Follow Up to Party Cove

Earlier this week Cherrie posted about the Party Cove at Lake of the Ozarks. This reminded me of our two summers there; but more about that later. This post is about “why is it when a few people find a fun way to relax, somebody or bodies come along to screw things up?”

What seems to have begun a few years ago with a few boaters enjoying some naked boating and turned in to a bunch of drunks and public fucking that has brought down the law. Why can’t folk behave properly? Of course, not saying being naked in public is improper.

When we moved to Virginia and later to the North Carolina coast, we found an isolated beach in the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There were several campgrounds, both federal park and private in the area. We would set up our little tent and stuff on Friday night and leave on Sunday late. We would be on the beach mid morning and stay all day. Naked. We took long walks, stretched out and caught cancer rays on our buns, read and relaxed. Most of the time we were alone for miles of beach. Occasionally, another couple would appear. Some were friendly and some wanted to just be alone. Some weekends there would be several couples and some just a few. There was also a group of gays who had a spot they occupied each weekend. They were regulars like us and we got to know them and they always stopped by on their walks for a chat. Everyone behaved. If a family of “textiles” appeared everyone discretely covered up. There was very little booze consumption and no public sex. If a ranger came by they waved and passed us by. Some even stopped to chat with some of us regulars. Everything was great until a busload of folks turned up one weekend. The bus was parked on the shoulder of the highway with a huge sign in the front window “Nude Beach” with an arrow pointing the way. During the course of the day there was excessive drinking and public sex. Some locals saw the sign in the bus and demanded the rangers do something. And the something they did was to effectively close the beach to nudity. For the next two or three summers the rangers regularly hide in the sand dune with binoculars aimed at the beach. They wrote many a ticket for indecent exposure. Topless for females was permitted and both males and females could get away with the thinnest of “G” strings. All that was needed was keep the “privates” covered. After about three years things got back to normal. We left about then so do not know the situation there now.

We were interested in “party cove” because Lake of the Ozarks was where we first went “au natural”. Following my tour in Vietnam, I was posted to Fort Leonard Wood. We bought our first boat, an 18-foot cuddy cabin, and the five of us spent each weekend there. The kids had a small tent and Mrs. SW and I slept on the boat. Daytime we would find a sandy beach and spend the day enjoying the sun and water. We were all naked. (This was long before swinging entered the picture) The next year we bought a bigger boat all we could sleep on and we spent the weekend on the anchor. The kids got to ski on the way to the cove and back to the marina. After all gas was 35 cents per gallon. Who could afford that?

One weekend when we still had the smaller boat we were cruising along. Mrs. SW was stretched out in the cockpit sunning her buns when another runabout passed us with about three families aboard. They spotted Mrs. SW and began to make circles around us and seem to be enjoying the view. After about the third circle, Mrs. SW sat up and shook her boobs at them. They got a good view, a good laugh and resumed their trip.

There are only a few beaches that are clothing optional. Haulover Beach in Miami is the only one in Florida I know of. There was a spot on Sanibel where you could go naked but I understand the rangers are now very strict. I hear there is a beach near Lovers Key where folks go naked and the rangers are not a problem. However it is on an island and one needs a boat to get there.

Fortunately for us we have our boat. When under sail we are most always naked. If we anchor for a day or two away from other boats we stay naked. We have a secluded pool and spend most days in the house or out by the pool naked

I agree with Cherrie there ought to be places where folks can go to enjoy the outdoors without having to wear cloths.