Of course we salty life, ocean-loving paddlers celebrate the Ocean and its (bays, lakes, rivers, streams and marshes) every day. But the celebration will be ever more focused on World Ocean Day (June 8 in 2023). For action ideas you can simply FOLLOW “World Ocean Day” on Instagram.

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It’s great to generate a “community of friends” online. I look forward to seeing you FOLLOW me on Instagram – then I can follow you back. What a great way to create action momentum for “blue life” choices.

For consistent love of Mother Ocean and our Earth – my heartiest suggestion would be to FOLLOW the the “good news” stories that can be found on Starboard’s STARBOARD BLUE website. It’s a consistent source of stories that will make you ocean-loving day! Starboard products journey has environmental actions integrated for a better climate and ocean health.
Their Plastic Offset Program, VCS certified blue carbon climate parks where millions of mangroves are planted, education and partnerships motivates us all.

If you have ever paddled along the edge of a mangrove you may have reveled in the amount of marine life and birds within its reach. Often young mangrove seedlings can be seen on the beach or floating a low tide. If you are collecting plastic debris and find these seedlings you can give them a head start in life. (How-to Video here)

Plan now for World Ocean Day by kick-starting awareness and action today!

I am the proud owner of Starboard products. Beyond the quality and performance, owning a Starboard product allows us all to connect with a company and a community that makes a huge investment in the environment. Starboard began as a leading watersports equipment innovator. The company was awarded World Sailing’s Sustainability Award and an Olympic class.

Their corporate journey and philosophy is based on environmental actions integrated for a better climate and ocean health. Learn more about their Blue Tiki Community here.
Starboard’s Plastic Offset Program, VCS certified blue carbon climate parks, education and partnerships motivate private sector, governments & NGOs.
Blue Tiki solutions now go street level with SOMWR apparel, inviting you to wear positive impact. AND they are now part of a project that invites us all to be FUTURE FIGHTERS.

Here’s just one example of “feet on the ground action. This is the Starboard POP Team on the beach in Pattaya-(Photographer Georgia Schofield). There are dozens more stories to enjoy on the Starboard Blue blog.

We can all join in on “blue life” activities in our community – AND be part of a global community. Take a look at the Blue Tiki program and see how you can earn digital Blue Tiki – a social token for the future.

Have you ever stood in an airport watching thousands upon thousands of people getting into hundreds upon hundreds of flights and wonder- What would my effort at reducing my carbon footprint matter in all this?

I recently picked up some plastic while on a beautiful spring day paddle. I posted the photo of both the plastic AND the better option – reusable hydration instead of liquid in plastic. Simple choices again and again by millions of us make the difference. To make choices easier – here is an excellent article from TERRAPASS – read it here.

Next, think about crowd-funding and the power of many to fuel ideas and innovations of a single person. Together we are much more than we can imagine. If the Earth and its waters are to be the beneficiary of our generous gift of “blue life choices and green actions” everything each of us does can contribute to the bigger BETTER environment.

Way better than re-using or recycling is not using plastic in the first place. That’s a pretty huge no-brainer. Making choices around the use of plastic – daily – not only reduces the carbon footprint of you and your family – is can motivate and inspire others.

As we enter the week AFTER Earth Day let’s keep the momentum going. Read about simple daily choices.

It’s easy enough to bring along a recycled/reusable bag to collect plastic and other items from wherever you paddle. And of course, it was an excellent practice for Earth Day

I found some post Easter plastic and a few other items. It gave me a thought. What a better photo to post – a beautiful Starboard Zen welded seam board by the river WITHOUT all the plastic!

I felt happy snapping the picture of a reusable hydration flask and no plastic on the pristine (now plastic free) shore. And YES! It was our first real warm spring day and the paddle was 4+ KM of happiness.

Our home is Earth with its spacious land and life giving waters. What a great day to celebrate all the Earth offers and to remember our personal part in keeping Mother Earth healthy and vibrant.

One thing we all can do is be vocal, show by example and inspire others through our Earth Day (and every day) habits. For me as a writer, I shared in one way by creating the BLUE LIFE JOURNAL FOR KIDS.

But more importantly – my actions out in the world create a more powerful life trend toward respect and care to the Earth on Earth Day – and every day.

I am grateful for the initiatives offered by the Blue Tiki Community to keep the inspiration fired up.

Fun on Earth Day: I decided to share a super easy way to reduce the amount of electricity or propane you use to heat your home. In Oregon we get chilly nights from 30-50 almost all year long being in the high desert.

One easy habit is to warm up yourself instead of the entire house. Put on socks and a sweater or hoody. That way you can lower the thermostat and still be cozy.

Don’t forget Earth Day habits outside as well. Use our mighty sun to fuel your outdoor lighting. Solar is easy on Mother Earth. While you are at it, think of saving water with low maintenance planting native to your area – rocks and such, rather than hydration hungry lawns.

Make YOUR Earth Day every day!

It’s great news! Starboard Launches Blue Tiki Token ($BTIKI) Blockchain Technology with Celo

We returned to snowy and cold Oregon after spending a part of winter down in Florida paddling among the mangroves surrounding Tampa Bay. With bare feet happily on my Starboard 4-in-1 board (great for winging and paddling)

Back here in Oregon there is plenty I can do to keep our rivers and coastal areas clear of plastic waste by collecting each time I am out on the water. But I can also plant a mangrove.

How can that be? It’s easy. I can earn a digital currency called Blue Tiki then spend a mere 6 BTiki to plant a mangrove.

If you are a person who enjoys connecting with a global community working to make a difference for the waters of the world, take a moment to enjoy hearing the full story here.

Start your adventure today! AND BEYOND DOING “BLUE LIFE ” ACTIONS, AND USING Blue Tiki digital currency – you might even win a ZEN ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME at Cora Cora Maldives. Share your story and your actions on Instagram. You can follow me on Instagram as well.

During the summer of 2022 I trekked on up to Hood River for a lesson that would launch me into the sport of winging. As always, I stopped by Big Winds to chat with the team and get insights on which wings I should add to my quiver. With patience and experience they steered me well and I have been having an absolute blast winging with my Starboard AIRush V2 wings in 3, 4 and 5M sizes.

Big Thanks to Sam and Alejandro!

I have been happily visiting the Clearwater/St Petersburg area of Florida this winter having a winging/SUP change of scenery from my usual winter ski fun.

There have been plenty of days with perfect breezes – and some days when I was a little freaked before heading out. The last time I was down in Tampa Bay on the west side of the road leading to the iconic Skyway Bridge plenty of kiters and wingers were all zooming about. My upwind skills had gotten way better these last months – BUT I am still having a bit of a chore tacking a 10′ board.

Thinking that a deeper center fin might help I sent off an email asking about that to TJ at Big Winds. Even though TJ was off for the weekend, he got back to me copying in another member of the team, Mark. Mark was also off but took the time to reply, with great suggestions. This is the Big Winds culture – customer service! I am likely one of their smallest customers but their generous sharing of expertise is HUGE!

You don’t need to be in Hood River to enjoy the Big Winds experience. Visit online and start your water and wind adventure now!

Winter days along the west coast of Florida can be exquisite – and this morning dawned high overcast, barely a breeze and the wide open Gulf of Mexico beckoning me to take a paddle from the Clearwater Pier. After walking my Starboard 4 in 1 Wingboard to the water I did wish that i could have been soaring along with my FreeWing – but 5 minutes into the paddle I fell into a sweet rhythm just enjoying the sights.

Heading north, a series of pilings lined the boundary line keeping power boats away from swimmers, but to the local pelicans the pilings were the perfect vantage point for looking for schools of bait fish which were abundant.

The water was so calm and what little breeze there was pushed me gently northward. There was no better time to make my way the 4 miles to Caladesi Island. I heard there was an inlet that would allow me to leave the Gulf and return via the Intracoastal Waterway.

Caladesi Island is generally accessed by boat. Most often, paddlers drive to Dunedin (about 4 miles north of Clearwater) then drive the causeway out to Honeymoon Island. From “Pet Beach” one can negotiate the inlet that separates Caladesi from Honeymoon Island – but beware of weekends and power boat traffic. Alternately, there is a ferry that will take beachgoers to Caladesi. For me, I liked the idea of accessing this gem of a beach with abundant mangroves to explore from Clearwater Beach.

It took about an hour of easy paddling to get to the south end of the park. I explored a bit further north of where the inlet showed on the map – but there was no inlet. Recent storms and silting had filled it in and small pines and mangroves had already taken over.

Just as I was about to return down the beach in a southward direction, amazingly the breeze picked up a bit AND SHIFTED 180 DEGREES!!!! How lucky was I. For the 4 mile return trip I had a gentle downwinder. It was a very special morning.