Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
Let’s go surfin’ now Everybody’s learning how Come on and safari with me
People aren’t the only ones watching the pro surfers at this summer’s surfing events and following The Beach Boys song to go on a Surfin’ Safari. Dogs of all sizes and shapes, cats, pigs, goats, and more are heading out on surfboards to enjoy the beach action.
Every year surf dogs from around the world come to California’s Huntington Beach and Imperial Beach for Petco’sUnleashed Surf Dog Competition.
With paws on the nose and tails wagging, the canine competitors go all out to see who’s Top Dog.
Didga, the Aussie skateboarding cat phenomenon, shows that she’s got some surf moves, too, and isn’t afraid to get wet. Go, Didga! Go!
SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel love seeing all the animals out in the water having fun. Our friend Huntington Beach surf artist Dave Reynolds is a sight to see when he goes surfing with his best buds Nacho and Lance, a Chihuahua and a Labrador mix. Nacho may be little, but he holds his own against the big dogs.
When you’re on dry land, to keep the fun going for groms (and adults, too!), take a look at this book we discovered: The Surfing AnimalsAlphabet by Jonas Claesson, a Swedish artist and designer who lives in Australia.
This illustrated alphabet book with animals in the ABCs lineup, is just the thing to get young surfers on board about reading.
As for the animals, now that the dog days of summer are here they want to have fun!
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
What better way is there to put a smile on your face than wearing a bright, colorful Hawaiian shirt? It’s the perfect way to chill out in style on warm summer days.
Also known as an Aloha shirt, the colorful, short-sleeve shirts originated in Hawaii in the 1920s and became popular on the mainland after WW II when soldiers stationed on the islands brought them home.
Movies like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s blockbuster musical South Pacific (1958)
and Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii (1962) jump-started the island-themed fashion trend even more.
President John F. Kennedy added to the Hawaiian shirt mystique, too, wearing them while sailing or relaxing at his family’s Cape Cod home in Hyannis Port, MA.
So did Tom Selleck in the hit TV show Magnum P.I. and singer Jimmy Buffett while “wasting away” in Margaritaville.
And now, fashion brands from Tommy Bahama to Ralph Lauren and Prada feature the carefree shirts in their lineups.
Originally embellished with traditional Hawaiian quilt and flower designs, the shirts have taken on a wilder life of their own with palm trees, birds, sunsets, cocktail glasses, and more showing up.
If you’re looking for an authentic Hawaiian shirt made by descendants of the original Polynesians, SurfWriter Girls friend Jeffrey Sakamoto, who’s become an expert on island lore, recommends the shirts from Pili Pacific, which utilizes the Tahitian-inspired designs of co-founders Sue Pearson and Herman Pi’ikea Clark.
A must-have for anyone spending time in the islands, whatever you choose, the fun-to-wear Hawaiian shirts bring a taste of the tropics wherever they go…and bring out the party animal in us.
A shirt you can wear tucked in or out – no necktie required! – a Hawaiian shirt takes you anywhere in style…even if it’s just inside your own home.
Mahalo to SurfWriter Greg for taking the photo of us…and all the other photos he always takes! He’s our production crew working behind the scenes.
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
“Blew out my flip flop, stepped on a pop top.
Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home.”
– Jimmy Buffett, Wasting Away in Margaritaville
Flip flops are an essential part of summer…from the 99-cent bargain specials grabbed on the run at convenience stores to high-end fashion statements and eco-sport Tevas that can hold their own on any terrain.
Dating back to 1500 BC and the ancient Egyptians, flip flops got a toehold in the U.S. after WWII when returning GIs brought Japanese-style zori sandals home with them.
Flip flops, thongs, shower clogs, go-aheads – by any name these rubber-soled sandals take us wherever we want to go.
Flip flops moving us
on a carefree day of sun
and balmy breezes.
– SurfWriter Girls, Huntington Beach Haiku
Colorful, flexible and fun… no sox or laces needed.
Just wiggle your toes in and you’re ready to cross hot, sandy beaches, wade into the surf, climb over slick rocks or dance the night away.
Keeping your feet ventilated and your stride syncopated, flip flops keep on flipping along.
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
Surfrider’s Huntington/Seal Beach tribe gathered above the sea at the River’s End in Seal Beach on May 28th to say good-bye to Tony Soriano, the chapter’s longtime chair and advisor.
When the conch shell sounded everyone came together to honor and celebrate Tony’s life (1947-2022) and to share stories about the dedicated and fearless leader who loved surfing, the environment, and the people around him.
Wearing Surfrider Ts, Hawaiian shirts, flower leis and leaf crowns, Tony’s ohana (friends and family) remembered his boundless energy and enthusiasm and countless acts of kindness.
Surfrider CEO Chad Nelsen said Tony helped chapters across the nation protect the oceans, waves and beaches. H/SB Chapter co-chair KC Fockler talked about how Tony’s generous heart and tireless work for the chapter inspired everyone.
Jeff Coffman remembered the way Tony got everyone involved and made them want to do more to protect the beach and environment. Joe (Samoa) McMullin said that Tony drew him into Surfrider when they met at the beach, remembering they both had been stung – many times! – by the stingrays at the River’s End.
Norma and Alex Sellers told SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti how much they would miss Tony’s smile and all the fun they had together at beach cleanups. We agreed that Tony had a smile as bright as the sun and a sense of endless possibilities.
A hula dancer performed in Tony’s honor. Guests looked at his photos and signed the memory book.
The trunk of Tony’s car was filled with mementos of his adventures and accomplishments. Many of Tony’s prized surfboards were lined up, as if waiting to go out again.
Alex Soriano, Tony’s son, thanked everyone for being there and talked about how his father made people feel connected. He said that whenever Tony saw trash on the beach, he picked it up. He knew that his father would want all of us to do the same. Then he and Rocky McKinnon led the tribe to the water’s edge.
The tribe gathered the flowers that had been donated by Surfrider sponsor Albertson’s and headed out into the ocean for the paddle out…
and one last aloha to Tony.
Thanks to those whose photos were included in this story. Mahalo! – Sunny and Patti
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
Now that spring’s balmy breezes are here, we’re reminded that there are adventures awaiting and a world to explore. For decades the legendary Matson Shipping Lines turned people’s travel dreams into reality.
From the early to mid-1900s, long before we lived in a 24/7 global, connected world, the Matson Shipping Lines sailed to exotic places that most people only dreamed about.
Its world-class luxury liners provided the fastest, finest and most elegant service available to the Hawaiian Islands, Polynesia, New Zealand and Australia.
Offering the promise of South Seas adventures and tropical paradises, the cruise line commissioned top artists and photographers to create advertising posters that would lure travelers to book passage on its ships traversing the Pacific Ocean.
Artists Frank Macintosh, John Kelly, Eldridge Logan, Louis Macouillaird, Richard Moore and Eugene Savage all painted iconic island scenes for Matson.
Even famed photographers Edward Steichen and Anton Breuhl got on board to celebrate the Matson dream.
The advertising posters were showcased in adventure and travel magazines ranging from National Geographic to Holiday and in glossy fashion magazines like Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue.
That era of glamorous adventures on the high seas may have come to an end, but the posters and the dreams live on.
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
The word “flamingo” comes from Spanish, meaning flame – an apt choice for the brightly-hued birds. Whether wading in the water or in flight, flamingos are a sight to see.
The long-legged animals themselves are native to parts of Africa, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico and other temperate-to-tropical locales.
But their plastic namesakes – the garden décor variety – are likely to pop up anywhere, especially in beach communities. In fact, there are probably more of the hot-pink plastic flamingos than the natural ones.
A garden accessory as popular – and some would say as essential – as the garden gnome and tiki torch, pink flamingos came to take up roost on our lawns and patios because of one person – Massachusetts artist and inventor Donald Featherstone, who developed them in 1957 as a product for his employer Union Products, a plastics manufacturer.
What better way to showcase the company’s plastics than to mold them into the eye-catching birds?
Both praised and put down by art critics and everyday people alike, pink flamingos have stood the test of time and become iconic symbols of a fun-loving lifestyle that isn’t afraid to be flamboyant (another word that means flame).
SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel have caught sight of the pink birds at the beach and throughout the OC. In fact, Patti even has a pink flamingo in her own back yard.
Patti’s husband Greg likes the colorful birds, too, even if he finds them puzzling.
Inspired by a wildlife photo in National Geographic magazine, Featherstone’s neon pink flamingo creation is now a bird for the ages, inviting us to look at the lighter side of life and to add a splash of color.
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
When SurfWriter Girls first wrote about the parrots of Puerto Rico scientists were working hard to save the iconic Puerto Rican Parrots after Hurricane Maria decimated most of their jungle habitat in the tropical forest of El Yunque.
Only two out of 56 wild parrots survived the massive hurricane that struck the US island territory in September 2017.
In the 1800s there were more than 1 million wild parrots in Puerto Rico. But, over a century of forest clearing and development virtually extinguished them, leaving only 13 birds in the wild in the 1970s until a breeding program increased the population to 56. Then came the hurricane.
It became more important than ever for the island’s breeding program to save the bird population. Birds in captivity were waiting to be released into the wild in the El Yunque and Rio Abajo forests, but before that could happen scientists needed to make sure that there was sufficient habitat and food to support them.
With many of the tall trees where the parrots would nest gone and the protective forest canopy of leaves and branches still thinned, it was a challenge to find safe places for the parrots.
Marisel Lopez, who’s in charge of Puerto Rico’s parrot recovery program, said at the time that “the priority now is to start releasing them” and hoped that in 2019 the first group of 20 parrots would be able to venture out. The birds were released and since then, due to the success of the program, other groups have followed.
Now more than 200 parrots are in the wild and the jungle is alive with the unique sounds that they make.
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
“For everything there is a season.” – Ecclesiastes
Along California’s central coast the majestic orange-and-black Monarch Butterflies have made this the season to return after years of declining numbers during their fall/winter migrations.
In Pacific Grove, a key resting stop on the butterflies’ migration from the Pacific Northwest to Mexico (November to March), over 12,000 butterflies were counted in 2021. In 2020 fewer than 2,000 butterflies were counted. Some areas had none.
Looking at the butterflies’ arrivals at other spots so far – Pismo Beach counted over 22,000 thru December – it’s estimated that there will be at least 100,000 butterflies throughout the West this season. A cause for celebration.
Seeing the butterflies arriving has been good news for California after growing fears that they might not come back at all. Given the obstacles they face – from dwindling habitat due to farming and housing development to lack of water and food – the Monarchs have a difficult journey each year.
Scientists aren’t sure what’s caused the bounce-back in the butterflies. Ironically, some have speculated that it may be because the state’s drought has created warmer, dryer flying conditions. And environmental groups have been working to plant more milkweed and nectar plants – sources of food – at the butterflies’ roosting sites.
Whatever the case, the butterflies’ return this season is encouraging. And, while it’s far from the highs of the 1980’s when there were millions of Monarchs, still it’s a stunning sight to see them in flight again.
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
It’s that time again when the Pantone Color Institute chooses its Color of the Year – a choice that influences design, fashion, home furnishings, packaging, and much more.
For 2022, Pantone was inspired by the blue periwinkle flowers that bloom in so many gardens and created Very Peri, “a dynamic periwinkle blue with a vivifying violet red undertone” that the New Jersey-based color influencer says embodies “an empowering mix of trust, faith, energy and verve.”
In choosing its Color of the Year, Pantone relies on a panel of experts in the fashion and design fields, arts and entertainment, and social media. Now, that it’s officially announced, Very Peri is already showing up in home decor and fashion.
A color that brings to mind the blue in Claude Monet’s impressionist painting Water Lilies, periwinkle has many associations and names, such as sorcerer’s violet and fairy’s paint brush. The color has a dreaminess to it and a sense of untold possibilities.
While Pantone has long been the arbiter of the new year’s dominant color since its first COTY selection in 1999, other rival companies have started making selections of their own, including paint manufacturers Sherwin-Williams (Evergreen Fog) and Benjamin Moore (October Mist) – both, coincidentally, shades of green.
But, if blue or green isn’t your cup of tea, there’s still coffee. When the Wall St. Journal asked readers to come up with their own COTYs, Eileen Ferris, SurfWriter Girl Patti’s sister, submitted this color featured by the WSJ: “Toffee Nut Latte – a warm pale beige reminiscent of the most dependable source of normality that I have relied on through the pandemic.”
Whatever colors brighten your year, each adds another dimension to the color palette. And, in the case of Pantone’s Very Peri, it symbolizes “transition and happiness” – things much in demand now.
So, let color bloom in 2022 and color your world beautiful.
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
Surf artist Drew Brophy has been creating artistic wonders and paying it forward to help upcoming surf artists his whole career. Now he is seriously ill with Covid and needs the support of the community to recover.
See Drew’s story below and find out how you can help:
A pen in the right hands can create wonders. This is especially true when it’s one of the Posca paint pens surf artist Drew Brophy uses to apply his electrifying images on stretched canvas and surfboards.
“The pens saved my life,” says Brophy, explaining that they enabled him to paint in an entirely different way, freed from the labor intensive and messy air brush methods he had used before. Paintings that took all day to do could be done in a fraction of that time. And the detail and clarity were far superior.
Brophy’s journey to becoming one of the world’s top surf artists wasn’t easy, filled with setbacks, rejections, and questions about whether he could turn his passion for surfing and painting into a career. But, through it all he never lost faith in his abilities and desire to create his own unique vision for all to see.
SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel are always in awe of Brophy’s powerful paintings and how they draw you into another world of color and excitement. You’re in a parallel universe where the suns are brighter and the oceans are bluer.
Raised in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, when Brophy was four years old his dad got him a Styrofoam kickboard and he wrote his name “Drew” on it with crayons. “It was the first board I ever painted,” says Brophy. Who would have guessed that this was the start of the surfing and painting life Brophy has made for himself?
Along the way, one pivotal event helped him to find his path to success. It was an act of kindness by a family friend. In 1992 Brophy was talking to his parents and their friends the Rosens about some colored ink pens he thought would be great for painting surfboards, but they were only available in Japan.
“Two weeks later I came home and was surprised to find a giant box on the kitchen table. It was full of Uni Posca paint pens of every size and color,” Brophy recalls. “Mr. Rosen had gone to Japan on business and searched all over the city to find them for me.”
With his wife Maria, who he met in 1996, by his side Brophy has achieved a level of success greater than he ever dreamed. His soulmate – the Yin to his Yang – Maria is also a marketing expert who has helped Brophy find his artistic niche and develop a global audience.
Brophy has painted surfboards and skateboards, T-shirts and shoes, music CD covers, event posters, giant canvasses, worked with brands (Liquid Force Wakeboards, Keen Footwear, Billabong, Google, Pepsi, Hard Rock Casino), exhibited in museums and his own gallery in San Clemente, CA.
SurfWriter Girls and Patti’s husband Greg Kishel were at the gallery for the launch of Brophy’s new book Painting Surfboards and Chasing Waves. Written with Maria, it tells his incredible story and message to artists: “Find you passion and pair it with your art.”
And, pay it forward. On his travels he always leaves some Posca paint pens behind so upcoming surf artists can use them to create their own wonders.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started to help Drew heal. If you’d like to pay it forward back to Drew, click on this link: GoFundMeDrewBrophy
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
