst
How to beach without being a jerk
Advice by Hannah Sampson, Washington Post
In the blockbuster film “Barbie,” Ken gets big laughs when he says his job is “just … beach.”
But face it: Not everyone is a beach pro. Some of you are actually very bad at beach.
“I think going to the beach is an art,” said Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, a Caribbean-focused travel expert. “A lot of people don’t know how to beach, but there is an art to it.”
Have you ever set your umbrella up directly in front of a fellow beachgoer? Blasted your “Beach Day” playlist at top volume on the crowded shore? Congrats, you flunk beach-art class.
As prime sun-and-sand season approaches, it’s time to bone up on the essentials of beach etiquette.
Personal space: Try respecting it
Julie Manquen, who lives in St. Pete Beach, Fla., remembers the day she was sitting near the water and a woman plopped down right in front of her.
Pick up your trash
Many beaches have trash cans. Use them! No receptacles? Pack up the garbage and haul it away.
“Please leave the beach the way you found it,” said Wyatt Werneth, national spokesman for the American Lifeguard Association.
He recalled that before he retired as chief of Brevard County Ocean Rescue in Florida, he once pursued a group traveling in a giant bus who had left fast-food trash on the beach.
“It looked like a dump,” he said. “I put my lights and siren on and went after them and pulled the bus over, made them come back and clean it up.”
Digging holes is dangerous
A favorite beach pastime can also cause injuries or even be deadly. A 7-year-old girl died in February after a hole collapsed at a South Florida beach and trapped her under the sand. A similar tragedy unfolded in 2022 in New Jersey.
“Sand collapses; it doesn’t hold up,” Werneth said. “If you must dig a hole, make sure you don’t dig it any deeper than the smallest person in your group. Cover it up when you leave.”
Holes can also threaten such beach wildlife as sea turtles, which hatch in nests in the sand and then make their way to the water.
Full Story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/beach-etiquette-rules/
