Beach Bag mess

[Boat 405]

You leave stuff on the beach like these bags. They will be considered abandoned, deflated and stacked up. Won't give it a second thought. 40 years at Powell and it has always had its ups and downs. When the economy is good, the lake is flooded with people. When the economy is in the dumps the lake is empty. Saw it in the early 90s it was empty, the ramped back in until 2009-2012 very empty. It's been on the uptick since then peaking in 2020 for obvious reasons. In the 1980's, it was 16 months in advance to get a house boat reservation. Stateline launch ramp was always full and the party scene in Oak canyon was nuts, makes anything you see today child's play.

 

[Boat 405]

Blow up beachbags social media posts. This stuff is ridiculous

 

[Barryb]

I found a nice spot on Sunday this week and it had 6 begs. Reading about them that you can use them if they are in attended I decided to park my houseboat and connected to the bags. A few hours later the crew from beach bags showed up and told me they had a client coming for this spot. I told them I liked the spot and that I would not move. They told me I had to rent the bags for $1300 for the week. Since I liked my spot I decided to use the bags on the rocky side of my anchorage. They tied my houseboat with their ropes and tack to their bags . Next morning I get a call and was told that their client was coming and if I could leave and that I was not able to rent their bags. I told them no problem and that they could pu the bags in the afternoon after I had my anchors installed. While I was swimming with my daughter 30-45 min later a crew of 5 guys came and untied my houseboat from the bags and took the bags leaving my houseboat loose , just when the wind was picking up. I had to hurry back and install the anchors to save the boat from crashing on the rocks.

Now it is night and we are happy the bags are gone and our anchors are doing the job, and we have the nice spot they were trying to save for a much bigger 3 story boat ( ours is 75 ft)

I spoke to other houseboater in the area and they adviced me I should not pay for them since they just left them unattended

 

[Dangling Dooley]

While I was swimming with my daughter 30-45 min later a crew of 5 guys came and untied my houseboat from the bags and took the bags leaving my houseboat loose , just when the wind was picking up. I had to hurry back and install the anchors to save the boat from crashing on the rocks.

This sounds like a mess, I'm bummed about how they are executing this system.

 

[Ed_on_WD]

...Now it is night and we are happy the bags are gone and our anchors are doing the job, and we have the nice spot they were trying to save for a much bigger 3 story boat ( ours is 75 ft)

I spoke to other houseboater in the area and they adviced me I should not pay for them since they just left them unattended

I knew something like this would eventually happen. It sounds like you didn't back down and they were forced to relocate their beach bags. Bravo! Good for you!

I don't agree with the idea that they can claim prime spots and change the Rules of the Lake to fit their business plan. Apparently, the Park Service does not try to back them up. I am glad that they had to relocate their gear, and I hope their paying customer was mad that they did not deliver on the promised prime location. If they have to relocate their gear every time the previous customer leaves the beach, the extra labor involved will hopefully make the business unprofitable.

The beach bag outfit should be glad that their gear was in reusable shape when they hauled it away. I can envision situations where someone might destroy the gear and say "Hey, it was like that when we pulled in here!" I think more people should do as you did. Let's hope your experience serves as an example for other to handle things in a similar fashion.

As to being charged for one night's worth of beach bag rental, if you didn't sign a contract, I don't see that they can make the charge stick. It is your word against theirs. And as to leaving your boat adrift, that sort of thing is probably going to result in a lawsuit eventually.

 

[SBennett]

I knew something like this would eventually happen. It sounds like you didn't back down and they were forced to relocate their beach bags. Bravo! Good for you!

I don't agree with the idea that they can claim prime spots and change the Rules of the Lake to fit their business plan. Apparently, the Park Service does not try to back them up. I am glad that they had to relocate their gear, and I hope their paying customer was mad that they did not deliver on the promised prime location. If they have to relocate their gear every time the previous customer leaves the beach, the extra labor involved will hopefully make the business unprofitable.

The beach bag outfit should be glad that their gear was in reusable shape when they hauled it away. I can envision situations where someone might destroy the gear and say "Hey, it was like that when we pulled in here!" I think more people should do as you did. Let's hope your experience serves as an example for other to handle things in a similar fashion.

As to being charged for one night's worth of beach bag rental, if you didn't sign a contract, I don't see that they can make the charge stick. It is your word against theirs. And as to leaving your boat adrift, that sort of thing is probably going to result in a lawsuit eventually.

Beach bags left unattended=trash that should be sliced up and put in a dumpster.

 

[Ryan]

Beach bags left unattended=trash that should be sliced up and put in a dumpster.

That type of action would likely be considered vandalism at the least, and possibly felony property damage.

 

[PBH]

it's ironic to me that on this site, everyone (except Ryan ^^) seems to support the "unattended = trash" idea. However, if you turn the tables switch this to a hunting conversation, where pop-up tent blinds and trail cameras are constantly left "unattended" in our forests, if you mention them being trash and destroying them / hauling them out, you get blasted.

FWIW -- I'm in the club that believes in the old "pack it in --> pack it out".

 

[LP1]

Those bags strike me as very functional carp & catfish drying platforms!

 

[BartsPlace]

everyone (except Ryan ^^) seems to support the "unattended = trash" idea

I'm absolutely positive that nobody knows what everyone, or even almost everyone, on this site thinks or supports. As the recipient of most of the complaints and criticisms, it's surprising the wide spectrum of views held by our members. I will weigh in and say that I'm disappointed with the management of the beach bags and NPS' possible complicity. Either the sites/beaches are open to everyone - or propose a plan and be prepared for public comment.

 

[JFRCalifornia]

I'm absolutely positive that nobody knows what everyone, or even almost everyone, on this site thinks or supports. As the recipient of most of the complaints and criticisms, it's surprising the wide spectrum of views held by our members. I will weigh in and say that I'm disappointed with the management of the beach bags and NPS' possible complicity. Either the sites/beaches are open to everyone - or propose a plan and be prepared for public comment.

Yes, well stated. Totally agree.

 

[TR.]

I'm absolutely positive that nobody knows what everyone, or even almost everyone, on this site thinks or supports. As the recipient of most of the complaints and criticisms, it's surprising the wide spectrum of views held by our members. I will weigh in and say that I'm disappointed with the management of the beach bags and NPS' possible complicity. Either the sites/beaches are open to everyone - or propose a plan and be prepared for public comment.

Well said, as always. I did reach out to the superintendent twice via email and and have not heard back. Very disappointing in that it was a very nice email asking for policy clarification and I also added that I understood if he was too busy to answer me directly and to feel free to put me in touch with someone who could answer. I may try his supervisor before filing a FOIA. The NPS has a responsibility to provide a park policy when asked and failure to do so/have one only causes frustration and potential hazardous situations for all.

TR

 

[Dorado]

it's ironic to me that on this site, everyone (except Ryan ^^) seems to support the "unattended = trash" idea. However, if you turn the tables switch this to a hunting conversation, where pop-up tent blinds and trail cameras are constantly left "unattended" in our forests, if you mention them being trash and destroying them / hauling them out, you get blasted.

FWIW -- I'm in the club that believes in the old "pack it in --> pack it out".

I think ultimately that leaving your stuff unattended "as a placeholder" on public land is not going to be supported by the law/regulatory bodies, and is a questionable practice. Regardless if it beach bags or your camping gear, In the end it comes down to how confrontational you are willing to be in defending your space...which is not the way any of us want to spend our leisure time. The Beach bags sound like a fine idea as an alternative method of anchoring, but leaving them out there is a really bad idea for many reasons...

 

[SBennett]

That type of action would likely be considered vandalism at the least, and possibly felony property damage.

If the Trash Trackers pick them up does that change your mind?

 

[Peto]

I would use the beach but not the bags. Just anchor as usual. If someone asked me to move - not happening .

 

[PBH]

I would use the beach but not the bags. Just anchor as usual. If someone asked me to move - not happening .

This is the same thought/ theory with hunting. If the blind (or area being watched by a camera) is unoccupied, then use it. But this only encourages further "bad" behavior by those attempting to reserve "their" spot.

Leaving gear and equipment on public land is just bad practice -- but it is something that many, many people do. Look at the camp trailers that are parked for weeks at a time (14 days) without moving. Or, see how many trailers are towed to a spot a week prior to an event (holiday, hunt, etc.) simply to save a spot. Same with blinds. Cameras are a whole other beast -- with new legislation in Utah which restricts their use. Beach bags sound like another way for certain groups to reserve prime camping spots -- sounds to me like this practice, by a few, will affect the many in the long run. I would recommend to take action like many have already said: if the space is unoccupied, occupy it. Then sent complaints to the Park Service until they come up with new rules governing their use. I would never condone intentionally damaging someone else's equipment -- however, there is a point where equipment left on public land becomes "abandoned", which would warrant a finder to take it with them, if they so desired. Otherwise it should be removed by the governing entity (Forest Service, Park Service, etc.).


Out of curiosity, do these beach bags have ownership names and numbers attached to them? Do they have a "date of occupancy" listed? They should fall similarly to camp trailers on Forest land -- 14 day limit, after which they must be moved to a new location. Further, just like a fee for a boat on the lake, they should have to pay a daily fee for each day they are left inside the GCNRA.

 

[JFRCalifornia]

I think my comfort zone on this is that if there is clear evidence that someone actually from the party in question has already occupied the space with something they put there—evidence they were actually there—such as a chair, tent, coolers, cabana, then it is occupied. Move on. But if you’re paying a third party to stake out a spot for you in advance with a beach bag, that is not right. That is a beach reservation system. You should be rewarded for your own efforts, not just be able to pay your way to the front of the line…

 

[gianni]

Beach bags begone. Not a solution

 

[Jeff Thalmayer]

I was in Padre Bay on Friday and there were 6 beach bags on a beach with no houseboat for over 24 hours. I believe it is wrong to leave bags unattended on a beach and would have no problem using them if we didn't have a better spot.

 

[Cookie]

If a private party puts the Beach Bags on a spot to save for themselves, then I am partially ok with it, nothing different than leaving an EZup..............BUT when a business is taking advantage and charging a consumer to save that spot and use their beach bags, to me this is very wrong.