Historic Opportunity to Protect the Coral Sea

Friends of RealSurf,

The good folks at Protect Our Coral Sea have contacted us about a petition they are running which is aimed at getting the Federal Government to include important reefs in the proposed management plan. It’s very easy to make yourself heard on this one!

The Coral Sea is a tropical marine jewel which lies east of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. It’s one of the last places on Earth where large marine animals can still be found in great numbers.
The government’s draft plan for this iconic area leaves the majority of species-rich coral reefs, important breeding sites open to fishing.
Right now the federal government is considering the fate of Australia’s Coral Sea.

If the petition widget isn’t showing below on your web browser, please just click here to visit Protect Our Coral Sea where you’ll find it on the front page.

A Little Respect, In Byron Bay Today.

Now it was a rather glorious morning to say the least, sun was out, lines were reasonably clean and the crew were feeling well happy and mellow, in Byron Bay today. Then many sponsored pro Groms arrived in the bay. Now we got nothing Pro Groms, we got our fair share that live here and they are fine. But these guys were kind of different. Don’t know where they were from, or what their program was. But they brought a tonne of attitude and zero respect for anyone else in the water in the bay. So as much as I’d prefer not to, this must be said. Not cool behaviour guys, really not cool at all. Sure these kids were good, but hey we got local crew surf just as well or better, and they sure don’t behave like you guys did. Turning up at someone else’s home en masse and then proceeding to repeatedly burn and snake everyone else in the lineup is just plain lame. It’s not particularly good press for your sponsors either. So try to work with the crew when you visit next time, not against them. A little respect to the locals in the water goes a long way to making it all good for all concerned, In Byron Bay Today.

Big Stuff, In Byron Bay Today’s Weekend Review.

Ok folks On July 24th 2010 Nor-Cal Surf Shop will host the Third Annual Marine Mammal Surf Festival to raise money for the non-profit organization, Surfers for Cetaceans. Entry Is $50 per competitor for the chance to give back to what we all love by saving dolphins and whales from senseless slaughter in their own habitat.  If you can’t make it to California for the comp, donations of any amount are appreciated. Visit www.s4cglobal.org to make a contribution. Next; once again one of our crew, Jim, has suffered a nasty facial injury by a beginner in the crowd, who really should not have been there. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, beginners and crowds don’t mix. It really is that simple, if you learn to surf in a crowd, then you’re putting yourself and others at risk. For all the newcomers to surfing out there, read our learn to surf page, or at least pay attention to the following. To earn your place in a crowded lineup (ten surfers or more on any one break) a surfer needs to posses mastery of three fundamental skills. These are: Turning – Paddling – Wave Knowledge.

1. Turning: To be able to turn your board confidently and accurately to avoid hitting another surfer without falling off.
2. Paddling: To be able paddle wide out of the way of oncoming surfers. Avoid collisions and know how take the hit from the white water without ever letting go of your board.
3. Wave Knowledge: To be able to accurately choose waves that you have the ability to surf without expecting to wipe out.

When you possess these three fundamental skills, then and only then you have earned your place in the lineup. If you do not honestly posses these skills, move to an un-crowded break where it’s safe for you and others to practice these fundamental building blocks of surfing, In Byron Bay Today.

Petition: dog access to just one section of just one beach

Jane writes to advocate for a dog’s permitted beach zone in Warringah…

Out of the nine beaches over which Warringah Council has jurisdiction, dogs and their owners are not allowed on any of these at any time of the day or the year. The only dog swimming area they provide is at North Curl Curl Lagoon and that is often heavily polluted.

Given that around 40% of Warringah households own a dog this means that the Council is not representing its constituents. Please support democracy and sign our petition to allocate a stretch of a beach (approx. 50 metres in width) for dogs with their owners. This could be achieved, with minimal impact, by allocating a quiet part of a beach for limited periods e.g. before 9am and after 5pm.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/allow-dog-access.html

If you are not a dog owner then please empathise with your neighbours. We are becoming increasingly more legislated: the “nanny state”. What is next? Fines for swimming outside of the flags? Fines for drinking from plastic bottles on the beach? No mountain biking in National Parks (too late)? Banning rock fishing? No children in nappies on our rock pools? Once the freedom’s gone, it’s gone

Thank you

Jane Hazell