I'm back!

Dear Sexy,

Wow - it's been a long while since I've written. You're probably wondering what happend? Well to make a long story short, I got into an accident. Yep... I got rear ended.



The good news is that I'm all fixed up and back on the road. What's more, I even got a new set of racks - some sweet Thule's!

I hope you're doing well.

Vit

Hanging with the stars

Dear Sexy,

Sounds like you had a good time on International Surfing Day too!

The Surfrider Foundation had arranged a bunch of TV media, so I had to get up pretty early to make the 5:00 am call time in Venice Beach.

There were news vans from several of the local TV stations out covering the event, along with about 40 activists from both the Malibu/West Los Angeles Chapter and the South Bay Chapter. Also on hand were pro surfers Mike Parsons, Dino Andino, Evan Slater and Sanoe Lake (who starred in Blue Crush), along with Beyond the Break actors David Chokachi and Sonya Balmores, as well as surfing legend and former World Champion Shaun Tomson.



Here's a picture of me and Sonya, Sanoe, David and Shaun. I gotta say, everyone was very cool!

Unfortunately the surf was pretty small, but thanks to event sponsors Surftech Surfboards they were some of those new stand-up paddleboards on-site, which people could go and try out.



All in all it was a good morning - we picked up a bunch of trash and had a ton of fun.



I can't wait for next year's International Surfing Day!

Write back soon,

Vit

International Surfing Day!

Dear Vit,

Well the weather finally cleared - just in time for International Surfing Day!

There were several events in Florida for this year's celebration. With so many to choose from, I ended up going to the First Coast Chapter event at Jacksonville Beach. It was a blast!

The Chapter had a ton of people come down to the beach to participate for the beach clean up and BBQ.



We even gave out a super cool trophy to this family for picking up the most trash...



The weather was perfect - not too hot. I wish the surf could have been a little bigger, but even so I had tons of fun and made a bunch of new friends, so all in all it was a great day!



Write back soon and let me know how your International Surfing Day went.

Sexy

Go with the flow...

Dear Sexy,

The surf was pretty small today, so we decided to take our friends from Raging Waters up on their invitation to try out their new Flowrider.



I've never actually seen a Flowrider before. It's pretty crazy... It's basically a big vinyl ramp that they shoot water over. It creates a standing wave that you can ride.

I have to say, its tougher than it looks! Lots of falls today!

One of our local newscasters, Gayle Anderson from KTLA, was at the park doing a news story on the Flowrider opening. She also interviewed some of our staff about the Surfrider Foundation and the work we do - which was great. Afterwards she put on a wetsuit, grabbed a Boogie Board and jumped into the water. It was pretty rad!



Here is a picture of me with Gayle and Mary (from Raging Waters).

Gotta run,

Vit

Pasta with Rasta

Dear Sexy,

Sorry to hear about the weather down there. Not to gloat, but the weather here has been pretty good lately. The "June Gloom" seems to be burning off early this year, making for lots of sunny afternoons at the beach.

This was a pretty good week, especially Tuesday. I got to have lunch with pro surfer Dave Rastovich and his wife Hannah. They were in town visiting Surfer Magazine Editor-at-Large Steve Barilotti and filmaker Justin Krumb.



(L to R: Justin, Hannah, Rasta, Surfrider Foundation CEO Jim Moriarty, Steve)

We talked a lot about Dave and Hannah's efforts to protect whales and dolphins. It is inspiring to listen to someone who is fighting so hard to protect our environment - especially when that someone is one of the world's best surfers!



Take care,

Vit

Rainy days and Mondays...

Dear Vit,

It's been raining here a lot lately. Boo!

What's worse is that the surf has been flat as well...

On the brightside, I met up last week with Kerri Smith, Chair of the Palm Beach Chapter.



Kerri and the chapter are working hard to fight a proposed sewage outfall in Lake Worth, Florida, which threatens to destroy local coral reefs, including the popular Horseshoe Reef.

The chapter is also fighting a dredge and fill project that threatens sea turtle nesting grounds, offshore reefs and several local surf breaks.

Lots of work to do!

Bye for now,

Sexy

Groms!

Dear Sexy,

Yesterday we drove up to St. Margaret's School to help out with their first ever Eco-Fair.



We talked to the groms about the dangers of plastics, and how they could help stem the growing problem of plastics ending up in our beach and ocean environments. We emphasized the three R's - Reduce your use of plastics, especially single use plastics, by using Sigg bottles, Nalgenes, Thermoses and other containers. Reuse, your plastic containers whenever it is safe to do so. Always Recycle your plastics. They can be used to create all kinds of cool stuff, from sandals to fleece, and even the new Project Blue boardshort by Billabong.



I was surprised that so many of them were already hip to recycling and told us that their families actively recycled their aluminum, paper, plastic and glass at home. I tell ya - this next generation of groms has got it goin on!



Take care,

Vit