Giving Back
Stand Up Paddle for Charity this Weekend!
June 11, 2013 | 
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Don’t just float through life – stand up paddle and make a difference!
This Saturday, you can join the “Get Up, Stand Up Paddle” Charity Race sponsored by Main Beach Surf and Sport with all proceeds going to Paddlers For Humanity. This organization raises money and awareness for local and global organizations dedicated to bettering children’s lives, and also supports local families in crisis and awards scholarships to local students.
The event gets going at Beach Lane in Wainscott at 9 am. Paddlers will enter the surf from a beach start and then follow a downwind course East toward Indian Wells Beach to the finish line in Amagansett.
For those of you who haven’t tried this Hampton fitness craze, why not take this opportunity to join the fun and support a great cause while getting a workout and a perfect tan!
Registration for the event starts at 7:30 on the day of the race, at the Main Beach Surf Shop.
Five Ways to Celebrate World Oceans Day!
In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly designated 8 June as “World Oceans Day.” The oceans are essential to food security and the health and survival of all life, power our climate and are a critical part of the biosphere. The official designation of World Oceans Day is an opportunity to raise global awareness of the current challenges faced by all our communities, both local and global, in connection with our oceans.
How can you participate?
- How about making a promise to the ocean? Decide to make a change in your life to help the ocean – or share what you’re already doing. Take a photo of yourself with a sign promoting your cause, at your favorite nature spot, or whatever you want! Upload it to your favorite social media channel using the hashtag #WorldOceansDay and join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.
- Purchase these whimsical postage stamps issued by the U.N. Postal Administration featuring Dr. Suess’s “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.” These timeless characters bring their own unique view on healthy oceans.
- Make your garden more ocean-friendly. Learning how and what to plant and finding non-toxic ways to deal with insects and other lawn pests can have a huge impact on our oceans. After all, your local river most likely leads, eventually, to the ocean!
- Book a trip to go whale watching with the Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island. Their first trip isn’t until June 30, but you can take advantage every Sunday after that through September 8, so there’s plenty of time to see and learn about the ocean’s most fascinating and magnificent animals.
- Catch the premiere of the “Overfishing Song” on Papa Cloudy. What is Papa Cloudy? We’re not sure, but it’s intriguing enough to make us want to tune in to watch the octopus sing!
Posted in Giving Back, Ocean Conservation | 
Tags: green living, plastic pollution, world oceans day 2013 | 
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Nurture the Environment, Reap the Benefits!
No one knows better than the Paddle Diva crew about the urgent need to care for and nurture our marine environments. After all, this is how we make our living, and paddling around the bays and estuaries gives us (and you, when you come along with us) a firsthand look at the kind of damage that both humans and Mother Nature herself can inflict on our waterways and shorelines.
After Hurricane Sandy, our own home at Shagwong Marina needs a little attention. Our beach was a bit messy and there was plenty of random flotsam and jetsam that gathered high above our normal tide line. This past weekend, Scott and I staged an informal beach clean up with our kids and together we managed to rake two bags of seaweed and other beach trash. Here is a shot of one of our piles from the haul! Luckily none of our gear was damaged and the Marina is so newly refurbished that none of the docks were damaged at all!
There are lots of ways you can contribute to helping keep your own local beaches and waterways clean. Look for local volunteer opportunities, like the planting and habitat restoration programs offered by Group for the East End, or use the search feature at Long Island Volunteer Center to find an environmental clean-up event near your home. These kinds of activities are a great way to spend fun time with your kids while imparting important lessons about the need to take care of the planet.
Inspirational Woman of the Month: Kristin Thomas
Paddle Diva’s inspirational woman this month is a certified waterwoman and one of the biggest advocates for the sport of Stand Up Paddling. Meet Kristin Thomas: mom, businesswoman and SUP racer.
I first met Kristin years ago at at Surf Expo as I wandered from booth to booth. She and I immediately connected, exchanged contact info, and from there I have always found her to be one of my beacons in the SUP industry! She’s very mature in what is still a young industry, and her female voice and leadership is something we all can learn from. She has had a similar background to many of us waterwomen and is an accomplished swimmer, windsurfer (a sport near and dear to me) and surfer! What I like about Kristin is that she is also a racer and has the nicest energy out on the water and does not act like winning the race is so important to her — you can tell she loves the “ride” more than the prize!
Posted in Giving Back, Inspirational Women, SUP | Tags: kristin thomas, SUP racing, women's empowerment, women's sports | No Comments »
Let’s Lean In!
I was lucky enough to catch Sheryl Sandberg, author of “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead,” on 60 Minutes a few weeks back and was so impressed with her belief that we need to “lean in” to our ambitions. Sheryl offers practical advice to help women achieve their goals, and challenges us to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what we can do. As a woman who started a business based on passion for what I do (stand up paddling), I can testify that following my own ambition is why Paddle Diva currently thrives. It was not with ease or luck that I’ve met with success — it’s my commitment to myself and the belief that I can do what I want to do — that I am in control — that has made me successful.
Every day I see a great divide between women and men in the business world. It is my true belief that we, as women, can all achieve incredible success if we do what is so simple: lean in and do not let go! It can be done. Many others have not received the kind of support that I am lucky enough to have. So I’m starting a Lean In circle of my own. My circle is meant to help women who want to start the process of a launching a new business buy may need that extra push to get it started, to help them overcome doubt or fear, to essentially encourage the ambition that stirs in all of us but often lays dormant due to society, marital, or personal pressures!
I will be inviting women to this circle, so please let me know if you’d like to join by first telling me your story. From there we will start the journey as a unit, supporting, encouraging and ‘blasting off’!
