🚨 Grant Safe Summer Access to Kemmunett for Non-Motorized Vessels

Stop Endangering Paddlers and Support Fair Coastal Use

Why This Matters

Since the COVID pandemic, paddle sports have taken off across the planet. Malta is no exception.

Sea kayakers, surfski paddlers, stand-up paddleboarders, and others have taken to the water in record numbers. The reasons are obvious. Our coastline is stunning, and paddle sports allow people to stay healthy, train, explore, and connect with nature.

We do it without polluting the sea, without disturbing marine life, and without making noise.

In fact, we often do the opposite.

Kayakers regularly stop to pick up trash left behind by careless visitors and commercial operators.

The Safety Problem

Paddlers heading from Crystal Lagoon or Santa Marija Beach currently face two dangerous options when they need to reach Kemmunett Beach.

Option 1: The Sea Tunnel
This route is narrow, unstable, and unsafe during strong winds or swells. Some parts of the tunnel are crumbling. It becomes completely inaccessible in rough weather. If a paddler is injured, tired, or caught in currents, this route can turn into a rescue situation fast.

Option 2: A 1.5 to 2 kilometre detour
This might not seem like much, but many kayakers are already paddling between 15 and 20 kilometres, island hopping between Malta, Gozo, and Kemmuna. For exhausted paddlers, forcing an unnecessary detour isn’t just risky, it’s negligent.

To make matters worse, during summer, lifeguards from the Blue Lagoon side often shout at kayakers and blow whistles to keep them off or away, from Kemmunett Beach.

This means that even when we stop briefly to stretch, rest, repair a damaged vessel, or eat something, we are denied access, or, attempting to deny us access by yelling and shouting from the other side of the channel. 

That is not just irresponsible. It is dangerous, as we had to intervene to save two renters from Blue Lagoon Operators, as the renters were forced to paddle around Kemmunett, UNOBSERVED AND ALONE (which is ILLEGAL)!

Our Proposal
We at Get Out and Kayak Malta are requesting a dedicated summer access corridor for non-motorized sea vessels, so paddlers can safely reach Kemmunett Beach without using the tunnel or being forced into unnecessary detours.

We propose the following:

✅ A launch lane from Point 1C on Transport Malta's Notice to Mariners Map 44, directly to Kemmunett Beach.

✅ For paddlers coming from the Crystal Lagoon area (near Point 1F), we offer two route options:

A narrow access corridor marked with large green dots from Point 1G along the coast to the beachhead. Because of the shallow draft of kayaks and SUPs, this path hugs the coast and avoids swimmer-heavy zones, which are impassable to anyone else, but paddlesport, due to extremely low water and sharp rocks.

If necessary, an alternative route using a modified corridor marked with blue dots from 1F to the beach, bypassing the main swim areas.
Let us be clear. These access points would not interfere with swimming zones. 98%+ percent of tourists swim on the Kemmuna (Comino) side of the Lagoon, not the Kemmunett side, as the Kummunett side is extremely shallow, and covered in rocks. 

This simple adjustment would help keep paddlers safe without affecting recreational swimmers in any way.

Why We Need This Now

Every week, more paddlers take to the water. Many are beginners or part of the growing tourism and eco-sport community. Denying this access doesn’t just inconvenience paddlers—it actively puts lives at risk.

We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for safety, common sense, and access to a beach that should be available to everyone using the sea responsibly every day of the of year.

Sign and Share

Please sign this petition and help us push Transport Malta to take action.

By supporting this request, you help:

Keep people safe

Support clean, eco-friendly outdoor sport

Reconnect with nature

Reduce the risk of avoidable accidents and rescues
 
Join Us
If you own a kayak or want to try paddling, come meet us. We paddle in groups, look out for one another, and protect the waters we love.

🌍 www.getoutandkayakmalta.com
📘 Facebook: /getoutandkayakmalta
📸 Instagram: @getoutandkayakmalta
▶️ YouTube: /getoutandkayakmalta

Thanks for standing with the paddle community.

Let’s make our waters safer. Let’s demand action. Let’s get this done!

Team G.O.A.K.