This past winter Greenpeace partnered with the Collegiate KiteBoard Association to promote the use of Marine Reserves to help protect our oceans and its wildlife. It was fabulous to work with these energetic college students. I was especially grateful that they were putting their talents towards a cause that I hold close to my heart – saving the oceans. 

One part of this collaborative effort was to collect letters to President Obama from beach goers and ocean users expressing their sentiments about needed ocean protection. As we traveled from Jupiter to Key West, across central Fl to St. Pete, it was encouraging to see that so many people cared about the oceans and wrote short messages to President Obama. 

Everyone is well aware of how busy our new President has been since taking office and between the economy, 2 wars, healthcare and other issues there has been little time in the White House for our ocean agenda. Oh how we have might underestimated Pres. O's love and concern for our oceans.  

The President has directed his staff to work on creating a National Ocean Policy for America and restructuring the decision-making authorities of our Government to implement it. To this end he's created an ocean task force and put the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) in charge of coordinating this historic effort. CEQ is an executive arm of the White House that deals with environmental issues including oceans. 

We now have an Obama ocean team and yesterday Greenpeace, along with other non-profit organizations, were invited to come to the CEQ office and discuss our, under development, new National Ocean Policy. It was also an opportunity to for me to give President Obama all of the letters from concerned ocean lovers collected this past winter on the beaches of FL.

The comments were so wonderful, that I wanted to share them with you. 

• Keep the earth around for our kids!
• I love Turtles!
• Help save the reefs! Make some change! You rock!
• Please take care of our oceans – I love seahorses
• Please help to preserve our natural resources – ocean, world, air
• Nobody likes a dirty beach
• Healthy oceans help keep a healthy planet

Thanks to everyone that was involved. 

We headed down to the Keys early Monday for some more rescue exercises with the boat crews. At our first stop in Key Largo, three manatees appeared in the canal behind the house. It was awesome to see these endangered mammals up close. The larger ones bore the telltale scars of close encounters with boat propellers. It is estimated that many of the fatalities of this species are from boat hits. It was the first time any of the Greenpeace crew encountered a manatee and they were clearly enthralled with the sea cows. It is rare that you are working actively for conservation and come in  contact with the species you are trying to aid. We traveled farther south, to Bahia Honda, to post up in a campsite for the night. I won't lie, it wasn't paradise but we carved out a nook for the night. With hammocks tied between the roof racks, we slept out under the winter moon.  

On Tuesday, with the forecast looking up, we met up with the boat crew for a few hours of boat rescue training as well as some kiteboarding. We launched from the city marina with Key’s local, Sean Reyngouldt, joining the crew for not only the day but the record run as well. We headed west toward an encroaching cold front and landed in Key West’s backcountry islands. We got the kites setup and in the air. It was blowing a strong 18knots and the Greenpeace crew got to see the kiteboarders in their element and we performed a ride-along while the kiteboarders rode downwind back to Key West.

For the first time yesterday we had the boats and kiteboarders interacting while the kiteboarders were fully powered. The boat crew was able grasp the dynamic relationship between the kites inmotion and the 27.5ft Billy Greene underway. Our plan stands to head north and attempt the record run of 180 plus miles on Friday. Our exact starting location and ending location is yet to be determined. John, Rachel, Brent, Kate and I chased the kiteboarders back to Key West, through the decent chop, with ear-to-ear grins. Finally getting some wind in our kites added new life to this safari. We left Key West last night, salty, tired and ready for more. 

--Wells Preston, Guest Blogger for Greenpeace--

      Our Collegiate Kiteboarding Association event, despite being plagued by light wind conditions, was a complete success. Greenpeace’s presence was well defined and our event brought a new crowd of passionate ocean users to Greenpeace’s table to sign petitions for President-elect Obama. With several hundred college-age students filling the beach, as well as hundreds of other spectators, the event drew a large, diverse crowd. Event organizers had a stand-up paddleboard race and M.C. Neil Hutchinson kept spirits lively during the day.

       Artist Norm Gitzen’s art display was setup at the beach access, along with the Greenpeace booth, directly en-route to the competition site. This layout let the spectators meander their way through the art display and  speak to Greenpeace representatives about the purpose of the tour: Marine reserves, conservation and environmental awareness. Norm's beautiful sculptures and wood carvings of marine life and  brought an air of culture to the event.  

        Our age demographic is one that is stereotyped as being both environmentally aware and paradoxically inactive. Being part of an effort to educate and involve more and more students in the fight for our environment makes this awareness campaign worth every minute of waiting for the right conditions. 

Our plan is to head south and then north to chase the wind for an attempt this week. 

-Wells Preston, Guest Blogger for Greenpeace-

Greenpeace and the Collegiate Kiteboarding Association held an event yesterday in Lauderdale by the Sea to promote ocean conservation and the sport of kiteboarding. Kiteboarders from around Florida came together to compete and sign petitions urging the Obama administration to make ocean conservation a priority.

Two Greenpeace inflatable boats anchored offshore and as the winds never picked up enough to launch the kites, paddle boarding became the main sport of the day.

The event continues today as the kiteboarders continuously monitor the wind to find the most promising conditions to attempt their record-breaking run.

-Nicole

(photos © Greenpeace / Jason Arnold) 

We spent this morning in a round table discussion in the shade. It was a meeting with breakfast as a side note. We covered nearly everything from risk awareness and assessment to planning the world record run and accounting for the most evasive and difficult variable in this trip: the wind. Test runs on the boats and an errand to the event site were in order early. Alex, Matt and Tripp drove with Phil to the event site, while I went with the Greenpeace crew on their two boats: the 20ft long Patrick Grech and the Billy Greene. Each boat is named in memoriam of fallen Greenpeace activists. We did test maneuvers with both boats and shook the grip of winter off the Greenpeace crew. Alex, Matt, and Tripp paddled out on Stand up Paddleboards and carried their new kites to shore Tahitian style.

My favorite moment out on the boats came when Matt kited out, and unveiled for the first time the Greenpeace branded kites. The hundreds of hours of labor that Amanda and Rachel spent drawing sharks, whales and turtles on the kites were reflected in the awesome decals. Their eyes lit up when Matt got close and they could see their work fluttering and flying in the light breeze. Rescue procedures for picking up a disabled or injured kiter exposed the Greenpeace crew to handling the kites for the first time. It was fun to see this adept group look bewildered for a moment. This effort has been culminating for months and finally starting after months of planning is fantastic. Alex has been quiet and smiley, I can tell he’s proud to watch his child take its first steps on the ground. Pray for wind.

Wells Preston
Guest blogger for Greenpeace
Kiteboarding for Marine Reserves Tour

My name is Wells Preston, and I am guest blogging for Greenpeace as part of the Kiteboarding for Marine Reserves tour. We're a group of kiteboarders whose goal is to raise awareness for the plight of our oceans through our unique and exciting sport. After a Collegiate Kiteboarding Association (CKA) event this weekend in Lauderdale by the Sea, the four riders, Alex Moore, Tripp Hobbs, Matt Sexton, and Chase Kosterlitz are attempting to kite the entire east coast of Florida in different segments, with a goal of breaking the world record for distance kiteboarding. Learn more about the tour.

After spending sunset re-packing the truck at the cable park in Fort Myers, we arrived in Fort Lauderdale well after dark. Alex, Tripp, Matt and I wandered into our home for the weekend. It was easy enough to find, even at night, with two large rescue boats nestled in the driveway of the hostel. Inside we met Phil Kline. I recognized his distinctive voice from dozens of conference calls and voicemails. He’d assembled a team of eight Greenpeace activists to run support for the kiteboarding record, safari, and the CKA event this weekend. They drove down from D.C., and suffered through a 7-hour breakdown in their own backyard of Richmond, VA. An axle on the trailer hauling Billy Greene (their 27.2 foot rescue boat) snapped in a mix of smoke, steel and highway friendliness. Phil introduced us to his team, who’d scattered themselves around the pool, enjoying the warm Florida night: There’s John, the captain of the crew, Brent their chief engineer who operates the boats and maintains the engines, Kate, another boat driver, Rachel, who works in the warehouse in D.C., Lauren, a volunteer, who came from a direct action seminar in Indian Town, FL. and Amanda, who runs logistical support for Greenpeace events like this and larger. Much larger. The amount of effort that has gone into this awareness campaign from Greenpeace is staggering.