The same weekend, our team rider, Terri Plunkett, took first place in the race in North Carolina.

AND!!!! The LCC Surf team completed state finals at Oceanside Harbor! The girls did awesome! And the guys got second in short board.

Sun Safety; make sure you are wearing sunscreen at all times. The best thing to do would be to put it on without your suit on. This does not mean to strip down to your birthday suit on the beach. This means put it on before you put your suit on (at home) and wait for it to dry before putting your bikini or board shorts back on. 

Now that you are a waterman, you want to use a product that is safe for the ocean ( see June post “Dude, Only Wear Biodegradable Sunscreen in the Ocean”).  Some of the most harmful ingredients that many sunscreens contain PABA, octinoxate, oxybenzone, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, oils, chemicals or the preservative butylparaben.  If your sunscreen has any of these ingredients, it is not safe for use in coral reefs.  We found a really great one at L’Occatane- Sunscreen lotion high protection SPF30. It is a little more expensive ($26 for 5.1oz.), but it is not greesy and stays on like a champ. It also smells pretty good. 

What to wear: A wetsuit keeps you warm by allowing a thin layer of water to form between you and the wetsuit, which your body heat quickly warms. They come in several different thicknesses. The first number represents the torso thickness, and the second number represents the thickness for the arms and legs.  The most common one is the 3/2 (say “three two”) that can be worn all year long. The 4/3 is the next thickness that is used in Winter.  The wetsuit should fit you snug while still allowing you to move freely. It should not be baggy or loose or it will fill up with water and….well…that wouldn’t be good. When putting it on, the zipper or opening goes in the BACK.

If it is warm enough to skin it (no wetsuit), make sure your board shorts and bathing suit tops are tied tight so they don’t fly off. If you are wearing a bathing suit, make sure you get one that is a little tight. You may want to even go down a size from your normal suit size. Waves and salt water tend to pull and stretch your suit out.

A rash guard (a nylon and lycra fitted shirt found in surf shops) is a good option for surfers to keep wax off your suit and chest hairs in tact. They are used to prevent chafing under a wetsuit and so your stomach won’t get irritated from the sand and wax combination on your board. For free divers and scubadivers, the rash guard prevents chafing around the neck when you are below the water looking around at all the beauty of the ocean world.

Water Safety;  The most important thing before paddling or swimming out is to know how to swim. The second is to be respectful in the water. For surfers, make sure you practice paddling, turtle rolls, duck dives, and catching whitewater where there are no other surfers. Don’t go to the most popular spot where the waves are perfect and get in everyone’s way. When practicing, don’t let go of your board! Make sure the board is never parallel to the beach. Aim the nose toward the line-up or toward the beach. If a wave is ready to smash you, grab the part of the leash that attaches to the surfboard and push the tail of the board down below the water and hold your breath.

These are just the basics to get you ready to practice your skills.  

Have fun!

Beach break
This is the best types of break for learning to surf. Waves break over a sandy bottom. The sand can move and shift throughout the year. At some point, rocks can even come in and go again.

Reef break
The wave is formed over a reef or rock structure under water. These are the most consistent breaks and. Most consistent take-off places for surfers. 
These can be the most competitive places to surf as well. When paddling out in a reef, paddle out diagonally and scan the top of the water for boils. This is where the rocks are. Be careful when surfing over the shallow rocks. Try to fall shallow. 

Point break
Long, unvarying waves that break along a point that extends from the coastline.

Ground swells
Waves formed over vast distances, well-formed and powerful.

River mouth breaks
Wave forms on the sediments deposited at the river mouth. These are similar to beach breaks, but more susceptible to change. Cardiff reef has a great river mouth.

Wind swells
Waves formed by wind. They tend to be sloppy and unorganized. (Wind slop)

Check the weather forcast, tide times, and wind speed before you go out in the water. Always take time to study the waves and paddle or swim out inbetween sets.

go to link below to take the survey- it takes 5 minutes. Read on to see what it is all about.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=jweijd4I8d5vtscSSwjSHw_3d_3d

The Surfrider Foundation is currently working with a wide variety of individuals and organizations on the Marine Life Protection Act — or MLPA. The MLPA is a state law that requires establishing a “network” of marine protected areas along the California coastline. This law is currently being implemented in Southern California.

Much like our National Parks protect special places on land, these Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) offer heightened protection for marine life to thrive and people to enjoy. In short, MPAs protect special places for their “intrinsic value” – preserving ecological abundance for generations to come. MPAs around the globe have become popular attractions for people to enjoy nature’s beauty and abundance.

Establishing MPAs can also help restore healthy fisheries. Studies show alarming declines in fish populations worldwide. Fishermen are now catching half of what they did in 1990 and the fish they do catch are 45 percent smaller. Some local fisheries may take 50-80 years to recover. MPAs allow marine life populations to increase and individual species to grow to full maturity—which increases the number of off-spring from protected areas. These larger populations may “spill over” the boundaries of MPAs and provide improved fishing in areas adjacent to MPAs.

The state of California adopted the MLPA in 1999 and created the opportunity for members of the public to participate in identifying special places worthy of heightened protection. Surfrider Foundation members represent a broad spectrum of people who enjoy time in the ocean: surfers, fishers, divers, kayakers, sailors and others who just love the natural beauty of our coast and ocean. Our collective knowledge from this experience can help design an effective network of MPAs.

The Surfrider Foundation is gathering information and recommendations from local communities to help formulate a regional network of MPAs. Our goal is to balance our members’ commitment to restoring and protecting our coast and ocean for generations, with our support of sustainable and accessible fishing opportunities.

Help establish successful Marine Protected Areas by completing this survey (all responses are anonymous).

To learn more about MLPA go to:  www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa  and  www.CalOceans.org or email Stefanie at: SSekich@surfrider.org

REEFS COULD PERISH BY END OF CENTURY

In addition to being beautiful, coral reefs are important shelters for fish and other sea life. We all know our oceans are in trouble, but that trouble is coming on faster than some feared. Last week, two dozen coral reef specialists and climate change experts addressed a meeting in London to discuss the fate of our coral reef systems. They announced their prediction that carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere will reach 450 parts per million by the year 2050. Since the oceans absorb these gases and become more acidic as a result, this predicted pace will soon wipe out all coral reefs in existence. The reefs don’t just attract under sea inhabitants and human visitors, they’re also one of the ocean’s biggest life forces and a potential storehouse of human medicines. Losing them could have unimaginable repercussions. “The kitchen is on fire and it’s spreading around the house,” said Alex Rogers of the Zoological Society of London and the International Program on the State of the Ocean. “If we act quickly and decisively we may be able to put it out before the damage becomes irreversible.”

This is very scary news for us Watermen. For more information and a full article, visit news at http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE5654JY20090706

Surfing Indonesia

You can view photos, download videos of a waterman using it to warm up and change under, and browse the catalog for new products.

Podcasts coming soon; surfing lesson #1 and stand-up paddle lesson #1.