ORANGE, CA – Southern California is home to many world-class surf breaks and the majority of these are in Orange County. Many people spend much of their time surfing and enjoying the natural beauty of the coast line and recognize the spiritual importance of this natural asset. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange will, in solidarity with other faith traditions, host the third annual Blessing of the Waves at the iconic Huntington Beach Pier (400 Pacific Coast Highway) October 3, 2010, 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
The goal of the event is to bring together surfers and ocean-minded people, regardless of their faith tradition, to show spiritual appreciation for the ocean and all that it gives the planet and its population. This gathering demonstrates concern for a cherished environment already compromised by the effects of climate change, toxic emissions, and other pollution.
Surface temperatures of the world's oceans are at their highest levels since records have been kept says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This is particularly bad news for people living on the Atlantic coast as rising ocean temperatures fuel hurricanes and raise sea levels.
The NOAA report also states that the Arctic sea ice contines to melt at a record pace shrinking 5.6 percent below the 1979-2000 average extent.
Preliminary data extrapolated by the National Climatic Data Center reports that sea level temperatures for the month of June were 1.06°F above the 20th century average. To pour salt on the wound the NCDC also reports that land and sea temps combined for the second warmest June in history behind June 2005. At just over 61°F the global temperature rose 1.12°F over the 20th century average.
The G8 recently agreed that a rise in global temperatures of two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels would set off a catastrophic chain of events. While many environmental groups chastised the G8 for setting distant and ambiguous targets it should be noted that the record temperatures that the NOAA has reported on for June 2009 are a little more than one half a degree Celsius.
Inland, the temperature-related energy demand for June was up two percent. Depending on where you live in America you were either using your air-conditioner too much or in the case of North Dakota, which had a record cold June, using your furnace to warm up.
While warming ocean temps may seem like a good thing if you surf do we really want to be surfing the Arctic?
Some people celebrate 4/20. This year surfers get to celebrate 6/20 - International Surfing Day! Catch a break, clean a beach and show the world that you are not a kook.
Established in 2004 by Surfing Magazine and The Surfrider Foundation, events and festivities take part around the world today celebrating the surfer lifestyle and showing that we too care about the environment.
As the schools empty and the beaches fill now is the time when a lot of people try surfing for the first time. But be warned, there is a little known medical condition called surfer's myelopathy that targets new surfers and can lead to permanent paralysis.
Surfer's myelopathy affects newbies who are unaccustomed to paddling out to catch some sets and is believed to be caused by the frequent repetition of hyperextension of the spinal cord resulting in soft-tissue injury.
As paddling puts stress on the back, newbies are advised to leave the water at the first sign of back pain. Novice surfers are also advised to paddle out in a sitting position to lessen the stress and prevent the hyperextension of the back. In addition to the onset of back pain, symptoms include a decreased sensation in the legs and beyond that an inability to move your legs.
While the effects of surfer's myelopathy are temporary in most incidences permanent paralysis has been the outcome in some cases. The Surfer's Myelopathy Foundation states that, "Due to this scarcity in knowledge, especially in the medical community and general population, SM is under-diagnosed and under-reported. The need to fill gaps in knowledge is critical."
Most first time surfers don't understand that the reward of riding in on a nice set is the result of a lot of paddling out to sea to catch them and therefore their musculature is not suited to surfing. Like most any other physical activity you must make sure that you are in good shape before started on any new adventure. The Foundation's tips for first time surfers can be summed up in one easy mnemonic - SPINE.
S - Sit on your board while waiting for the waves. P - Pace your time in the water. Limit it to 30 minutes. I - Insist on a knowledgable surfing instructor. N - Notice signs of pain and discomfort in your back. E - Exit the water and seek medical attention if you experience pain or weakness.
Turn your friends on to surfing but tune them into the risks first. Surfing goes beyond the physical, it goes to the spiritual as well and you can only surf the Internet from a wheelchair.
A while back Estoy Pacheco brought you the best old-school surf tunes. Now we send you out to the rollers with our wake and bake modern surf tunes. Why wake and bake? Half of these tunes will leave you amped and ready to tame the mighty monsters. The other half are for those moments when you are, well...baked. We'll leave it to you to decide which is which. But one thing is sure - these modern surf trax are all killer, no filler!
Xavier Rudd - Mother I've had the pleasure of catching this Surfin' Cat who originally hails from Australia at a number of festivals over the last few years. Catch him on tour this summer if you can, especially if you have never heard a didgeridoo. They know their waves in the land of Oz.
Donavon Frankenreiter - Free Produced by fellow surfer and bud Jack Johnson, this tune from Donavon's eponymous (I love that word) debut disc gets you into a good place. Unfortunately his record lable won't let you view the vid here and you have to leave this site and check it out on YouTube but we can show you this teaser from the 2008 Billabong Pro.
Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal The Seattle-based band on the SubPop label were the guys who got me thinking about these lists in the first place. You knew that they were gonna show up on one of them.
Blue Hawaiians - A Cheat Fan faves from Flint, Michigan Greg, Jory and the boys are still going strong after 20 years.
Jack Johnson - Surf Song Is there anybody out there not doing a take on this tune from this native of Hawaii? Great tune with Philadelphia's favorite surfer, G. Love lending a hand. This fan-made vid has some awesome surf footage.
Mermen - Neptune's Revenge The Pink Floyd of modern surf music reformed in 2006. The Mermen are gigging at selected dates this summer in the San Fran area. Patience is a virtue, at least until the 2:32 mark of this Bay show.
Russian Circles - Death Rides a Horse We're throwing in a curveball here with this three piece outfit from Chicago. This will get your adrenaline pumping!
Los Straitjackets - Tempest The wrestling masks can't hide the talent of this Nashville combo that formed in 1988 and then didn't play again as a unit for another six years. They haven't been heard from since 2005. I guess we have another two year wait ahead of us. The vid comes from "Psycho Beach Party." You know that you want to see it now.
Reverend Horton Heat - Psychobilly Freakout Adrenaline overdrive! This is the one that everyone tried to master on Guitar Hero II. When you think about it, isn't psychobilly just a much cooler term than surf music for the same f'n thing?
Meteors - Go Buddy Go While we are on the subject of psychobilly, we'd be remiss if we didn't include the UK group that are considered the Kings of Psychobilly and by extension the torchbearers of surf rock through the 80s and 90s.
Surf Coasters - Refraction Japan's answer to the Ventures and all those surf bands from the 60s. The Surf Coasters have been tearing up the Asian charts since 1994 bringing a punk edge to the surf music genre.
Surfites - Surfville Let's close this chapter with the band that best encapsulates the days of the wooden board in the 21st century. And The Smurfites come from Sweden of all places! These "landlocked gremmies" have been playing instrumental surf since 2004.
That's all she wrote, dude! It was alot harder to come up with this list than it was the old-school list. Surfing music was so defined in the 60s. Today the music has grown and influences can be heard in lots of different genres and bands, and as we have shown with these trax influenced musicians from four continents. While this list is by no means definitive, it is meant to be representative. Drop us a line if there is a glaring omission.
A number of bands that could have made this list on any other day and are just bubbling below the surface on this day are The Brains, Daredevil Jane, Weezer, and Southern Culture on the Skids.
Big Wave surfers Tom Lowe and, Fergal and Mickey Smith spent the winter carving up the frigid swells of the North Atlantic before they come to a screeching halt off the left coast of Ireland.
The finished product of their cold water surfing foray is the Powers of Three documentary. If you have a subscription to Carve magazine you already have a copy of the DVD from the May issue.
Beaches were turned into a winter wonderland as hailstorms hammered the North Island, prompting snowboarders to hit the sand dunes. Winter came early in dramatic fashion yesterday as a mini-tornado, hail, rain and snow sent chills across the country.
There really isn't much else to this story other than these few words and the pic up above. But if you want to read on about the freak storm in New Zealand be my guest.
Do you have a favorite surf, ski or skateboard spot that you want to share with the WORLD? 5ones.com has launched a new component to its website on May 5, that allows contributors to add their faves with the added inducement of earning some swag in an introductory contest.
"Think of it as a local search that is specific to action sports," states 5ones Editor in Chief, Cameron Olthuis with regards to the 5ones Earth site that was six months in development, "Our goal is to have the most comprehensive resource available for riding spots, so no matter where you're at you can always find the best places to ride and the best shops to grab new gear at."
If you are familiar with navigating Google Earth you should have no problems navigating 5ones Earth. For the uninitiated there are video tutorials to get them headed in the right direction. Otherwise it is a case of logging in, finding your spot on the map and typing away.
The site offers registered users the opportunity to submit 200 character descriptions of favored parks, runs or slopes. The more submissions that an individual makes during the contest period which ends May 19, the more points are awarded to the individual .
Skate and surf spots are worth three points each while snow spots are curiously valued at a mere one point. Similarly, company headquarters and pro shops are awarded a rather robust two points. The aim of the contest is to create awareness and rapidly populate the site with global action sport locales in a fun and interesting manner.
To that end registered users can track their progress in the contest with a real-time leaderboard. Readers can also submit photos and comment on other submissions. In the coming months plans are underway to introduce iPhone and Facebook applications to broaden the reach of the website.
Whether it's surfing in Mexico or skiing in Canada you can start planning your next adventure while facilitating the plans of a fellow adventurer with your contribution.
Time to shred some waves. The 2009 edition of the Billabong XXL Awards were handed out recently and we've got the link from ESPN to some mighty fine swells from around the world. How kickAss are they? They are the winners, dude! No filler. All Killer.
