Cruise Ship Confidential

Photo: Nic Coury

Should cruise ships be allowed in marine sanctuaries?

Originally published in The San Francisco Chronicle.

In October 2002, the cruise ship Crystal Harmony anchored outside Monterey Harbor, ferrying more than 900 passengers ashore for the day before continuing on its way to Acapulco, Mexico. Later that night, 14 miles off the pristine coastline of Big Sur, the 790-foot-long ship dumped 36,400 gallons of sewage, gray water and oily waste into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

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The Spirit of Surfing

Rincon Invitational 2016, Third World Surf Co

This past weekend, I did something I vowed never to do. I drove away from good waves. A combo swell had been pumping through Santa Cruz. The previous days had been filled with double and triple sessions, numerous barrels, and near perfect conditions. But on Saturday night, I packed up and headed down to Santa Barbara for the Rincon Invitational.

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No Trespassing

trespass |ˈtrespəs, -ˌpas|
1. the crime of going on someone’s land without permission
2. a sin or other wrong or improper act

Origin: Middle English trespas, from Anglo-French, passage, overstepping, misdeed, from trespasser

-Merriam-Webster Dictionary

The sign hung like a threat on an old weathered gate, streaks of rust bleeding down its edges. Between the metal bars gleamed slivers of ocean and clear blue sky, lit up with rays of light. The land beyond the gate glittered like a virtual heaven, while the dust settling on the road behind me seemed just plain old dirt. The gate marked a divide, real and abstract. It marked the boundary between where I was allowed and where I was forbidden. Where I was welcome and where I was not welcome. Where I had a rightful place and where I did not belong.

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