OCEAN CITY, Md. - Local surfers are asking Ocean City officials and Beach Patrol to consider more flexibility in where surfers can ride waves during guarded hours, while Beach Patrol says current rules are meant to keep surfers and swimmers safely separated.
During the summer season, Ocean City sets aside rotating surf beaches between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Beach Patrol Capt. Butch Arbin said the town currently has two rotating surf beaches on weekends and three on weekdays, including a permanent weekday surf beach at the Inlet.
Arbin said the system has evolved over several decades as Ocean City’s beach use has changed.
“We work very closely with both of the main surfing organizations in town,” Arbin said. “We partner with them.”
Arbin said Beach Patrol has made some accommodations, including extending the south surf beach by an extra block when conditions and surfing demand call for it. However, he said good waves alone cannot determine whether more beaches are opened to surfers.
“We can’t make a decision based on the waves just because there’s good surf that day,” Arbin said. “We can’t let that happen.”
Arbin said the primary issue is safety. He said surfboards can be dangerous when they get away from riders, especially in areas where people are swimming or wading.
“A surfboard is a dangerous thing, and it’s being pushed by a wave,” Arbin said.
He said Beach Patrol keeps surfing and swimming separated, including buffer zones around surf beaches. Arbin said the town also employs surf beach facilitators whose job is to manage the rotating surf beaches each day.
Surfers Roger Bonvino and Adam Winter said they are not asking to surf anywhere all day. Instead, they said they want a conversation about small adjustments during the summer, especially when ocean conditions and beach crowds allow for more flexibility.
“Summertime is definitely when we need to kind of make some minor adjustments to make it fun for everybody and the whole community,” Bonvino said.
Winter said many local surfers are in the water year-round and believe they can help improve safety in certain conditions. He said surfers often watch for rip currents, swimmers and children while they are in the ocean.
“We want to be considered an asset to them when certain conditions call for it,” Winter said.
Bonvino said the goal is not to create conflict with Beach Patrol, but to improve communication and bring both sides to the table. He said surfers are still waiting for a future meeting with town leaders to discuss possible ideas.
Arbin said Beach Patrol will continue following the town’s surfing ordinance while making safety decisions based on conditions each day.
Winter summed up the surfers’ message this way: “We’re not here to make waves. We’re here to ride them.”
