Point Santa Cruz and Steamer Lane

It looks like the surf area is east of the restricted area.

I received the following email from a NOAA enforcement officer today about my Steamer Lane surfers video:

From: xxx xxx – NOAA Federal <xxxxx@noaa.gov>
Subject: Quadcopter Operations
Date: October 31, 2013 1:04:58 PM PDT
To: xxxxx

Eric,

Recently our office has seen an increase in the use of radio controlled (RC) motorized aircraft and we are reaching out to community to educate the public concerning the use of RC aircraft within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS).   I have viewed the video from Streamer Lane (Santa Cruz, CA) your posted online July 2013. I wanted to inform you that you were operating in and out of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s (MBNMS) low over-flight restricted zone. Presently there are four zones within the MBNMS which prohibit the operation of motorized aircraft…this includes RC motorized aircraft. The purpose of the regulation is to reduce wildlife disturbances that often result in the flushing of offshore seabirds and marine mammals. I have included a chart depicting the Sanctuary’s prohibited over flight zones and federal regulation. If you have any question regarding this matter I can reached at (831) xxx-xxxx or by email.

– 
xxxxxx
Enforcement Officer  
U.S. Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Office of Law Enforcement
100 Lighthouse Ave
Monterey, CA 93940
wk (xxx) xxx-xxxx
fax (xxx) xxx-xxxx

Download the restrictions map as a PDF

I replied, saying that I would honor the low-altitude flight restrictions in the noted areas (and therefore, restrictions from all RC flights in those areas, since the 1,000’ minimum altitude is above our 400’ ceiling). I suspect that FAA and NOAA are going to need a lot more enforcement officers in the coming years.

UPDATE: I took a closer look at the restricted area, and it extends at 220 degrees from the tip of Point Santa Cruz. It looks like the whole surf area is NOT in the restricted area. I have followed up with the enforcement officer, to confirm.

UPDATE 2: The enforcement office replied: “Thank you for your quick response.  You are correct use the Lighthouse/Surfing museum building located at Point Santa Cruz as a reference…. stay east  of the Lighthouse  and you’ll be OK. This Sanctuary rule only applies to operating motorized aircraft over the ocean waters however I will encourage you to also research FAA rules regarding operation of RC quadcopters over  populated areas.”

UPDATE 3: There is a great Overflight Regulation Areas of Northern and Central California National Marine Sanctuaries snapshot: refer to it often!