Commentary: Newport should maintain current `blackball’ regulations

Re. “Newport surfers may get a break with ‘blackball’ reduction,” (April 9): Newport Beach’s Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission’s misguided recommendation to allow hardboard surfing to mix with boogie boarders, body surfers and swimmers in the ocean between 40th and 44th streets after 5 p.m. during the summer months ignores the very real safety issues.

Many of us are in the ocean until sunset. The bottom line is hard surfboards, swimmers and others in the water together do not mix well.

In 1987, a 27-year-old swimmer from Newport Beach was near 51st Street and died when a loose surfboard’s skeg severed his carotid artery, and he bled to death before he reached Hoag Hospital.

Obviously, this was a highly unusual injury, but there are skeg lacerations and many other surfboard injuries needing medical care that one could expect without the successful blackball system now in place.

Providing separate areas for swimmers, boogie boarders, body surfers and skim boarders to enjoy their sport away from the danger of the hard surfboards has worked well in Newport Beach for several decades.

We will be urging our City Council to continue with the current regulations in the surf zone between 40th and 44th streets, which presently provide one small area of the ocean that is safe from potential hardboard injuries for boogie boarders, body surfers, the Skinner family and many others!

NANCY and Dr. JACK Skinner live in Newport Beach.