Hands Across The Sand Event on June 26 at Ditch Plains in Montauk 12-1pm

On Saturday, June 26, over 500 communities across the globe will join hands on beaches, parks and cities, united against the dangers that offshore oil drilling presents to our oceans and marine wildlife, fishing industries and coastal economies, in Hands Across the Sand.

Hands Across the Sand’s mission is to steer America’s energy policy away from its dependence on fossil fuels and into the light of clean energy. The message is clear: No to offshore oil drilling, Yes to clean energy. Citizens from all walks of life will head to their local beach or park at 12:00pm in their given time zone, and will join hands in opposition of offshore oil drilling.

The Gulf spill is not only hitting the environment hard, it’s creating hardships on the Gulf surfing community as well. Local surf shop owners are reporting as much as an 80% decline in business during what should be the start of the summer tourist season. Surfers themselves are finding the situation no less difficult as the oil continues to foul one beach after another as it makes its way to Florida.

The Swell Season

Once the sport of the young and laid-back, surfing is being embraced by executives in search of escape from the pressures of the fast lane

By Nancy Keates

Surf’s up, and paddling along for the ride are a new group of shredders: the business class. While surf culture—the clothing and lingo—has long been mainstream, until recently the actual surfers were not: Mostly they represented the counter culture, a symbol of generational rebellion, from Gidget in the 1950s to the pot-smoking, Volkswagen-van-living ne’er-do-wells of the ’70s and ’80s. Now the sport has joined golf and fly-fishing as a favorite pastime for people who spend most of their day in the office. “So many older people are surfing, it doesn’t have an underground image anymore,” says Bob McKnight, founder and CEO of Quiksilver, which produces a line of clothing called Waterman aimed at older surfers.

In 2009, the average age of American surfers was 30.6 years, up from 2005, when the average age was 25.5, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. While that reflects the aging of the baby boomers who started the sport when they were young, it also shows there are more beginners: Overall, since 2007, the number of American surfers grew 9 percent, to 2.4 million people. Longtime surf instructor Tony Caramanico, who teaches in Montauk, N.Y., but travels with students wherever there are good waves, from Mexico to St. Barts, has noticed a big uptick over the past five years in clients who are middle-aged executives. He sees it as a yearning for an escape from the stress and pressure of their complicated lives. Girard Middleton, who runs SoBe Surf, a lodge and surf school in Cocoa Beach, Fla., agrees: “One of the basic rules for surviving in the ocean is to relax. You can’t be thinking about anything else. That immediately changes people’s perspective, especially those used to wearing suits, sitting in offices and drinking lots of coffee.” He says 35 percent of his students are over the age of 30.

Catherine Mackey, 54, a senior vice president of Pfizer Global Research & Development, says there is no better way to get a break from everything else in her life. “When I am running, sometimes I think about work and resolve a problem. With surfing you can’t do that; you have to be in the moment.” Mackey, who lives in San Diego, started surfing five years ago, when a group of female executives decided at lunch one day it was something they should try. She and a colleague, 45-year-old Polly Murphy, were hooked after the first lesson. “I had to go to bed for the rest of the day because I was so tired, but it was like nothing I have ever experienced,” Mackey says. Murphy immediately told everyone, “I’m selling my golf clubs.” She convinced her husband, a psychologist, to learn, and the couple now go surfing whenever they can get a babysitter. Pfizer now sponsors a team at the annual surf competition at the University of California San Diego that benefits cancer research. Last year, Mackey and Murphy surfed on a team with professional surfer Robert “Wingnut” Weaver.

“If you’ve had a really bad week, surfing just cleans your brain out,” says Vanity Fair publisher Edward Menicheschi, who took up the sport six years ago on a dare from a colleague. “For older guys, it speaks to the youth and dreams we had as kids. I’m from farm country. Surfing was something I saw on TV.” Menicheschi, 50, puts himself in the category of Executives Who Surf Badly. “I’m out there, but it ain’t pretty,” he says. Though surfing is physically hard, and he’s been “mashed” several times, he keeps at it because it’s so exhilarating.



WITH MORE THAN 2040 BEACH CLEANUPS A YEAR UNDER OUR BELT, WE’D SAY WE’RE PRETTY GOOD AT CLEANING. SO WE’RE PUTTING OUR SKILLS TO USE IN OUR MEMBERSHIP CLOSETS!
	Make a $25 or more donation today and we’ll send you 2 great gifts! 1) Surprise Gift – Our closet is full of cool swag, but there is a limited number of each item. All you have to do is tell us your preference of a beanie, shirt, bottle or tote bag. (We can’t guarantee that your choice will be available, but we’ll do our best!) 2) One Year Subscription to TransWorld SURF* – TransWorld SURF is your one-stop shop for tips on how to surf better, meet your favorite pros and the next big surf stars, see the latest gear, get psyched on the best surf photography in the business, and have a darn good time while reading. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TODAY! *Transworld SURF offer restricted to USA residents only. A $4 value. Offer is refundable. See instructions that will be mailed to you with your subscription.

Questions, comments or concerns? Please email us at membership@surfrider.org or call us at 1-800-743-SURF. Click here for Surfrider Foundation’s Privacy Policy

This CoolerEmail was delivered to you by Surfrider Foundation. You can take your email address off Surfrider Foundation’s email list, or update your preferences and/or send comments to Surfrider Foundation. If you request to be taken off Surfrider Foundation’s email list, Surfrider Foundation will honor your request pursuant to CoolerEmail’s permission-based email terms and conditions. Postal address: 942 Calle Negocio Suite 350, San Clemente, CA 92673