Florida (West Coast), USA: Nudists cause a stir at Caspersen Beach

[Danee]

Nudists cause a stir at Caspersen Beach
Naturists seek a designated area at Caspersen Beach; others want a police crackdown

SARASOTA COUNTY - While her family casts for grouper off the Venice Fishing Pier, Elsa Dempsey enjoys quiet, solitary walks on Caspersen Beach, a two-mile stretch of jutting rocks and natural coastline that she says has gotten a bit too natural.

"I see this guy standing in the water facing me and he's completely nude," said Dempsey, who said the encounter a few weeks ago first rattled, then angered her. "I was so surprised by his boldness."

The beach is advertised on a "thongboard" for people who like to wear thongs and g-strings to the beach and on the Internet as a place to go for nude swimming. It has also recently become the subject of several complaints -- and responses -- on the Herald-Tribune's editorial pages.

While nudity and sexual encounters have occurred for years near Caspersen, public outcry periodically reaches a crescendo, triggering a law enforcement crackdown. But the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office and Venice police cannot even agree on who is supposed to be monitoring the beach.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Wendy Rose says the agency has an agreement with Venice to monitor the area, while the Venice police refer calls to the Sheriff's Office.

Dempsey has decided to take matters into her own hands. She created a flyer that she hands to people she encounters in the buff, telling them nudity is not allowed on the beach. She wants police to enforce the rules and arrest people if necessary.

But for the Suncoast Naturists, a group of 80 local people who meet for nude social gatherings, the best way to combat nudity on the beach is to sanction it. The naturists say Dade County's creation of a nude section of Haulover Beach is a good model for Sarasota County to follow.

"We need some official designation so there is some order and decorum," said Ron, a 67-year-old Venice resident, who did not want to give his last name because his wife is ill and he fears neighbors would harass the couple. "We could have a successful orderly spot for people who enjoy nude sunbathing."

Dempsey said that, besides handing out her flyer, she urges friends to take regular walks at Caspersen "to take back the beach."

"Inadvertently we're handing this gorgeous space" to nudists by avoiding the area, she added.

On Saturday morning, 10 naturists clutching black trash bags met in the Caspersen south parking lot, bundled in jackets and sweaters to combat the wind and temperatures in the 40s. Volunteers came from as far as St. Petersburg to help with a beach clean-up, something they do every three months as part of the Naturist Society's sponsorship of Caspersen Beach.

"All we do here is clean up the beach," said Ron. "We do nothing on a formal basis here because it is not a nude beach. We are careful to follow the law; if not, we damage our movement."

Wearing wire-rimmed glasses, a red baseball cap and a blue sweatshirt from a nudist resort in California, Ron looked more like a hiking group guide than the local leader of a group that has pitch-in dinners and swim parties in the nude.

"It has nothing to do with sex," Ron said. "We are easygoing, peace-loving people."

The Suncoast Naturists approached the County Commission several years ago about having a portion of Caspersen beach designated "clothing optional" but did not get anywhere. They also tried to form a resort in Arcadia, but public outcry there shot those plans down.

By taking care of the beach, Ron said, the group hopes to build goodwill and get the commission to reconsider.

He said a clothing-optional section of remote beach here would attract visitors and generate local restaurant and hotel business.

Florida has several clothing-optional beaches, including some on private property, but only one nude beach has received government approval: Miami's Haulover Beach. Roughly 800 yards of the 1.3-mile long beach allows nudity. Views are buffered from the rest of the beach and it includes a separate paid parking lot which generates revenue to maintain the area.

At Venice's nearby dog beach, on a day so cold that only the Labradors were in the water, visitors did not think a designated nude beach would fly.

"It's not good for the area," said Vic Moore, a Venice resident who was at the dog beach with his wife and St. Bernard puppy.

"We'll have problems," said Alice Moore, his wife. "Even a mile down is not far enough."

Dempsey rejects the idea too.

"This is a place for families and we should be able to walk down there" with children "and not have to see this," she said.

There is a discussion on this article on this forum, if anyone cares to kick in.

http://forum.heraldtribune.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4215

[Cabding]

The lady handing out the fliers makes herself sound like a nut. We want nude beaches, but seemingly the beach is never far enough for some people to be comfortable with it. Why should we be ashamed of parts we all have? Everybody drives a car but DON'T look at the manifold! And if you do, close the garage door, there are children around.