Holiday Surfer Social 2011

On December 10th, OC Surfriders gathered at Bull on the Beach to celebrate the holidays with singing karaoke, dancng, munching and just hanging out having fun!

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"Extra Mile Only Footprints" Awardee

Kathie Fisher, of West OC, was the first in what is hopefully an annual recognition of a person who goes the extra mile in cleaning the beach on their own initiative. The Surfrider Foundation award, which included a $100 gift certificate to Fishtales, t-shirts and other goodies, was in recognition of this young woman who walks a minimum of 5 miles a day from the OC Inlet
to 30th St. picking up debris along the shoreline. A truly remarkable effort!

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Latest "Footprints" Trash Truck Prowling OC Beaches

Pictured above is the latest edition of the boardwalk trash truck to the "Please Leave Only Your Footprints" campaign. The campaign's message is to have fun, but low-impact visits at the beach and to NOT leave your trash behind.

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Sunfest OCSRF Beer Truck - Sept. 22-25, 2011

This is a major fundraiser for the Ocean City Surfrider Foundation Chapter.  Buy a beer and save a beach! More photos here.

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OCSRF ICC and MD Coast Day - Sept. 16, 2011

Ocean City Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation participated in the International Coastal Clean-up (ICC) at the Assateague Island National Park, on Sat., September 17, 2011. The day's events included a beach clean-up during the morning hours. Afterwards, OC SRF headed over to the Assateague Island State Park for the Maryland Coast Day festivities.


Aloha! More photos here.

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Surfers Healing - Aug 17, 2011

Ocean City Surfrider Foundation was honored to be a part of the 2nd Annual Surfers Healing Surf Camp last Thursday! What an absolutely epic event! This year, 170 surfers (we had 78 last year) and their families joined in the fun in the sun for a day of surfing and commeraderie! OC Local 2X National Bodyboarding Champion, Brian Stoehr, was there to help as well by assisting the surfers out in the water. OCSRF brought all of our tents and helped set-up and tear-down the event. The chapter even donated its signature wristbands for all of the kids and was on-hand to teach folks about the wonders of the horseshoe crab and dangers of littering on the beach. Displays about the crabs and the Continents of Garbage were topics of discussions with many folks who stopped by out tents and OCSRF merchandise was available for purchase. Special thanks go out to Rebecca Carbaugh, Ed Smith, Golda Davis and the eight volunteers from Wor-Wic College who helped out our members Shelly Dawson, Sandi Smith and Kat and Lucky Morgan with this extraordinary event! More photos here.

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International Surfing Day - June 20, 2011

Many thanks to the K-Coast Crew and the organizer, Danny Ritz.
See more photos here.

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DelMarVa Surfing Legends Inductees, 2011

June 10, 2011. Pictures left to right are Shelly Dawson along
with the 2011 inductees: Chris Tilghman, Micky Carmody, Jack
Crosby, Ron Walker and Jon Ashton (not pictured Dale Showell).
More pics here.

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Maryland Coastal Bays/OC Surfriders
Aloha Winter Luau Fundraiser - March 20, 2011

More ono pictures here. Mahalo to all for making this a funraiser.

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Surfriders at St. Patty's Day Parade & Award Board

More fabulous pictures here.

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New Surfing Video From Will Lucas

Summer's End is a new documentary "by and about a generation of surfers."  A short trailer can be viewed at surf64.com which includes a glimpse of all 16 people in the interviews as well as a sample of the music provided by a group of independent artists. While the trailer sets the tone for the movie, it can't begin to convey the thoughts of so many talented and stoked people.  The web page gives more detail about each scene. surf 64 donates part of their proceeds to Ocean City Surfrider Chapter.

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Holiday Surfer Social @ Bull on the Beach, Dec 11th, 2011

Surfers and Santa's Surfrider Helpers enjoyed great food, drinks and
music at the annual Ocean City Chapter Holiday Surfer Social. See
more pictures here.

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Coastal Cleanup Day - September 25, 2010

September 25, 2010, Fishing Pier at the Inlet Parking Lot, Ocean City, MD.
The day was a huge success with over 30 people participating in the beach clean-up. Although the beach looked pretty clean at first glance, we were able to collect a bunch of trash! Kudos to Decatur H.S., O.C. Chanmber of Commerce, O.C. Parks and Recs., Town of O.C. and the O.C. Beach Patrol for supporting us! The Special Events folks at the Parks and Recreation Department gave us a delivery pass for the van to bring supplies in and out of the Sunfest area; the Town of O.C. passed along the t-shirts and data cards that were leftover from their clean-up the previous weekend and also let us use the dumpsters in the inlet to dispose of the debris; the Chamber of Commerce helped advertise the cleanup on their website; Decatur H.S. sent us a whole bunch of folks to help out; and, the O.C. Beach Patrol helped us transport all of our gear off the beach afterwards. It was a really cool group effort and a gorgeous day to be on the by the ocean! All of the data recorded on the data cards provided by The Ocean Conservancy will be collected and compiled in their annual report. The items of most concern found were a shot gun shell and a debit card. The "usual" items (underwear, cigarette butts, whiskey bottles, beach chairs, etc.) made the list again this clean-up. Sort of makes you wonder, huh?

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Surfers Healing Event - August 23, 2010

August 23, 2010, 37th Street & Castle in the Sand, Ocean City, MD.
Surfers Healing is a San Diego-based organization started by former competitve surfer, Izzy Paskowitcz, and his wife, Danielle, to help kids like their son who have Autism. They take the kids out and teach them to surf at day camps set-up at beaches across the US. Learn more about the Ocean City Surfrider Foundation experience and see more pictures here.

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Ocean City Surfrider 10th Annual Longboard Team Challenge 2010 Champs - Chrashtaceans

Formerly known at Team Ashton, the Chrashtaceans were victors in
a contest featuring teams from New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware,
Ocean City and Western Shore Maryland, and the Nation's Capitol.

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Public Comment at the Virtual Open House

On April 5th and 12th, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) held two public open houses about Ocean Planning and Offshore Renewable Energy. At these open houses, attendees had the opportunity to learn more about what Maryland is doing to gather data and information about habitats, human uses and resources in Maryland's Atlantic Ocean to help plan and guide offshore wind energy siting.

The Chesapeake & Coastal Program would like to extend this opportunity to interested stakeholders who were unable to attend.
 
A Virtual Open House has been created that will allow you to "walk" through the same posters presented at the open house.  Click here to visit the Virtual Open House webpage.
 
After viewing the posters and maps, please let us know if you have any comments or questions.  You can contact us in one of two ways:

1. Click on the "Public Comment" links in the Virtual Open House to access our Public Comment Database,
2. Or, e-mail us at oceanplanning@dnr.state.md.us.

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OC Chapter PSA for 2010: Keep Your Beach Clean

Stephen Decatur High School's first period communication arts class taped, edited and produced a Public Service Announcement (PSA) for the Ocean City Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. This PSA encourages beach-goers to keep the beach clean as one character reminds the others, "It's your beach too," and emphasizing the OC Surfrider's slogan, "Please Leave Only Your Footprints" in the sand. This PSA will play on cable channels such as Nickelodeon, ESPN, and many others. The PSA will play on local television as well throughout the spring and summer months. Pictured are Mrs. Maureen Brittingham, communication arts teacher, Terry Steimer, OC Surfrider Foundation, and Mr. Lou Taylor, SDHS principal.

Watch the 2009 PSA and Listen to the 2010 PSA

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3/2/2010:  Major Lawsuit Filed To Protect Maryland Waterways. With Perdue Factory Farm Failing to Respond, Assateague Coastkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance Sue Hudson Farm and Perdue for Violating Clean Water Act. The lawsuit was filed in the federal District Court of Maryland, against Alan and Kristin Hudson Farm – a Perdue-contract chicken factory farm in Berlin, MD – and Perdue Farms, Inc., for illegal discharges of harmful pollution into the Franklin Branch of the Pocomoke River, which empties into the Chesapeake Bay. The filing of the litigation follows a failure by Hudson Farm and Perdue to correct the violations during the 60-day period after a notice of intent to sue was filed on December 17, 2009. “Hudson Farm and Perdue had the opportunity to stop the pollution that puts state residents and the waterways of Maryland at great risk,” said Assateague Coastkeeper Kathy Phillips. Learn more here and read the filed complaint [PDF].

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Clean Water Restoration Act ALERT
Clean Water Network - March 2, 2010. Yesterday the New York Times published a compelling article describing how the SWANCC and Rapanos Supreme Court decisions are hampering the ability of federal regulators to protect our nation's waters from pollution. Since 2001, Clean Water Act violations have risen while EPA enforcement has declined.  According to this article, EPA regulators estimate that 1,500 major pollution cases have been halted in the last four years alone. Even more alarming, internal studies conducted by midlevel EPA officials indicate that as many as 45% of major polluters are now beyond regulatory reach.

These unacceptable statistics illustrate why it is imperative for Congress to act now to restore the Clean Water Act. Please take a minute to share this important New York Times article with your member of Congress and ask him or her to support immediate passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act. 

Visit www.house.gov to find your Representative's contact information.

Thank you for all you do to protect our nation's waters!

Vist the Clean Water Network's Clean Water Restoration Act webpage to read a summary of the bill or to download factsheets.

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