March 2006 Issue
The Odyssey of Hillary Hauser and Heal the Ocean
Words by Helina Shaka and Naomi Bralver
Photos courtesy of Heal the Ocean
As avid lovers of the ocean and Santa Barbara, Naomi and I jumped at the opportunity to meet Hillary Hauser of Heal the Ocean and to learn more about the life of this outstanding woman.
Hillary welcomed us into her office with tea and cookies. "Hey you two, its great to see you!"
As beautiful as it may be outside (we visited her on a 78 degree day in February), Hillary spends most of her day in her office surrounded by piles and piles of paperwork, fighting to keep our oceans safe and clean. She showed us a video clip in which she dives off the coast of Santa Barbara and points to a pipe spewing sewage into the water.
Not only is this disgusting, but it just seems ironic and wrong especially in a city like Santa Barbara. Some of the pipes, off of Butterfly Beach for example, are easily within swimming distance. Heal the Ocean is considered a “citizens action group” which hires engineers, scientist and researchers to logically deal with the bacteria and pathogens that are being dumped into our water, and to facilitate homeowners (like at Rincon for example) in hooking up to more efficient means of waste disposal, and to create new standards for treatment of sewage in Montecito, Goleta, SB, and Carpinteria.
Hillary Hauser is an amazing woman, and she is a realist. She said that she learned early on of the dangers of "single interest environmentalism—you don't see anything but what you want to see. You have to consider everything. Then you have to figure man into the equation."
Hillary's love of Santa Barbara is almost tangible. She remembers, as a kid, and a loner wandering around Miramar and Sharks Cove, "the water was so alive.” Her family had a beach house at Fernald's Point, but they spent time between SB and Seattle, “always near the ocean.” She remembers the joy of rounding the bend at Refugio heading down the 101 and seeing that first snippet of blue. She loved this moment, seeing and smelling the ocean. At an early age, Hillary learned the importance of having "me time"—time to enjoy the quiet of nature. Possibly without realizing it, Hillary was developing a relationship with the ocean that would eventually become the backbeat of her life.
Hillary knew she loved being near the ocean, but she loved other things too. She played piano, loved music and ended up in school studying English at the University of Washington.
After she graduated in 1966, she came back to SB and was befriended by a boat captain by the name of Glen Miller. She cruised around the Channel Islands on "The Emerald,” the very first dive boat in SB. From its deck, Hillary watched the divers getting ready. She watched them breathing underwater. Glen asked if she wanted to try, and being the adventurous soul that she is, of course accepted the offer. Glen handed her a wetsuit along with this advice, "Don't hold your breath dammit or you're dead." She jumped into the ocean, and hasn't left since.
Hillary's ideas about life are just like that story she told us. "Jump in!" she says. "You can't hold back, and that's true in surfing too." With her career as a teacher, a writer and as a pioneer of underwater film, she has done just that. If she was ever afraid of anything, she never acted on that fear; she never "stuck her head in the sand." She was always up for the adventure. In fact as a diver, she was coined "The diver of the bazaar."
"One of the spookiest dives was Mavericks," she says. "It was just nasty. Dark and sinister and full of Whites.” She told us that her longtime friend Jim, who had also dived in White shark territory said to her, “Hausie, when you get in the water, go immediately down.”
“The reef is like a football stadium, with ledges and tears and funnels that can suck you in…that was an insane dive," she says.
She describes Pipe as warm, clear and shallow—“really quite fun.” She actually snorkeled it with some friends who own a house there. She also saw the bottom of Jaws, which she says is a contrast to Pipe in that it is "so, so deep and there are these enormous boulders, as if God just threw them down into the ocean.”
Possibly one of Hillary's most terrifying adventures in her life was when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was going through a divorce at the time and remembers thinking, "Wow, now I'm going to die." She continued going to the ocean everyday and screaming or just talking out loud, trying to deal with the fear and sadness of it. It was during this time that she found out how very polluted her loved beaches were; so polluted that she wasn't even allowed to get into the water, something she absolutely needed to do. The unsafe water situation profoundly affected her. "I was polluted and the ocean was polluted," she remembers thinking, and that was the birth of Heal the Ocean.
Dealing with cleaning up the beaches and enlightening Santa Barbarans was sort of cathartic. "I would go to the beach everyday, ride waves, then go to the hospital and get radiated."
"It was an Odyssey."
Just as Hillary offers back the healing energy to the ocean that it gives to her, she also gives to the community in a way that influences and affects all of us as surfers, swimmers, and lovers of this city.
Hillary is inspiring because she has found things in this world that she has loved and lived and thrown herself full force into. She has based her career around the things she is passionate about, and won’t back down from what she believes is our right—clean safe water.
The day Naomi and I sat in Hillary's office, listening to her stories, she told us "Yesterday, I went on my weekly visit to the doctor, and he said 'Guess what Hillary, you don't have to come see me anymore.'" Her smile is incredulous. And with that she left us with this advice "Pay attention. When things get really tough, that’s when you find yourself. Life is a gift, not a right"
Posted March 2006 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
Santa Barbara Rock Climbing: A Culture of Sandstone Junkies
Words by Laura Bylund
Photos by Kevin Steele
“I LOVE SANTA BARBARA!!” a shaky redhead yells from the top of his lungs after clipping the anchors of Grib Dat Hole at Fire Crags. It is nearing sunset and he had just led the climb for the first time. “ME TOO!” I yelled back. No echoes heard, the sound of our voices traveled uninterrupted out to sea.
This is the story of most climbing areas in Santa Barbara. You're up in the front country of the Santa Ynez Mountains, clinging to a gritty chunk of sandstone, completely distracted by a stunning view of the California coastline. A clear day gives complete visual access to the Channel Islands cluster and a bright reflection of the sun crawling toward you on the water. Even on a gloomy day you're stoked to be above the clouds!
The Fire Crags sit in a sloped canyon down from Painted Cave Road. Park at a turnout with trees a couple bends after turning off Highway 154. A short hike takes you right to the top of two huge boulders. The routes below are fairly short but quite challenging and very rewarding. It's more like high-ball bouldering than anything. Try Grib Dat Hole and you'll see what I mean. Start in the cave at the bottom of the upper boulder and follow the bolt line to the right. Jenson's Jugs starting to the left is a fun one too. Easier routes on the west side of the boulder have the added challenge of an odd sideways pull of gravity. Top ropers will want to place a directional if not comfortable with the gnarly pendulum out to sea. Weee! Fire Crags boasts the only bolts of proper strength I’ve seen in Santa Barbara. Some SRENE (Strong-Redundant-Equalized-No Extension; it's an anchoring code) conscious lug put three burly Petzl glue-ins at the top of the upper boulder. They are huge, shiny and about 50 kN strong. Use these for top-roping whenever possible.
Just up the road from the Fire Crags turnout is Painted Cave, a fun little roadside spot to end the day. Try the many ways across Hallway Traverse or the routes going up the roof. There are two other boulders in this area to make a total offering of over 60 problems! A great place for training.
Diagonally across Hwy 154 from Painted Cave is West Camino Cielo. Park on the side of the road right after passing a ranch driveway entrance. A telephone pole on the left marks the ambiguous trailhead to The Playground. The rocks are about a mile in and take some roaming around to find. The hike is beautiful and worth it even if you spend the whole time searching. I took one of my friends here for his first lead, The Dude Abides on the Westside crag. It was the only one without spinning bolt hangers at the top! The harder climbs on other surrounding rocks have better ones. Be ready to pony up for upper 10s to 13s. Boo-yah!
Santa Barbara’s best bouldering spots are tucked away in this same area further down W. Camino Cielo. Lizard’s Mouth seems to be the place most talked of (unfortunately not only by climbers, but shotgun shooters and drunk high school kids alike). The place nevertheless makes for an excellent hang out for you and your chalked up buds. Park at a number of turnouts on either side of the road before you reach the gun club. The boulders are a short distance in on the ocean side. Classic problems here are the upside down roof traverse, Meilee, and the big Lizard’s Mouth Traverse. If you're lucky, you might run into Bob Banks (author of Ocean's 11, a very popular bouldering guide for the central coast) sipping a brewsky between no-footer laps.
If you're looking for a more relaxed setting away from the crowds, try The Brickyard. Park at either of two large turnouts across the road from one another just before the Lizard's Mouth area. A canopy of Oak and Bay make this a nice shaded area during the summer (the trade-off is it tends to be wetter longer after rains during the winter months). Banks holds this site to some of the best problems around, despite the rock being notoriously soft. Choss's the word, embrace it.
“Falling,” informs Evan in an eerily calm tone, and I’m thinking, “Oh crap, here we go…” Whew, the bolt held fine and I didn’t get my pelvis crushed into smithereens. Evan, a 6’4’’ 200 pound lengthy mass of a fellow failed to charm the lichen covering the second pitch of Face Lift at San Ysidro and earned his lead-climbing wings with me, a 5’4” buck eighteen poor excuse for an anchor, on the catching end.
Despite this one section being a great mossy mess, San Ysidro has to be my favorite place to climb in Santa Barbara. The routes are long, the canyon is green, the rock is… well, good enough and options are abundant for top-roping and lead-climbing alike. Bolts there are pretty solid and traditional placements are bomber. Try Applied Magnetics, a classic 5.8 crack put up by Yvon Chouinard himself in the mid-70s using nothing but nuts. It ends at some newer anchors up the slab face to the left. Vanishing Flakes, a couple routes left and pretty much the first climb you pass, used to be rated in the 10s… hence the name. Great Race is a fun bolted face starting half-way up the descent gully between main walls. There are numerous other superb routes starting from the ground along the rest of this wall. Grab some draws, a nut or two and a cam, pick a line and relish in it.
San Ysidro is absolutely the place to be in the height of a summer day when other sites are lacking shade and flowing water. Exit San Ysidro Rd off 101 and go toward the mountains. Turn right on E. Valley Rd/192 and left after the creek crossing on Park Lane. Eventually merge left toward E. Mountain Drive and go to the end where a huge wooden TRAIL sign marks, yes… the trailhead. Join the club in being painfully jealous of every residence you pass along the way.
Gibraltar Rock is an adventure. Gibraltar Road starts across an intersection to the left of a row of mailboxes. Go past the SB Mission on Los Olivos to Mountain Drive (the first right after the fork with an artsy flower mosaic on a rock near the stop sign). The main rock, a blocky face coming into sight after one of many bends on Gibraltar Road, plunges over 150 feet down into Rattlesnake Canyon. Most of the routes start from the halfway-up point. The ones nearest the road make for good top-roping. Build hardy natural anchors (ignore the bent sheet metal hanger on a rusty bolt above Klingon).
T-Crack just around the corner is a Santa Barbara classic. The Bolt Ladder down the road before the main rock is frequented by the Kevin Steele (big wall climber, adventure photographer, UCSB Adventure Programs instructor, robotics consultant… the guy just kicks ass), and other aid climbers training for El Cap. It goes free as well, but I wouldn’t want to fall on the old star bolts toward the top. Toxic Waste Wall and the longer routes of Upper Gibraltar are hidden up a “trail” leading from the road there. Hole in the Wall Boulder is right across the street from the main rock. Just duck and head up the trail from the little clearing next to where most people park. Look out for bees in the “hole.” An easy TR setup over Well Hung on the southwest arête is well worth it. Oh yeah, and there’s a Lower Gibraltar too. Go nuts!
Crag Full ‘O Dynamite is past Gibraltar going right on East Camino Cielo. It's a long six miles from the junction but the view, if not the climbing, is worth the trip. You are basically driving along the summit ridge of the foothills, one of the few places you can see the valley and backcountry on the other side. And you still get the ocean view most of the way! Stop when you hit a long bolted wall to your right. I guess the story behind this one is they dynamited the rock to make way for the road; a reason my buddy Greg justifies climbing it with ice picks in the winter. He also recommends parking on the crag side and belaying out of your trunk or truck bed. Very comfy.
The best climb on the wall, smack dab in the middle, is The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Going diagonally left, start on the lower right (good) and traverse a smeary face (bad). This takes you up a crack to a somewhat awkward step-up over the little roof (ugly). Lots of cool transitions on this climb, you won’t get bored.
If you’re looking for something harder, try out the 10s on Hermit Rock (the glob of conglomerate sandstone sticking out of bushes and shrubbery just across and down from the road).
The heat and snake occupancy make this a less-than-ideal summer destination, which is why god gave you Kryptor, just a mile down the road. Blue schist is apparently easier to grip when it's cold, making this 'green dome' a good thought for the winter. It has over 20 routes, and most of the climbs are on the really freakin' hard end of that spectrum. My friend Spenser makes it all sound pretty enticing: "A bitch of a drive onto the dirt road, a hectic but brief hike gets you to the base of the wall.
Remember that rock climbing is inherently dangerous! Helmets are ALWAYS a good idea. I got the rope caught behind my leg this past summer in Yosemite and flipped on a climb I thought I had already bagged. Needless to say, I probably wouldn't be writing this had I not been sportin' a brain bucket. My boss calls it "cheap insurance."
And finally, please help to preserve our climbing areas. Don't leave trash. Chipping is for losers. We should abide by the Leave No Trace ethic. Thanks!
For further reference:
- Rock Climbing Santa Barbara and Ventura, Steve Edwards, Falcon Guide (2000).
-Ocean's 11, Bob Banks, bouldering guide (2003).
-Rockclimbing.com
-Santabarbaradayhikes.com, for more directions and up-to-date trail conditions.
Posted March 2006 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
Sublimity Blue: Alighting to the Marshall Islands
Words and Photographs by Michael Kew
With the lights low, on a clear night, anybody in a 15-mile radius of Lompoc can witness the miracle of rocket science, spearing the wee-hour sky with white-hot intensity, thrusting up, then over and out, high across the Pacific.
One summer night several years ago, camped illegally on a remote beach of Vandenberg Air Force Base (Welcome to Space Country), I saw my first missile-launch while rubbing my eyes, tentless and shivering next to rotting kelp below a crumbly shale bluff.
In deep sleep I heard the rocket’s muted rumble, an aural oddity blending with the south swell cracking off the reef I would surf come sunrise, risking military arrest. Coyotes howled at the thin, bright line arcing across black sky, augmenting the disturbance along that otherwise serene and ultimately high-tech coast.
I later learned that the missile was fired from a launch pad near Point Sal, 25 miles north. But where was that missile going, and why?
A week later, lunching in a sunny downtown bistro, I found a coffee-stained Santa Barbara News-Press dated from the day of the launch:
VANDENBERG AFB—An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was successfully launched from North Vandenberg at 1:03 a.m. PDT today. The mission was part of the Force Development Evaluation Program, which tests the reliability and accuracy of the weapon system. The missile’s two unarmed re-entry vehicles traveled approximately 4,200 miles in about 30 minutes, hitting pre-determined targets at the Kwajalein Missile Range in the western chain of the Marshall Islands.
Located mid-Pacific, the Marshall Islands comprise a Micronesian republic of 29 atolls and five islands, nearly all of them inhabited and swell-blessed. As far as I knew, the only surfers there were some Americans who worked for the U.S. government. Intelligence about Marshallese surf potential was scant, limited mainly to what the expats occasionally surfed on Kwajalein and Majuro atolls.
Today, Kwajalein monitors satellites and is the blue-water catcher’s mitt for measuring splashdown accuracy of rockets fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base, another militarized fetch of obscure waves, armed guards, and spooky white radar dishes.
Months after my Vandenberg camping trip, on a breezy, rainbowy morning, my friend Lance deposited me curbside at Honolulu International Airport, the Marshall Islands a five-hour flight away.
“Gotta be waves there, brah,” Lance said before pulling away. “You might be the first to surf some reef pass.”
Ultimately, wave-rich Kwajalein eluded me (“Sorry, sir,” drawled an official from the U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command headquarters in Alabama, “but journalists just ain’t allowed.”). Yet I had a fleeting glimpse when my flight, en route to Majuro, landed on Kwajalein to offload some Army personnel and government contractors.
Robert Louis Stevenson, visiting Majuro Atoll in 1889, called it the “Pearl of the Pacific,” and rightly so, because in 1889 Majuro was but a palmy coral ring.
There was no unsightly industry, no rusty beer cans, no junked cars, no broken glass, no graffiti, no plastic debris, no diesel exhaust, no bar fights, no Asian ships in the lagoon, or ugly seawalls or the flimsy tin shacks virtually everywhere you looked in 2004.
Before leaving home, I received an e-mail from Ric, a globe-trotting American who was building a tiny eco-resort on a ten-acre island on neighboring Arno Atoll:
“I wouldn’t go in the water at Majuro. Too much boat and people pollution. Surf Arno instead. Fully private, fun waves all to yourself. It is better than porno!”
Majuro, nine miles west of Arno, is the Marshalls’ nucleus, home to the republic’s primary government, most of its business, and about half of its entire population, hence one of the most densely populated atolls on Earth.
Despite all of this, and the atoll’s penchant for attracting stray swell, surfers are essentially unknown. The few on Majuro are expat white American teachers and Seventh Day Adventist volunteers who can barely wax a surfboard, let alone handle the sucky tubes at the Bridge, Majuro’s marquee surf spot. The bridge itself, built with Japanese yen in 1983, is twelve feet high, Majuro’s highest point, spanning a narrow channel the Japanese blasted here to spare small boats the hassle of entry/exit up at Calalen Channel, several miles from the lagoon anchorage. Oddly, my Moon guidebook mentioned of the spot:
The bottom is a very hard reef that should not be surfed, and there are often dangerous currents in the channel as the tide goes out. This is not a place for anyone but experts.
I’m no expert, but the Bridge was quite good, a tropical Little Drakes, but shallower, with a severely jagged coral reef and parrot fish instead of flat, seaweedy rock and curious seals.
Konou Smith is a pilot for Air Marshall Islands and, in his early thirties, is Majuro’s only native surfer. We surfed the Bridge one evening, trading waves facing a pastel sunset. The air was windless, the dusk soft and silent—tropical idyll.
Two weeks before my trip, after a night of particular debauchery, I took an online quiz, 24 yes-or-no questions to gauge one’s alcoholism, scored thusly: zero to three meant you were a “probable social drinker”; four meant you were “borderline”; five-plus meant “possible alcoholism”; nine-plus meant “probable alcoholism.”
I scored 21.
So I was thrilled to learn that booze was illegal in the Marshalls’ outer atolls. I could detoxify and sunbathe, read and explore, surf and snorkel, liberated from morning-after nausea and unfounded aggression. The outer Marshallese were a dusky race of purity, curiosity, sweetness, and their environs were brightly sterile and surfy, with no thugs or thievery. If there is one place Alcoholics Anonymous should build a rehab center, it is there.
Konou said a trip to the Marshalls couldn’t be complete without seeing Arno Atoll, so I booked a berth on its ferry and left at noon the next day.
It was a glorious afternoon, and on the way into Arno’s harbor I had noticed swell curling along the reefs. I was going surfing, damnit—the nearest surfer was Konou, nine miles away back on Majuro.
Problem was, the pickup truck we were in was one of three operational cars on the entire atoll, and I couldn’t borrow it.
“You can use my bike,” a man named Francis said.
“How far is the beach from the cottage?”
“Oh, not far. Maybe few minutes by bike. Longer if you walk, of course.”
“Does your bike work?”
“As far as I know.”
The bike was a pathetic piece of junk, with weeds wrapped in its gears, and it wobbled horribly, likely because everything on it was loose. I was sweating madly. Both tires were flat again, so I stopped at a thin clearing. Here the land was so narrow that I was five feet on either side of water, the calm turquoise lagoon on my left, the sparkly and equally turquoise Pacific on my right...which had a perfect right-hand reef wave peeling into deep water not far offshore.
What?
No hallucination: here was something special, and it looked too good to be true, which it was, because I had a squirmy 5’11” fish and the sets were a top-to-bottom double-overhead, boiling along a slab of shallow, healthy coral. Nothing I saw earlier was remotely this size—either the swell had suddenly jacked, or it was coming from a very particular angle that missed the rest of the atoll.
I paddled out with my water camera and snapped some photos, first from afar for casual perspective, then up-close for personal intimidation. On the beach, the coconut palm thicket glowed brightly green in the direct late-day sun, and it would have been a perfect postcard image had my camera continued to work—I shot half a roll, then it was done.
I attempted to shoulder-hop a few on the inside, but there was too much water moving around. So I paddled in. The bike was gone.
The next day I found a different beach where the surf was small but very clean, fairly mushy but shapely, and easily accessible. The beach had a few small structures on it, all of rough tin and wood, and there were several small children gawking at us. The adults—only one was male—sat in the shade of the shacks doing nothing. The man strummed a beat-up guitar. I waved and they waved back, but I felt intrusive, so I left.
That afternoon I walked back through the jungle to check the surf at a different area of the island. The surf had increased during the day, but at dusk the tide was too low and the light was fading. The swell was strong and orderly, about six feet, but warbly atop the shallow coral heads. I vowed to return first thing the next day.
I did, and so did an entire village to watch, witnessing surfing for their first time. The children clapped and screamed after each wave; the adults were probably thinking: “How can this guy stand on the wave?” and “Why does he not drown?” and “Why is he so stupid?”
The wave was a fast and consistent head-high left, peeling over a kaleidoscope of corals, eventually sputtering into deep nearshore water. The water’s stunning clarity was convenient for spotting reef imperfections and ghastly coral heads: It would not be good if I fell right...there.
A few hours later I was back in Majuro, at the hospital, with an IV stuck in my arm. I had bonked a coral head with my own head and could not see straight afterward, so Francis had me ferried to Majuro for inspection. It was a mild concussion.
“You should not go surfing for a long time,” the doctor said.
And so my trip was done. The journey, far from home, full of downtime and delay, was the result of a dream to surf the equatorial unknown. And on that bright and sunny day it was right there, through a lush palm grove, tucked into a broken coral beach cove on a pristine coast.
Other discoveries ensued—including a prime left-hander—but that one was the most private, and it is what remained with me when I left Arno Atoll: the essence of surf travel.
Special thanks to Francis Reimers, Chris Leonard, Konou Smith, and the Marshall Islands Visitors Authority (www.visitmarshallislands.com).
Posted March 2006 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
John Birchim: Recycling the Good Land
“Giving Thanks”
Words and Photos by Branden Aroyan
Community
Seaborn Designs is the business name and it says it all.
John Birchhim and partner Guner Tautrim only use wood that is recycled from the Santa Barbara County on the Orella Ranch. No trees are harvested; it’s all environmentally friendly salvaged wood!
By working with local tree companies and Marborg, Seaborn uses the trees that would otherwise be thrown away. The salvaged trees can be milled lumber with or without natural edges. Seaborn Designs turns these recycled trees into custom woodworking that cannot be found anywhere else. Monterey Cyprus, Black Acacia and California Redwood become epic counter tops, tables and cabinets. A fine display is at El Capitan Canyon Store. Completely natural all the way through, the good vibe of the place starts with the work Seaborn Designs did.
Everything moves in waves John tells me: sound and light, the ocean and tides. Everything revolves around the ocean so he focuses his designs to reflect the grace of the waves. This doesn’t mean that when the waves are good he’s gone surfing. He’s grateful for the time he has spent in the water and just being by the coast. And it’s this time spent that shows in his work.
Custom
An accomplished artist, John is able to adapt his skills to fit the needs of each client and still express his own emotion. Frames are his favorite type of work to create. The interaction of complimenting another artist’s unique look with his frames brings both forms of artwork to another level. An original example is at the Natural Café on lower State Street. Surf photography with a natural edged frame becomes something else; it’s unreal.
Inspirations
Randy Cone and Brad Johnson are the first of John’s inspirations to come to mind. Brad has really influenced the lifestyle of surfing. He shapes his own boards and for others as well. He gets his work done like everyone else, the difference is he’s surfing more than most and enjoying the time now rather than waiting until retirement to have a good time.
Another surfer/craftsman inspiration is Randy Cone. John watched and learned from Randy the process of working with tools and creating functional sculptures. The transition to woodworking became a natural one. No chemicals. Wood became the medium of choice because it doesn’t have the unfortunate side effects of working with resin and foam.
Family
Born and raised in Goleta, and soon to be married, John Birchim feels really blessed to live in the Good Land. He has raised two beautiful daughters and he’s stoked to see them follow his footsteps in this amazing place. He gives thanks every day and keeps things positive.
Future
John is also focused on starting a real estate career to help people afford land and stay in town. In combination with a background in sustainable living, it looks like John will be here for a few more generations and make it a little nicer along the way.
Posted March 2006 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
Ocean Adventure News
Mike Fraley
1955-2006
Mike Fraley, a local Rincon surfer, passed way at the age of 50 on Wednesday, February 8, at Hobson’s reef. He suffered a massive heart attack and died on his board. Over the years, Mike was a top finisher in many local surf contests. He was also a published poet, his inspiration being, “my wife, my boys, and a hollow Jalama left.” Mike lived in Carpinteria with his wife Laura and his three sons, Mason 15, Logan 13, and Marshall 10 months. He will be greatly missed. On February 16th, there was a service and paddle-out at Backside Rincon where friends and family remembered Mike and joined together in their sorrow. Aloha Mike.
A Mike Fraley memorial fund has been set up for the family at the Montecito Bank and Trust.
#1 Ventura High
Ventura High remains undefeated for the second season in a row, after beating Santa Barbara High 69-49 at the last high school meet of the year. Standout performances include Larry Ugale for first place in men’s longboard, Bridget Dugan for second place in women’s longboard, and Marissa Hood for second place in women’s shortboard. Ventura is now preparing for the State Meet at Oceanside on March 11th. Way to go Cougars.
NSSA #7
Local shredders recently made the trip down south to Oceanside for NSSA Open Event #7. Waves started chest high on Saturday and picked up to clean head high sets on Sunday, complimented by new Northwest swells. Local highlights of the contest:
MENS
1. Cory Arrambide-Ventura 12.66
2. Spencer Regan-Ventura 12.50
BOYS
2. Conner Coffin-Santa Barbara 8.83
6. Parker Coffin-Santa Barbara 5.33 tiebreak
WOMENS
1. Sage Erickson-Ventura 10.33
3. Demi Boelsterli-Santa Barbara 7.17
AIRSHOW
1. Cory Arrambide
SBJH Movie Benefit
The Santa Barbara Junior High Surf Club, in association with Heal the Ocean, Surf Aid International, and Surfhistory.com presents the 4th annual Movie Benefit on March 3rd at the Marjorie Luke Theater. The night will feature the film premiere of “Fin,” along with live performances by the Chris Keet Band and the Lance Parker Band. There will also be a fundraising prize drawing and a silent auction. Proceeds from this event will go towards supporting the SB Junior High Surf Club in their continued efforts to train competitively and to educate the students about the ocean. The benefit will also support Heal the Ocean and Surf Aid International. The surf club currently has 19 members, competing in the categories of shortboarding, longboarding, and bodyboarding. Surf Happens cofounder, Angelica Keet is the coach. For more information please contact Marisa Parker at (805) 455-9903 or email her at msparker136@aol.com. Thank you and we hope to see you at the show.
Christian Surfers United States (CSUS) 2006 Contest Series
Photos & Words by Chris Keet, courtesy of Surfhappens.com
On Saturday, February 11, the 2005-2006 CSUS contest series made its way to Hendry’s beach, a.k.a. “The Pit” for some high powered local action. With valuable rating points, trophies, and heaps of prizes on the line, contestants battled it out in the hazy waist high beach break. The locals really had it wired and proved eager to take the win in their hood.
The atmosphere is always so awesome at these events, truly a family affair. It had been ten years since the organization hosted an event in Santa Barbara, and it was made possible this year by sponsor support and the hard work of their staff. Spearheaded by John Lindsley from CSUS national, and local chapter leader Dennis Leon, this event really united generations of Christian Surfers.
The biggest two heroes of my youth, three time world champion Tom Curren, and aerial pioneer, and Pit legend, Davey Smith, were on hand all day watching their kids compete. Also making an appearance was former world amateur champion, world tour warrior, PSAA champ, and current big wave aficionado, Chris Brown. Rising stars, four time national champ and newly turned professional, Killian Garland and WQS charger Bobby Morris also turned up to support the return of the CSUS to local waters.
The CSUS raised an entire generation of surfers, including myself and all of my peers here in Santa Barbara. Speaking on behalf of everyone involved we hope that the local chapter continues to grow and host more events in the future.
WSA Hobie Tour
The seventh competition of the WSA Hobie Championship Tour went down at the Pismo Beach Pier in frigid 52-degree water and nice head high walls hitting the north side of the pier. Ventura’s Catherine Clark surfed her way to first place in both the short board and longboard divisions. Chelsea Zaniboni from Santa Barbara took first place in both the Girls 17 and under Longboard and the Open Women’s Longboard divisions. Newcomer Tyson Parsons of Isla Vista shook up the Open Men’s Division with a win in his first event. Other stand out performances were Jessica Chapman of Goleta who came in second in jr. women’s shortboard, and Lyn Burich of Goleta who placed first in women’s shortboard.
Baby Orca Washes Up on Ventura Shore
By Carli Leavitt
Last month a baby orca, or killer whale, as most of us know them, washed up deceased on shore in Ventura. Only a few days old, it was 8 feet long and weighed nearly 335 pounds. Local researchers are having a field day with this find, trying to get a closer look at one of the most popular and intriguing animals found all over the world. The cause of its death is unknown but after speaking with Whale Watching Captain Don, who has been providing Santa Barbara with Whale Watching tours for 25 years, it sounds like this young pup just couldn’t keep up with the rest of his transient orca pod.
Often referred to as the Lions of the Ocean, orcas are located in all parts of the world, including our very own Santa Barbara Channel. Captain Don sees them on a regular basis, usually following the migration of the gray whale. “The orcas we see in the Channel are transient orcas, meaning they are constantly on the move,” said Captain Don. “They go wherever there is food, unlike the resident orcas in Puget Sound.”
While resident orcas mainly feed on fish, our transient orcas feed on seals, porpoises, sharks, and small whales, such as the gray whale, along with fish, squid, and penguins. According to Captain Don, orcas have no known predators besides possibly the great white shark, and it is highly unlikely that a white shark would attack an orca traveling in a group. Most likely, the death of the baby orca in Ventura was caused by its inability to keep up with the rest of its pod.
If you are interested in catching a glimpse of these miraculous animals, visit www.captdon.com and get up close and personal with the Lions of the Ocean.
ISF Contest #4 California Street, Ventura:
Photos & Words by Chris Keet Courtesy Of Surfhappens.com
The fourth and final competition in the 2005-2006 ISF middle school season came to the cobblestone point at C-Street, Ventura on Saturday, February 4th. From the get go, contestants from the four competing schools feasted on an increasing swell with clean head high waves prevailing throughout the day.
The boys shortboard division featured top athletes from Carpinteria, Crane, and Malibu, with Carpinteria looking to be in contention for the event victory. That is until the Cinderella heat story of Crane’s Tristan Cronshaw came into play. Tristan who had yet to win an event in his three years on the Crane team was surfing too far up the point for the first thirteen minutes of the heat with only a 1.5 wave score under his belt. With seven minutes left in the heat, Cronshaw caught a wedgey right hander that shot down the point. He disappeared into the white water only to emerge with a raised fist. The judges called it a 7.5.
The beach was tense as time winded down. Tristan sat with only one wave in the final minute and a half. Suddenly a mid size wave popped out of nowhere with Cronshaw the only surfer in position. He rode the wave all the way to Monkey’s Corner by Stables and clinched the victory with another 7.5.
The boys longboard division was all Santa Barbara Junior High’s, Shane Millhollin, who dominated the final. Millhollin illustrated natural style and power well beyond his years, as well as a keen sense for wave selection that enabled him to surf virtually unchallenged in the final.
Crane’s Corey Radis took the victory in the girls longboard with only one wave. Radis also finished second in the girls shortboard. Santa Barbara Junior High’s, Summersby Jenkins placed third overall with fourth place going to Camille Phillips from Crane. For more information, log onto isfsurfteams.com.
C-Street Final Team Points:
1. Malibu 150.5 points
2. Carpinteria 135 points
3. Crane 128.5 points
4. Santa Barbara 126 points
Final for the Season:
1. Crane 678.5 points
2. Malibu 639.5 points
3. Santa Barbara 639 points
4. Carpinteria 637 points
Bobby Martinez for Smith Optics
Congrats to Bobby Martinez who has just been named a sponsored athlete for Smith Optics. Since qualifying for the WCT, 23 year old Santa Barbara local Bobby has picked up two sponsors and says, “I can’t wait to go to Australia to get the year started,” in the first WCT event of ‘06.
Mavericks
In a record attendance of 50-60,000 spectators, the Mavericks Surf Contest showcased 24 of the world’s best surfers and epic 30-40 foot waves. Grant “Twiggy” Baker of Durban, South Africa took home the win along with a $30,000 paycheck. Close behind was Tyler Smith of Santa Cruz. Then came Brock Little of Hawaii, Matt Ambrose of Pacifica, Grant Washburn of San Francisco, and finally Evan Slater of San Clemente in sixth place. Baker kicked off the day with a perfect 10 in the first round, and in the finals, the six highest scoring surfers battled it out on longer, cleaner sets. For those who missed the event, the action is still available through a web cast at www.mediazone.com/mavericks.
INSTINCT
It’s official, the legendary surf brand INSTINCT is making a comeback in Spring 2006. Originally established in South Africa in 1979, INSTINCT was one of the most recognized surf brands throughout the 80’s. The brand was synonymous with legends such as Tom Carroll and Barton Lunch. INSTINCT Clothing will keep its historic core principles while moving into the future of the action sports environment. Corporate headquarters will be based in Santa Barbara, visit www.instinctclothing.net for more info.
Posted March 2006 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
