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Cal Trans Guardrails Limit Beach Access

Monday, September 15, 2008

We're back from some time in Central America and we will try to get in gear for the Fall swell season. There were a few waves in the County last week but this week is looking pretty bad so far. This is that lovely time of year for the working stiffs out there, when the groms are back in school and UCSB has not started yet, so let's hope for at least one little pulse. Tom has a great ode to our flat summer at Goleta Surfing.

Gaviota Coast: CalTrans Guardrails Limit Access
A North County surfer emailed to tell us about access to the beaches along the 101 dwindling on the Gaviota Coast. Lately CalTrans has been installing guardrails on the southbound side of the freeway which is cutting off some of the dirt parking lots that beachgoers have been using for half a century. We're going to try to get some more information on this from Cal Trans. If any readers out there have any info let us know cause we'll try to document what is going on.

Sharks Gaining Popularity
The shark stories are multiplying faster than the Harbor Seals in a Carpinteria rookery. Another North County surfer emailed us about an attack on a surfer in the North County where the surfer was OK but the board was not. The board is pictured to the right. Yet another surfer emailed us about a 20' White Shark sited at Campus Point a few weeks ago by a reliable source. Usually these stories start coming around right before a macker NW swell in December, but to happen in these flat times is interesting.


ESPN To Feature Locals Gone Good
Apologies but this is straight out of a press release but seems worthy of note:

This Tuesday at 4pm ESPN's primetime news magazine E:60 will feature a story about Santa Barbara local, and 805 ink Co-Founder, J.J. Ortiz.

E:60's Lisa Salters tells the story of two Santa Barbara locals, Manny Raya and J.J. Ortiz, whose discovery of surfing helped them turn their lives around. Through their love of the sport, both Manny Raya and J.J. Ortiz managed to overcome their tough upbringings and earn their B.A.'s from University of California at Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge, respectively. But instead of turning their backs on their local childhood community, for the past 6 years, Manny and J.J. have set aside a full month of their busy schedules to run a camp called "Turf 2 Surf" where they teach surfing to kids that remind Manny and J.J. of themselves at earlier ages.

ESPN brings the story of the kids and their mentors to life - both on the surf of the 805 beaches and the turf of the hardened urban streets the kids are trying to escape. Viewers can join Manny and J.J. passing on surfing and life skills at legendary beaches like Rincon and Malibu as they transfer their hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow to kids who'd been given up for lost.

ESPN E:60 Showtimes

Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 4pm on ESPN HD
Thursday, Sept. 18 at 8:30pm ESPN2 HD
Monday, Sept. 22 at 4pm on ESPN2 HD

link to this


Santa Barbara Surfing. Created by Tim Maddux. Continued by Pope.