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MyspaceIf anyone is wondering why they were handed a $2 bill this weekend at a local store, their best bet is that it originated from the pocket or fanny pack of a South County nudist who is part of a group known as the Friends of Bates Beach (FOBB).
FOBB is trying to restore the clothing-optional section of Bates Beach, also known as North Rincon Beach, just above the Ventura County line. Their $2 campaign will officially start in Carpinteria on Saturday, June 30, during the Independence Day Parade. FOBB urges others to hand out these bills if they support the cause.
By introducing the rare bills into the community, FOBB — which is a division of the Southern California Naturist Association (SBNA) and has around 50 members in the south county — hopes to show how strong naturist support is for local businesses while advocating for the return of a nude area to Bates Beach.
FOBB estimates that re-establishing a nude section of Bates Beach would increase local revenue by $800,000 dollars annually. “This is a long battle and we are not going away,” said Gary Mussel, the president of SBNA. As the spearhead for the nudists’ cause from Santa Barbara to Orange counties for many years, Mussell got the idea of a $2 bill campaign from the success of a similar group in Florida.
Mussell looked back fondly on the days in ‘80s and ‘90s when families and friends gathered in the nude on Bates Beach for weekend barbecues. Sex was rarely part of the fun. These days, he expresses frustration that people think of naturists as perverts while the vast majority of them are only at the beach to get their share of vitamin D. “Kids,” he said, “are safer at nude beaches than in shopping malls.”
Mussel said that in 2001, Sheriff’s deputies began handing out tickets for nudity on Bates Beach, after complaints about obscenity from some Rincon residents. But, he went on, according to a 2009 survey conducted by the Wisconsin-based Naturist Education Foundation, 78 percent of California residents believe there should be designated sections of beaches and other public areas for people to go in the nude.
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Comments
Going nude in public at a designated beach is much different than what unfortunately was happening down there which is a bunch of gay dudes trolling for sex. Sorry but 2 bucks ain't changing my mind about the tons of pervs I've seen in the Rincon County Beach lot looking for a quickie.
Scooter (anonymous profile)
June 30, 2012 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maggiee (anonymous profile)
June 30, 2012 at 11:45 a.m.
" ... pocket or fanny pack of a South County nudist ...".
LOL! Make sure to use sunscreen where the sun don't (or didn't) shine!
EastBeach (anonymous profile)
June 30, 2012 at 1:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bates beach had LOTS of problems back in the 90's which led to it's clothing-optional demise. More Mesa on the other hand didn't tolerate sexual activity, and of course has the advantage of its hard-to-get-to location.
Cops were busting More Mesa back in 2000 perhaps as a preemptive strike to discourage the Problem Children that had caused problems at Bates and Summerland from settling there. When they were busting Bates back c.1994 a lot of the guys causing trouble at Bates decided to come up to More Mesa but some diplomacy convinced them to clean up are get out, so they left.
An icon of the clothing-optional beach scene known to people as "Doberman George" told me it was the nudists themselves who were complaining to the cops about the problems at Bates back in the 90's and at one point, the cops told them to disappear for about three weeks while they cleaned up the beach of the sexual offenders. (Note: George died about five years ago)
There is of course, the never-ending problem of the "L.A. scene" wafting up the coast because the trend has been the southern beaches losing the clothing-optional status first and the closures gradually working their way northward, although Mesa Lane and Butterfly beach went down back in the 80's.
It's ironic that back in the 80's there were no strip clubs in S.B. but lots of clothing-optional beaches, but as I said earlier, the Problem Children from down south tend to work their way in here so before Bates ever gets it's clothing-optional status back, these folks had better recognize why it happened and deal with it.
billclausen (anonymous profile)
June 30, 2012 at 3:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
User profile: Maggiee
Joined: June 30, 2012
Comments posted: 1 (view all)
Yeah "Maggie", I'm sure, tell us all about the beaches in Kansas while your at it.
billclausen (anonymous profile)
June 30, 2012 at 3:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Indeed it was the actual nudists who complained. Scooter's point that it is still a scene of illicit activities demonstrates that with or without nudism being permitted, the issue persists. Banning nudism seems in the end to have only punished the targets of unwelcome advances and not those directly responsible.
Ken_Volok (anonymous profile)
June 30, 2012 at 3:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Where do i send the two dollars or more?. Nudists are not criminals. God did not create us with clothes on like animals. He got mad in the garden of eden because the were using fig leaves. He asked them why they did that and they said ,we were naked. God said. Who told you were naked?. Don't pick on true nudists. They have a code of rules they follow. Molesting is not allowed, nor is public sex.
NORMAN44CHURCH (anonymous profile)
June 30, 2012 at 5:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
IV Drip in IV has handed out $2 billis (and $1, 50cent coins) for years. I think that is the largest source of $2 bills, not nudists.
pardallchewinggumspot (anonymous profile)
June 30, 2012 at 7:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The park rangers are giving tickets at Gaviota
drtiki (anonymous profile)
July 1, 2012 at 6:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why can men legally show their nipples in public but women cannot?
John_Adams (anonymous profile)
July 1, 2012 at 10:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
dckaynor (anonymous profile)
July 1, 2012 at 12:08 p.m.
Question: Is there any truth to the rumor that they are currently ticketing nude sunbathers at More Mesa and/or Gaviota? A friend of mine called me today to ask me about this.
billclausen (anonymous profile)
July 1, 2012 at 3:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nude beaches don’t bother me but PLEASE, pass a weight limit law. I find morbidly obese nakie people very offensive.
JJ50 (anonymous profile)
July 2, 2012 at 9:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Scooter: See you at the Rincon lot at the usual time? Let me know.
And how does a fairytale about Eve end up in the commentary narrative? Some of us wish to know what Rumpelstiltskin had to say about this!
Draxor (anonymous profile)
July 2, 2012 at 12:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well I'll be down there with my kids and surfboards. You'll be down there with your dolphin shorts and lube, illustrating my point.
Scooter (anonymous profile)
July 2, 2012 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The Point is off limits.
But beware, Huntington will ticket you for changing in/out with a towel.
Ken_Volok (anonymous profile)
July 2, 2012 at 12:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Draxor: Scooter's first post coincides with all the solid evidence I've seen/heard about Rincon. I know it isn't politically correct, but it's true, although I'd add the the Problem Children come in all shapes, sizes, and sexual orientations.
billclausen (anonymous profile)
July 2, 2012 at 2:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nudists: Put some clothes on... no one wants to see your junk. except you of course.
bimboteskie (anonymous profile)
July 2, 2012 at 3:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nice article.
Lamdba (anonymous profile)
July 3, 2012 at 5:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)