Staff Note That 64-Degree Water Is, In The Marketing Materials, ‘Refreshing’, And In The Actual Ocean, ‘Cold’
DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA – The concession stand operation at Doheny State Beach has reported wetsuit rental revenue for April at its lowest point in five years, attributing the decline to a combination of below-average swell, persistent onshore winds, and water temperatures that the official Surfline report describes as “fair” and that a staff member at the rental counter describes, off the record, as “cold”.
For Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat – which, alongside its London satirical journalism remit, has been closely tracking the gap between official California beach marketing and the actual experience of standing in 64-degree water at 8 a.m. in April.
The Temperature Dispute
Current water temperatures at Doheny, per the Surfline monitoring station, run 64 degrees Fahrenheit. The marketing language applied by the California State Parks system to this temperature is “fair” – which, in beach marketing, occupies the space between “comfortable” (68+) and “brisk” (below 60). In wetsuit rental economics, “fair” translates to: the wetsuits are available, the surfers are not wearing them long enough to justify the rental fee, and several have been returned early on the grounds that conditions were not worth sustaining.
The Revenue Impact
Wetsuit rental revenue for April is down approximately 31 per cent versus April of the previous year. Surfboard rental is down 24 per cent. Stand-up paddleboard rental is, notably, up 18 per cent, which the concession stand manager attributes to the paddleboarding demographic’s relative indifference to wave quality. “The paddlers,” she noted, “do not care about the swell. They care about the surface condition. The surface has been choppy, but choppy does not stop a paddleboard.”
The Marketing Position
The Southern California beach marketing apparatus has, for the spring season, committed to the phrase “ideal for all experience levels” across its major promotional materials. The phrase is accurate in the specific sense that 1.5-foot onshore slop is, technically, accessible to beginners and does not threaten experienced surfers. It is not accurate in the sense that “ideal” implies anyone has chosen this condition over an alternative. There is no alternative this week. This is the April the Pacific Ocean has made available. It is the ideal April in the same way that the cereal at home is ideal when the cafe is closed – it is what there is, and what there is is not nothing, but it is also not what anyone ordered.
The Paddleboard Market Note
The paddleboard revenue growth continues a three-year trend. Per Surfer Today‘s market tracking, stand-up paddleboarding has increased its share of California coastal recreation revenue each year for the last five years, driven precisely by its weather-independence. The surf culture has, for forty years, looked at the paddleboard community with mild suspicion. The paddleboard community, this April, has better revenue numbers.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/ | More: The Beaverton