West Newport surfers may get a break with ‘blackball’ reduction

Newport Beach surfers could soon see fewer hours when boards are barred from the water along a four-street stretch of the Balboa Peninsula. But rules at the Wedge will remain the same.

Dozens of passionate surfers and bodyboarders addressed the city Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission on Tuesday night about proposed changes to the municipal code regarding “blackball” hours in West Newport and at the Wedge, a popular surf spot at the end of the Balboa Peninsula.

Bodysurfers, who ride the waves without a board, spoke in favor of the current blackball policy, saying it protects them from being hit by boards when they’re on the water.

Newport Shores resident Kevin Murphy, who got his start bodysurfing at the Wedge in the late 1960s, spoke against reducing blackball hours.

“Can we go out with the surfers?” he said. “Yeah, we can, but we’re going to lose every time. The surfers dominate the water.”

After about an hour of public comments, the commission voted 5 to 1, with Vice Chairman Roy Englebrecht dissenting, to reduce blackball hours between 40th and 44th streets to 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from the Saturday before Memorial Day through Labor Day. A 1985 ordinance had banned flotation devices in that area at all hours from May 1 to Oct. 31, causing much disappointment among board surfers.

A proposal for the same blackball reduction at the Wedge failed on a 3-3 vote. Currently, no flotation devices are allowed there from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 1 through Oct. 31.

“The Wedge is a unique place with unique problems,” Commissioner Tom Anderson said. “I’m as unmoved as I was last year to change anything.”

The Blackball Working Group, made up of two commissioners, fire and police officials and city staff members, began working on alterations to the surfing rules more than a year ago to try to improve safety and access for all surfers at West Newport and the Wedge. The group first presented proposed changes to the commission in February 2014, but they were swiftly denied.

The commission also voted Tuesday to give the Marine Operations watch commander the authority to declare a blackball at any time there is an unsafe condition.

The City Council must approve the changes before they are implemented.

Board surfer Patrick Towersey said the proposals are a step in the right direction. He suggested that the city create dedicated surfing and swimming areas to try to prevent arguments between bodysurfers and board surfers.

“I grew up surfing here,” he said. “You have every right to be a surfer. You should be able to surf all day.”