Sunday, November 3, 2024

SurfWriter Girls Thirteenth Anniversary

 

A New Cycle Begins!

 


Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

The number thirteen symbolizes the beginning of a new cycle. Change, transformation and rebirth.

 


Despite superstitions about bad luck, there are so many positives to this number that SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel are excited to be celebrating the thirteenth anniversary of starting our SurfWriter Girls blog.

 


We learned that Taylor Swift calls thirteen her "lucky number." We're onboard with that and are going to make thirteen a lucky year for us, too! 

Since starting our blog in 2011, we've written 364 stories about the ocean, surfing, environment, people, places and events that are making the world a better place. 

This past year some of the stories we've written about include:

California Surf Museum photo competition.

 


Lynne Cox's inspirational book Yoshi.

 


starfish at risk.


 

the whales singing.


 

surfing at the Paris Olympics,


 

Surfrider Foundation's 40th anniversary protecting the ocean environment.

 


women making a difference shaping our seas, surfing and communities.

 


And there have been more stories in our sister magazine, Surf'n Beach Scene Magazine.

 


Looking back on everything that's happened this year, we can't wait to see what's ahead in year thirteen – this year of change. We're eager to share the stoke and the stories with you! 



SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.


Saturday, October 19, 2024

Surfer Magazine Returns!

 

Big Kahuna of Surf Mags Back on Board

 


Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Cowabunga! Surf's up for surfers everywhere with the return of the epic Surfer magazine (1962-2020) founded by surfer/writer/photographer extraordinaire John Severson (shown here receiving the Surfer Poll Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011).

 


From this volume 1, issue 1, Surfer magazine grew to become the leading surf magazine…until Covid dealt it a wipe-out blow.  



Now, the beloved magazine is back on board with the release of its 2024 issue.


For decades surfers waited eagerly for the newest edition of Surfer to hit the magazine racks to see top surfers’ exploits, the latest boards and gear, and photos of the giant waves on Hawaii's North Shore and exotic surf spots around the world.    

 


The newly imagined magazine begins with the question on the cover: What is Surfing Today? Surfers from greatest-of-all-time Kelly Slater – featured on the cover – to Women's Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore, board shapers, surf photographers, and more give their own heart-felt answers. 

 


Editor-in-Chief Jake Howard has pulled out all the stops to put Surfer magazine together again in a format that captures what he calls "this magic thing" that is surfing.

 


Packed with photos, insights, and soul, the limited-edition magazine is like a perfect wave – a joy to behold. See for yourself! And share the magic.

 




SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Surfrider Foundation Celebrates 40 Years!

 

Protecting Oceans, Waves and Beaches

 


Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

The non-profit Surfrider Foundation is celebrating its 40th year of protecting the world's oceans, waves and beaches. Started in 1984 by a group of surfers in Malibu, CA, who wanted to clean up their local beach, it has grown to become one of the leading environmental organizations in the world.

 


A strong voice for the ocean, the Surfrider Foundation removes more than 200,000 lbs. of trash from beaches each year.   


Its 200 chapters and student clubs worldwide are dedicated to making clean, safe beaches accessible to everyone. 

 



Since it began working and gaining support for the environment, Surfrider has achieved over 800 victories, protecting coasts from over-development, pollution, erosion, and other threats.


Volunteers put in over 180,000 hours a year participating in beach cleanups, community outreach, environmental education activities, and more.


Surfrider's Blue Water Task Force tests water quality in 14 states and Puerto Rico to protect beachgoers from contaminated water.  

 


Through its Ocean Friendly Gardens and Ocean Friendly Restaurants programs it works to conserve water, fight pollution, and practice sustainable food-sourcing and service methods. 


With its 30,000 volunteers joined together in a powerful activist network, the Surfrider Foundation is more committed than ever to protecting the place it loves – the ocean!  




 SurfWriter Girls

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Women Making Waves 2024

 

Nine More Women Shaping Our Seas and Surfing

 

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

This is the ninth year for SurfWriter Girls Women Making Waves story focusing on nine amazing women making a difference in the lives of our oceans and in surfing. 

 

Like the ninth wave in a set, that is more powerful than the rest, these women have had a powerful impact on the world. Surfers, scientists, entrepreneurs, artists, and more. SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel are excited to introduce you to this lineup of dynamic women.

Nancy Caruso, marine biologist/founder of nonprofit Get Inspired! is getting people involved to restore California's kelp beds and protect endangered abalone, white sea bass and Pismo Clams. She's taught over 12,000 students and takes people in SoCal on dives to see the kelp beds and sea life. Caruso worked at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific caring for exhibits and animals and in the water quality lab. Growing up in Virginia, she hadn’t even seen the ocean when her fourth-grade teacher told the class about oceanography and got her hooked on being an oceanographer.  

 
Sally Fitzgibbons, 2024 U.S. Open of Surfing champion and Surfing Walk of Fame inductee, had lots to celebrate in Huntington Beach this August. The Australian, who started surfing on the World Tour in 2009, scoring a win in Portugal her rookie year, won the Open before in 2011 and has 12 wins on the Tour, including the Rip Curl, Billabong, and Fiji Pro events. With sponsors including Town & Country Surfboards, Breitling, Boost Mobile, and Accor Hotels, Fitzgibbons is a major force in surfing. She says, "Being a professional surfer is the best job in the world. The ocean is my office, nature is my business partner."  

 

Love Lee Ghione, founder of the Surf City Splash, Huntington Beach's annual New Year's Day run into the ocean, is at the heart of Surf City's vibe, working with the HB Coordinating Council and the Surfrider Foundation to stage events and promote the city. Known on Instagram as surfcitywonderwoman, Ghione lives up to the name with her boundless energy and enthusiasm. A dog lover, Ghione is also a co-founder of HB's DogBeach.org preservation group that supports the city's dog beach where pooches can run and play in the ocean.  

 
Christy Hahn, champion bodysurfer and Beach Volleyball Hall of Famer (Manhattan Beach Volleyball Championships Doubles winner 1969), is the epitome of the California beach girl, living a life people dream about. And, in February she saved a life, rescuing a swimmer from drowning in rough surf in Del Mar, CA. Hahn, who's in her eighties, knew the ocean conditions well. She set a World Record there in 2018 with twelve other bodysurfers for the most women bodysurfing a single wave. Hahn puts on bodysurfing clinics for disabled vets and Soul Surfer Bethany Hamilton's Beautifully Flawed Foundation


 

Melissa Murphy, of Melissa Murals, based in Huntington Beach, recently used a 60-ft. boom to paint the exterior of the Sunset Lounge, turning the building's bland gray exterior into a riot of color. With murals all around Huntington Beach and other SoCal beach towns, the HB native (nicknamed “Melissa Murals”), who graduated from CSU Long Beach with an art degree, is changing the look of the O.C. one brush stroke at a time. An avid surfer, former lifeguard and water polo player, she is particularly fond of ocean scenes and sea life.

  

Jane Schmauss, co-founder of the California Surf Museum in Oceanside, has served as the museum's director, president and historian. A San Diego native and graduate of San Diego State University, Schmauss is a booster for all things surfing. The museum's first location (in 1986) was in a corner of her restaurant George's in Encinitas, a spot where all the surfers hung out. Its current location, steps from Oceanside Pier, is 5800 sq. ft., filled with surfing exhibits, art and memorabilia. Schmauss co-edited Surfing in San Diego, a book about the region's surfing history. 

 

Brooke Shannon is the founder of Jilaine Swim, a Costa Mesa, CA, manufacturer of sustainable swimwear made from recycled materials. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Shannon started her business because she wanted to make a fashion statement while having a positive impact on the environment. A beach girl at heart, who practically lives in bathing suits, her lineup of eco-friendly swimwear lets her put all her skills to use. And nothing goes to waste – fabric scraps from the manufacturing process are made into matching scrunchies.

 

Caitlin Simmers, 18-year-old surfing phenom from Oceanside, CA, just made history by becoming the youngest female to win the World Surf League Championship. Dazzling the crowd at CA’s storied Lower Trestles in San Onofre State Beach September 6th, she clinched the number one spot on the tour. With three World Tour wins this year and a spot on the 2024 Olympics team, the 2023 Rookie of the Year has not only lived up to everyone’s expectations but skyrocketed to the top of her sport.

 

Suzanne Strom, Ph.D., oceanographer and head of the Strom Lab at West Washington University, focuses much of her research on plankton, an important part of the ocean ecosystem. Plankton, a diverse collection of organisms that drift on the water, are a key source of food for fish, marine mammals and seabirds. Researching how plankton produce and interact, Strom has made breakthroughs in the lab and encountered 30-ft. waves at sea, working on projects from the Gulf of Alaska to the Palmer Station in Antarctica.  

 

Leaders in their chosen fields, each woman shares one thing in common – a passion for the ocean and a desire to make the world better.  


  

SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.