# Legal way around an alcohol beach ban? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 5, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233 "2008-09-05T20:22:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yarster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7c8e57/32.png) [@Yarster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yarster)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/1 "2008-09-05T20:22:46Z")
Here in San Diego, we have a ban on booze at all our beaches, which is always a hotly debated topic. When the subject came up on a recent morning radio show, several people called in regarding a way around the problem further stating they had done this over Labor Day and were not harassed by the police or lifeguards. The method is, you bring an innertube, and a closed cooler of beer with you to the beach. You then float in your tube off shore, and open your cooler only when doing so ,such that you are no longer “at the beach” but are “boating” which apparently allows you to drink as long as you aren’t drunk and/or a hazard to yourself or others. Obviously this method works far better when doing so in a protected area where you aren’t subject to waves, currents, etc. that might propel you on to the shore. Then you supposedly close up your cooler with your empties when you do go back on shore and all is kosher. Numerous people claim to have done this in Mission Bay without being harassed, but the question is, was it legal, or did they simply not get harassed because they didn’t get spotted and caught? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/2 "2008-09-05T20:28:35Z")
How long before a mod shuts down this thread. Suggesting methods of circumventing the law is generally frowned upon. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/3 "2008-09-05T20:28:41Z")
How do you propose getting the alcohol to the water without crossing the beach? ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/4 "2008-09-05T20:30:05Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > How long before a mod shuts down this thread. Suggesting methods of circumventing the law is generally frowned upon. I think that asking for a LEGAL alternative is permissable, but I ain’t no Mod. ---
**Author:** ![Yarster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7c8e57/32.png) [@Yarster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yarster)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/5 "2008-09-05T20:33:04Z")
For the record, I AM NOT asking for methods to break the law, simply whether someone familiar with law can tell me whether this innertubing method would indeed be considered ‘boating’ such that the beach alcohol ban would not apply. In answer to the other post, the cooler with said alcohol is CLOSED until you get to the water. I don’t think anyone could argue it is illegal to transport beer across a beach without opening it, any more so than it would be drinking in public by moving unopened beer from your car to your house. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/6 "2008-09-05T20:36:54Z")
Well, for anybody to even guess, we’d have to know the wording of the ban. So I guess I have to ask . . . Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Mike.V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Mike.V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike.V)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/7 "2008-09-05T20:42:51Z")
IANAL of course, but Ch. 5, S. 56.54 of the San Diego Municipal Code reads (bolding mine): > [@](#): > > (b) Unless the City Manager or designee has issued a special event permit, unless > otherwise provided under the terms of a lease agreement with the City of San > Diego, or unless otherwise permitted by section 56.54, **it is unlawful for any > person to consume any alcoholic beverage at any time, upon 1), any public > property, including all public beaches,** but not including public parks except > as specifically listed in Appendices 56.54A, 56.54B and 56.54C, and not > including Mission Bay Golf Course; and 2) public rights-of-way, including > but not limited to public streets, parking lots, sidewalks, alleys, plazas, piers, > jetties, including on or against seawalls, including all sidewalks along the > outer perimeters of such areas and including any sidewalks, boardwalks and > other public rights-of-way at any beach or coastal bluff. ETA: > [@](#): > > “Beach” means the sand or land area bordering the water of an ocean or bay. [http://docs.sandiego.gov/municode/MuniCodeChapter05/Ch05Art06Division00.pdf](http://docs.sandiego.gov/municode/MuniCodeChapter05/Ch05Art06Division00.pdf) I’ll try to find the text of the boating law next.. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/8 "2008-09-05T21:32:38Z")
So being in the water means you’re not on the public beach, but does the water count as being on “public property”? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/9 "2008-09-05T21:56:35Z")
> [@Yarster](#): > > In answer to the other post, the cooler with said alcohol is CLOSED until you get to the water. I don’t think anyone could argue it is illegal to transport beer across a beach without opening it, any more so than it would be drinking in public by moving unopened beer from your car to your house. Apples to Oranges. You’re comparing possession of alcohol to having an open container. Compleatly different things here. If it’s illegal to _have_ alcohol on the beach, it won’t matter if it’s open or not. OTOH, it’s legal to have alcohol in your car, provided it’s not open (as opposed to it being open, I know there’s other qualifiers as well). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/10 "2008-09-05T21:59:58Z")
> [@Yarster](#): > > Numerous people claim to have done this in Mission Bay without being harassed, but the question is, was it legal, or did they simply not get harassed because they didn’t get spotted and caught? As far as them not being harrased, I’m going to take a guess that it was only a few people doing it, probably on different days, and it’s not that the cops turned a blind eye, it’s that they probably didn’t even notice it happening. If they did notice it happening, perhaps they didn’t want to wade out 50 feet to confront the person (though I’m guessing it just went unnoticed, not ignored). ---
**Author:** ![Yarster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7c8e57/32.png) [@Yarster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yarster)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/11 "2008-09-05T22:45:10Z")
JoeyP O.k., were splitting hairs here. :smack: If I have a closed cooler, I don’t think the police/ lifeguards would demand to search it. I also don’t think they would ticket you for having closed beer on the beach anyway. It’s when you DRINK it that it’s a crime. It seems to me that if you are loading closed beer on a boat and the boat ramp requires you to cross a beach to get it in the water, no one would harass you about that either for simply GETTING IT TO THE WATER in a closed form. But fine, for purposes of eliminating the issue, let’s pretend I’m floating in three feet of water in an innertube at the beach and a guy drives up behind me in a boat and HANDS me a beer in front of a cop/lifeguard on shore. We are both on the water. Have I committed a crime by having “alcohol at the beach”? Or am I also “boating”? Let’s assume I’m not drunk, disorderly, or otherwise being a public nuisance that would make the authorities take action for reasons other than the beer itself. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/12 "2008-09-05T22:52:48Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > So being in the water means you’re not on the public beach, but does the water count as being on “public property”? I think this is the pertinent question. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/13 "2008-09-05T22:59:22Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > So being in the water means you’re not on the public beach, but does the water count as being on “public property”? It would also matter if it counted as within the Jurisdiction of San Diego. There’s probably some distance from the shore that counts as part of the city’s land (maybe 0?), but beyond that, it’s Coastal California waters, or US sea, right? ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/14 "2008-09-05T23:01:33Z")
Don’t think it matters. Operating a vessel while consuming alcohol is illegal. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/15 "2008-09-05T23:05:28Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > Don’t think it matters. Operating a vessel while consuming alcohol is illegal. Cite? To my knowledge as long as you are below 0.08% BAC you are within the law. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/16 "2008-09-06T01:07:56Z")
Not to be off-topic, but every beach in this country that I have been to which bans alcohol doesn’t give two shits about it so long as you are discreetly drinking and not riotoriously drunk. The want to promote a friendly, family image and have a beach free of wild booze parties and people passed out face first in the surf. I know this is anecdotal, but take your cooler to the beach and pour your beer into a big plastic cup. The worst that would happen is nothing at all. (Anecdotes from MD, VA, NC, SC, GA, and FL) ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/17 "2008-09-06T01:29:52Z")
Why not frequent one of the many establishments on the boardwalk that offer legal drinking instead of trying to outsmart the local authorities? Why risk a citation or arrest for a beer or two? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/18 "2008-09-06T01:50:01Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > How long before a mod shuts down this thread. Suggesting methods of circumventing the law is generally frowned upon. [Moderating] If you have a question about the appropriateness of a thread, the best thing to do is report it to the moderators, rather than wondering aloud about what they may or may not do. Since the OP is asking information about the legality of the practice in question, I don’t see a problem with it. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/19 "2008-09-06T02:10:44Z")
The booze ban has been in effect for many years at La Jolla Shores, and I think it’s a good idea…for that particular beach. Banning alcohol at ALL the beaches seems extreme. Trouble is, all it takes is a few drunken jerks to spoil it for everyone else. Last year’s incidents were enough to spark an outcry and the resulting prohibition. A friend of mine WAS one of those drunken jerks. Even after I told her that there was no drinking on the beach, she pulled out a Newcastle Brown Ale, opened it up, and started swigging away. Within a few minutes, a lifeguard came up and told her that alcohol was not allowed. _“Fine,”_ she said, holding up the bottle to him, _“would you throw this away for me, then?”_ ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233/20 "2008-09-06T02:20:05Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Apples to Oranges. You’re comparing possession of alcohol to having an open container. Compleatly different things here. If it’s illegal to _have_ alcohol on the beach, it won’t matter if it’s open or not. OTOH, it’s legal to have alcohol in your car, provided it’s not open (as opposed to it being open, I know there’s other qualifiers as well). According to Mike V. above, its not illegal to possess alcohol in a cooler, or even outside a cooler. It’s illegal to **consume** it. So it would seem that transporting it in a cooler from the car over the beach onto an inner tube isn’t breaking this particular law. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-around-an-alcohol-beach-ban/462233.md?page=2)