Take Action Against Plastic
Sep/100
I just heard on the radio today that California alone uses 19 BILLION plastic bags a year. If you are as tired as I am of seeing these bags on the beach, or surfing past one out in the ocean, please visit the site below and take action. Send a letter to your Senator and let him know how you feel about plastic. The bill to ban plastic bags in California was not passed today. However, we can all still do whatever we can on a daily basis to cut down on plastic use.
http://www.riseaboveplastics.org/
Write to your Senator. Click on the link that reads “Click here for more info” and it will take you to the page of your local senator. You just need to fill in your name and send it off. It takes two seconds…maybe three.
From the Good Pirates Of the Sea
May/100
“My name is Brad Latimer, I crewed on the M/Y Steve Irwin last year. We got sent a few boxes of Surf-furs from somewhere, when we got the box it had no return address….Anyways, I would just like to thank you for the gift as they kept us warm all through winter and when we went to Antarctica they were super for going out on deck.
I left the Steve Irwin in Hobart last September and went to Mauritius and picked up the ship Bob Barker there. We took it down to Antarctica to stop the Japanese whaling fleet. We had the most successful campaign ever this year so I was stoked to be a part of that.
But, I also took my Surf-fur with me and all the Bob Barker crew were jealous. It takes at least 15 min to put a mustang suit on and the action could be over before then….”
Thanks again,
Brad Latimer
The first one is at Kerguelen Islands while we were hiding out from a storm.
The second is well down in the Southern Ocean right up the backside of the Nisshin Maru where we stopped them from whaling for weeks.
there are also a few extra in there.
All credits to Brad Latimer/Sea Shepherd
May/100
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is expected to strike the Louisiana coastline today, and officials are bracing for impacts to shorebirds, turtles, shellfish and other endangered wildlife. But many ocean scientists are now raising concerns that a powerful current could spread the still-bubbling slick from the Florida Keys all the way to Cape Hatteras off North Carolina.
These oceanographers are carefully watching the Gulf Loop Current, a clockwise swirl of warm water that sets up in the Gulf of Mexico each spring and summer. If the spill meets the loop — the disaster becomes a runaway.
“It could make it from Louisiana all the way to Miami in a week, maybe less.” said Eric Chassignet, director of the Center for Ocean Atmospheric Prediction Studies at Florida State University. “It is pretty fast.”
Right now, some computer models show the spill 30 to 50 miles north of the loop current. If the onshore winds turn around and push the oil further south: “That would be a nightmare,” said Yonggang Liu, research associate at the University of South Florida who models the current. “Hopefully we are lucky, but who knows. The winds are changing and difficult to predict.”
Imagine the loop current as an ocean-going highway, transporting tiny plankton, fish and other marine life along a watery conveyor belt. Sometimes it even picks up a slug of freshwater from the Mississippi River — sending it on a wandering journey up to North Carolina.
The Gulf Loop Current acts like jet of warm water that squirts in from the Caribbean basin and sloshes around the Gulf of Mexico before being squeezed out the Florida Strait, where it joins the larger and more powerful Gulf Stream current.
Fishermen follow the current as a harbinger of good catches. It has also transported algal blooms — toxic “red tides” — from the Gulf of Mexico to beaches and bays along the southeast Atlantic coast.
Oceanographer George Maul worries that the current could push the oil slick right through the Florida Keys and its 6,000 coral reefs.
“I looked at some recent satellite imagery and it looks like some of the oil may be shifted to the south,” said Maul, a professor at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. “If it gets entrained in the loop, it could spread throughout much of the Atlantic.”
In fact, new animation from a consortium of Florida institutions and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, predicts a slight southward shift in the oil over the next few days.
Emergency responders are working to cap the oil spill at its undersea source, but admit it could be weeks before the well is shut down.
Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are expected to release their predictions of the spill and the loop current early this week. A spokeswoman for the agency did not respond to requests for comment by Discovery News.
-Eric Niiler is a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C.
The White Room Episodes
Feb/100
Website that makes videos on various “boardstories.” Look for the Surf-fur in use in the snow.
New Testimonials for Surf-fur
Feb/100
Cynthia,
Wanted to touch bases with you regarding the surf-fur you sent me for evaluation. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to use it diving yet, but we have certainly given it a good check-out in the snow. I think you should consider marketing it as an Apres-ski (or in our case Snowshoe) coat as well. As you can see by the attached pictures, my wife was delightfully warm as me and our friend hopped around trying to stay warm. As I noted in my initial email to you, that’s pretty unusual for Pearl, so quite the testimonial for the coat in a purpose it wasn’t really intended for. Pearl also definitely prefers the zipper over snaps (although we have actually never tried one with snaps). She says that snaps would not only have more opportunity for coming undone inadvertently, but would also provide less wind-proofing. She was definitely impressed with not only the wind-proofing of the coat, but also its waterproofing (you only need to take a look at the picture of her rolling around in the snow in it ….more than ample testimonial from a true cold blooded person.
Anyway, hope you had a good trip to the Arctic; hopefully we’ll be able to book a dive trip soon to give you some more feedback. Attached are several pictures that you are free to use as you see fit.
Thanks
Bill (and Pearl)
Happy customer
Ps It also works well as a hot tub robe
Snow Angel
Pps It would be good to get the weight down a little for packing/travel purposes (those darn baggage fees/limits), if that can be accomplished without impacting performance adversely.
The guy on our brochure
Jul/090
Here is a killer surf shot of our cover waterman, Scott Young from Encinitas, California.
Surfing Indonesia
The Surf-fur
Jul/090
To see photos of the Surf-fur in action, please visit www.heatlabinc.com
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.
Saftey from Hypothermia
Jul/090
(technical facts from Wikipedia)
Hypothermia is a condition in which an organism’s temperature drops below that required for normal metabolism and bodily functions. In warm-blooded animals, core body temperature is maintained near a constant level through biologic homeostasis. But, when the body is exposed to cold, its internal mechanisms may be unable to replenish the heat that is being lost to the organism’s surroundings.
Stage 1-Body temperature drops by 1-2°C (1.8-3.6°F) below normal temperature (35-37°C or 95-98.6°F). Mild to strong shivering occurs. The victim is unable to perform complex tasks with the hands; the hands become numb. Blood vessels in the outer extremities constrict. Breathing becomes quick and shallow. Goose bumps form, raising body hair on end in an attempt to create an insulating layer of air around the body. Victim may feel sick to their stomach, and very tired. Often, a person will experience a warm sensation, as if they have recovered, but they are in fact heading into Stage 2. Another test to see if the person is entering stage 2 is if they are unable to touch their thumb with their little finger; this is the first stage of muscles not working. They might start to have trouble seeing.
Stage 2- Body temperature drops by 2-4°C (3.8-7.6°F) below normal temperature (33-35°C or 91-94.8°F). Shivering becomes more violent. Muscle mis-coordination becomes apparent. Movements are slow and labored, accompanied by a stumbling pace and mild confusion, although the victim may appear alert. Surface blood vessels contract further as the body focuses its remaining resources on keeping the vital organs warm. The victim becomes pale. Lips, ears, fingers and toes may become blue.
Stage 3- Body temperature drops below approximately 32 °C (89.6 °F). Shivering usually stops. Difficulty speaking, sluggish thinking, and amnesia start to appear; inability to use hands and stumbling is also usually present. Cellular metabolic processes shut down. The exposed skin becomes blue and puffy, muscle coordination becomes very poor, walking becomes almost impossible, and the victim exhibits incoherent/irrational behavior including terminal burrowing or even a stupor. Pulse and respiration rates decrease significantly, but fast heart rates can occur. Major organs fail. Clinical death occurs.
Water sportsmen are in even more danger of getting hypothermia because the body loses heat 10 times faster in water than in air of the same temperature. Prolonged periods in the water may produce long, slow cooling and undetected hypothermia, even in tropical water. PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) suggests that water sportsmen, especially divers, use protective garments to heat up before, in between, and after dives to insure that the body heat has been restored.
Appropriate clothing (see Surf-fur) helps to prevent hypothermia. Wearing cotton in chilly weather or while enjoying watersports is a particular hypothermia risk as it retains water, and water quickly conducts heat away from the body. Even in dry weather, cotton clothing can become damp from perspiration, and chilly after the wearer stops exercising. Synthetic and wool fabrics provide far better insulation when wet and dry more quickly. Some synthetic fabrics are even designed to wick perspiration away from the body, like fleece.
Given the facts, the Surf-fur is the best garment on the market for protecting from hypothermia. Made of polyester fleece, the Surf-fur is an all-around protective utility dive parka / stadium coat that offers comfort, warmth and safety. It wicks water away from the body and it can be worn immediately after exiting the water. Surf-fur helps the body warm up in-between dives or heats (surf/swim) to re-heat your body to safe and comfortable levels. Do you ever notice how you shiver for hours after being in the water? That is because you have not yet adequately re-heated your body after being immersed in water.
Besides keeping warm and dry, the Surf-FUR coat can be used for changing, wrapping and storing wetsuits in the car, and wearing over a wetsuit to keep the car seats dry.
Mom Was Right
Jun/090
We have been developing hard core gear for 7 years now. The intital idea came to us when we were out surfing at Ponto beach on January 15, 2002. It was barely light out and completely freezing. To get our bodies warm, we got into our wetsuits at home, put our bed quilts around us to warm up, and blasted the heat all the way to the beach. When we got into the water, we were actually able to stay out a little longer since we heated up in the quilt. However, we didn’t think about how we were going to get home with our wet wetsuits and cloth carseats!!!
We decided to design a product that would be warm, soft, wind-proof, water-proof (so we could just put it on and go home to a hot shower and not have to worry about our carseats getting wet) and really cool looking. The bed quilts were not too sexy.
We spent about 5 years designing and re-designing our main product, the Surf-fur, and figured out a way to make it in a cost effective manner so that we could sell it to surf shops and dive shops all over the world. We are currently selling our product all over the world. Mom was right, if you work hard enough, you can be aything you want to be!
The New Official Waterman Group Blog
Jun/090
It is a warm, soft, fleece parka. However, it is not like any other parka you have ever seen! The fabric and design allow it to be really, really functional and versatile.