Tickets are also available (Cash Only) at the Quiksilver/Roxy Store at 1714 Kapiolani Blvd. in Honolulu (808-951-7876)  Hawaiian Island Creations (HIC) in the Ala Moana Shopping Center (street level), 808-973-6780; Hawaiian Island Creations (HIC) on 348 Hahani St. in Kailua, 808-266-6730 and the Patagonia Store in the North Shore Marketplace in Haleiwa (808-637-1245) during regular business hours.

Don’t miss out on this great evening with all proceeds benefitting Surfrider’s Oahu Chapter!

Honolulu, Oahu (Oct. 26, 2009)

The dinner, silent auction and party will be held at the Waimea Valley Pavilion and will feature live music from Micah Wolf, Johnny Helm and Special Guests.  Tickets are $40 in advance ($50 at the door), and proceeds will benefit Surfrider’s Oahu Chapter. Sponsors include Barefoot Wine, Kona Brewing Co. and the Triple Crown of Surfing. “We’re stoked to have this event at Waimea Valley because we were part of the coalition that helped save the Valley a few years ago,” says Surfrider’s Stuart Coleman.  Former award winners and surfing legends like Peter Cole and Randy Rarick will join young pros from the World Tour to take part in the fundraiser and honor this year’s awardees:

Yvon Chouinard will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award for his success in creating one of the world’s top outdoor companies that is dedicated to protecting the environment. Yvon is the founder and owner of Patagonia, Inc. and one of the creators of One Percent for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that contribute at least 1% of their net annual sales to environmental organizations.  A lifelong climber and surfer, he is the author of Let My People Surf and spends much of his time in the mountains or in the ocean, while also serving on the boards of several environmental organizations.

Artist Bill Braden will receive the Environmentally Friendly Local Company Award for helping to preserve the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands through his paintings and activism.  Bill is a talented artist who was once selected to paint the Best Beaches of Hawaii by the City & County of Honolulu, and that has become his life’s mission.  He has been a long-standing supporter of the Surfrider Foundation and was instrumental in working with Jack Johnson to convince the Kobayashi Corporation not to develop the Pupukea-Paumalu area on the North Shore above Sunset Beach.

Keith, Chris and Dan Malloy will receive the Professional Surfer Award for their work as watermen, filmmakers and environmentalists.  All three brothers are ambassadors for Patagonia and help in designing environmentally sound wetsuits, apparel and accessories.  They also promote alternative energy by driving vehicles powered by vegetable oil. The Malloy Brothers formed the company the Moonshine Conspiracy with their cousin Emmet Malloy and singer Jack Johnson to produce films and music that have earned them worldwide success.  They helped produce the film Thicker Than Water and have appeared in others like Step Into Liquid and the upcoming 180 Degrees South.

“This year’s event is a really special occasion for us because it’s the first time we have united all of Surfrider’s Hawaii chapters together,” says Coleman, who serves as the first Regional Coordinator. “The Award Ceremony is in memory of John Kelly, one of the greatest surfers and environmental activists Hawaii has ever produced.  The event honors ocean-lovers and environmental leaders who have followed in his footsteps.”  Here’s a list of previous winners, all of whom have been invited to attend the event:

The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches through Conservation, Activism, Research and Education (CARE).   Originally founded in Malibu in 1984 by a group of visionary surfers, the Surfrider Foundation is now in its 25^th year and has grown to more than 70 chapters and 90,000 members.  The Oahu Chapter has been busy working on issues of beach access, water quality, coastal preservation and plastic marine debris. For more information about Surfrider and the John Kelly Awards, please visit  www.surfrider.org/oahu.

Tickets are available for purchase (Cash Only) at the Quiksilver/Roxy Store at 1714 Kapiolani Blvd. in Honolulu (808-951-7876) and the Patagonia Store in the North Shore Marketplace in Haleiwa (808-637-1245).

CONTACT:

Stuart H. Coleman, Hawaii Regional Coordinator,  Surfrider Foundation, 808-942-3841, scoleman@surfrider.org

All are welcome to attend!

Click here for map and directions.

You can RSVP on our Facebook page.

The Oahu Chapter seeks to promote environmental activism by honoring the efforts and achievements of inspirational individuals and organizations.  Award categories are Lifetime Achievement, Professional Surfer, and Oahu-based company.

Submit a Nominee (via email)

Please include your nominee’s full name and why you think he/she deserves the award.

Here is the list of the previous winners.

As part of its Rise Above Plastics campaign, Surfrider is working to raise awareness of plastic marine debris and reduce the proliferation of single-use plastic bags and water bottles, as well as the number one littered item worldwide—cigarette butts. The Rise Above Plastics program also seeks to promote a more sustainable lifestyle and educate people about the prevalence of plastic marine debris on our beaches and oceans and how deadly it can be to marine life. “In certain areas of our oceans, the amount of suspended plastic particles outnumbers plankton by a ratio of six to one,” says Stuart Coleman, who oversees the RAP program in Hawaii.  “Subsequently, we see all this plastic in fish and making its way up the food chain. But it also entangles, chokes and kills hundreds of thousands of birds and sea mammals.”

The public is invited to visit the program’s website, www.riseaboveplastics.org, where they can learn about how plastics impact our marine and coastal environments, as well as find information on how they take steps to reduce their own plastic “footprint.” Surfrider’s monthly cleanups help to keep our beaches and oceans clean while bringing the community and local sponsors together to enjoy our coastal areas.

Sunetric is active across the Hawaiian Islands and works with local and national alternative energy finance partners to make solar energy an accessible, affordable option for Hawaii residents and businesses, along with government and non-profit entities. For more information, visit www.sunetric.com.

The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and preservation of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers, the Surfrider Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary and now maintains over 50,000 members and 70 chapters across the United States. The Oahu Chapter is in its 14th year of activism and has been working on issues of beach access, water quality, coastal preservation and plastic marine debris.

Oceanographic Research Vessel Alguita to arrive in Honolulu after 6,500 mile, 7-week Study of Plastic Debris in the Pacific
Date: Monday August 3rd, 2009
Time: 10 am to Noon
Location: Kewalo Basin E-Dock 1025 Ala Moana Blvd Honolulu, HI

Honolulu, Hawai’I - Ending a 7-week study of the accumulation of marine debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG), the ORV Alguita and crew will dock at Oahu’s Kewalo Basin to share the results of their findings and prepare to launch the second part of this summer long research venture. The crew logged 379 pieces of debris collected at deck level along with over 50 trawl samples during the voyage.

Chartered by the Long Beach, CA based non-profit Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF), the ORV Alguita has logged over a decade of research at sea concerning the issue of marine pollution, more specifically the expansive issue of plastic pollution NPSG, a swirling vortex of ocean currents twice the size of the United States.  The NPSG is housing a vast and growing plastic buildup, much like debris soup.

Headed by Captain Charles Moore, founder of AMRF, the Alguita left with a crew of 5 from Alamitos Bay in Long Beach, CA on June 10th.  The crew consists of 3 southern California natives; first mate Jeffrey Ernst, icthyologist Christiana Boerger, research assistant and vessel blogger Nicole Chatterson and two Oahu residents, marine scientist and sailor Joel Paschal and videographer and sailor Drew “ScubaDrew” Wheeler.

The issue of the plastic soup was first brought to the mainstream with Algalita’s shocking published research showing that plastic outweighs zooplankton in areas of the Pacific by a factor of 6.  Based on current research, Algalita scientists believe this number is growing.

The goal of the voyage was to expand the database on plastic pollution accumulation, with a specific goal of sampling as far east as the International Dateline, an imaginary line which splits the globe into the eastern and western hemispheres. This trip took the crew on a large circular route from Long Beach, to Oahu for a brief fuel up, and up through the doldrums into the NPSG along the International Dateline to a latitude of 41N, which is the point where the Pacific turns into the Bering Sea.

The issue of the growing Pacific plastic soup, commonly referred to as the “Eastern Garbage Patch” is multifaceted with impacts ranging from the ocean itself to the human food chain.
Beaches are polluted as the debris makes its way out of the gyre and back on land.  This can be seen in several places throughout Hawai’i, like Oahu’s Kahuku Beach, the home of two-time crew member Drew Wheeler, or South Point on the Big Island.  Oahu resident and two-time crewmember Joel Paschal points out, “Being located at the southern edge of the NPSG, Hawai’i beaches accumulate plastic marine debris from the gyre, much of which originates in Asia and North America.”

The course of the Alguita’s voyage covered much of the same ocean surface used as foraging grounds for Hawaiian born albatrosses. These birds scour the Pacific in search of food to bring back to young at nesting spots throughout the North West Hawaiian Islands.  Too often the parents mistake floating debris–plastic fragments, lighters, toothbrushes even–as food, feeding to and eventually starving or choking their young.

The human health risk of the plastic ocean plague is of growing concern.  Plastic has been found in the stomach-contents of fish commonly served in restaurants, such as a Rainbow Runner, and in smaller fish species like Laternfish which are preyed upon by bigger food fish like Mahi Mahi.

This is the research that vessel icthyologist Christiana Boerger has been conducting for the past year through quantifying the ingestion of plastic, primarily by Lanternfish, collected on 2007-2008 Alguita voyages.  Plastic was found in 30% of these fish.  Boerger identified two new species of fish with plastic in their stomach on this 7-week voyage, a sobering fact she hope will push people to change their consumption of superfluous plastic products.

As far as anyone can tell, there is no practical way to clean up the NPSG plastic soup.  The best solution is to do no more harm. “If we’re honest with ourselves,” Captain Moore states, “we have to admit that we are oppressed by our products. Too many of them don’t last, and require frequent, often unpredictable maintenance or replacement.  We must take seriously the idea that we will have more quality time for ourselves with less stuff. The key is to focus on the first of the three R’s, REDUCE, and its corollary, SHARE. That is perhaps the most important lesson the plastic waste that fouls the ocean we just surveyed has taught us.”

The Alguita will have a slip at Kewalo Basin.  If you are interested in learning more about our research or stopping by to check out the debris and trawl samples collected from the Gyre for yourself, please contant Holly Gray, Vessel Support Coordinator at vesselsupport@algalita.org <mailto:vesselsupport@algalita.org> or call 562-598-4889.  You can also check out the vessel blog, www.orvalguita.blogspot.com <http://www.orvalguita.blogspot.com>, which chronicles the past 7 weeks of research.

About Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF): AMRF is a Long Beach-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of the marine environment through research, education and restoration. Algalita was founded by Captain Charles Moore, who first put the plastic soup problem on the map.

Information: (562) 598-4889 or http://algalita.org
Contact:
Marieta Francis, Executive Director
Algalita Marine Research Foundation
148 N Marine Dr.
Long Beach, CA 90803
562-598-4889
marieta@algalita.org

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Please join Surfrider Oahu this Saturday, July 25, for a beach cleanup at Magic Island from 3pm to 5pm. Afterwards, there will be a party for the volunteers (sponsored by Barefoot Wines) at Tiki’s in Waikiki from 6pm to 8pm, with a special performance by Micah Wolf.

We hope you can make it out! Please RSVP at BarefootBeachRescue.com. Must be 21 or over to attend the party. View the Invitation

This year’s surf film festival includes four highly anticipated Hawai‘i premieres that have been the buzz in surf media. We’ve also included two favorite films by acclaimed surf filmmakers Jack McCoy and Taylor Steele. Each film offers an original perspective on surfing, ranging from a focus on athletic surfers, to a meditation on the connection between surfing and music, and a brand new release about women surfers.

Opening night on Friday, July 10 will feature free Blue Moon and Coors Light beer, courtesy of co-sponsor Contrast Magazine (identification required), and the global cuisine of Da Spot—their overflowing plates of dishes from around the world (Egyptian chicken to Thai curries) are between $7 and $8. Moviegoers can come at 6:00 p.m. for dinner-and-a-movie. Then director Lance Arinaga will introduce his film Icons2 at 7:30 p.m. Expected to attend opening night are surfer pros Hank Gaskell, Jun Jo, Daniel Jones, M ikala Jones, Jason Shibata (who is also the marketing director of festival co-sponsor Contrast  magazine), and Nick Mita.

Closing night on Friday, July 24 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. will feature free Primo beer, courtesy of Jackie Walden of Chinatown Boardroom, followed by the Hawaii premiere of Dear and Yonder: Daring Stories of Ladies United by the Sea (read more about this film below).

The Honolulu Academy of Arts will raffle off a prized Wade Tokoro surfboard. Everyone who purchases a film ticket will be entered in the raffle. You get additional tickets if you purchase a museum membership. The higher level the membership, the more tickets. Student ($20): 1 additional ticket; national/neighbor island ($40): 3 tickets; individual ($55): 5 tickets; family ($95): 10 tickets; subscriber ($150): 20 tickets; Society of Academy Fellows ($1,500): 50 tickets.

To purchase tickets online for the surf film festival, click here.