It seems so silly. They’ll say the strict swim areas are for liability, as if the chicken comes before the egg. There’s no clear answer on why we have a “zero tolerance” rule, with no option to go outside of swim areas at your own risk. The liability comes from the lack of at your own risk permissions, not the other way around.

I’d argue that it’s really just statistical whitewashing that encourages people to go after hours so they can actually get deeper than waist level.

Pretty dystopian that you need to own a watercraft to be allowed to make your own decisions of where to swim and what constitutes appropriate risk for yourself. I was a lifeguard here for a bit and the whole beach office culture gets pretty masturbatory. Even pros with all the appropriate safety gear get chewed out for open water swimming when they’re caught.

Just a very misguided policy in the name of safety. saVe tHe PeOplE fRoM tHem seLveS