Rockin’ Fig & Dave : Foundation Unites Activists in Battle Against Ocean Pollution

A recent surf session with Pierce Flynn and Ed Mazzarella reminded me of the eclectic nature of surfers. Both work for the San Clemente-based Surfrider Foundation. As Surfrider spokesman, Flynn tells us who’s responsible for ocean pollution, while Mazzarella links the foundation with its chapters, letting them know what to do.

I told Rockin’ Fig I was going surfing with two guys I hadn’t surfed with before, and he was stoked. He wanted to know how they surfed, what they talked about and whether they took their environmentalism seriously.

They do. But the fun part was getting to know these guys and hear about Surfrider, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary in August.

At 27, Mazzarella has long hair, drives a pickup and wears beanies. He rides long and short boards, lives in San Clemente and is quiet.

At 40, Flynn’s the character. The guy drives an old Volvo station wagon plastered with decals-- his favorite is “Free Tibet”--and rides an epoxy long board and a Dave Parmenter Stubb Vector--you know, one of those wider boards for us older surfers. Flynn lives in Leucadia and holds a doctorate in, get this, ethno-methodology from UC San Diego. He says it’s Advanced People Watching.

The waves were small, and we made plans to surf San Onofre. I was all set to get in the water, when Mazzarella turned to Flynn and said, “Dr. Pierce, isn’t it time for ginseng?”

I looked at them and wondered, “Time for ginseng? What is this?”

Well, all surfers have their little pre-surf rituals. For some, it’s loading up on hot coffee. For others, it’s slamming down glazed doughnuts or munching Skittles.

Mazzarella reached into his pack and took out three tiny vials. The label read: “Red Panax Ginseng Extraction” an export of Tianjin, China.

I said, “You guys take this stuff?”

“Yeah. It gives you a natural energy boost,” Flynn said. “It has a bittersweet taste, but it’s mixed with honey extract.”

Mazzarella handed me a vial and a miniature straw. I didn’t want to seem inhospitable, so I poked the straw through the vial’s lid and sipped. Eeeeyech. Within a few minutes, though, I felt this speed-- no, euphoria--that helped the paddle out. It didn’t make me climb mountains, but it wasn’t bad.

I asked Figgy if he’s ever had ginseng and what has he taken before a go-out.

I’ve heard of of it but haven’t tried it. But there are guys who always are bringing back something from some part of the world.

As we surfed, we talked. For nearly 10 years, Surfrider has been fighting ocean polluters and coastal development.

The group began as a loose-knit handful of surfers who defeated plans to dredge a creek near Malibu that would have ruined surfing there. In Orange County, one of their first projects was to help scuttle a proposed marina at Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach.

“We’re an organization with about 25,000 members and a $600,000 budget,” Flynn said. “A few years ago, then-(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Director William K. Reilly said, ‘The EPA likes surfers. We consider them the new indicator species.’ Basically, they’re watching us to see if we mutate.”

Lots of surfers recall Surfrider’s 1991 Humboldt County victory, in which it helped stop toxic pollution of a popular surfing beach by two paper pulp mills, which were fined $5.8 million. Foundation members also stopped plans to build a big breakwater that the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station wanted in 1990.

Even more important, Flynn and Mazzarella said, is their role in reminding the public not to dump anything toxic, such as oil and anti-freeze, down storm drains. That accounts for 80% of coastal ocean pollution, they added.

Fig says it’s this type of pollution that surfers face every day.

You gotta kept an eye on this pollution, not just for us but for the kids and the future. Hey, we just had a sewage spill that closed the beach at the Santa Ana River jetty, and it’s a concern right now, especially with summer’s big south swells that can push that pollution right up the coast.

*

Tribute: South Bay surfers had a memorial paddle-out for Tom Pratte, 44, of Huntington Beach, Surfrider’s first executive director, who died of cancer early this month.

Contest: The Bud Tour winner up at Pismo Beach was Chris Brown. In second place was Pat O’Connell, followed by Taylor Knox and Rob Machado. Fig said Kelly Slater had zeroed in on the contest but was defeated in the quarterfinals. With a win, Slater could have gotten a triple--a No. 1 rating on the world tour, the world-qualifying series and the Bud Tour.

Contest II: The 15th annual Katin Team Challenge is Friday through Sunday on the north side of Huntington Beach Pier. Team Rusty, last year’s winner of the tag-team format, is already talking trash about a repeat.

* Times Link 808-8463

For a daily surf and beach report, updated by 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., call TimesLink and press *5000