The Monterey Herald is taking a survey about closing Monastery -- Vote!

[D_B]

Can't find it.

too late?
....

Poll ended 7/10 (204 total votes):


Should Monastery Beach be fenced off?

• Yes -- 30 votes, or 15%
• No -- 174 votes, or 85%

 

[mikemill]

......

 

[Jim Ernst]

Looks like it was a daily poll.

Ya Mike, it was, But I am afraid that sooner or latter they are going to close Monastary No Matter what we all think....

 

[Bogie]

I think they need signs that say "Stay away from the shore line, it can be deadly."

I know their are some signs there already but they need more specific signs aimed at the main uninformed public.

Every time I dive at Monastery I always see parents watching their children playing on the shore. I always ask them if they are familiar with this beach. Most have no idea. I tell them that the under tow, the immediate depth of the water, and rogue waves make it extremely dangerous and they need to get their children away from the shore, which they always do.

A row of signs stating that this is not a beach to play or walk along the shore at and that doing so may have deadly consequences. They should be done in pictures and in spanish and english.

 

[Thalassamania]

Signs with skulls and cross bones.

 

[fdog]

Or a bony guy in a robe, with a crooked finger.


...Seriously, I don't think any reasonable signage will help...and unreasonable signs will hasten a closing.


All the best, James

 

[Guy Alcala]

Or a bony guy in a robe, with a crooked finger.


...Seriously, I don't think any reasonable signage will help...and unreasonable signs will hasten a closing.


All the best, James

I've attached the file with the signs that were posted for the general public two years ago owing to the efforts of Harry Wong. Unfortunately, as can be seen from this video,

YouTube - New Warning Signs At Monastery Beach

the signs, while colorful, are quite small. I was hoping that they'd be the size of the large rectangle that includes the yellow diamond generic warning on the existing (white on brown) signs. The sign for divers at North Monastery is much larger, can't be avoided by anyone walking along the path to the beach there, and is very specific, re-printing a newspaper article the headline of which says something like "Diver Dies at Monastery Beach"; the article specifically mentions the alternate name of "Mortuary Beach", and why it's so named.

When Harry was organizing this I recommended they do something similarly specific and graphic for the general public (such as a list of fatality dates, ages and genders, under a large sign that said "People Die at this Beach", and then explain why). But that was overruled for some reason or another, possibly by the state park people although I don't remember. Although proving a negative is difficult, we know that the diver sign has caused at least some divers to think twice and decide not to dive there on a given day, because they've said so. But that sign is difficult to miss or overlook (it sits smack in the middle of the path, and you have to walk around it), while the general signs are small and easily bypassed. Of course, some people will ignore them regardless, but there's always a plentiful supply of idiots.

Guy

 

[zf2nt]

I wish I could count the number of times I have watched a group of divers go down the trail at N. Monastery, walk around the BIG sign the lifeguards put right in the middle of the trail (you know, the one that tells divers to enter at the END of the beach), and continue straight up and over the dune to enter the water. The last time I saw this I was teaching an AOW class and had my group down at the end of the beach, giving them the usual dire warnings about Monastery. This group that went straight down the trail to enter in the middle of the beach promptly got trashed on their entry and rolled around in the surf zone for a few minutes. I think the other instructor with me suspected me of having staged the whole thing for the benefit of my students. We all know there's no need to stage stuff like this. It happens all the time.

 

[mikemill]

As far as signs goes, I wonder if having some sort of sign at the top of the dune that says "Dangers Ahead" with the reasons why would be of benefit?

It is easy to ignore the warning sign with all the other signs as you enter. Something that stands alone at the boundary might be more noticeable.

 

[John_B]

Yeah close Yosemity please too, idiots can jump off El Capitan.

The new Yosemite superintendent has already restricted weekend access to Half Dome and might be removing the cables altogether by the end next year.

Give them time, give them time...