Shaping Room

Change the World of Surfing? Sure, Why Not?

Change the World of Surfing? Sure, Why Not? All You Need is a Few Drops of Catalyst: The Pure Stoke of Riding a Wave

 

When I read Jim Moriarty’s comment about the Surfrider Foundation being bigger than Google, well, I thought it was a bit grandiose until I remembered what we were thinking twenty years ago, when we thought we were going to completely change the world of surfing!

If you want to read the whole story about “The Dawn Patrol: Surfrider Twenty Years Ago, check out my article in Surfers Journal in Vol 13, No 3. But for a quick shot of adrenalin, here’s why we did what we did to catalyze Surfrider into life.

We were veteran surfers: Oxnard before the locals, the Ranch before the owners, J-bay before the Condos, Baja before the highway. We knew we’d been blessed with Kahuna’s best, and we wanted to share the stoke with others!

We wanted to make riding waves a badge of honor worn by surfers as members of a service organization – programs for inner city kids, creating surfing parks for more people to experience the wonder of a good wave, and defending the surfing environment against developers and polluters.

We wanted to create a Cousteau Society for surfers – with research vessels, wave preserves, apprentice programs, scholarships – and we dreamed it all up during the summer of 1984 watching the Olympics in LA and thinking, “We want to do something as bitchen as all this – for surfing!”

So as Surfrider heads into the next 20 years this summer, don’t ever let the pure reality of surfing - jumping off the continent into an oceanic wilderness full of energy – leave your thoughts. Surfing demands courage, a genuine boldness, and a lot of faith. That’s what it took to start the Foundation, and that’s what it will ALWAYS take to stay in trim inside the ever present tube ride of the challenges ahead.

Glenn Hening
Founder, Surfrider Foundation

Malibu: Access, Geffen, Trudeau and bulldozers

The fight over coastal issues at Malibu isn’t new. In fact its been going on for decades. Unfortunately, there is still fodder for new stories.

First, after years of not allowing access to the beach, David Geffen has yielded to the court’s decision and is now allowing access. Secondly, major news organizations are paying attention; New York Times gave it front page coverage a few weeks back. And, in the spirit of LA, there is an entertaining element with Gary Trudeau’s recent Doonesbury piece.

But perhaps a larger story is with Broad Beach. Today, June 28^th, the Malibu Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is protesting against the homeowners who illegally brought in earthmoving equipment to move sand from the public portion of Broad Beachonto their private property. This heinous action has caused irreparable damage to the local ecosystem and has put the public beach underwater at high tide, effectively erasing public access to the beach. If that weren’t enough, it put this year’s grunion run at risk, which was spawning on Broad Beach at the time of bulldozing.

So stop reading this and head down to the protest at  Broad Beach
Tuesday, June 28 - 4:30-7:00pm
Meet on the sand at  31344 Broad Beach Rd

Go.

Jim Moriarty
Executive Director, Surfrider Foundation

Success in Sacramento

On June 21, 2005, South Orange County Chapter activist Ed Schlegel presented a surfboard with hundreds of signatures to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urging him to protect San Onofre State Beach and Trestles Beach from the proposed Foothill-South Toll Road.

Without hesitation, when I was asked who should present the board to the Governor, Ed Schlegel was my man. This was the person whom for well over a year has helped gather signatures, the guy whom I never heard complain about volunteering his time, the guy who called numerous legislators to help set up meetings for our Sacramento trip and has always remained positive throughout our Friends of the Foothills Campaign.

Of course I realize that he hasn’t done it all alone and we wouldn’t be here without activists such as Wendy Morris and Jerry Collamer who have been spending endless hours volunteering their weekends at Trestles and community events, as well as the countless other activists and staff, all contributing at different levels.

Sure, Ed presented the board, but he presented it on behalf of the 40,000 members of the Surfrider Foundation and 60 chapters. When he spoke to the Governor he spoke for all of us and that’s the power of our grassroots movement- we speak in a unified voice. We’re effective because we achieve national victories on local levels through this integrated and nationally coordinated direct action campaign driven manner.

I left Sacramento the next day with a renewed excitement about our Friends of the Foothills Campaign. I had walked the halls of the state capitol with some old friends as well as made some new ones. We came from different organizations- some paid staff and some volunteers, but we all shared a common objective in true grassroots fashion- to protect San Onofre State Beach and the Yosemite of surfing: Trestles.

There will be plenty of more trips, community outreach, campaign planning meetings (in fact we have one on Monday night) and a host of other things to do, but as Martin Luther King, Jr. said; “A final victory is an accumulation of many short-term encounters.” Thank you to everyone who participated in this encounter toward final victory.

Sincerely,

Edward Mazzarella

Director of Chapters

100+ campaigns / Stories that need to be told

An entity’s relevance is related to its reach, influence or quantitative impact on society.

Greenpeace has relevance due in part to its influence on nuclear testing practices. Wal-Mart matters because of its size. For example they single handedly buy 10 % of China’s exports. RVCA, the surf brand, is relevant due to the fact that young, influential hipsters have embraced it. Nothing new here; relevance is tied to an entity’s collective impact.

Before coming on board as Executive Director, I had been a Surfrider Foundation member for years.. To me, Surfrider was the "Switzerland of the surf industry"; they represented an idea and a brand that was kind of an “umbrella of coastal protection.” To me their relevance was tied to the excellent work they did in the handful of environmental campaigns around the globe.

I was right and wrong, and the distinction is important.

I was wrong as my math was incorrect, by a factor of 10. The actual number of campaigns Surfrider Foundation is engaged in worldwide is not 10 or 20, but closer to 100 or perhaps even 200. Referring back to my relevance points above, Surfrider Foundation has a huge, massive footprint in real coastal battles all over the world. Our campaigns are fought locally, in people’s backyards and at their favorite places in the world… beaches.

Surfrider Foundation is involved in more than 100 individual campaigns dealing with coastal issues. That factoid by itself is huge.

I was right regarding the unique positioning of the brand and the characteristics Surfrider Foundation represents. It is somewhat of a neutral entity within an action sports orientation - yet aimed at coastal protection and other environmental issues.  Of course some people think Surfrider Foundation is more about surfing. Others feel it’s more about environmental issues. For me it’s not an “either or”, but both. I can’t imagine being a surfer and not being an environmentalist. I’m sure there are a few out there; I don’t understand how it’s possible. Anyone who has logged hours of ocean time and seen the beauty of dolphins and the ugliness of pollution… from the perspective of being submerged in the ocean… must understand the sanctity of the ocean and the importance to protect it.

Furthermore, Surfrider isn’t a club. It’s not a few people that get together at the exclusion of others. Surfrider Foundation was based on the idea of coastal protection. It’s grown into an environmental non-profit. We need to enact a culture of outreach to new members, industry partners, the media and anyone else that can further expand our relevance. Surfrider Foundation has made a stunning impact in local areas. But we need to do more. We need to have a much larger impact.

All these points come together in the opportunity ahead. Surfrider Foundation is an extremely relevant entity due its positioning and its quantifiable impact. The opportunity is not only to make a difference in the 60+ coastal regions where we are located, but to amplify the message out to a larger, national and international consciousness.

That story needs to be told and we’re going to use every tool, channel, avenue, way we can to get it out.

Jim Moriarty
Executive Director, Surfrider Foundation

Velzy

“It was Velzy and his gremmies who started the whole mass surfing phenomena thing in California." - Joe Quigg

"The greatest-ever gathering of the tribe." - Anonymous

Last week a chapter in surfing closed. A few weeks back Dale Velzy passed on, he was among the most important figures in the sport of surfing. Last week hundreds of people came together to pay tribute to Hawk, to talk story and to paddle out.

Photo: Barry Jones

For those that were there, I’m told the memories of that day are amazing. I missed the event… but I have a good excuse, I was in El Salvador paddling into a wave because a few amazing people like Velzy, Tom Blake and Bob Simmons stoked the fire of surfing decades ago. I, like all of us, am grateful.

Thank you Dale, we’re all better off because of the boards you shaped and the lives you touched.

Jim Moriarty

Executive Director, Surfrider Foundation

What have you been taught?

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love.  We will love only what we understand.  We will understand only what we have been taught.”  -Baba Dioum

I attended a very interesting meeting last week. Based on recommendations from the US Commission on Ocean Policy, forty marine science educators, researchers and advocates all came together to come up with a basic formula for what all citizens should know about the ocean.  The idea behind this concept is that only 0.6% of the general public could be considered “ocean-literate” and people need to have at least a very basic understanding of how the ocean works if they are ever going to put effort into protecting it. 

As surfers and ocean enthusiasts we may take for granted the fact that the tides move in and out in a balancing act between the moon, sun and earth’s gravitational pull.  Or that the majority of the oxygen we breathe is created by microscopic plants living in the ocean (not from the rainforests.)  Or that all water on the land is actually just borrowed from the ocean through the hydrologic cycle.  But we intrinsically know that this is so.  By being embedded in this water environment we have come to know and understand it. 

Surfrider Foundation members are particularly suited to lead the effort to educate our communities on the importance of a healthy ocean to our lives.  We’re part of that 0.6% who already recognizes that we cannot continue to use and abuse our oceans without thought to the consequences.  So be sure to pass that knowledge on: speak at your child’s classroom; tell your neighbors why it’s important not to over-fertilize and over-water their lawn; work with your local businesses to promote ocean-friendly practices.  Teaching is interactive, we can all do it, and it’s the best way to understanding the world around us.

-Mark Rauscher, Environmental Director

For sale: Right point break, mint condition, free delivery

“Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it.”

- Publilius Syrus (~100 BC)

 

 

What value do you put on a piece of the coastline? Let’s make this personal; how much is your favorite break or beach worth? In real terms, how much would you “pay” for it?

 

What is Pipeline worth?

 

What is Swamis worth?

 

What is Sebastian Inlet worth?

 

More and more we’re seeing these kinds of questions starting to be answered with more and more breaks actually being bought. This month’s Surfing talks about that very question (and wets our appetite with a dream right cover shot).

Another example is the recent announcement of Surf Parks which promises “not a drop out of place,” with a two hour session for $40 – 50 and… I’m guessing… some nice rides.

 

Further, it would be a pretty easy exercise to figure out the actual cost to buy a break somewhere in the world. The Quik travel site illustrates this point well. Heck, there are even surf camps in Ireland.

 

My point is simple. There IS a price for a break, including your home break.

 

Of course I suggest that the “entry level” price for buying a break is $25. Joining Surfrider Foundation is, in a fairly pure sense, an investment in buying your home break. We’re all banded together to protect a very narrow swath of beach and ocean, all over the globe. Surfrider Foundation’s mantra is literally “to protect and to surf.”

 

If you don’t believe me ask the people in Rincon, Puerto Rico. Tres Palmas is a world-famous wave - many would say the best wave on  (or close to) the east coast . Up until recently, the break and surrounding reef was threatened by plans to develop the adjacent beach area. Thanks to the efforts of local Surfrider activists, the break is now protected by the newly established Reserva Marina Tres Palmas – the first marine protected area of its kind to recognize a surf break as a natural resource.. 

 

Or talk to someone that surfed other world-class waves that have gone by the wayside. I sure wish I could paddle out at Killer Dana… but today I think it wouldn’t be much fun.

 

But we don’t need to reach too far back in history, it’s happening right now in real time.

 

I’ll wrap this up with this; there IS a price for your break. Your break is for sale. Know that. Developers drool over your break and “invest” their time trying to find a way to “develop” it. We need to “invest” our own time, energy and money same as them.  We’re buying that surf break we know and love.

 

We don’t need to look elsewhere for a punchy little beach break as there is one in the same place you recently paddled out.

 

Think globally, surf (and act) locally. Invest in what matters to you.

 

Jim Moriarty

Executive Director

The Surfrider Foundation

 

Total Tactics

“No social movement has ever succeeded in a democratic society, that I know of, without a strong, energized and well-supported grassroots”.

– Mark Dowie

The purpose of this blog is simple, to add one more communications channel into the mix of media aimed at protecting coastal regions.

Perhaps the best way to kick off any blog is to jump on someone else’s shoulders and espouse their vision, just echo it and add some amplification. I’ve certainly signed up for that in coming on as Surfrider Foundation’s new Executive Director. I realize that much of the heavy lifting at Surfrider was done twenty years ago by Tom Pratte, Glenn Hening, Lance Carson and a few others. My hat is off to any person that goes beyond dreaming and puts an idea into action; kudos those that pushed their ideas into action and started The Surfrider Foundation.

But rather than just focus on historical relevance let’s shift our attention to the future; how can we understand, analyze and communicate with the largest group possible regarding coastal situations, trends and campaigns that we find are hitting our local communities?

How can we be increasingly more effective in protecting coastal regions?

A few quick answers can be found in Mark Dowie’s seven-minute video “Empowering the Grassroots”. He looks at what’s right and wrong with environmentalism and to a large degree echoes the central themes The Surfrider Foundation was built on such as promoting the real muscle out in local communities.

Mark points out the reality that the 80/20 rule is as present in environmentalist organizations as it is in most for-profit businesses. He goes on to say that many of the smaller foundations offer a critical element of an optimal solution. That element is local presence. To optimally fight an issue there needs to be organized, structured local representation.

Perhaps the most important point he makes is drawing our attention to the point of “total tactics”. Total tactics is about getting the message out in every possible way, but emphasizing ways that are relevant to people where they live. This brings us right back to the purpose of this blog, to find another “channel” to get the word out and invite a dialog on the subject of protecting coastal regions. Increasingly people use email and the web to communicate, thus our intent is to talk to people where they are living.

In my opinion no tool or technology outweighs the power of locals turning ideas into action and speaking up to protect something they care deeply about. The more than 40,000 Surfrider Foundation members do just this; they fight tirelessly to protect their local coastal region. We’re here to continuously seek ways to supplement those fights. This blog is another tool, nothing more. But let’s keep our eyes on the target.

How can we be increasingly more effective in protecting coastal regions?

What tools, processes, and partners can we explore and use to increase our collective effectiveness towards that charter?

Jim Moriarty

Executive Director

The Surfrider Foundation