Is it safe to surf in Bradenton Beach?
The traditional surfing area along the city’s Gulf coast has been at the three erosion-control piers at Cortez Beach. Waves crashing the shoreline break create a surfer’s paradise.
The piers offered surfers an easy paddle past the break.
Now the surfing area is littered with concrete, construction equipment and submerged pieces of metal.
A groin replacement project has been underway since March 2015.
Manatee County Marine Rescue Division Chief Joe Westerman said it only takes common sense to know what’s safe in Bradenton Beach.
“You’re in an active construction zone,” Westerman said. “You can see all the equipment sitting there, including fences and concrete, and there’s a lot of submerged pieces even we don’t know about.”
Westerman’s comments came May 10, after Bradenton Beach police officers detained three surfers May 6.
The surfers were part of a larger group, Westerman said, passing in and out of the construction area and moving south with the tide toward Coquina Beach.
Coquina Beach is a swim-only beach. The construction area for the replacement groins at Cortez Beach runs alongside the northern edge of Coquina.
“We rarely get surf here, unless there’s a big storm rolling through,” Westerman said. “The area around the groins has been a world-acclaimed surf spot, the groins keep the break and it’s always been open.”
On land, the construction areas are cordoned off with fences leading into the water but it only goes so far to keep swimmers and walkers at a safe distance. Signs dot the area warning people to stay away as well, but there are no signs warning surfers.
Instead, small white buoys dot the safe area around the piers. In high surf, the buoys can disappear in the chop of the surf.
Taylor Lowry, an employee at Kayak Jack’s Paddle on the beach, said they warn paddleboarder renters to stay away from the groins. “I tell them once they get to the groin to turn around,” Lowry said.
Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources director Charlie Hunsicker said the county isn’t making plans to increase signage in the construction area.
“The work there will be finished July 2,” Hunsicker said. “I don’t think it’s feasible to put more signs out there that will have to be taken down by the July 4 weekend.”
Hunsicker also said putting signs in the water would be difficult to maintain and the buoys surrounding the area are international caution signs.
“I hope what happened over the May 6 weekend will be enough to demonstrate the severity of going into the area,” Hunsicker said.
Westerman said it’s hard to educate swimmers or surfers. “A lot of people come out and don’t pay attention to the signs. They get out there and just see the beach. But if anybody wants to know anything, the lifeguards are there and everyone can come talk to them.
“Our job is safety.”
Manatee County Marine Rescue maintains watch on Coquina Beach, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Sunday. Cortez Beach does not have lifeguards.