Capturing the spirit of ‘From Where You’d Rather Be’, Corona is proud to announce the start of a partnership with Sustainable Coastlines.

Ben Wheeler, Category Marketing Director for Lion, says:  “We feel it’s important to preserve our coastlines so that New Zealand remains an idyllic place of escape for people. Corona and Sustainable Coastlines share a lot of synergies in the beach and surf cultures. Together we want to make a positive contribution to protect and nurture New Zealand’s incredible environment, so others can continue to enjoy and appreciate it for years to come.”

Camden Howitt from Sustainable Coastlines, says: “Despite New Zealand’s reputation for being clean and green, a lot of work is needed to make this a reality. As a charity it is important to team-up with businesses that want to roll up their sleeves and work towards making our beaches litter-free, the way it should be.”

“Over our two year partnership with Corona, we want to actively involve both of our networks in cleaning up the coastlines and waterways we all love. From surfers, musicians, ambassadors and caring corporates – we want to carry our messages of love for our beaches and as far and wide as possible.”

To kick-start the new partnership, together with Sustainable Coastlines ambassadors, 30 Corona staff will carry out a beach clean-up on Auckland’s beautiful Waiheke Island, where Sustainable Coastlines has previously worked on large-scale community clean-up initiatives.

Corona will host a unique experience to celebrate the launch of the partnership, embodying the spirit of the Corona philosophy From Where You’d Rather Be. The official launch will take place on board a floating Corona Sunset Bar in a secret location, where guests taking in acoustic sets performed by Liam Finn and Laughton Kora.

The Corona Sunset Bar will be made from wood previously used to create a temporary deck as part of last year’s Corona Piha Experience, where money was raised for the Piha Surf Life Saving Club by selling a selection of coastal images captured by globally-recognised surf, travel and lifestyle photographers.

www.corona.co.nz

#FromWhereYoudRatherBe #CoronaSunsetBarNZ

Prepared on behalf of Corona. For further information please contact Lindsay Stanley (09) 360 0385, or email lindsay@theprshop.co.nz

New Zealand cancels night-surf event: California, Hawaii expect small surge

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 17 September, 2015 - A tsunami warning has been issued for Hawaii, California, New Zealand and throughout the Pacific following an 8.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile that forced millions to evacuate coastal areas in South America.

Predictions for New Zealand call for a wave surge of up to 1 meter (3 feet) for the northern Chatham Islands while smaller waves could hit the mainland after midnight Kiwi time.

According to 9News Australia, a night surfing event at Christchurch’s New Brighton Pier was called off due to the tsunami concerns. The event is sponsored by the Canterbury University Boardriding Association.

At least five people were killed in the South American country and a million people forced to flee.

Hawaii and part of California’s coast are under tsunami advisories as well.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an advisory for Hawaii, according to US News, stating the main threat comes not from the wave itself, but from sea-level changes and dangerous currents that could pose a threat to those in or near the water.

An advisory means that strong currents and waves are possible in or very near the water. Currents may be dangerous for swimmers, boats, and coastal structures and may continue for several hours after the tsunami arrival.

In California the National Tsunami Warning Center issued an advisory that extends from San Onofre State Beach in San Clemente to Ragged Point, about 50 miles north of San Luis Obispo.

NOAA estimates the tsunami heights in California as follows:

Santa Monica: 0.8 feet

Middle Harbor (at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach): 1 foot

Seal Beach: 0.8 feet

Huntington Beach: 0.7 feet

Newport Beach: 0.4 feet

Laguna Beach: 0.4 feet

Dana Point: 0.2 feet

Avalon: 0.1 feet

Two Harbors: 0.3 feet

Malibu: 0.6 feet

Port Hueneme: 0.5 feet

ecoFin developing line of products based on recycled material

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 21 August, 2015 – A new surfboard fin aims to hit the market with a lighter, more sustainable fin construction. The ecoFin is both a high performance recycled surfboard fin and a symbol for change. The company, ecoFin, has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to see their line of fins through to production.

5 trillion pieces of plastic are floating in our oceans already. This number will tremendously increase if people don’t reduce the production of virgin plastic. ecoFin is convinced that by developing innovative products based on recycled material, they can raise awareness about ocean pollution.

Therefore, their first product is a performance surfboard fin based on ocean waste from Bali.

Why Bali?

Bali is a prime example of a third world country choking in waste and the Indian Garbage Gyre washes up tons over tons every day. The island is well known for its surf breaks and on lands basic recycling structures are growing – we could build up a network of collaborators and supporters.

Why surfers?

The special connection between surfers and the ocean is undeniable and we are convinced that we, as surfers, can act as role models for everyone. “We as surfers live off the ocean’s energy – if it’s now time to give back, I don’t want to miss out”, said Rusty Miller.

You can check out their Kickstarter campaign here

Instead of placing the lights outside the water, they fooled around with putting them under it. “Lighting the waves from underneath the water is a new concept and key to Wavegarden’s client proposition,” said Wavegarden’s CEO, Josema Odriozola. “We used software programs to modify the light coverage, intensity, and color. We even managed to install a light on the moving wavefoil to illuminate the wave for the entire length of the lagoon.”

Wavegarden’s night surfing test was documented by celebrated French surf photographer Greg Rabejac, who has been shooting surfers at night for over the past 3 years in France, Spain and Morocco.

2015 Video Test Series – Nº1 Night Surfing at Wavegarden from wavegarden on Vimeo.

WWF-New Zealand has teamed up with Alphero to launch a mobile app making it easier for boaties, surfers and beach goers to report sightings of the world’s smallest and rarest marine dolphin while on the go.

“We are down to the last 55 Maui’s dolphins, so every sighting is valuable in building up a picture of where the animals are found and their behaviour,” says WWF-New Zealand’s Marine Species Advocate Milena Palka. “Maui’s dolphins live only off the west coast of the North Island, yet less than half of their habitat is protected. The more we know about where they swim the better we can protect them.”

The app will allow users to easily report sightings, including time, date and location using GPS coordinates. This information is collected by WWF, and the report is verified by an independent dolphin expert. WWF shares the data with the Department of Conservation, government and scientists to advocate for full protection for Maui’s dolphins throughout their entire range.

Alphero designed and developed the app for WWF pro-bono. Caroline Dewe, Director, Alphero said: “The team at WWF won the hearts of our designers, who begged us to do the project when they discovered an infant Maui’s dolphin is the size of a rugby ball. How could we resist? The team had fun creating a beautiful app that we hope will contribute towards protecting this amazing species.”

Maui’s dolphins are the genetically distinct North Island relative of Hector’s dolphins. Both are threatened with extinction; fishing with nets is the main cause of death. Internationally, scientists identify Maui’s dolphin habitat as ranging from Dargaville in Northland to the Whanganui river mouth, out to waters 100 metres deep, and have recommended the government take urgent action to fully protect this area from set net and trawl fishing.*

“Summer is the best time to see Maui’s dolphins, as they travel closer to shore to feed and ‘surf’ in the waves,” says Milena Palka, who is encouraging coast-loving Kiwis to download the app this summer.

“What could be even better than sighting a pod of critically endangered Maui’s dolphins playing alongside your boat or surfing the waves with you? Sharing that experience to help save these treasured dolphins or taonga from extinction.”

ENDS

Notes

*International Whaling Commission (IWC) Scientific Committee Reports, 2013 & 2014

• WWF has run a Maui’s Dolphin public sightings hotline (0800 4 MAUIS) since 2003
• WWF is campaigning to get fishing nets out of the water wherever Maui’s dolphins swim, and is calling on the government to work with the fishing community to transition to dolphin-safe alternatives. Seismic surveying also poses a significant risk to Maui’s, and WWF is calling on a moratorium on this risky activity.
• The ‘Maui’s dolphin’ app is available for free download from the iTunes App Store (for iPhones) and Google Play (for android phones).

Images of screengrabs and video content available on request.

Contact:

Rosa Argent, WWF-New Zealand Communications Manager, rargent@wwf.org.nz, 027 212 3103 or 04 471 4292

Caroline Dewe, Alphero, Director, caroline@alphero.com, 021 682 609

About WWF

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

About Alphero

Alphero delivers beautiful mobile and digital experiences that transform the way businesses engage with their customers on mobile, tablet and desktop. Alphero is New Zealand’s largest specialist mobile solutions company.

www.alphero.com

Real-time water quality app alerts ocean users

Surfers Against Sewage is launching the Safer Seas Service, the only national real-time water quality app that protects all water users from pollution. The free app alerts water users when sewer overflows discharge untreated human sewage into the sea and when water quality is reduced by diffuse pollution at 315 beaches across England and Wales.

Warning beach goers about pollution incidents in real-time via the Safer Seas Service helps subscribers find unaffected beaches that have the best water quality exactly when they want to hit the beach. The Safer Seas Service app is free to download for iPhones, iPads and mobile Android devices from iTunes and Google Play.

The Safer Seas Service app is this summer’s must have beach information service. allowing surfers and beach users to make the most informed decision about how, when and where they use the sea.  This information has already proven extremely valuable to lifeguards and beach users this year, providing alerts at beaches blighted by sewage discharges even on the sunniest of days.

The Safer Seas Service is an enhanced version of SAS’s Sewage Alert Service app. Since launching, the service has issued real-time alerts for a shocking 3,665 individual sewage spills at beaches nationwide. The updated Safer Seas Service will not only warn beach users about further untreated sewage spills, but also incorporate new daily predictions on the impacts of diffuse pollution at 164 beaches across England and Wales.

The Safer Seas Service already has over 20,000 users with many signing up to multiple beaches, with over 40,000 beach subscriptions being provided free through the pioneering service.

How does the Safer Seas Service work?

• Surfers Against Sewage receives real-time warnings from water companies when their sewer overflows discharge untreated human sewage at 222 beaches.  The Safer Seas Service app generates a push message for smart phone users and an SMS message for other mobiles.
• Surfers Against Sewage also receives daily forecasts from the Environment Agency relating to impacts from diffuse pollution at 164 beaches.  When a potential impact on water quality is forecast the Safer Seas Service app generates a push message for smart phone users and an SMS message for other mobiles.
• There are 71 sites that the Safer Seas Service report in real-time on both sewage discharges and impacts from diffuse pollution.

There is no other service in the world that provides such complete and up to date information on water quality. Surfers Against Sewage wants beach users to visit, use and enjoy UK beaches, but avoid contracting some of the serious illnesses associated with bathing in polluted waters.

The Safer Seas Service also has some additional features to help us all protect water quality, report pollution incidents and further the public’s understanding of the health threats.  One of the most popular features will be the pollution incident history for beaches within the service.  Users can find out if pollution events are a regular occurrence at their beach or an unfortunate one off.

As well as the new app, the Safer Seas Service warnings are also displayed on an online map and available as free SMS messages from the SAS website for any none smart phone users.  Andy Cummins Surfers Against Sewage Campaign Director says:  “Whilst other organisations report on last year’s water quality, the Safer Seas Service tells beach users what’s happening at their favourite beach in real-time, allowing them to have the safest and best fun possible on our beaches.  The Safer Seas Service truly is this summer’s must have beach accessory, download it for free today at SAS.org.uk”