10 minute read
Storm doesn’t faze Red Bull team
Legendary wakeboarders Tropical Storm Alex fails to wipe out Keys trip
Brian Grubb riding a wakeskate on a sunken boat off Key West. BRYAN SODERLIND/ Red Bull Content Pool
KELLIE BUTLER FARRELL
www.keysweekly.com
As Tropical Storm Alex churned in the Gulf of Mexico, five athletes from the elite Red Bull wakeboarding team ironed out final details for their Keys waterways adventure. Unfazed by the first storm of the 2022 hurricane season, the group arrived in Key Largo for what was sure to be an epic adventure."We brought a lot of equipment down, we had two boats, two skis," said Brian Grubb. Grubb is a two-time world wakeboarding champion and, at 41, the oldest member of the team. "It's kind of a lifestyle. We've been doing this since we were 10 years old," said Grubb of competing and touring with friend Parks Bonifay. Bonifay is recognized as one of the sport's premier trick innovators. He's also a bit of a jokester. "I probably did too many belly flops this trip. My belly's a little red today," said Bonifay.The two, along with teammates Massi Piffaretti, Guenther Oka and Meagan Ethell, spent five days catching big air on their wakeboards from Key Largo to Key
West.Tropical Storm Alex forced the crew to pull their boats out of the water in Marathon for a day and a half, but that did not put a damper on the trip; the group just headed to the Keys Cable Park in Marathon and Grassy Flats Resort & Beach
Club."It actually worked good because they have a wakeboard cable there. So when the weather was too bad and we couldn't get out on the water, we actually rode a protected wind spot which is a cable," said Bonifay. The cable park uses overhead cables set on a track to pull wakeboarders by rope around a body of water. No boat required.This was the fifth annual trip across Florida's waterways for the group of close friends from Orlando, who also happen to be some of the best wakeboarders in the world.The five started their Keys adventure at the Anchorage Resort and Yacht Club off Jewfish Creek in Key Largo, and headed south. Once the storm passed, conditions were glass calm. "After a day and a half of waiting out Tropical Storm Alex, it was crazy to see the sun popping out, the water getting blue again and no wind at all," said Bonifay. He took advantage of the conditions to do a little barefoot skiing behind a Sea-Doo through gaps in the old
Seven Mile Bridge.Grubb found his own obstacle course by way of a sunken boat in the waters off Key West. A "perfect" handrail was sticking out of the water, ideal for sliding."That was a pretty unique spot that was kind of sticking up in the middle of the ocean. For us it was a perfect little feature to hit," said Grubb.As the professional wakeboarders headed back to Orlando on the afternoon of June 6, they left with fond memories of the Keys and a desire to return."The Keys is one of our favorite spots to ride and this is the first time we got to do all of them in one trip," said Grubb. "The scenic view is a hell of a lot nicer than it is in Orlando," added Bonifay. Next year the group will hit the Panhandle for their yearly Red Bull-sponsored voyage. But it won't be the same, at least not for Parks Bonifay, who fancies himself a bit of a parrothead. "My boat's usually playing Jimmy Buffet a lot louder down here," he joked.
Parks Bonifay bare footing under the old seven-mile bridge at sunrise. BRYAN SODERLIND/ Red Bull Content Pool Brian Grubb winching through the mangroves down an old smugglers run in Marathon. BRYAN SODERLIND/ Red Bull Content Pool
Meghan Ethell doing a backside lipslide up the incline rail at Keys Cable Park, Marathon. BRYAN SODERLIND/ Red Bull Content Pool
Coral Shores marine scihttps://keydives.comence students enjoy a dive. ERIC BILLIPS/Contributed Coral Outplanting Reef Clean-ups Sponge Planting
CONSERVATION TIP
STUDENTS GET DIVE CERTIFIED
Free for Locals; space limited.
www.keydives.com www.icareaboutcoral.org
ERIC BILLIPS
is the owner, captain and instructor at Islamorada Dive Center and Florida Keys Dive Center. He specializes in scuba, rebreather, spearfi shing and captaining in the Florida Keys.
THIS WEEK’S DIVE REPORT
Conditions were a little confused this past week. We had a nice day for diving, a windy day and then the rains came through last weekend.
With the weather opening up this week, we were able to get our local Coral Shores High School marine science students certified. Obtaining the certification is part of the requirement for students within the marine science program so they can participate in numerous dive activities, such as coral restoration and marine debris cleanups, throughout the year. Every June, we offer a class to the students in need of their certification.
This year, we certified 12 students. The marine science class at Coral Shores High School is led by none other than Beth Rosenow.
NEXT WEEK’S DIVE REPORT
Rain drenched the Keys at the beginning of the week, but it all clears up toward the weekend. Visibility shouldn’t take long to improve after the rains we had.
CONSERVATION UPDATE
Consider signing yourself up for a dive to plant coral onto the reef. It all starts with some education and training, and of course, diving. Key Dives takes divers out every second and fourth Saturday of the month, while Islamorada Dive Center takes folks out every first and third Saturday of the month. Conch Republic Divers take divers out every third Sunday of the month.
June 8 was World Ocean Day. According to the United Nations, the ocean covers 70% of the planet. It’s our life source as it supports humans and every other organism on Earth. Consider a marine debris dive, some coral planting or a beach cleanup to keep our oceans as clean and healthy as they can be. Remember that corals are alive and don't like certain ingredients that are found in sunscreen. It’s best to opt for "reef safe" sunscreen when out shopping or to use sun shirts, hats, buffs and sunglasses to cover yourself instead.
As we enter hurricane season, it’s good to remember that coral reefs play a critical part in shoreline resilience. They help dampen storm surge and wave energy coming towards our homes and businesses by acting as natural sea walls. Healthy reefs are more eff ective than manmade seawalls to protect the shore.
Coral Shores marine science students visit Florida Keys Dive Center to get certifi ed. ERIC BILLIPS/Contributed
I.CARE
www.keydives.com
Emma Haydocy scuba diving in Puget Sound, Washington. CONTRIBUTED Emma Haydocy fishes in the Everglades. Emma Haydocy goes lobstering in Vieques, Puerto Rico.
THE WAVES OF CHANGE
Emma Haydocy takes on new statewide Surfrider policy management role
TIFFANY DUONG
www.keysweekly.com
In the Upper Keys, people have come to associate Emma Haydocy’s name with environmental protection. Serving as Florida Bay Forever’s first full-time executive director since February 2020 (after joining in 2019 as support staff), she catapulted the organization to new levels of influence and impact. Now, she hopes to do the same in her new role, as Surfrider’s Florida policy manager.
“I am so grateful for my time with (Florida Bay Forever) and learned more than can be articulated in this interview,” Haydocy told the Weekly. “Florida Bay Forever was a wonderful entry into Everglades policy and the environmental policy landscape in Florida, and truly sparked a passion to work specifically in conservation policy.”
Haydocy will now transition into full-time policy work. Despite this shift, she holds onto the lessons she’s learned from her time at the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce and then at Florida Bay Forever to inform her decisions.
She explained how she took on her executive role a month before the Keys shut down due to the global pandemic. Any and all programming ideas, events, plans and fundraisers were thrown out the door. Rather than give up, she and her small team pivoted – as many small organizations have done – in order to persevere.
“It has been challenging, but that flexibility (and the creativity it spurred) is what has led to the monumental success of the organization since then,” Haydocy said.
She takes this can-do attitude and her policy prowess into her new Surfride role. At its core, the purpose of her new role is to advance conservation of Florida’s coastal and ocean ecosystem by strategically engaging Surfrider's members, 12 Florida chapters, and other recreational users in policy initiatives, grassroots campaigns and community-based projects, she said.
Haydocy will operate with Surfrider’s four central policy areas that drive all of the organization’s work nationwide – coasts and climate, plastic pollution, clean water and ocean protection. The leader’s immediate goal is to engage Surfrider’s amazing grassroots network of chapters and volunteers to guide our state program's policy priorities.
“I have learned a lot since beginning my work in the Florida Keys nonprofit space, first at the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce and then with Florida Bay Forever. My biggest takeaway is that we have an amazing community of nonprofit staff, board members, donors, and supporters who are so passionate about their work and the well-being of our island chain,” she said.
Haydocy hopes to continue leveraging this passion and knowledge-base to help each Florida chapter of Surfrider tackle its unique challenges. She added, “One of Surfrider's greatest strengths is the local knowledge that comes from its chapter network, and it is so important for me to have an understanding of each chapter's unique waterways, challenges and needs to inform policy direction and strategy moving forward.”
For us here in the Keys, Haydocy identified “steep, complex challenges” for our environment and, by proxy, all our local communities and economy. Because everything relies on and benefits from a healthy coral reef, its decline is worrisome. Add to that plastic pollution, a freshwater-starved Florida Bay and nutrient pollution in nearshore waters, and potential solutions can sometimes feel out of reach.
“It can be difficult to pinpoint one singular issue,” she said. “However, I believe that the threat multiplier that compounds all of the myriad issues facing the Florida Keys environment is climate change, which also stands to do the most harm to our built and human environment throughout our island chain.”
Want to know more? Haydocy maintains an “open-door policy” – albeit virtually, now that she is working remotely. She welcomes connection with the local community, and can be reached at ehaydocy@surfrider.org or on her social media through Facebook or Instagram.
As her final thoughts, she implored, “Join your local Surfrider Chapter! The Surfrider Florida Keys Chapter was chartered in 2018 and (is) currently seeking executive committee members and general members. This is the best way to get involved with the organization locally and connect with me on environmental priorities moving forward.”
Without missing a beat, she added, “In addition, I want to urge everyone to become a member of Florida Bay Forever. It is because of the collaboration of environmental organizations on the local, state and federal level that we achieve lasting and substantive changes for our environment, and we must support our local grassroots.”
