In this E-Letter:
Oil Well Capping Equipment Moves into Summerland
Be Confetti Conscious this Fiesta!
Haskell's Hero Andrew Joins HTO to Help the City Keep Litter Under Control
Sam Scranton Joins Advisory Board
Surf on With Heather Hudson’s Films!
Oil-Well Capping Equipment Moves Into Summerland
Oil construction equipment moves to Summerland Beach. Photo by Harry Rabin
Anyone going by Summerland’s Lookout Park will see all manner of heavy oil construction equipment taking up the park as well as the beach in Summerland, because the State Lands Commission, has moved in, to begin the capping of the leaking beach well called Ohlsson 850.
The heavy construction equipment is accessing the beach via the Wallace Avenue access, while spill response equipment and trained personnel will be staged in the Lookout Park parking lot during the activity as a precautionary measure. Ohlsson 850 is at the west end of Summerland Beach.
SLC engineers InterAct will supervise construction work, which will begin at low tide tonight, Wednesday, July 21, 2021, and continue on through this week, until July 25th. Leading up to this project, HTO Field Engineer Harry Rabin has been working with InterAct to pinpoint the exact location of the well.
Ohlsson 805 exposed. Photo by Steve Curran.
And for Dessert… Rincon Island Cleanup Finishes
Rincon Island Before. Photos by Harry Rabin.
Rincon Island After. Photos by Harry Rabin.
Heal the Ocean field Advisor Harry Rabin also reports that the State Lands Commission (SLC) decommissioning of the Rincon Island oil installation is complete, and reports that over 50 wells have been successfully abandoned on the island, capped and sealed in concrete. The causeway from the Ventura shoreline to the island, visible to drivers traveling the 101 Freeway, has also been rebuilt and repaired at a cost of over $3 million.
Rabin, who did underwater and topside monitoring of the island during the multi-year decommissioning, says the islands are “ready to become a new home for ocean education, outreach, research, environmental studies” which is what he is advocating. Heal the Ocean likes that idea, too! Click here to see Harry’s drone footage of Rincon Island.
Here Comes Fiesta - & HTO Too
Heal the Ocean is working with Downtown Santa Barbara, the City of Santa Barbara Creeks Division, and the City of Santa Barbara Downtown Parking to create education campaigns and develop cleanup plans for Fiesta 2021.
The long-held tradition of smashing a cascarone has always been a big part of Santa Barbara's annual Fiesta. The tradition was great fun until the confetti became plastic, glitter, sequins, or metallic/mylar - which does not degrade, but instead goes down the storm drain and into the ocean.
Heal the Ocean has met with various City groups to ensure efforts are in place to clean up trash and debris, and keep our streets, sidewalks, parks, creeks, and ocean clean this Fiesta weekend. Also, HTO Operations/Policy Analyst Alison Thompson & HTO Public Outreach Wendy Pelayo created a “This Fiesta Season” poster, which will be distributed in both English and Spanish, and also displayed in the Santa Barbara Independent. Please download and share our confetti flyer to get the word out! Click here for our English flyer. Click here for our Spanish flyer.
HTO Hires Andrew Velikanje/Earthcomb for Fiesta Help
Andrew V. at Haskell’s. Photo by Hillary Hauser
Heal the Ocean is are proud to announce that we have hired Andrew Velikanje to help keep a lid on litter during Fiesta. Andrew, whose Earthcomb project is gathering considerable steam following his recent Haskell’s homeless camp cleanup fame, and his assistant, Josh Mcdonough, will be working all five days of Fiesta under the direction of the Santa Barbara Downtown Organization, which will help the Earthcomb team develop a strategy for keeping the city streets and sidewalks litter-free.
Click here to see Andrew in action cleaning up the Rincon Beach area on Tuesday (yesterday)!
Sam Scranton Join HTO Advisory Board
Sam Scranton. Photo by Hillary Hauser.
Heal the Ocean is proud to announce that Sam Scranton, a former HTO Board Member, is rejoining us as an Advisory Board member. Sam was for over 30 years the moving force behind the Santa Barbara Bowl (Manager 1978-1980; Founding Board Member (with Steve Cloud and Patrick Davis) of the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation (1980); General Manager (Feb 91-Feb 94); Executive Director Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation (Feb 94-Dec. 31, 2010). As the Foundation’s executive director, Sam spearheaded the raising of $25 million for Bowl renovation and improvement.
But Sam says his proudest moments in life were the years he was, in the early 1970s, the personal assistant to Elisabeth Mann-Borgese, director of Planning Council, International Ocean Institute, Malta, and in this position, Sam did the preliminary editing of text and photographs for her historic book, The Drama of the Oceans. We are glad to have you back, Sam!
Go Surfing With HTO’s Own Heather Hudson!
Heather surfing at Rincon. Photo by Steve Bissell.
Heather Hudson has been surfing waves since she first took a bath, and her two films, “The Women and the Waves" (2009) and “The Women and the Waves 2" (2016) have been shown all over the surf world. Her latest film, “93 – Letters from Marge” is about surfing pioneer and icon, Marge Calhoun.
“93 - Letters from Marge,” is having its first public screening TONIGHT (Wednesday, July 21, 2021) at the California Surf Museum in Oceanside, California. The screening is part of a program titled “Legendary Surfing Women in Print and Film” where she will present with Wave Woman author Vicky Durand. For details and RSVP instructions click here.
Additionally, Heather’s film “93- Letters from Marge” will be screening locally at Santa Barbara Maritime Museums’ “Wave Women” event on Thursday, July 29 at 4 p.m. at the Munger Theatre. She will be presenting with Vicky Durand here, too, and in a “HAPPINESS HOUR” on the Patio afterward, both women will be selling merchandise. The event is free with Museum admission, but reservations are required and can be made online at reservations@sbmm.org. For more information click here.
Heather has been on HTO’s Board of Directors for many years and is HTO’s Event Manager. We are proud of her filmmaking abilities, as well as her making time to get into the ocean nearly every day and catch a wave!
P.S. Please remember to pick up your trash, properly dispose of it, and pack out your trash if the trash can is full! Thank you!
