Pirates Cove

There is no bigger wonder in this world to me than the magnificence of the ocean. The mighty strength of the ocean’s waves has the power to move all that get in its path. From the formation of rocky cliffs, to the grooming of sandy beaches, the ocean has created a beautifully diverse coastline for Californians to enjoy.

One of these wonderful California beaches lies just outside of San Luis Obispo on the way to Avila and it is the most free and friendly beach I’ve ever been to. You must take a small street off the main road to get there. Once you are parked, overlooking the amazing view of the Pacific, you then carefully walk down a loose dirt path, which has tall, wild plants growing on either side until you arrive on the small beach that is known as Pirates Cove. The beauty and uniqueness of Pirate’s Cove lies in its acceptance and lack of judgment. Other than the occasional curious onlookers, who sit at the top of the hill, nobody stares or creates discomfort for one another. This is a safe place where everyone is free to enjoy one another and the landscape of the incredible beach. This is a place where people truly come to shed, not only their bathing suits, but also their work-life, and stress.

Until my first visit to Pirate’s Cove, I had never had someone come up and welcome me to a beach before. My experience with surfing has taught me that locals do not want you on their beaches, so, on my first visit, I chose our resting spot quite a ways from the cluster of people playing volleyball and enjoying their day on the beach. Once we got settled and had shed our belongings, one of the older members of this little community came over to say hello. He was very friendly and introduced himself as if we had just walked into a gathering in his backyard. Regardless of how society would have viewed this conversation, it was one of the most comfortable interactions I have had with a stranger to this date. It was obvious from the man’s mannerisms and eye-contact that he had come over merely because he was happy to see new faces at his home away from home. Everyone else that I met that day was equally friendly and had been selectively coming to this beach for years. Pirate’s Cove is beautiful, but not any more striking than the surrounding beaches. It is obvious that these individuals are not just here for the perfection of the landscape but for the freedom and release that is encompassed in this small cove.

For most people beaches are a place to run away to and play. They attempt to forget about their stressful lives and let the sun and waves guide their day. For those who frequent Pirate’s Cove, their beach is a place they run away to for these same reasons but also to escape the rules and constructs society has placed on them. Just like the “Passionate Shepherd to His Love”, this is a fanciful place that invites them again and again to “come away” from the real world. And, just like the Nymph in Marlowe’s reply, some cynics of this nude beach are stuck in the rules of what society has laid out for them and will not even let down these guidelines for a moment to run away and enjoy the freeness and energy experienced there. I accompanied a friend of mine on his first visit to Pirate’s Cove and was surprised to see his negative reaction to the locals’ behavior.

One beautiful day last spring, my friend invited me to explore with him at some caves near Pirates Cove. After parking in the parking lot with the magnificent view, we walked down a path that veered to the right, in the opposite direction of the cove. At the end of this path we found ourselves staring out over the water while standing on the top of a large rock face with one rope hanging down the side. We both made our way down the rock face and began our adventure. The next big challenge was a small unstable rock ledge. A good grip and step were nearly impossible to find, but we took it slowly and made our way through it. Just as we made our way down this slippery wall, a man passed us in the opposite direction wearing nothing but a smile. He was friendly and fully satisfied with the wonderful weather. Although my male friend did all he could to avoid looking at the nude man, I watched as he quickly scaled the rocky ledge in half the time that we had just done it. His comfort and confidence spoke wonders to me while my friend simply found him odd and uncivilized. As we continued along, the tide rose. And, since we came dressed to hike and not swim, we ended up wading through parts of the cold water fully clothed. As it got later, the waves began to roll in, crashing against the rock lined coast that we walked along. Luckily my friend is an experienced surfer because there were points when we had to time the sets in order to safely swim to the next patch of land. This exploration was both exhilarating and peaceful on this sunny warm day. Upon retracing our steps back to the car in discomfort with clothes soaking wet, I couldn’t help but think of the man we had passed and envy him. Not only was he completely free and comfortable wearing nothing but his skin, but he had such experience with that terrain that he knew every correct step to take, even in the most slippery conditions. While I thought of the man in this respect, all my friend could talk about on the drive home was how odd he was for hiking around nude and how he’d never be caught dead doing something like that. Unfortunately he was unable to open his mind to see the beauty in what that man was doing.

Although there are some people who look at Pirate’s Cove as uncouth and against societal constructs, most of the surrounding community is fairly supportive of this beach and its different rules. The freedom and wildness of this place is very attractive to tourists who are often directed to Pirate’s Cove by countless newspaper and magazine articles. Sara Hamilton writes in her Mustang Daily article, “There are many ways to relieve the stress right around town. Instead of lying out on Pismo Beach, try an afternoon at Pirate's Cove.” This article directs people (especially students) toward the most stress-free spots around San Luis Obispo and Pirate’s Cove just happens to be one of them. This wildness brings you away from the stress of the real world. Thoreau speaks of this wildness of life in a positive light. He says that “the most alive is the wildest, not yet subdued to man,” as if to say that individuals are living life to the fullest when they are not following the constructs and structure of society. This cove, now and in the past, provides an escape into a wild, unstructured way of life. Whether coincidence or not, this cove was once home to another activity that went against societal structure. During prohibition, Pirate’s Cove was used as a point to smuggle in liquor from cargo ships and, as BeachCalifornia.com states, “like the naturist activity at the beach today, locals knew what was going on but did not mind it.” As seen from this example, this community has long been a place of open-minded acceptance, which is just another reason to love and respect it.

If there is one coastal haven to visit in this county, it is Pirate’s Cove. The experience is mind opening and liberating. Talking to the locals, exploring the shoreline and freeing yourself brings an incomprehensible experience to those who visit.

Sources

BeachCalifornia.com. “Pirates Cove, SLO County.”

http://www.beachcalifornia.com/pirates.html

Hamilton, Sara. “SLO offers ways to relieve stress,” Mustang Daily Newspaper.

http://media.www.mustangdaily.net/media/storage/paper860/news/2006/09/18/SurvivalGuide/Slo-Offers.Ways.To.Relieve.Stress-2283220.shtml

Marlowe, Steve. “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love.”

Raleigh, Sir Walter. “The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd.”

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. Boston: Beacon, 1997.