Beach shades: where do you draw a line in the sand?

A sandy beach with large flags is set in very hot weather, prompting demand for shade. Wind-powered canopies made by Shibumi are easy to assemble and provide substantial sun protection, but they are expensive and very large. In Myrtle Beach, residents object because the shades take up territory and conflict with rules limiting shade to traditional parasols. Similar tensions appear elsewhere, including Australia where people fight for space due to personal gazebos. Greece has banned umbrellas on many beaches to reduce overtourism, and Torrox in Spain has cracked down on tents and gazebos. The disputes center on fairness, public space access, and crowd management.

"The shades in question are made by the US brand Shibumi. They're huge, wind-powered canopies that act like tethered kites. Oh, those sound fun. Yes, they're easy to assemble and provide plenty of shade. At $295 (220), they are also quite pricey. Why doesn't Myrtle Beach like them? Because it mandates that the only shade allowed on the beach should come from more traditional parasols. But parasols are rubbish. You have to keep getting up and moving them around as the day progresses."

"Apparently the main issue with Shibumis is their size, which one resident complained would create conflicts over territory. Is that likely? Possibly. After all, there's nothing worse than people rocking up to a public space such as a beach and colonising it with all sorts of ungainly items. But it protects them from the sun. A beach belongs to everybody. Erecting a huge shade is greedy and selfish."

"There's a similar sense of outrage growing in Australia, where people have to fight for space on beaches because everyone brings their own gazebo now. Thank God this is only happening in the US and Australia, then. Did you hear that Greece has just banned umbrellas from 251 of its beaches in a bid to reduce overtourism? Torrox in the Costa del Sol, Spain, cracked down on tents and gazebos on its beac"

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