On Friday afternoon, around a dozen swimmers gathered at Baker Beach in San Francisco. But this is not their favorite place to swim.
“Here the shore break is such that you can get really, really slammed in very shallow water,” explains Sarah Ives, who is fresh out of the water and bundled up in a down jacket. She, and everyone else, would rather be swimming from their typical spot: China Beach. It’s just south of Baker Beach, but it’s more protected from the wind, and doesn’t have that steep shore break.
But since the government shutdown started on October 1st, China Beach has been off limits.
Both beaches are federally owned, but swimmer David Yacubian says the shutdown affects them differently.
“It’s because of the way they're situated. There's only one access point at China Beach, and, and my understanding is any swing able gate has to be locked in the park,” he explains.
A few weeks into the shutdown, Yacubian learned that another federal park — Muir Woods National Monument — managed to re-open thanks to funding from vendors who serve the park. So why couldn’t he and his fellow beach users?
“So I just reached out to the local community of folks that I swim with… [and] some surfers that I know, [and] people that just come down and walk with their families. Folks are really happy to chip in,” he says.
Yacubian started a Go Fund Me campaign and within a week raised more than $2,000.
“And then I had to enter an agreement with the, with the Department of Interior.” he says.
That agreement will reopen China Beach starting Wednesday, November 5, through Wednesday, November 19. Yacubian and his friends are excited to come back — even though within the context of the shutdown, it’s a small thing.
“There's a lot of other things that are bigger challenges with the shutdown. People are not getting paid. People have lost their jobs. And there's a lot of uncertainty. I don't have control over that, but I have control over trying to ban some folks together and open our public lands that are a great resource,” he says.
If the shutdown persists beyond the 19th, Yacubian says he’ll probably restart the Go Fund Me campaign.
