2009 Paddle for Clean Water

September 13th, 2009 was the 18th annual Paddle for Clean Water presented by the Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter and Clif Bar. The event is free and aims to make people aware of the water quality issues along the 70+ miles of San Diego county's coastline. Every year, thousands of activists gather in Ocean Beach to let the local politicians know there is a problem and we care.

This year was the first year the life guards nixxed the paddle. The waves were macking, hitting the bottom of the pier, and a thousand people in the water would have overwhelmed the lifeguards. We had a "Surf-at-your-own-risk for Clean Water" instead. There was plenty in the way of entertainment on the beach: booths with eco-minded vendors, 91X streaming live, HSD board demos, educational opportunities, later a stage with tons of great bands, and a Stone beer garden.

The event was awesome as usual, and waves never spoil beach time for any surfer. If you missed it, come on out next year! Thanks to Jimmy Greer for the photos.

Cheers to Surfrider and New Belgium

Saturday, July 25th we hosted a party downtown at the Bare Back Grill. It was a celebration of activists, activism, and beer! Hooray beer!

The folks at New Belgium Brewing Company wanted to focus their national ad campaign for Skinny Dip Ale on the recent success of the Surfrider Foundation to stop the toll road. They carted a van full of activists around Laguna for a day were we shot the ad. I think that its easier to do this in a river, but we got it down after 3 locations.

PJ, the owner of Bare Back and a huge Surfrider Supporter, offered to let us host a party. We got a few kegs of Skinny Dip Ale and a few bottles of Barefoot wine, invited some Surfrider peeps, got Luke Kinney and Lewis to sing and play guitar for us, and proceeded to raise some money for the local Surfrider chapter. By the end of the night, we raised $450 in proceeds and $60 from the raffle.

So, cheers! To Surfrider, to New Belgium Brewery, to Bare Foot wines, and to activists! Keep up the good work!

Green Surfboards

JP has always wanted to make high-performance, environmentally sound surfboards. Something that is not poisonous to the workers or the immediate surroundings. Something that maybe biodegrades or can be recycled. For past Surfrider events he has collaborated with other environmentally-conscious surfboard builders to create better boards.

What makes a surfboard green though? Is it taking TDI out of foam? Must it be all-natural? We at HSD have some opinions on this that we would like to share.

First, you vote with your dollars. Consumers are the best catalyst for change in business. If you, an eco-minded surfer, want a high performance board made from recycled foam that is durable, ask. If you keep showing up with money in your hand and leave without buying when you can't get what you want, businesses will notice. And change.

Second, there are different aspects to consider when thinking about "going green". If you want to lessen your foot-print and support local businesses, then order a durable epoxy hand-shape from a local shaper that gets boards glassed by surfers in your area. Take it one step further and ask about a blank made from recycled foam or plant-based linseed epoxy. Did you know that styrofoam can be recycled over and over again while retaining all of its virgin properties? Its about as recyclable as aluminum. An important note on the "durable is green" arguement is care. You need to take care of your board and fix dings properly in order for it to last.

Next, we realize that it is a big investment to buy a board made in a new, possibly experimental technology. The board may not come out as fast as "regular" boards and it might be hard to fix. Ask yourself, what kind of car do you drive? A new H3 or a Prius? Why didn't you buy the car that spends more on marketing, because you know that long-lasting environmental degradation is not cool. Ask your shaper or surfshop kid about technologies, feedback from people who tried the boards, how you can try a board, and just be interested in green technology.

Finally, change takes time so be patient and keep asking. Just be willing to experiment, be prepared for some room for improvement, and engage other surfers in discussions about green technologies. Be the change you want to see, isn't that what they say. If you want to learn more, swing by the Surfrider chapter meeting in Oceanside this Weds, July 15. JP and other surfboard builders will be talking about what they've seen and tried, what they are going to try next, and take questions.

Morning After Mess

The Surfrider Foundation always hosts a huge clean-up after the 4th of July, to clean area beaches from all the partying that goes on. This year the Oceanside location was at the South Harbor Jetty. While I'm sure it gets messy, I really wanted to clean my beach. So I signed in early, got some supplies, and headed back down to my house. JP, Derek and I all cleaned what was is our normal walk to surf.

There were cigarette butts, 275 Derek counted plus the hundreds JP checked off in groups of ten. There were bags and broken bottles, drink cups, razors, fireworks, and dead animals. The street sweeper must have drove by three times, and it seemed that for all that effort, the guy walking around with a broom would have actually cleaned something up instead of push trash towards the storm drains. At least we guilted some of the partiers in the neighborhood to sweep up in front of their house. Its a start.

After 2 hours of walking, stooping, and sweeping the three of us had collected 30 pounds of trash and almost 1000 cigarette butts. We, sadly, walked by the mother-load of Starbucks cups, because we really wanted to get to the beach. Waves are overhead and barreling, now is time for our reward.