etnies

Our boy Chris Del Moro is checkin' in from Portugal:

Been traveling with the Surfers for Cetaceans crew in Portugal for the annual ass-backward IWC (International Whaling Commission) meetings. I flew into mainland Portugal area for a great surf/environment festival and surfing odyssey in the Peniche area. Super honored to have painted a 60-foot whale mural with fellow artist Howie Cooke overlooking one of the premiere surf spots in the region. Such a great feeling to paint large outdoor murals and have the support of such an amazing group of local beach folk. On top of the painting and educating buzz, the waves were really fun as well.

After Leaving the mainland, we hopped a flight into the island of Madeira, located just off Morocco's coast. It's a Tahitian-style collage of terraced architectural wonders sprawled to and fro. Our first day saw us surfing a slab right under a menacing cliff face that
ended up dropping massive car sized chunks of stone, crushing an unoccupied home and crushing multiple cars.

Once the IWC meetings started, our crew of S4C members gathered from all angles of the sea. Dave Rastovich, Howie Cooke, Johnny Vasic, Justinn Krumb, Hilton Dawe and John Lawerson were hustling to keep up with a busy schedule. Our energy's were focused on educational meetings with school groups, meetings with local fishermen, national parks service, gathering local surfers for protest, painting and generally sharing our will to stop the killing/capture of whales and dolphins alike. That said, we have a lot of work ahead of us. Greenland has proposed to kill 10 humpbacks a year for the next five years for indigenous rights and crazily enough... the US, Australia and New Zealand are backing it. One of the high points of our efforts was working with the always-radical Sea Shepherd Society to brainstorm our intentions for the next year of activism and conservation work.

After our time in Madeira, the S4C team headed to the Azores to highlight the positive economic effects whale tours have had on many ex-whaling communities. Our journeys within these secluded Atlantic playgrounds provided our group with the chance to swim with wild dolphins and be within a boat's length of six adult sperm whales protecting a playful calf. The power of experience was magical in so many ways and our time within the Baleia Atlantic tour was enjoyable.

If anyone wants to get involved or learn more make sure to watch Whale Wars on the Animal Planet, see the new film "The Cove," and visit www.surfersforcetaceans.com.

Big Thanks, Chris 111