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Catching a clean wave

SURFRIDER: Organization promotes surfing as well as maintaining waterways Surf’s up in Westport this season

LINDA TARR KENT; For The Olympian For The Olympian | • Published October 25, 2009

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A group that blends activity and activism is catching a wave of popularity in South Sound.

Surfrider Foundation – an organization with a name that might conjure images of tropical paradises – is opening its sixth Washington chapter in Olympia. Meetings for the Capitol chapter will be the second Wednesday of the month starting in November, said Shannon Serrano, Surfrider’s Washington field coordinator.

While surfing might not seem like a natural fit for The Evergreen State, the national nonprofit’s mission most certainly is: It works to preserve clean water, beach access, beach preservation and protecting water quality, Serrano said.

But the green group also spends its fair share of time skimming across the deep blue: Members regularly come together for outings both large and small, Serrano said, although those outings aren’t always to surf. In Washington, only about half of the members are actual surfers, while the rest are divers, sailors, beachcombers, kayakers or others. The common denominator: People – often entire families – who enjoy the state’s waterways and want to keep them clean and accessible.

“Each chapter has a family network,” Serrano said. “You’ll see most of them recreating (together) on weekends.”

Recently, for example, Laura Rice, chairwoman for the new Capitol chapter, was part of a small group that traveled to Neah Bay to clean the beach and to catch waves.

The group also taught kids from the Makah tribe how to surf, Rice said.

“We got to do what we love,” she said. “We also got to give back to the community and the beach – sort of a win-win.”

In a larger effort last month, the Tacoma-based South Sound chapter joined the Seattle chapter to participate in and provide volunteers for the first Round The Rock stand up paddle surf race at Luther Burbank Park in Mercer Island. Some 132 people got on boards and raced during the fundraiser, which netted $1,600 for each chapter.

Until now, Rice said, people from Olympia have been grouped with that Tacoma chapter. “That caused Olympia to be spread really thin,” she said.

Breaking off into an Olympia chapter will allow local people to spend more energy on projects closer to home.

“We’re such a hub for people who really care about the environment, and we live right on the sound,” she said. “It’s a chance to have more focus and activism down here.”

Serrano predicts the Capitol chapter will start with a couple dozen people who have been a part of the Tacoma group and grow from there. Membership is $25 or $15 for students, but people can participate in chapter activities without officially joining, she said.

Rice said surfers have a natural desire for clean beaches and waterways.

“We go to the beach to escape the day to day craziness of the city. When we go out in the water, it’s a sanctuary,” said Rice, 23, of Olympia.

But when the environment is sick, Serrano said, surfers can get sick.

“It immediately affects you when you recreate in it,” she said. “Junk in the water can make you grumpy fast.”

Surfrider was originally populated by people who enjoy surfing – a sport that is on the upswing in Washington – but anyone can join, Serrano said. The organization attracts all age ranges, from teens to those in their 70s and 80s, Serrano said.

“Amazingly enough we are very evenly spread – at events we have every age range,” she said. “You’re meeting like-minded people. People who love the water.”