‘A lot of confusion.’ Sunbathers flock to Broward beaches on first open weekend

No chairs, no coolers, no umbrellas: That was the official mantra of lifeguards and police officers at Fort Lauderdale Beach on Saturday morning, the first sunny weekend since Broward County beaches reopened on Tuesday.

Although there are other rules in place for residents who wish to venture out to the beach after two months of lockdown , few — if any — seem to be getting enforced.

Some of the confusion may stem from new rules that go into effect on Monday. When Broward beaches originally reopened, residents were instructed to keep on the move and were not allowed to sit or sunbathe. But Monday, Broward will join Miami-Dade County in permitting those stationary activities and requiring masks when beachgoers cannot maintain six feet of social distance, except between members of the same household and during active recreation or exercise.

“Everything changes Monday morning, so there’s a lot of confusion as to what’s right now and what’s Monday morning,” spokesperson Stephen Gollan said. “There are stronger currents today, so our lifeguards’ number one priority is safety in the water.”

The use of umbrellas, canopies, chairs, loungers and coolers will also be permitted starting Monday, according to an emergency order from the county.

While the beach drew a decent number of people outside, it wasn’t crowded despite the sunshine, and families seemed to be social distancing along the sand. Most people on the beach were sunbathing on towels, without masks. But they aren’t concerned about the risk.

“I mean, I’m safe. I’m 26. I know that you need to take more precautions — wash your hands, don’t touch your face,” Tom Vankuilenburg from Miami said. “I went home last weekend to Boston and I was on the beaches at Cape Cod, and it was super normal. The beaches were open, you could use chairs, you could drink.”

Plantation resident Amanda Kopas, 17, was at the beach with a swim teammate, who declined to disclose her name. The pair went out for a swim and run on the beach since they’ve lost practice time to pool closures. Kopas said while there’s “always that concern” when it comes to catching the coronavirus in public, she still feels safe for a couple hours at the beach.

“I stay safe, I stay away from the people,” Kopas said.

Kopas said she and her friend were at the beach Wednesday and saw people sunbathing. She said she didn’t see anyone get asked to leave by police.

Tom, a volunteer with Fort Lauderdale Fire and Rescue who declined to provide his last name, said he hadn’t seen the police interfere with anybody on Saturday. While a few had been asked to put their beach chairs away, they were allowed to sunbathe and sit on the beach unbothered.

Volunteers and lifeguards are not enforcing the beach’s rules, leaving that job solely up to local police. While there were police cars with lights on near the beach, people walking toward the beach with chairs and other prohibited items did not appear to be stopped.

Tom added that while people were certainly social distancing, he would say one person out of every 50 wore a mask.

And sunbathing and sitting aren’t the only activities getting overlooked. Organized sports are prohibited on the beach and will continue to be prohibited on Monday, but that didn’t stop a group of men from playing basketball, all without masks.

Vankuilenburg, who was at the beach with a friend from Boston, said he was just happy to get out of the house.

“I was ready to get out of the house — stuck in there for so long that I think it was just time to get some sunlight and sand,” Vankuilenburg said.

Even though Miami-Dade opens its beaches on Monday, Vankuilenburg said he’ll probably stick to Broward as he prefers Fort Lauderdale Beach.

“It’s less trashy,” Vankuilenburg said. “I think I’d be more worried about everyone finding out that Miami is open and going to Miami, tourist-wise. Where here, I feel like, Fort Lauderdale is definitely a tourist spot but Miami is definitely like, everyone get on a plane and go to Miami.”

Larger crowds at Hollywood Beach

More people seemed willing to gather under Saturday afternoon’s sweltering sun at Hollywood Beach. Residents, almost all without masks, gathered on the beach and along the Broadwalk, which had shops and restaurants that required masks be worn to gain entry.

While crowds were certainly larger than those gathered at Fort Lauderdale Beach in the morning, beachgoers still seemed conscious of social distancing, and most stayed at least six feet away from the nearest group.

One family on “vacation” from Miami said they came out to Hollywood because they were “tired of being home.” One member of the family, Adriel Astacio, 23, said they may return to Miami beaches a week or two after they reopen or “as soon as tourism calms down,” echoing Vankuilenburg’s concerns about safety at the popular Miami-Dade beaches.

“Social distancing is being a little bit respected [here],” Astacio said. “Miami Beach is too congested.”

But Hollywood was still a little too crowded for one beachgoer, who declined to provide a name.

“When they’re coming next to us, yes [it worries me] — when it’s spread out it doesn’t bother me,” she said, referring to the groups under the shade of trees nearby her and her husband. “There was only one family before and now look how many because they need the shade.”

The beachgoer said people would probably be more spread out if they were allowed to bring umbrellas. The comment highlighted further confusion about the rules governing Hollywood Beach on Saturday.

Signs along entrances to be beach declared that picnicking, sunbathing, sitting and lying on the beach were all prohibited activities, as was the use of umbrellas, canopies, chairs, loungers and coolers.

But different signs and a flyer provided to the Miami Herald by Hollywood police officers made no mention of those prohibited activities, instead prohibiting the use of scooters and skateboards on the boardwalk as well as the use of tables and balloons on the beach. The alternative sign and flyer also allowed umbrellas, tents and canopies as long as they didn’t exceed 10 feet in width and were placed at least 10 feet from the nearest umbrella, tent or canopy. Coolers are also allowed as long as they don’t exceed 36 inches in length or hold more than 75 quarts.

The second sign seemed to be more relevant to enforcement, as sunbathers went undisturbed by officers and colorful tents and umbrellas dotted the shore.

Broward County’s emergency order governing the reopening of beaches states that municipalities “have the ability to enact more stringent requirements” than those provided.

As at Fort Lauderdale, the ban on group sports also seemed to go largely ignored. One group of four tossed a football back and forth to each other and were not asked to stop or leave after being passed by police officers twice.

Despite any confusion about the rules, Astacio and his family, which includes 2-year-old Elijah Maulini, were enjoying the break from home the beach provides.

“The beach has been nice. I mean, everyone seems to understand that you’re not supposed to get too close together,” Astacio said. “I mean, it’s a little bit of a shock, nobody’s really wearing masks, but that was to be expected.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2020 at 12:37 PM.