Mary Catherine O'Connor / KALW News

On Friday afternoon, around a dozen swimmers gathered at Baker Beach in San Francisco. But this is not their favorite place to swim.

“Here the shore break is such that you can get really, really slammed in very shallow water,” explains Sarah Ives, who is fresh out of the water and bundled up in a down jacket. She, and everyone else, would rather be swimming from their typical spot: China Beach. It’s just south of Baker Beach, but it’s more protected from the wind, and doesn’t have that steep shore break.

But since the government shutdown started on October 1st, China Beach has been off limits.

Both beaches are federally owned, but swimmer David Yacubian says the shutdown affects them differently.

“It’s because of the way they're situated. There'

See Full Page