The Surfrider Foundation invites beach lovers and ocean enthusiasts to make a splash in support of clean water Sunday, Sept. 17, when the San Diego County chapter hosts its 15th annual Paddle for Clean Water, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Ocean Beach Pier.
The longtime local event, which features various surfboards, body boards and kayaks, is part of the larger National Surfrider Foundation Paddle for Clean Water, now in its third year.
Ken David, Surfrider’s San Diego County chapter spokesman, said the grassroots event was created by the local chapter to draw attention to water pollution, adding that more than 800 people attended last year.
With the Ocean Beach event’s success year after year, other chapters near and far began organizing their own versions of the paddle.
“At a certain point, the [national foundation] decided to make this something that all the chapters do,” David said. “We have chapters in places like Japan and Australia “” there are even really cold climates that are doing this. It’s a cool concept that everyone is doing the same thing at pretty much the same time.”
Paddle outs are a surfing tradition usually conducted to memorialize a person. Typically, a group of people paddle out, form a circle, share a few words and cast flower leis into the water, David said.
“But for this event, the idea is to get a bunch of people together “” not even just surfers, but anybody who enjoys the ocean “” get them all out in the water at the same time to make this showing that clean water and clean beaches are important,” he continued.
While the paddle out is not a race or competition, the most creative paddle craft to make it around the pier receives a custom-made surfboard designed by Holeman Surf Designs.
“Last year, this guy came and he had this really heavy-duty plastic bag that was shaped to look like a surfboard, it was a clear plastic bag filled with trash,” David said. “I don’t know if it was the most buoyant thing or the easiest to paddle, but it made it around the pier and it looked great.”

This year, the paddle will include breakfast for all participants; guest speakers, including District 6 Councilwoman Donna Frye; music; a huge raffle with another surfboard as the grand prize; and a beach cleanup.
“We don’t want to leave any mess behind from our event,” David said. “We just want to get the beach ready for a good day.”
In addition to promoting clean oceans, San Diego’s Paddle for Clean Water will also highlight efforts to save Trestles, a world-famous surfing spot in San Diego’s North County that is being threatened by a proposed toll road to connect Interstate 5 and inland Orange County.

“There are a lot of concerns there environmentally,” David said of the site, “including the impact it might have on the surf break, which is prevalent in California history and continues to be a renowned spot around the world.”
David pointed out that Trestles is the only California stop on the Professional Surfing Tour. The proposed toll road also threatens one of the last pristine watersheds in Southern California, numerous officially registered endangered species and a public campground at San Onofre State Beach.
“We’ll suggest some alternative alignments to that roadway and some other ways of achieving what they want to achieve without degrading some pristine land and a renowned surf spot,” David said.
For more information about San Diego’s Paddle for Clean Water and the effort to save Trestles, visit the chapter’s Web site at www.surfridersd.org or call (858) 792-9940.