navarre beach nude review

by escaswv
(tulsa, oklahoma)

From what i understand, clothing-optional use east of the fence stretches back maybe 50 years or more.

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The US Corps of Engineers dredged out the Middle Pass in July of 1965, by mid-August it was almost full of sand again, then Hurricane Betsy closed the Middle Pass (the low-lying area just west of the fence for the base) completely on September 9th that same year.

Locals have always told me that the Florida hurricane marked the beginning of widespread nude use. 

I remember the "no nude swimming' signs. a lady on the beach told me is was just the southern culture's way of sayin' "this way to the nude beach." 

Forty-five years or more sounds a lot like "common law", or "accepted usage" to me. 

My first visit was about 30 years ago. we had visited the free beach just west of Phillip's Inlet (now developed and no longer in free use) and were told about Navarre. we visited the next day. 

When we speak of "free" beaches, we don't mean there's no fee to park (such as Hippie Hollow outside Austin, Texas) or to enter (like Rooster Rock outside Portland, Oregon). We mean that people are free to wear their swimsuits, or not, as they see fit. 

We don't go 'round nekkid in order to "be seen" or to "see." it's our choice as to how we want to enjoy the sun and sand and water. 

we gather together to avoid harassment. that's all. it's for self-protection, only. besides, you never know when you'll need to ask someone to put sunscreen on that little postage-stamp sized spot in the middle of your back. and it's nice to make friends so y'all can watch each other's belongings as you swim or walk up and down the beach. 

we don't gather at the pier or in front of your condo. we find places that are remote, and maybe require a long hike past unoccupied beach to get to, so you'll have plenty of spots to settle down and enjoy the beach without havin' to be offended by our liberty. we aren't asking for all beaches to be clothing-optional; we just want our fair share of what we, as Americans, own. y'all have hundreds of miles where clothing is enforced by law, by fines, by jail time. whatta country, hunh? we just want a spot where we can be to ourselves and not offend you. 

bein' nekkid isn't about sex. it's about the absolute feeling of freedom and being one with nature. 

i guess the high point in usage at Navarre, east of the fence, was about 10 to 25 years ago. a weekday would bring hundreds of people. any weekend even more. one holiday weekend we estimated there were 1200 people beyond the fence, every day, for three days. 

Navarre Beach was really growin' back then. lots of new construction. property values goin' up every year. the free beach brought a lot of new people, new activity, and new investment into a tiny little barrier island village. 

then a local sheriff decided to crack down. i know there's been some new construction, but parts of Navarre Beach have really gone downhill since then. seems the new occupants don't have the sense of pride that the naturists did. and, by the way. wasn't he just charged with corruption?  federal charges, i heard. ya' gotta admire some folks' moral compass, don'tcha? 

other than the fact that we didn't wear clothes, y'all really would've liked us. we kept people mostly out of the dunes. several ladies watched over the turtle nests, and when the eggs hatched they would call everyone over to form two lines from the nest to the beach and keep the birds from eatin' half the brood before they could even get into the water. 

we knew the people that think they "own" Navarre Beach didn't like us. one big holiday weekend, a lady reported seein' a dead body in the surf. i've never seen so many cops on any beach in my life. for about fifteen minutes, we all had our suits on. as word passed about what was goin' on, that changed back to 'normal' (for us). the police and EMTs and MPs were there until dark (must have cost 'em many thousands of dollars, not to mention not being able to respond fully to any real emergencies that day), but none of us were arrested. and there was NO dead body. that's the kind of folk that hassle us. no tellin' what she cost the guv'ment that day.  and i'll bet that when she complains about how taxpayer's money is wasted, she gets real loud, too.

there were volleyball and nurfball and frisbee and hackey-sack games. families (yes, families) gathered together and kept watch over each other's kids. 

in fact, once you got past the fence, there were little 'neighborhoods' or communities of beach folk. 

everybody interacted and were friendly and open. it's hard to have too much attitude when you ain't got no clothes on. police protection was welcome, whether from the county beach patrol or local law enforcement or the MP's. and the constant helicopter traffic added to the feeling of safety and security (even though they would 'moon' us from time-to-time, we knew it was all in good fun - some of them would be right on the beach the next day they were off duty -- you 'conservatives' 'admire' their service and sacrifice, but not enough to let 'em skinnydip?). 

not that the crowds never mixed. storm warnings would be passed quickly up and down the beach. "Skin So Soft" would be shared when the flies came in from the sound. and that stretch of beach can get the same cross-tides that any gulf beach gets, so it wasn't unusual to go into the water near your towel and end up walkin' back a half-a-mile or more to get back to it. people would walk, alone or in couples or in groups, up and down the beach from dawn 'til dusk. sunsets were observed almost reverentially. 

and early sunday mornings there was always an prayer service. quite well attended, really, considering ..... your stereotypes of us. some folk dressed for it, some didn't. nobody cared, either way. 

a free beach is no place to wear that designer dress or that new italian suit or a fancy swiss watch. a cap or hat or a bandana is about it. your fancy phone or camera is gonna get sand in it and be ruined beyond repair. the class distinctions that rule our daily lives just seem to melt away. you don't know if the guy bobbin' up and down in the surf five yards from you is a banker or a streetsweeper. and (shocker alert), it doesn't matter. not at all. in America. imagine that. 

most people on a free beach are just as moral and upstanding and friendly as you are, maybe more so considering some of the comments above. they just ain't got no clothes on. that's all. 

look around the world at what free beaches have done for communities and economies elsewhere. Portland, Oregon, has Rooster Rock, probably the home of the official sign that says "Warning. Beyond this point you may encounter nude swimmers and sunbathers." 

In your own state, Haulover Beach brings thousands of people to North Miami Beach, and Playalinda Beach brings thousands of people to Titusville. Oh. remember the wildfires west of Titusville? It was the free-beach folk who were the first to take juice and coffee and pastries out to the firefighters. Ain't lyin'. Local "outrage" got real quiet after that. 

but, think about it. there's miles and miles of 'family' beaches along the gulf. what do you think the tourist influx would be if the 50-year-old free beach were re-established east of the fence? and promoted? and patrolled? those of you who couldn't abide bein' 'round us could sell out at a tidy capital gain. more condos would be built, dilapidated real estate would be rehabilitated and spruced up with the increased rental income, people would buy up and improve the places the storms and simple neglect have done so much damage to. more restaurants to feed us (after dark). more jobs. more cash-flow for businesses. your lazy nephew or brother-in-law could even make a basket of sandwiches or burgers and sell 'em up and down the beach like they do in Europe (at lucrative prices, too). 

make the investment, Navarre Beach. do it, and do it right. work out an agreement with Eglin that protects the dunes and wildlife and provides security for families and keeps the trash picked up.

make yourself the go-to destination for families and couples and singles who just want to relax in the sun and sand and water the way they came into this world. if bein' fair to your fellow Americans and recognizing their undivided common interest in public land isn't enough incentive, then do it for the dollars. build a bigger parking lot, and sell, sell, sell. let 'em park on the main coast and pay to ride a trolley or ferry over to the beach. they will. i promise. you'll be flooded with tourists with fat wallets (well, when they arrive, anyway) and no casino to watch 'em waste their money in. you won't have to depend on Canadians to haggle with over rent in the winter, or listen to 'em brag about how long their pot of potato soup lasted. 

thanks for putting' up with my rant.  you have my permission to repost it, all or in part, or to quote it when you spread the good word.  if you repost it, include a link to us here at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/navarrefreebeachfriends/ 

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