3 Million Flop

An inquiry has been looked into the Boscome reef in Cornwall that has been called a potential £3 Million pound flop. An original promise of bigger and better waves, coupled with more surf days were not delivered. Ben Grower added: "The criteria were changed and it was not made absolutely clear to the council. Now an expert has admitted that surfing conditions on the reef are less consistent than they are on the beach."

With the hope that the reef would add extra added tourism and boost revenue for the local economy Bournmoth have decided to hold back £150,000 from ASR informing them, the last stage of payment will only be released when the reef is deemed more successful.

Paddling against a tide of plastic

Two paddle surfers Morgan Hoesterey and Jenny Kalmbeach have taken it upon themselves to paddle some 200 nautical miles across the Hawaiian islands to raise awareness of the state of pollution.

Many of the islands look untouched, however a closer inspection always reveals much more information. Although the feat has been completed before by Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama in 2006, the state off pollution is growing worse and can only be combatted by repeated attempts to raise awareness.

As they passed Lanai, a central island, known as 'Shipwreck Beach, also described as a beachcombers paradise, they come across a concrete hulled WW2 tanker, glusticks from Asia, sandals from the US, bottle tops, wrappers, trays, utensils, bags, baggies, detergent bottles, brushes, eyeglasses, tubing, barrels, drift nets, buoys and fragments of plastic worn down to no more than a grain off sand.

Plastic that has been worn down this small, then gets eaten up by fish, who we then fish. Plastic that we throw away will make it's way back into our bodies through the food chain.

Destination 3 Degrees- Snippet #1 from Soul Surf Media on Vimeo.

Surfrider

Created in 1984 in California, Surfriders foundation has grown accomodating over 50,000 memebers in the US alone, the foundation however isn't restricted to the US alone, but reaches out to 5 foreign countries. With members from all walks of life, their campaigns have achieved
200+ community outreach campaigns, 900 presentations of Surfrider's education program: Respect the Beach, 8,000+ beach water tests taken, 600 beach cleanups, 125+ meetings and events involving city, county, and state governments were attended by Surfrider Chapter representative and 140,000 Voluneteer hours completed.

'SURFRIDER recognizes the biodiversity and ecological integrity of the planet's coasts are necessary and irreplaceable. SURFRIDER is committed to preserving natural living and non-living diversity and ecological integrity of the coastal environment.'

Surfers Against Sewage

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is a UK based organization campaigning for a cleaner, safer, water environment where surfers and ocean lovers can spend time without being affected by sewage, toxic chemicals, marine litter and nuclear waste.

Founded in 1990 by a group of surfers who had been affected by some form of illness contracted from the sea they based themselves in cornwall and quickly grew into a large powerful company.

'SAS represents all recreational water users in the UK, from surfers and sailors, through to bodyboarders and windsurfers. The campaigns protect the coastal environment for all to enjoy, and promote a clean and safe water environment for people to enjoy and practice a wide variety of sports that rely on these marine resources.' ... www.sas.org.uk

Save the Waves

Save the Waves is another non profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the coastline and marine environment on a global scale. This group or surfers, scientists and activists share the belief that coastlines around the world hold immeasurable value and beauty and need to be protected.

The coalition was created when the Portuguese government proposed building a marina in Lugar de Baixo, directly on top of a perfect right hand point break. After the first stages of building a seawall along the shoreline, the backwash created had destroyed this wave, local surfers were powerless to do anything about it. Therefore by bringing together various environmental groups and activists from around the world, Save the Waves prevented any further construction of this Marina and had it moved to another bay.

Since that victory, StW has taken on many cases around the world to defend the coastline, and released 'Surfonomic' statements detailing the economic value waves add to the coastline. These can be found here: http://www.savethewaves.org/library