I didn't think there was much confusion about this point in surf, in our area anyway but the USCG has come out with a clarification.
"2/15/2011
NO MORE BANS – SUP’s not “Vessels” in Surf Zone HUGE NEWS
By Distressed Mullet
DANA POINT, CA. U.S.A.
NO MORE BANS – SUP’s not “Vessels” in Surf Zone – The Human Powered Watercraft Association has received a letter of clarification from the United States Coast Guard stating “If a paddleboard is used within a designated swimming, surfing or bathing area, the Coast Guard does not consider it to be a vessel.”
HPWA Director Steven Alan Fry explains the importance of this distinction: “State and local agencies have long been using “vessel” status to segregate or ban the use of small watercraft such as wave skis, outriggers and canoes from popular swimming beaches and surf breaks. When the USCG applied vessel status to SUP’s it resulted in an unintended consequence where surfers carrying paddles were banned or restricted from many popular surfing locations.”
The HPWA took the initiative to inform the Coast Guard of the problem and was successful in gaining this critical clarification. Now, paddle surfing cannot be banned or regulated in any way different from other kinds of surfing, and equal access must be provided."
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