THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 21, 1996 TAG: 9602210412
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Area surfers have gained a much-hoped-for exemption to Currituck County's ``no swimming'' ordinance in rough seas and will be allowed in the waves when others are not.
``I'm definitely, overall, happy with the results and the process it went through,'' Brant Wise, chairman of the national Surfrider Foundation, said Tuesday.
Wise, 30, of Kill Devil Hills, and other members of the local surfing community had pushed to have experienced surfers excluded from a new county ordinance that calls for fines or jail for anyone entering ocean waters when a red flag is raised.
The measure was prompted last summer by the drownings of two tourists who ignored warnings and went swimming in strong riptides.
The surfers' exemption was approved in a 4-to-1 vote by the Currituck County Board of Commissioners at its Monday night meeting in Currituck.
Eldon Miller Jr. cast the lone vote against the provision, which applies only to those using a five-foot or longer, fiberglass-and-foam board with a fin and a leash attached to an ankle.
``I, in good conscience, cannot let you go out in the waters that are dangerous to everybody else,'' Miller told Wise, local Surfrider Foundation President Missy McMillan and several other surfers at the meeting.
Wise said Tuesday he understood Miller's concern. ``However, I feel that surfers as a whole are experienced watermen. They know how to deal with the varying water conditions,'' he said.
The new provision was a collaborative effort between the Surfrider Foundation and the Corolla Fire and Ocean Rescue Squad.
Currituck County's original ordinance, approved late last year, was modeled after one in Nags Head. That local regulation does not exempt surfers.
``In Nags Head, they just don't enforce it for surfers. They just turn their head the other way,'' Corolla Fire Chief Marshall Cherry said at the Monday night meeting.
``We'd rather have something that is clear-cut for our lifeguards and also for our sheriff's department,'' Cherry added.
Wise said surfers have gone up against other Outer Banks communities over use of the ocean. The towns of Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills at one time also tried to prevent people from surfing, he said.
``This was one of the reasons that the Surfrider Foundation formed a chapter on the Outer Banks, to be organized and to show we are involved in the community,'' Wise said.
The Outer Banks chapter was formed in 1990 and has about 150 members in Dare and Currituck counties.
The national chapter, which Wise chairs, has 30,000 members. The organization focuses on research, education and conservation.
``Our focal point is beach access and promoting the public's right to use the beach,'' Wise said.
``Whether you're a surfer, fisherman or beach-goer, we're trying to provide more access to the ocean and trying to keep it open and free to the public.''
Currituck commissioners also unanimously agreed to continue permit-less bonfires north of Corolla.
About 550 permits have been issued since a permit system was enacted last year for the Corolla beaches. Commercial fishermen engaged in their job are exempt.
The main reason for the permits was to stop people from using outdoor furniture, lifeguard stands and even sand fences for bonfire kindling.
``It hasn't totally eliminated it, but it has greatly reduced it,'' Cherry said.
A problem generally does not exist in communities north of the off-road beach ramp, officials said.
The problem with all-terrain vehicles and four-wheel-drive trucks that violate beach driving rules also was again discussed at length. by CNB