OUT THERE & International Surfing Day

This Friday, June 20…

Video premier for “OUT THERE,” a 16mm and HiDef film by Teton Gravity Research at The Ocean Club on Friday at 7 p.m. Through the eyes and experiences of surfers and locals, the film takes a thought-provoking look into the environmental destruction threatening key surf spots such as Trestles, California, Southern Chile which is threatened by pulp mills, mainland Mexico, North Shore Hawaii near the Turtle Bay development and beyond.

View the trailer!

The event will also feature live music by eight local bands (Love, She Wrote, Wait For Green, Brandy Robinson, ACME, Johari, Vyshon, DJ Lord Swift & Mike Fout & the Barons sponsored by SyncLive.com), plus a surfboard raffle and other give-aways from local sponsor, K9Coils. Admission is only for ages 18 and up and is $10 at the door. Proceeds benefit the First Coast Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.

The movie premier is sponsored nationally by Jeep, SoBe Life Water, Billabong and Surfer Magazine.

AND on Saturday, June 21….

The City of Jacksonville’s Clean It Up, Green It Up program will partner with the First Coast Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation to observe Surfing Magazine’s “International Surf Day” with a beach cleanup and surf session on Saturday, June 21.

The Beach Cleanup and Surf Session (waves permitting) will be held on Saturday, June 21 from 9-11 a.m. Litter bags and gloves will be distributed to volunteers at the following locations:

• Neptune Beach Lifeguard Station
• Jacksonville Beach Pier
• Jacksonville Beach Lifeguard Station
• 16th Avenue South in Jacksonville Beach
• A Street Access in St Augustine

Cleanup participants must be at least 18 years old or accompanied by an adult and should bring water and wear sturdy footwear and sun protection. Advance registration is NOT required.

Following the cleanup, experienced surfers are invited to bring their own boards and enjoy the ocean. Each location will have a first aid kit and site captains standing by, but surfing is at your own risk.

In addition, volunteers are invited to attend an awards ceremony featuring organic iced teas from Fusion Tide at cost and free food at the Jacksonville Beach Pier at noon. Awards will be presented to cleanup volunteers, sponsors and partner organizations for their commitment to preserving the communities’ beaches.

Partner organizations for the beach cleanup include Sisters of the Sea, WAV, MySurfari and Pit Surf Shop. The event is sponsored nationally by Monster Energy, Earthpack and Pacsun.

And, don’t miss out on a special offer from the Surfrider Foundation and Surfing Magazine!

June Chapter Meeting, Out There & ISD

June’s First Coast Chapter meeting is Monday, June 9th at 6:30pm at the same location, Fionn MacCool’s in Jacksonville Beach. It’s going to be a short meeting to discuss the upcoming Teton Gravity Research premier of “OUT THERE” and International Surfing Day!

‘OUT THERE’ Movie Premier in Jax Beach

When: Friday, June 20th from 7pm til midnight
Where: The Ocean Club in Jacksonville Beach
Cost: $10 per person at the door

Shot on 16mm and HiDef, OUT THERE is the story of endangered surf locations around the world through the eyes and travels of today’s most progressive surfers. OUT THERE features world-renowned surfers taking on some of the heaviest swells surfed last year.

Athletes: Ian Walsh, Shane Dorian, John John Florence, Jamie O Brien, Jordy Smith, Nate Yeomans, Donavan Frankenreiter, Jamie Sterling, Pancho Sullivan, Garrett McNamara

Locations: Chile, Tahiti, California, Hawaii, Galapagos

SyncLive presents the after party!

Featuring: Love, She Wrote, Wait For Green, Brandy Robinson, ACME, Johari, Vyshon, DJ Lord Swift & Mike Fout & the Barons 

———————————————–

International Surfing Day

Established four years ago by the Surfrider Foundation and Surfing Magazine, International Surfing Day is the one day a year where surfers from around the globe come together to celebrate the sport of surfing and pitch in to give back to our world’s oceans, waves and beaches.

International Surfing Day is sponsored nationally by Monster Energy Drink, Pac Sun and Earthpack.

City of Jacksonville’s Clean It Up, Green It Up division and First Coast Surfrider are teaming up again for second annual multi-location beach cleanup on Saturday, June 21st from 9am - 1pm.

The cleanup will last two hours, followed by an awards ceremony and food for everyone who participated at the Jacksonville Beach Pier. Organic iced teas will be available for purchase from Fusion Tide Teas, so bring a few bucks for a delicious and earth-friendly refreshment.

Partner organizations: Sisters of the Sea, Pit Surf Shop, MySurfari

Locations:

• Access 1 at Hanna Park
• Neptune Beach Lifeguard Station
• Jacksonville Beach Pier
• Jacksonville Beach Lifeguard Station
• 16th Ave South
• A Street in St Augustine

All ages are encouraged to participate, but children must have a parent or guardian present.

———————————-

Want to volunteer for either event? Contact Erin Handy at volunteer@surfriders.org.

May 2008 Chapter Meeting Minutes

Minutes for the First Coast Surfrider Chapter meeting that met at Fionn Macool’s on 5/12/2008 at 7:00pm. For the purpose of Monthly Chapter Meeting.

Total members in attendance: 13
Presiding Chairperson: Rhea Drysdale

MAY 2008 CHAPTER BUSINESS

Recap of Past Events:

• Earth Day at the Jacksonville Landing
• 2nd Annual Sea Turtle Festival at the St Augustine Pier
• Life Rolls On (LRO)

Kathy Hayden, Outreach Coordinator, gave an update on the first two events. Kathy asked about what we are Read the rest of this entry »

Pictures of Surfrider’s 2008 Black Tie & Baggies

Thanks to George Arco and Danny Barley for photography. They did a terrific job documenting the fun!

Thank You again to our amazing title sponsor and caterer: Paco’s Mexican Grill

Also, thank you to Rosie True and Jaffi’s for a smokin’ hot fashion show!!!

More thank you’s to come soon….

The Beach is Falling! The Beach is Falling!

For anyone that missed the news today it appears as though St Johns County’s beach erosion problem just got kicked into high gear. Grab details on the story from Christina Abel’s Shorelines coverage, Commission May Declare Emergency for Five Vilano Beach Homes:

“Assistant County Administrator Darrell Locklear said the commissioners will meet today [April 9, 2008] at 3 p.m. to declare an emergency, which would allow homeowners to get Florida Department of Environmental Protection permission to put up temporary bulkheads to stop the erosion. The county has declared emergency situations in the past for homes north of this area, and those homeowners have been permitted to put in wooden and metal walls.”

This isn’t a new issue, it’s been slowly developing over the past three years. Editor of the Folio Weekly, Anne Schindler provided an excellent recap of the situation in the November 27, 2007 Editor’s Note, “Dune Not Rescuscitate”: Read the rest of this entry »

Online Auction for 3rd Annual Black Tie and Baggies

THE ONLINE AUCTION IS NOW LIVE!

How it works:

You can bid as high and as often as you like online, but by noon on Saturday, April 12th we’ll stop the online bids! At that point the bidding is on hold until the 3rd Annual Black Tie & Baggies begins at 7pm at the Atlantic. When it starts, the bids will open with the highest bid from the online auction as the starting bid. If no one bids in-person above your online bid you’ll win. So, bid high if you really want it! If you’re worried about someone stealing YOUR goods, but you can’t be at the event in-person, take a tip from SR member Jeremy and have a friend bid for you.

To view all of the goodies you have to click “MORE” below.

Currently up for auction:

Painting from local artist and Surfrider member, Damon Williams:

30″(height) x 42″ (width) acrylic on wood door and will be framed, stained and poly coated

Surfer’s All-Inclusive Package at The Surf Sanctuary in Nicaragua:

*Saturday to Saturday
* 1 surfer = $1,250

Surfers package includes 7 nights accommodations in a casita with other surfers. The casita includes air conditioning and hot water in private bathroom. Package also includes transportation to and from the airport, 3 meals and 3 drinks per day, guided surf & 2 half-day boat trips. We have a swimming pool with water volleyball and swim-up bar, ping pong, horseshoes, darts, TV & DVD in the restaurant, a gift shop with internet. We also offer fishing trips, photography, massage and less than a 5-minute walk to the beach.

Airfare not included.

XCEL L/S Springsuit

Men’s large, longsleeve springsuit donated by Sunrise Surf Shop and XCEL.

Find more info about the XCEL’s wetsuits here.

Visit the Sunrise Surf Shop for more local Jax Beach surfing products.

More will be added as the details roll in! Have fun and let the bidding wars begin.

The Best Jacksonville Beach Event EVER

It’s almost here!!! The 3rd Annual Black Tie and Baggies is a week from Saturday.

Catering and title sponsorship from Paco’s Mexican Grill!

@The Atlantic Bar and Club

LIVE MUSIC from Sky Pilot!
FASHION SHOWS featuring Rosie True and Jaffi’s

Sponsors include:

• Paco’s Mexican Grill
• Sunrise Surf Shop
• The Surf Sanctuary
• MySurfari
• The Atlantic

Book signing by Paul Hayden

SILENT AUCTION with amazing donations from:

• Damon Williams
• Sunrise Surf Shop
• The Surf Sanctuary

RAFFLE ITEMS include goodies from:

• Arbonne
• Bali Cargo Company
• Bully’s
• Fig Tree Clothing
• Gene’s Seafood
• Half Moon Bay Trading Co.
• Lee’s Ice Cream
• Ragtime
• Sunrise Surf Shop
• SYK Surf Shop
• Where Ya Bean
• World Gym

Want to get your name or company on the list? Email us right now. No really, stop reading this and contact us!

Thank you to Charlotte Lombard, Val Zevins, Erin Handy and Julie Lawler for knocking the raffle and auction items out. They did an amazing job and I can’t wait to bid! We’ll be posting the silent auction items on the website again for early bidding. Stay tuned, should go live tomorrow or Sunday.

QUICK POLL:

And, here’s our rockin’ poster from Danny Barley, George Arco, Andrew Foster and Mitch Kaufmann:

How to Run a Beach Cleanup

First Coast Surfrider hosts monthly beach cleanups in partnership with Sisters of the Sea, but other organizations often contact us to be part of a bigger event or help kick start their own conservation program. So, we decided to create a quick reference guide for how to run your own beach cleanup.

How to Run a Beach Cleanup

What’ll need before you begin:

• A LOCATION
  This will often be the reason for your cleanup. You noticed a polluted access, street, park or beach that needs your help!
• VOLUNTEERS
  You can hold a beach cleanup with just you and yourself, but having a few good men (women, children, dogs, aliens or anything else that can lend a hand) helps.
• DATE & TIME
  When do you plan on holding the cleanup? Consider local weather patterns and any outside factors that could negatively or positively impact your efforts. Will there be a lot of traffic (foot or car) at a certain hour? Will that traffic hinder or help the cleanup? If it’s a beach cleanup, the best time is when the tide is going out. This exposes new trash and gives you plenty of ground coverage.

Essential Cleanup Supplies:

• BAGS - Even buckets and boxes… go greener!
• GLOVES - Latex and non-latex in small, medium, large and x-large sizes.
• FIRST AID KITS - Include band aids, gauze, alcohol swabs, neosporin, pain reliever, etc.
• WATER - It’s important to stay hydrated!
• SIGN-IN SHEET - Keep count of your volunteers for safety and future reference; document their name, time in/out, email address. Also document the pounds of trash collected, a large bag half full is approximately 20lbs.
• VOLUNTEER HOUR FORMS - Volunteers need to document their community service hours; include volunteer name, date, location, time in/out, organization name and your signature.

Optional Cleanup Supplies:

• HAZARDOUS MATERIALS CONTAINER
• GRABBER - For those hard to reach places or dangerous items.
• DIRECTIONS TO NEAREST HOSPITALS - Extreme precaution, but you never know…
• INFO ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION - Crowded areas will attract attention, seize the opportunity to spread awareness about your group.
• CALENDAR OF EVENTS - Besides group info, give the volunteers and anyone with questions a copy of your upcoming events, so they can mark their calendars.

Additional Beach Cleanup Resources:

International Coastal Cleanup

Surfrider’s Respect the Beach Program

International Surfing Day

This guide was written as a how-to for beach cleanups, so there may be items for other environments that you find essential. Please share them here if it will benefit the masses!

Surfrider Remembers B.J. Romaine

B.J. Romaine 56, long time Surfrider Foundation member and a true waterman, passed away on March 8, 2008 after a short and unexpected illness.

B.J. was a Floridian by adoption and temperament. St. Augustine and the beaches provided him with a strong sense of place. The surf gave him strength, serenity and renewal.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Surfrider Foundation in his name. You can make a donation You can make a donation here.

***

The First Coast Chapter would like to thank the Romaine family for contacting us. We’re saddened by their loss and appreciate B.J.’s commitment to our local oceans.

Action Alert: Florida Beach Access Signage Bill

This year’s portion of a beach access bill is dealing with illegitimate signage and preservation of lateral access of the beach to the mean water high tide line or the revised erosion control line if the beach had been dredge-and-filled, creating a greater width of sovereign land. Too many associations and beach resorts are using signage to prohibit lateral access along the beach.

Please take 30 seconds to send this letter to the Florida State Environmental Council:

Send Your Action Alert

Thank you!