Julian Wilson’s limited edition Cypher JDub pink boardies are now available to buy. Featuring artwork by Julian’s mom, a breast cancer survivor, these boardies are for a great cause and look awesome. 3% of the proceeds goes to Keep A Breast education, awareness and breast cancer prevention programs. Get yourself a pair today!

The U.S. House of Representatives today unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution (H. Res. 792) offered by Representatives Bill Posey (R-FL) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) recognizing World Champion Surfer Kelly Slater for winning the 2010 Rip Curl Pro Bell Championship and for his numerous other victories and contributions to the sport of surfing. Sixty House Members in all cosponsored the Kelly Slater Resolution.

“Slater has worked hard to master a sport that so many have tried but so few have actually been able to conquer,” said Congressman Posey who represents Slater’s home town of Cocoa Beach, FL. “His world championship record is impressive and is certainly worthy of recognition.”

“Kelly Slater’s skill and achievements have earned him many fans in Hawaii, the birthplace of surfing,” said Congresswoman Mazie Hirono. “Two decades after winning his first professional surf contest, we in the islands are proud of our part-time resident as he continues to add to his string of successes out on the waves.”

Florida’s first surfing champion, Robert Kelly Slater, was born in Cocoa Beach where he learned to surf with his brothers. In 1992, Slater was the youngest surfer to win the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship and, in 2008, he became the oldest to win that title. Slater is also the first surfer ever to be awarded two perfect scores under the ASP two wave scoring system and is a six time winner of the Billabong Pipeline Masters for the top forty-five ranked surfers by the ASP. In 2007, Slater started the Kelly Slater Foundation to raise awareness and support for environmental and social issues.

Slater’s other accomplishments include:

•           He is a six-time winner of Billabong Pipeline Masters.
•           Slater won five consecutive Association of Surfing Professionals titles.
•           He is a two time winner of the Triple Crown of Surfing.
•           Slater currently has 42 World Championship Tour victories.
•           He also holds a record 9 Association of Surfing Professionals World Championships.
•           Slater is surfing’s all-time leader in career event wins.
•           In 2002 Slater was inducted into Surfers Hall of Fame.

Learn more here.

Want to do your bit to help heal our ocean? Then we need you to go here and vote for Project Kaisei!

Help Project Kaisei to undertake its 2010 Summer Expedition to the North Pacific Gyre.   Project Kaisei was a UNEP Global Climate Hero last year, and is the only science-based ocean recovery project that is working on ways to take plastic out of the ocean, and turn it into other materials or fuel.  They are also working on some great prevention programs on land. By voting on Pepsi Refresh Project site today, and every day until May 31, you can help Project Kaisei win $250,000 to help fund its next research mission to pick up large quanities of plastic.  Thanks for your support  and please help us spread the word!

In our continued effort to raise funds to support Bodeen Vince Riley and her on going care, Dane Reynolds and Julian Wilson’s surfboards are now available to bid on!

All money raised goes to Bodeen and her family so help us get behind this awesome cause, look after one of our own and  buy a board…

• Bid on Dane’s board here
• Bid on Julian’s board here

Jamie Mitchell, the 8 x Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard Race Winner, and fellow elite paddler Jackson English have joined forces to raise money for SurfAid International in this year’s gruelling 32-mile (51.5 km) Hawaiian race on July 25th.

English, 35, who is SurfAid’s biggest individual fundraiser, finished runner-up to Mitchell in the 2008 event across the Ka’iwi Channel, which is one of the most challenging stretches of water in the world.

Mitchell, 33, from Currumbin, Queensland, Australia, holds the race record of four hours, 48 minutes and 23 seconds, which he set in 2007.  He said he was honoured to work with SurfAid to help raise funds during its 10th anniversary year.

“SurfAid is a frontline organization whose efforts have a direct and real effect on the lives of those people who don’t have access to the health care, education and support that we sometimes take for granted,” Jamie said.

“This year will be my 10th crossing of the Ka’iwi Channel during the Molokai to Oahu race and a fitting time to raise awareness of SurfAid as well as raising funds to support their important work.

“I encourage you to give what you can to this great cause and join Jackson and myself as we work towards our goal of raising $10,000 as we cross the channel this July.”

English is a schoolteacher at the United World College of SE Asia in Singapore but is originally from the Central Coast of NSW, Australia.  In the past five years he has raised more than $200,000 for SurfAid.

“With three healthy young children of my own, it breaks my heart to see kids the same age as mine suffering from very preventable diseases such as chest infections, diarrhoea, malnutrition and malaria,” Jackson said.

“To go through a few hours of pain and suffering while crossing the channel is the least I can do to help.  Please support Jamie and myself as we try to raise $10,000 for the 10-year anniversary of SurfAid.”

SurfAid founder Dr Dave Jenkins said he was stoked that both Jamie and Jackson were prepared to do the hard yards for SurfAid.

“Jamie is an extraordinary athlete and, besides the much-needed funds, his profile will help to spread the message of our community development work.  And Jackson is one of the archetypal unsung heroes of SurfAid who has sacrificed months of precious spare time to raise huge amounts of money for us,” Dr Dave said.

You can donate to Jamie and Jackson’s efforts here -  “DONATE”. In the “Additional Information” section please write either Molokai, Jamie or Jackson so we can track your donation.

Thank you for your support.

In celebration of SurfAid’s 10th anniversary…Chicama Surf Resort,  Quiksilver Travel and Quiksilver Foundation have teamed up to giveaway the ultimate  Peru surf trip!

The trip includes round-trip airfare to Trujillo, Peru and 7 nights of accommodations at Chicama Surf Resort for 2 people. Surf the world’s longest lefts and relax in style for FREE! To enter please visit blog.quiksilver.com/?p=8465 and scroll down for the entry form. All entries must be recieved by July 31, 2010.

For further details and rules of entry click here. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED

Help support SurfAid improve the health, well being and self-reliance of people living in isolated communities connected to us through surfing – DONATE NOW

Make a difference this Earth Day and take the plastics pledge!

There is a section of the Pacific Ocean twice the size of the continental United States called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Within it, 100 million tons of plastic swirl in a vortex of currents. There is so much plastic in the water that it outnumbers zooplankton by six to one!

This plastic ends up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals. In fact, one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die globally each year due to ingestion of or entanglement in plastics.

Plastic is forever, with virtually every piece of petroleum based plastic ever made still in existence. That’s why it’s so critical to our oceans and beaches that we dramatically reduce our use of plastics, especially single-use plastics, starting today.

You can make a difference for our world’s oceans, waves and beaches — pledge to rise above plastics today.

I commit to do my part to rise above plastics and protect the world’s oceans, waves and beaches from plastic pollution. I will do this by:

• Using reusable bottles for my water and other drinks. By using just one reusable bottle, I will keep 167 single-use plastic bottles from entering the environment.

• Using cloth bags for groceries and other purchases. For each reusable bag I use, I will save approximately 400 plastics from being used.

• Recycling the plastic bags and bottles I already have. For every thirteen plastic bags I don’t use, I will save enough petroleum to drive a car one mile.

To learn more please visit riseaboveplastics.org