US Congress to Cut Dawn Patrol Surf Hours 6-27-05

The United States congress is currently reviewing a law that would eliminate 28 hours of prime dawn patrol surfing time each year for working class surfers.

The law is the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (HR 6), which has been approved by a joint Senate-House Energy Conference Committee and is now moving to the House and Senate floors for approval. Congress is expected to vote on the bill this week. A portion of the law mandates that, beginning in 2007, standard daylight savings time be extended by four weeks. Daylight savings time would span from the first Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

During these weeks, sunrise times are between 6:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., making them perfect times to get out and catch a few waves before the work day begins. Additionally, these weeks are in the Spring and Autumn, a time for great crossed-up swells from storms in the north and south. They are in October and November, which the winter spots start to bloom while the summer spots are still breaking, and the converse weeks in March. This daylight savings time extension would push the sunrise an hour later, into the 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. window, effectively killing an hour of dawn patrol surf time every day for those 28 days.

Of course, the members of congress have no idea what a horrible blow they will issue to the surfing masses, with their short-sighted focus on energy savings. The extension of daylight savings time is designed to reduce electrical demand in those four weeks by extending sunset times and reducing evening or nighttime energy used. Supporters claim that it will increase economic activity and induce improved social wellness for all. Of course, none of that is an appropriate substitute for a clean and cold north swell on a November morning.

It should be noted that not all surfers will notice the change. Only working class surfers and high school surf team members, being those who have places to be at obligatory morning times, will be affected. The time change will neither burden the self employed, multi millionaires, and capitalists, nor the moochers, squatters, drug addicts who sleep in their cars, and fast food and retail workers on the night shift. In the long run, it could be estimated that the measure will have no overall impact on surfers at all, if housing prices drive the working and middle classes out of beach areas entirely.

But, for the time being, and for those who like to surf in the morning and still make it to work by 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m., the time to speak is now! Write your senators and congressmen! Call them! Send them emails! Tell them how important the dawn patrol session is to the American constituency! You'll get back vaguely worded form letters on completely different topics, and feel like you contributed to the great responsive machinery of democracy.

Copyright 2005
Travis R. English