Slow summer at beach draws to a close

As Newport-Mesa students get ready to go back to school Sept. 6,

activity at the beach is slowing down.

Mark Herman, a Newport Beach lifeguard dispatcher, said it’s been

a slow summer for tourism at Newport Beach.

“The crowds have been low all summer,” he said.

Herman, who has worked as a lifeguard for 18 years, said the

crowds may be light this year for a number of reasons, including the

swarm of black jellyfish and the low surf.

He also said high gas prices could be prompting some Riverside

County residents to stay home.

“Normally on a Sunday it would be packed all the way to the

fence,” he said as he observed the crowd from the main lifeguard

tower on the Newport Pier. Although there were many sunbathers,

surfers and boogie boarders lining the shores, there was still much

open sand and room for swimmers Sunday.

Herman said the beach has been more crowded in past years,

especially the summer of 2003, when the pier area was swarmed with

visitors every day.

“The news has been scaring people with the jellyfish,” Herman

said.

In recent weeks there have been many reports of black jellyfish

washing ashore and stinging beach visitors. Herman said there have

been no serious allergic reactions among the hundreds of jellyfish

stings lifeguards have treated.

Herman also said that school is starting a little earlier this

year, which may effect beach activity in the coming weeks -- although

Labor Day weekend is always crowded.

“I wouldn’t declare summer over,” Herman said, referring to the

weather and the possibility of good surf rolling through in the next

week or two.

What does lowered beach attendance mean for local businesses?

For some, it hasn’t made a difference.

The prime location of Board Walk Sports, at the end of Newport

Pier, makes it a good spot attract tourists looking to rent bicycles,

fishing poles and boogie boards.

Noe Martinez, the store’s supervisor and a Costa Mesa resident,

said this summer has been busier than last, but he expects business

to drop off significantly after Labor Day.

Newport Beach resident Chris Ross, co-owner of Newport Soda, a

gourmet sandwich and old-style soda fountain shop that opened at the

end of May, said it has been a relatively slow summer.

Other local shop owners have also told him business was off this

year, he said. “The Fourth of July was supposed to be the busiest

day, but it wasn’t,” Ross said. He added that he and co-owner Shawn

Newgaard are working on building up business from local residents to

sustain the shop during the slow months of winter.

“It’s all been word-of-mouth, and so far it’s been pretty good,”

Ross said. “If I can break even then [in the winter], I should be

able to turn a profit next summer.”

Ross said he thinks the city’s centennial celebrations will help

make next summer a busier season.

* LINDSAY SANDHAM is the news assistant. She can be reached at

(714) 966-4625 or lindsay.sandham@latimes.com.