Surf’s still up — at NSW’s quieter beaches
Sydney’s heavily congested surf breaks have been abandoned after closures to NSW’s most iconic beaches but there are plenty of beaches that remain open across the state. SEE WHICH BEACHES ARE OPEN
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Sydney’s heavily congested surf breaks have been left abandoned after closures to NSW’s most iconic beaches — but there are plenty of beaches that remain open across the state.
Bondi Beach, Maroubra and Bronte were all closed after crowds flouted social distancing rules leaving surfers hanging about where they could catch their next wave.
Caringbah resident Christian Smith, 26, runs along the Cronulla beachfront and said there had been a drop in the amount of people in the water.
“I think that most people have been trying to do the right thing with social distancing around here,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“Cronulla beach is still open. There are notably less people in the water, all the public pools have been roped off and the beaches that are normally jam-packed have about 20 per cent of the normal amount.
“There are less surfers in the water. There are some still out there but there would be way less than there was three to four weeks ago.”
The latest advice from NSW Health is that surfing is not banned.
However surfers must adhere to strict social distancing rules that are required for other recreational activities or gatherings — which include not being in groups of more than two and remaining 1.5m apart.
A Sutherland Shire Council spokesman told The Daily Telegraph staff are helping NSW Police patrol the beaches for any breaches to new self-isolation regulations.
“Council lifeguards will continue with announcements at all patrolled beaches advising patrons that social distancing must be practised and other restrictions on public gathering must be adhered to and will ask the public to vacate beaches if the number of patrons at any given location exceeds allowable limits,” he said.
“We will offer our support to NSW Police in conducting patrols if required and if the community is not abiding by the NSW and Australian government’s advice in regards to social distancing, we will be forced to close our beaches in order to keep our community safe in these challenging and uncertain times.”
Police have also patrolled the beaches in the eastern suburbs after hordes of crowds descended on them over the weekend.
Bondi, Bronte and Tamara beaches are closed with fencing installed around the pristine locations.
Despite the crowds flocking to the area, a Waverly Council spokesman said the community has respected these closures.
Further north, Manly beach has remained open despite the closure of pools on the Northern Beaches.
“Council is monitoring the situation and is prepared to close beaches if people are not complying with federal government advice on social distancing or crowds exceeding 500,” Northern Beaches council spokesman said.
Surfing Australia was contacted for comment.
