« Front Page | May 2006 »
April 2006 Issue
The Swell Journey
Words by Nicole De Leon
Photos by Josh Kimball and Bill Tover
In January, after two years of intensive preparation, hundreds of grueling hours of brute labor, and a seeming eternity of burning anticipation, Liz Clark waved goodbye to the comfort of land and friends and headed toward the unknown on her 40-foot sailboat, the Swell. The reality of her responsibilities as the sole captain of a Gulf Star Sloop on an around-the-world journey slapped her in the face like the biting winter wind. This was no longer a journey drawn on paper—it was a life-long dream that had now been forged into reality.
Liz’s dream began in fourth grade: while ordinary kids were discovering Mario Brothers and hair spray, Liz Clark was living on a 50-foot sailboat in Mexico. Liz and her family of four called the Endless Summer home for a year. The only criteria Liz’s teacher assigned was to keep a journal of her experiences; he felt that she would experience as much, if not more, from this adventure than she would looking at the world from a straight-backed chair. He was on to something. This trip opened up a valve of curiosity within Liz about the world outside of her home in San Diego, California
Being thrown into a world of cold showers and canned meat proved to be only a minor inconvenience for a girl whose passion and strength developed at a young age. The long expanses of sailing—grazing the coast of Baja and crossing to mainland Mexico—were made endurable by pit stops in little towns to obtain rations. Although Liz was young enough to be playing with Barbies and could have easily disregarded the realities of moving the boat, she was given small, yet important tasks to complete. “I didn’t get any breaks for being a girl,” Liz reflected with a rugged edge to her voice. She was taught how to stand watch, drive the dinghy, and fish for food—simple, yet crucial jobs in a life where necessities were the main focus.
For that year, Liz was a tiny sponge, absorbing all the knowledge about the boat, the rawness of the environment, and the sweet simplicity of the people that breathed within the Mexican borders. She recalls a moment when her parents sat her and all the kids down and asked if they would consider traveling by boat again on their own. “Yeah, I want to sail around the world,” she told them with naïve conviction.
When Liz returned to the States, it was with a newfound maturity and a heightened environmental awareness that her experience had imbued in her. In the awkward and formative years following her return, Liz first tried surfing. Being slight of stature but with little Popeye muscles budging from her arms, she had the perfect frame to be a surfer. Needless to say, she picked up the sport quickly. Once her family moved to a house within walking distance to Del Mar beach breaks, she wanted nothing more than to ride the waves.
Liz went on her first surf trip in the summer of 1998. “I realized surfing gave me a whole new reason to travel around the world, rather than throwing on a fanny pack and going to a museum,” she laughed. After that first wave-inspired trip, a map of the world was always spread across Liz’s room with arrows marking a dreamed-of sailing route. For now Liz’s love of surfing was driving a vision of traveling the world by sea, an idea that had laid dormant in her psyche for years.
But Liz’s dream did not die, even when she headed for UCSB and the life of a Gaucho. There, she was naturally drawn to the waves that gave the campus its finest character, at least to a surf-infatuated freshman. Try-outs for the surf team were held in the 2-foot creeping onshore conditions of Sands Beach. Bronzed freshman girls with sticker collages on their boards littered the beach. Liz signed up with butterflies in her stomach, as she was new to the contest arena. She stoically surfed her heat and a week later, at the much anticipated team meeting, they announced that she had indeed made the team. Silent cheers echoed inside her. She was eager for her surfing to be recognized, and what better way was there than the promise of competing in the NSSA college division.
Liz was recognized for her powerful talent on the waves. Her career on the USCB surf team culminated in her winning the Nationals at Salt Creek. Observers could see the fire in Liz’s eyes before the final; she was psyched to take the win. That accomplishment tempered something inside of her; she felt her surfing had been validated. Now something that was once so high in her ambitions was crossed off her internal checklist. Ahead was another dreamed-of opportunity.
Upon graduation, Liz took a crewing job on a 165-foot mega yacht and left Santa Barbara to sail around world. But after less than a month, she felt stifled by orders and schedules and realized this was not the job for her. She came back to America with “no direction, no money, no enthusiasm, and stripped of confidence.” Then she met Barry Schuyler.
“I guess it was serendipity that brought us together,” Barry later reflected to her in a letter. At 80 years old, Barry had made the Santa Barbara harbor his haunt for decades. Barry had lived and breathed sailing for most of his life. During a chance meeting in the harbor, Barry rather nonchalantly told Liz he was looking for someone to sail his boat around the world, which he planned to restore and fully equip.
“Wait a second,” Liz thought, “Someone is willing to send me around the world on his sailboat?” She assumed it was too good to be true, but after discussing it at length with Barry, she realized he was serious. At his old age, this project would be a means to keep the fire of life burning inside him. “In my heart I knew it was meant to be. I was really scared, but I had dreamed this dream for so long that I knew I had to seize this opportunity,” Liz said. She could now merge her adoration of surfing and traveling the world into a valid, well-prepared trip.
In February 2004, Liz and her crew of employees began overhauling nearly every system of the boat. For money, she sweat out long nights at the local bar and grill, dealing with difficult people. During the days, she spent hours toiling in cramped spaces on the boat. Liz re-christened the boat to the “Swell” and spent months organizing crew for different legs of her trip, giving tours of her boat and obtaining sponsorships. People of all ages and walks of life have volunteered their time to play a small role in the preparation of her dream; many plan to accompany her when she anchors at some outer reef to surf at a newfound spot.
Currently, Liz is living out her dream with a crew of two others. After leaving San Diego on January 30 and sailing down the sleek leg of Baja, where she stopped long enough to score epic waves at nearly empty beaches, she has ported in Cabo San Lucas before continuing her journey. Just days before docking in Cabo, all the days of preparation and hours of dreaming of surfing culminated in a 3-day surfing fairy tale in Playa Santa Maria, Mexico. Friends from Patagonia and Wetsand.com joined Liz there to experience a chapter of her adventure. Belinda Baggs and Mary Osborne, to name a few, each rode boards of different colorful shapes and sizes.
At Playa Santa Maria, Liz anchored the Swell beyond the swells in view of her friends’ campsites, hardly waiting to suit up in a 4/3 and jumped into the Pacific toward head-high reelers. For three days Liz and friends drew out cutbacks on the long right-handers.
According to Liz, she would "look at the smiles and then the swell and feel like I had died and gone to heaven." In fact, so soul-satisfying were the waves that Liz felt a little guilty that such sweet satisfaction could happen within a week and a half of her departure. "I felt like I had eaten my dessert before my dinner or something," confessed Liz in one of her blogs. It was a reluctant farewell that Liz bade to this dream spot as she departed toward Cabo San Lucas and the rest of her journey.
Liz’s itinerary includes sailing along the coasts of Mexico and Central America, then sailing west from Panama in late April to the Galapagos, then the Tuamoutus, Tahiti, and New Zealand. She eventually hopes to make it all the way around the world by way of rounding the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. As Liz summed up in her mission statement, her plans are to “sail the Swell around the world in search of surf and explore different breaks throughout each region.” She hopes to “promote environmental understanding through cultivating a better understanding of the ocean.” There will be video and still imaging as well as a detailed journey of her travels.
You can read about Liz’s updates on Wetsand.com under “women who,” and check out her profile on www.gallaz.com.
Posted April 2006 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
Mary Carmel Osborne
Words and photos by David Pu’u
I can’t read Mary’s full name without smiling. The smile is actually symptomatic of a suppressed laugh. It is not that she is some sort of comedian, or something else abjectly entertaining. She is just a surfer—sort of. But that ability to make people smile is what Mary Carmel Osborne has used to build a career upon.
Born in 1981, Mary was raised in a beachside house in Solimar, which is just a few miles north of Ventura. As the youngest of four siblings and the only girl, it is no wonder that she would become one of two major traits: tough as nails or sweet as can be.
Brothers have that effect on sisters. I know her well, and I would say she is likely both; but no one sees or knows of the toughness and discipline which hides beneath a soft, pretty, sunshine blonde exterior.
I met Mary when she first began surfing and came to work at one of my shops. She was the girlfriend of one of the team guys. I was just starting to submit work to the surf magazines at the time and beginning to do travel documentary work. One day we grabbed a team guy’s board and headed down to the beach. It was a shortboard, a 5’10” I think. Mary was 15. It was the first time we shot together and proved to be the starting point for what has become one of the closest friendships I have had in my life.
Over a period of almost ten years I have gone from building her surfboards, to being her photographer, confidant and mentor. I have watched her go through finishing school and her “coming out,” even helped her escape from Saint Bonaventure parochial school during swells by writing her notes so we could shoot surfing. I’ve traveled the world with her and have watched her conquer innumerable challenges.
When Mary and I started shooting together, there really was no avenue for surf images with women doing the surfing. No female oriented magazines existed. The ladies were in a perfunctory women’s pro tour, but not a part of mainstream surf culture. Having been a professional surfer, I could see what was coming though. As my career as an image maker began to develop, Mary was a constant ally and subject, always willing to go through all manner of hair and makeup and me yelling at her to go on waves she would have preferred to possibly wait out. Her images began to go into submissions globally as the sport morphed and women became a regular part of a growing awareness of California beach culture.
The paramount thing about Mary, which makes her images stand out, is this absolute childlike glee that appears in her countenance when she surfs. Her face lights up with the biggest smile, exuding what has often been described as an All-American wholesomeness. It happens every time. I don’t think she can help it. In building high-end imagery, it is every artist’s goal to convey and image emotion. When your principal subject knows how to do this in every possible situation, your work is going to rock. Mary rocks. Combine that natural talent with lots of water time, acting and voice lessons, a near miss college degree in Communications, years of ALWAYS showing up to shoot, an uncanny athletic ability, and you come up with a career.
Mary was never given to surfing the pro tour, nor did she have the chops as a short boarder. But in spite of being a petite 5’4” and 112 pounds, she has been able to consistently pull off the difficult double duty of modeling as well as surfing. She has worked in front of the camera acting, hosting, surfing, and doing stunt work in a huge variety of projects. I don’t think there is really much I have ever seen her fail at. She is a remarkably astute observer. She is smart. Smarter than most, and I have worked with the best. She is definitely not a stereotypical, blonde surfer girl.
One of the classic stories defining her approach in life occurred during the filming of MTV’s Surf Girls. I would get e-mails and the occasional call from Mary detailing daily misery as the producers fanned drama amongst the girls. Mary would say she was praying to get eliminated each week. “Voted off,” as she called the process. But over the course of production I saw her attitude morph and her notes became decidedly more upbeat. I saw her steely resolve to remain nice, surf better and stronger, and essentially evolve. It was a textbook study in overcoming adversity and succeeding. It never surprised me when she won.
These days I don’t get to spend much time with Mary. She has been off doing modeling shoots for a huge variety of clients and magazines, from Penthouse to Patagonia, where she works with the Malloy brothers in developing concepts for the large corporation’s forays into the surf industry. I just received an e-mail from her. She is in Japan today, doing who knows what. But the one thing about Mary that I doubt will change soon, is that smile and her ability to engage an audience, no matter what the medium
Posted April 2006 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
Kings and Queens
Story and photos by David Pu’u
In modern California beach culture, the concept of female surfing is a bit of a new idea. The recent boost in the ranks of women surfers is largely attributable to a media push, as well as lighter, longer, and easier to use equipment. The evolution of women’s surfing, however, has been a long time in the making.
While I was working on a motion picture set a few years back, I was told of a surf film project revolving around women’s surfing in Hawaii. Both subjects held a lot of interest for me as a photographer/filmmaker and surfer. I glanced at the script and elected not to pursue the job for the simple reason that it was about women’s professional surfing, a subject I find a bit flat and sort of hard to portray as interesting. Let’s face it. Not many gals out there can hold a candle to the average pro male’s performance, let alone compete with Kelly Slater or Dane Reynolds. Ain’t gonna happen, so why make a film?
The project became Blue Crush, and what the film did was inspire an entire country full of women into the mainstream cultural sidebar we call surfing. It caused a big ripple in the traditionally male dominated and targeted surf market, and the phenomenon continues to unfold around the world today.
My ex-wife was one of two female surf photographers in the 70’s and early 80’s. She shot for Surfer Magazine. This was during the infancy and heyday of the surfer as athlete movement that laid the foundation for professional surfing as we see it today. After two years of traveling around the world with me, taking photos while I surfed the tour, she made a very caustic observation that stopped me in my tracks one day. It was after a particularly testosterone laden double leg in Hawaii and Australia.
“You know David, this whole pro surf thing is really weird. You guys all hang out with each other. You surf together, travel and party together, the magazines are all about guys. Even the lifestyle images are almost all male (inferring that it bordered on homoeroticism). You would think that a bunch of guys would want women involved, unless the entire surf industry is really run by homosexuals. Where are the girls?” I was stunned. She was right. Surfing had become one great big boys club. But in looking at the sport’s history, this was definitely not always the case.
It’s a widely accepted fact that surfing is rooted in traditional aspects of ancient Hawaiian culture. If you look closely, women have always been involved in surfing from day one. When Captain Cook passed through Hawaii in the late 1700’s he observed Polynesian men and women out in the surf together.
Historic records contain several accounts of strong and beautiful Hawaiian queens being proponents and practitioners of the sport, right alongside their men. I remember Rell Sun and I, in a film interview for the BBC, were queried about women in the sport’s history. Rell put it this way: “It was a tradition for men and women to surf together. When a woman would choose to ride a wave with a man, it was the precursor to them making love on the beach after.” However, the traditional concept of surfing as a way to impress a potential mate was something that the Christian missionaries needed to quell in order to “civilize” the Hawaiian people. The side effect, of course, was the death of women’s surfing for the most part. As the Offspring song goes: “Gotta keep ‘em separated.”
In the late fifties a big media push surfaced in California with the inception of “Gidget.” The story chronicled the real life Malibu surf adventures of Kathy Kohner. Kathy’s father, Frederik Kohner, a Hollywood screenwriter, was amused and probably also somewhat alarmed by Kathy’s involvement with an all boy sport. He turned Kathy’s stories into a best selling book, “Gidget,” which later became a premise for several movies and a television series. His view of beach culture was distributed globally and within a short period of time, women were back in surfing. When I asked Kathy what drew her into the sport, she was quite candid with me and said, “That was where all the boys were!” Made sense to me then. It still does now.
As surfing has matured, we now see a certain dichotomy in the sport on both the female and male side. Professional male and female surfing sets a performance benchmark, but the goal for the surfing community by and large, is to actively experience the vibrant, rich lifestyle the sport offers. So girls have finally found a place in the lineup once again, alongside the boys.
In a quick glance back, it’s interesting to note how many influential women came from our neck of the woods here on the California coast: Margo Godfrey Oberg of Santa Barbara, Womens World champion Kim Mearig-Greutzmacher, also from Santa Barbara, Women’s World Champion and cultural icon Kathy Kohner, a.k.a. Gidget, from Malibu, US Champion and the first woman to surf Pipeline Joyce Hoffman from San Diego, and finally today, Mary Osborne from Santa Barbara, a budding cultural icon herself. The list is actually even a few names deeper, but you get my point.
Today, women’s surfing embodies all that is attractive and athletic in both the sport and fashion world. The girls now comprise a whopping 40 percent of the surf goods and apparel market. I think maybe the old boys club in Orange County may be overdue for a change of view. I find it sort of a relief, because I would rather go play with the girls anyway. Too much testosterone is not a good thing.
Posted April 2006 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
April 2006 Issue
Women's Profiles: From the Mountains to the Seas
By Erynn Im, Naomi Bralver, and Helena Shaka
Kim Mearig
Professional Surfer
Kim Mearig was born in Apple Valley, but her family moved to Santa Barbara when she was only six months old. She started surfing when she was 12 and has now been surfing for around thirty years. In 2002, she was chosen Woman of the Year for the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame. After competing professionally for about 10 years, becoming the ASP Women’s World Champion in 1983 and accomplishing all the professional goals she had for herself, she now feels that it is easy to focus all her energy on raising her two children.
When Kim was younger, she found herself driven to be the best she could be at everything she tried. Her goal was to make a living out of something that she loved. So when she was 18 years old, she started surfing competitively. She surfed competitively for the next 10 years, and traveled all over the world. She signed a deal with OP that made her one of the highest paid female professionals on record.
Several years into retirement, Kim went back and won the OP pro, beating some of her main rivals. After that, she finally “got bored with it all” and decided to follow her other dream, which was to raise a family with her husband Brian. She now has two children, Justin who is 14, and Caitlin who is now 11.
As a stay at home mom, she says, “raising my kids well is my biggest focus.” When I asked her what she felt were some of her biggest victories in life, the first thing she said was having her two kids and keeping a healthy relationship with her husband, who she has been with since she was 18 years. Her and Brian have always been close. While she was traveling the world professionally, Brian would meet up with her in whatever country she was in, and they would travel and surf together.
Although Kim no longer surfs professionally, she is still out in the water as much as possible. Heads still turn when she's going down the line. She surfs just as well as she ever did, and she continues to remain a positive force in the water and an inspiration to aspiring women surfers everywhere.
Lori Rafferty
SB’s original pro wind-surfer and record-setter
Known as the “Speed Queen,” Lori Rafferty is all about timing. Her mantra is to take advantage of opportunities and to be in the right place at the right time. She first learned how to windsurf when she was offered free lessons while working as a lifeguard. The idea of windsurfing was new and still developing, but she “rode the progression of the sport” and went on to be a major player in the professional circuit and eventually set the record in speed sailing at a screaming 38 mph on her wind-surf board (the previous record was 32 mph). Imagine driving your car at 38 mph and looking down at the concrete zooming past you, and that’s what the water looks like while you’re windsurfing. The impact is just as deadly.
As the sport of windsurfing grew, so did the coverage, and Lori happened to have a natural talent for photography. Not only did she compete and win at competitions, but she would also catch great images of the sport. Her windsurfing photos have been published in magazines all over the world and she essentially became an ambassador for the sport. Born in Ventura county, Lori now lives in Santa Barbara with her husband Kail Wathne and two sons, Reese and Curtis. She is an avid surfer, freelance writer and photographer, adventure enthusiast, and still the original Santa Barbara wind-surfer.
Amy Bigelow
Reigning Champion of 9 Trails Race
Rejoice new hobbies! Amy Bigelow didn’t start running until she was 28 years old, starting with a slow and painful 3-mile loop around her neighborhood. Fast-forward ten years, and she is now two-time women’s champion of the 35-mile Nine Trails Race and in the best shape ever. The occasional run around the block became a passion for Amy Bigelow and eventually led her to the beautiful trails around Santa Barbara where trail running has recently become more popular. The Nine Trails race goes through Los Padres National Forest with an elevation gain of over 10,500 feet. It’s a hilly course with rocky terrain, creek crossings, climbs, and fast drops. The race took Amy seven hours and 34 minutes to complete, with her legs literally “smashed” at the end, and palms all cut up from taking a couple of spills along the way.
Constantly exceeding her own expectations, Amy has surprised herself with what she is capable of. “I don’t even know what my limitations are,” she said with a beaming smile. “Too many women make the mistake of thinking that they have physical limitations…we’re capable of doing so much more than what we give ourselves credit for.”
She encourages women, no matter what shape they’re in, to get out there and try something. “The SB running community is so incredible, I’ve made some great friends.” Organizations such as SB Running, SB Athletic Associations, and Moms in Motion offer great opportunities for anybody to get involved in the sport. Her goal now is to do even better in the race next year and try to finish under seven hours, a record breaker for women’s times. Amy also runs her own recruiting business, is the health and wellness sales representative for the eco-friendly Green Toe shoes, and is a single-mother of two young sons, Reese and Mason.
Sharon Green
World-class sail photographer
“The wetter and more miserable we are, the better the picture,” claims Sharon Green, one of the world’s leaders in sail photography. Hanging from helicopters or chase boats in turbulent conditions, Sharon Green captures the essence of sailboats and yachts at their most extreme. She is one of only two women who are regular photographers at the highest levels of competitive yacht racing. It’s a physically demanding job with plenty of death-defying and adrenaline-pumping action, because sailboats don’t come alive without the terrifying winds and sharp speed.
Sharon’s strength as a sail photographer comes from growing up in a sailing family. Her understanding of the sport allows her to “tell you at each second what’s going to happen,” and results in spectacular photos of great splashes. She manages her own company, called “Ultimate Sailing,” and edits, publishes, and distributes a calendar every year of action-packed boats from all over the world. Her calendar has become celebrated in the sailing world and is coming upon its 25th anniversary. Green also works for private individuals, teams, and sponsors of tournaments. Her jobs include making photo documentaries, creating slide shows in sync with music, and even public speaking at events such as yacht fundraisers. For more information on Sharon and her company, visit www.ultimatesailing.com.
Sue Peterson
Professional Swimmer
Sue Peterson was swimming competitively at age five and by the time she was in fifth grade, she was traveling away from home for the summer to train. Sue was shy, but feeling the “success” of swimming and competition and the sheer joy of being in the water gave her a special kind of focus, exceptional for someone so young. By age sixteen, she was training with her team to qualify for the Olympics. She would see other swimmers and remembers thinking, “If they can do it, why can’t I? I just knew it was possible.” Sue missed the 1976 Games by 2/100ths of a second.
Sue attended USC and continued training and experiencing what she calls, “a high, mental and physical and spiritual—you transcend pain, you are on another plain.” She recalls being so elated and elevated that her body felt as if it couldn’t even hold in pain. Unfortunately, in 1980 the United States boycotted the Olympics (which were held in Russia). Whatever frustration or disappointment Sue felt, did not slow her down—literally. That year she held the world record for speed, and was in the Guinness Book as fastest female swimmer.
Sue stopped swimming competitively but was able to travel around the world “performing swimming and teaching Water Polo clinics with a dear friend from college.” Sue loved everything about the sport, “the stretching, the relaxation.” She wanted to share this gift with as many kids as possible, and after having her own kids she wrote a book called Swim with Me. She later co-wrote another book called Becoming a Better You, in which she inspires kids to live in a more balanced and aware state, by way of her own stories.
Sue adores living in Santa Barbara and takes time everyday to “breathe, run, bike or surf.” And every once in a while she can be talked into entering a triathlon or race by her husband or one of her kids. “Swimming is addictive,” she says. “It makes you happy.”
Shawn Alladio
K38 Water Rescue Owner and Instructor
Shawn Alladio started the business K38, which has become the standard for big wave surfing rescue operations. K38 trains the Navy, police, lifeguard and firefighting units as well as big wave tow-in surfers in fast water rescue procedures. Shawn is the only female instructor in the entire Navy SEALS program.
In 1979 Shawn found her passion when she bought her first stand-up Jet Ski. In 1989, she started racing Jet Skis professionally. While racing, she saw a lot of things being done unsafely and thus began the K38 Rescue Squad. Shawn teaches anybody who wants to learn, and she teaches people to follow their instincts.
Not only is Shawn a teacher, but she is also the person to whom even the proudest of men turn to for advice and assistance. She has worked with men like Jeff Clark, Ross Clark Jones and other big wave surfers. She has done Jet Ski tow-ins and rescues at places like Mavericks, Todos Santos, Teahupo’o and Jaws. Jones once said, “With Shawn around, it’s not even dangerous to surf anymore!”
You may think that a woman like this has no fear, but when asked what the most frightening experience she has ever had while doing rescues is, she simply said, “honestly, every one of them.” Surprisingly enough, she continued by saying, “it’s the human element that is terrifying, not the natural element.” You would think that working in conditions like the documented “100 foot Wednesday,” during which the waves were up to 120 feet, that the natural element would be the most dominant fuel for terror. That particular day, she says, shifted her psyche on a personal level. She “felt completely insignificant as a being.”
She was also a participant in the rescue efforts during the New Orleans disaster, which she described as “crushing to the soul.” She would pass by houses, and all she could think was “these people are never going to step through that door again.”
Perhaps one of the things that helps get Shawn through all the tragedy she sees is her mentality that “you have to always find the good in the bad,” even though sometimes that is a really tough thing to do.
Shawn Alladio is by far one of the most selfless and humble women I have been fortunate enough to meet in my life. She is the kind of person that instantly makes you feel at home as if you were family. She lives her life for other people, whether they be complete strangers or her own two children whom she loves deeply, she always puts others first. Yet even with all that she has already accomplished in life, her goal is still “to be a better woman today than I was yesterday.”
Posted April 2006 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
April News
Giant Killer
By Chuck Graham
Rookie Bobby Martinez made his World Championship Tour (WCT) debut at the Quiksilver Pro held at Snapper Rocks and Duranbah on Australia's Gold Coast, the first event of the 2006 tour.
He didn't disappoint, leaving several WCT veterans in his wake, before falling to eventual winner and 7-time world champ Kelly Slater in the semifinals. On his way to finishing 3rd, Martinez dusted off former WCT world champ Mark Occhilupo (his favorite surfer) in round 2, Phil MacDonald in round 3, Joel Parkinson in round 4, and Floridian Damien Hobgood in the quarterfinals.
In 2005, Martinez finished 2nd on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) automatically qualifying him for the WCT in 2006, where he's seeded 29th. "I think those guys are in trouble with him coming on tour," says Al Merrick, owner/shaper of Channel Islands Surfboards who shapes Martinez's boards. "I think he'll be devastating while he's on the CT."
ISF Results
By Paula Andersen (San Marcos Team Mom)
The final individual standings of the 2005/2006 Channel section high school surfing season have been compiled by the Interscholastic Surfing Federation (ISF). The Channel Section includes 11 high schools each with 30 male and female team members. The 330 high school students have competed in five surfing events over the past four months at various locations from Campus Point to Santa Monica in a wide variety of surf conditions. The increase in spectators and coaches over the years has added to the fun and excitement of the all day events.
Three local surfers finished in the top five of the men’s shortboard: Colin Andersen from San Marcos finished in first place for the second year in a row, Cody Davis from Dos Pueblos High received second place and Mike Lonson from Santa Barbara High came in fourth place.
In the men’s longboard, Daniel Hendrickson from Dos Pueblos finished fourth and Will Radis from Santa Barbara finished fifith.
Jane Hinkle from San Marcos finished third and Kyle Aker from Santa Barbara finished fourth in the women’s shortboard. Chelsea Zanibioni from Santa Barbara and Mahea Furukawa from Dos Pueblos finished first and third respectively in the women’s longboard.
In the bodyboard division, Cody Hemmah (Dos Pueblos) finished second, with Shane Orr (SB High) in third, Cody Fleishauer (SB) in fourth, and Buddy Flora (San Marcos) in fifth.
The final Channel Section high school overall team results this season were:
1st- Ventura High
2nd- Thousand Oaks
3rd- Santa Barbara
4th- Palisades High
5th- tie between San Marcos and Dos Pueblos
For more information, go to www.isfsurfing.com and click on the “Channel Section.” Team try-outs for the individual schools are in the fall.
California Coastal Commission
If you’ve ever used the beach access trail to Naples or Jalama, please help the CCC and fill out their questionnaire. This information will help determine whether or not these popular beach accesses deserve to be dedicated public access points. Go to http://www.coastal.ca.gov/access/naples.pdf or http://www.coastal.ca.gov/access/jalama.pdf
The Arden Taylor Surf Benefit Contest in Memory of Larry Ugale
By David Pu’u
In its seventh year, the Arden Taylor seems to have continued in an evolutionary path that sort of defies competitive definition. The event is actually a tool whereby people who have passed tragically are memorialized. Funds and for lack of a better word, aloha, are raised to benefit the living.
It is a best case example of surfers and the community giving back in both body and spirit. This year’s beneficiary was 17 year-old Larry Ugale Jr, whose father tragically passed away on August 17th 2005 as the two were preparing to go for a surf.
The event unfolded as the northwest wind blew, and the smallish swell faded. But no one seemed to care about the fickle weakness of the surf conditions. The event is all about putting whatever one has back into a sport that has given much to many.
It was likely that same oneness of attitude that caused none of us to be surprised when Larry Jr. won the men’s division that day. It just seemed eminently appropriate to all of us, as most stood smiling in the late afternoon sun as the last of the swell disappeared and prizes were handed out.
Product Review: Big Sur Bar
By Chuck Graham
I could've used 20 or 30 of these bars up on Aconcagua last January, or when I was circumnavigating the Channel Islands, or running an ultra marathon. What I'm trying to say is the Big Sur Bar is without a doubt the best tasting energy bar there is on the market today. It felt weighty in my hand, but after eating one of these dense and delicious five ounce bricks consisting of rolled oats, flour, almonds, pecans, raisins, coconut, white chocolate chips, brown sugar, orange zest, honey, eggs, baking soda and other ingredients, I was instantly hooked. Sharing with friends isn't an option, you'll be hording these away like a squirrel stores nuts in a tree! Baked along the rugged central California coast, they currently come in three flavors: The Original, The White Zest and their newest bar, The Blind Date Bar.
www.bigsurbar.com.
Ventura Surfrider
The Ventura Surfrider is asking for your help. The Ventura County Beach Line is currently in serious threat by developers, and if you enjoy this beach, you can help by speaking out. A development company has purchased all the land directly above County Line Beach with plans for about 25 homes in a private gated community. The Ventura Surfrider believes that this proposed community will yield significant environmental impacts to the County Line’s water quality, fisheries, beach sand, scenery, available beach parking, and more. Surfers, divers, fishermen, beach goers, and environmentally conscious citizens need to speak up and defend their beach. You can write, fax, email and call in your concerns. To find out how, go to www.savecountyline.org.
That's A Mouthful
By Chuck Graham and Carli Leavitt
On March 9, at least two harbor seals were killed by a 15-foot great white shark, approximately 30 yards offshore from their rookery located just east of the Venoco Pier in Carpinteria. The first attack occurred at approximately 10:55am followed by the second at 11:20am.
The harbor seal rookery is home to approximately 300 animals that wallow on the beach and feed just offshore. Each year the beach is closed from December 1 through May 31, so adult harbor seals can breed, pup and wean their young unimpeded by beach walkers and dogs. The rookery is looked after by Seal Watch volunteers who monitor the health, growth and numbers of the rookery.
Seals are easily observed 100 feet above on the Carpinteria Bluffs, where one individual was fortunate enough to witness the feeding frenzy. Vic Hypes, a new Carpinteria resident, witnessed an explosion of feathers as gulls fled the scene when a dark pool of blood surfaced and swirled with the rush and power of the great white.
The carcass was retrieved from the beach after it washed ashore where the bite marks were examined. Thanks to pictures taken of the dorsal and caudal fins, a zoologist at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History was able to confirm that it was indeed the same Great White Shark responsible for both attacks. On Friday the City of Carpinteria issued a warning for local fisherman and surfers to take caution when using this area.
In the last 130 years the great white has been responsible for 64 human deaths worldwide. California is the white shark attack capital of the world with seven recorded fatalities. The chance of a surfer being attacked by a great white is extremely rare but that doesn’t stop the shark’s presence from having an effect on our local beaches. Tyson Parsons, a regular in the Rincon line up for the last seven years, paddled out just south of the Seal Preserve that following Saturday. When asked which shark is the most frightening, Parsons replied “great white” without hesitation. Although these sharks are at the top of the oceanic food chain, they don’t purposefully eat humans. Usually they mistake us for a seal or sea lion but due to their huge mouths and razor sharp teeth, the damage done from the first bite is often fatal.
It’s no surprise many surfers are afraid of the great white and chose to stay out of the water after the sightings. When asked how he deals with the knowledge of Great Whites in the area, Parsons replied, “I don’t think about them, but if I saw one I would get out of the water.”
Chasing Dora
On Thursday, May 11th, “Chasing Dora,” a film by Wes Brown and T.J. Barrack will be coming to the Arlington Theatre, with live music by Tom Curren. “Chasing Dora” is about legendary Mickey Dora’s vision of a perfect surf contest. Three surfers take the challenge by shaping their own wood boards and traveling to Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, to surf some of the fastest waves in the world. Mark this one down in your calendars.
Santa Barbara Surf Club
The Santa Barbara Surf Club will host their 4th annual Meeting of the Tribes contest at Middle Beach. SB Surf Club will be competing against the Ventura Surf Club and Oxnard Wave Riders. Come check it out and support your local team in a contest against its neighboring towns.
Save our Access Path (S.O.A.P.)
By Tim Page
The Historic Access Path used by residents and visitors for 40 years leading from the side of 188 Seacliff to the Bluff Top, Spyglass Park and St. Ann’s beach in Shell Beach was fenced off and closed by an adjacent property owner in October of 2004.
Since then, the community has formed a non-profit corporation called Save Our Access Path Inc. They filed a lawsuit against these property owners, seeking to get the fences removed and the blocked access path opened. The California Coastal Commission has completed their study of Prescriptive Rights for this path property, and determined that there is strong evidence that Prescriptive Rights exist. The case is currently in the State Attorney General’s Office waiting for a decision. They should rule soon that a Prescriptive Easement exists.
S.O.A.P. is currently planning a fundraiser for May 20th at Spyglass Park in Shell Beach. All donations from a raffle, BBQ, and 5K Fun-Walk will be used to pay the legal expenses associated with getting the Historic Path opened again. Come out and see for yourself what the blocked path looks like, and join in the fun, food and great prizes. Contact saveourpath@aol.com for more information.
Surfing’s Greatest Misadventures
The reading tour for the book, Surfing’s Greatest Misadventures is coming to the Central Coast. On Wednesday, April 26th, 7 p.m. Shawn Alladio and Jeff Phillips will be recounting a collection of true stories about shark attacks, tsunamis, big waves, wipeouts, etc. And on Thursday, April 27th, Shawn Alladio and Glenn Hening will present a reading at the Bank of Books in Ventura, 7 p.m. For more information, go to www.thesurfbook.com.
K38
Check out www.ShawnAlladio.com for a list of PWC Open Water Courses going on this spring. April 20th is the deadline to register for the Western states Police and Fire Games Watercraft Competition, and May 1st is the deadline to register for the H20 Responders Team Challenge.
Earth Day
Celebrate Earth Day! The Community Environmental Council will be throwing a South Coast Earth Day Festival on Sunday, April 23rd at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. They will be featuring the latest and greatest in alternative fueled vehicles along with live music from a solar-powered stage. Learn more about Earth Day at www.communityenvironmentalcouncil.org.
The Goleta Family School will be having their 6th Annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 29th at Stow Park featuring music, earth friendly arts and crafts, games and booths. Admission is free. Visit www.goletafamilyschool.org for more information.
Groundswell Society Update
By Glenn Hening
For the tenth year in a row, the Clean Water Classic-Team Surfing at
Rincon Benefit Event- left everyone with smiles on their faces. We were finally able to declare victory in our efforts to stop pollution at Rincon - our goal since the first event back in 1997. The septics-to-sewers project is going forward, thanks to Heal the Ocean. So to create a sense of occasion for the last "Clean Water Classic," we sent invitations to every team that has ever surfed in the event. Eighteen teams enjoyed a good swell on Saturday and fun waves on Sunday. And we raised another ten thousand for the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, HTO, and the City of Carp Youth Ocean Program.
So, now what? A couple of new ideas are ringing true when it comes to honoring a great tradition of community spirit at Rincon, such as giving more people a chance to be a part of one of surfing's most unique events (not to mention the best waves!) The Society is in contact with the Santa Barbara and Ventura Surf Clubs, so keep reading this column for info about what's next: The Rincon Invitational.
Community Environmental Council
By Sigrid Wright
The Community Environmental Council is the South Coast's oldest and largest environmental group. A 'think and do' organization, our work focuses on finding positive and innovative ways of solving the region’s most pressing environmental challenges. In the past this has included creating the first recycling centers in Santa Barbara, the first organic community gardens, and one of the first hazardous waste collection centers in the nation.
Today our main areas of focus are renewable energy, watershed restoration, alternative transportation and environmental education. We are best known for cutting edge programs such as Fossil Free by '33, Million Solar Roofs, Green Schools, and efforts to restore the health of ecosystems such as Carpinteria Creek. Our centers include Art From Scrap and the South Coast Watershed Resource Center, and events include coordinating the South Coast Earth Day Festival, the Steelhead Run, the Santa Barbara Channel Swim, and frequent beach cleanups. We are always looking for volunteers to help with events or programs.
For more information about CEC visit www.communityenvironmentalcouncil.org.
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
By Penny Owens
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper is a local non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the Santa Barbara Channel and its watersheds through citizen action, education and enforcement.
Channelkeeper works on the water and in the community to monitor local waterways, restore aquatic ecosystems, advocate for clean water, enforce environmental laws, and educate and engage citizens in identifying and devising solutions to local pollution problems.
Channelkeeper’s clean water advocacy and enforcement efforts are currently striving to compel the Santa Barbara Polo Club to cease polluting Padaro Beach, Halaco Engineering Co. to clean up its mountain of toxic waste on the Ormond Beach wetland, the City of Santa Barbara to enact a strong ordinance to address leaking sewer laterals, and numerous local municipalities to implement strong programs to reduce storm water pollution.
Channelkeeper is also conducting monthly water quality monitoring in the Ventura River and Goleta Slough watersheds with the help of scores of volunteers monitoring and restoring kelp and eelgrass in the Channel, and teaching local youth about the importance of eelgrass beds, kelp forests and water quality through hands-on lessons and labs in twelve local middle schools. For more information, go to www.sbck.org.
Betty Belts
Betty Belts, the creator of beautiful ocean-inspired accessories, has recently been nominated for The Surfer’s Path Green Wave Award, which honors businesses that promote environmental consciousness in the surfing world. All Betty Belts accessories are hand-made with a commitment to environmental and social sustainability. Owner, designer, and passionate surfer Donna von Hoesslin makes every effort to reduce, reuse, recycle and reinvent her product. There are no sweat shops or factories used, instead all the work is contracted out to home-workers in Bali, Indonesia. To find out more about Betty Belts, go to www.bettybelts.com.
Patagonia
In January of 2006, Patagonia Inc. launched its 2006-2007 environmental campaign, Oceans as Wilderness, to raise the public’s awareness of threats to the marine environment. Patagonia will spend 18 months with scientists, writers, surfers and fishermen exploring the threats and solutions to the ocean environment. Patagonia invites scientists, writers, politicians, athletes, activists, parents, and all people to exlpore these topics in essays featured on their website. For more information, visit www.patagonia.com/oceans.
Posted April 2006 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
