SURFERMAG.COM ONE WORLD EXCLUSIVE

CD: They told you, no breakwater construction.

SD: Right. So the idea of five floating marinas is official. So we said, look, you guys make this official publicly and we will personally congratulate you and make you guys heroes. I mean, our opposition to the project if that comes through will probably be radically reduced -- Imean, the surf spots are saved.

CD: Are any spots remaining threatened by this project?

SD: None. It's huge. So it means that this campaign that Surfrider, Propenninsula, Wildcoast and Save Our Waves has done is working. Surfrider alone sent 1200 letters to Mexico based on its action alert. So every surfer who sent in a letter has made a difference.

CD: This sort of thing will be encouraging to a great many people -- like those fighting the toll road at Trestles or other environmental battles -- that look, when you send in letters to make people aware that you're concerned about these things, you do have an impact.

SD: Exactly. CD: There's an interesting side point here Serge. Would this have happened in Mexico ten years ago when the PRI was controlling everything and you didn't have a democracy? Is this a step forward for democracy in Mexico on a larger scale?

SD: Yes. It's that and it's formally accepted now that we can work across borders. But the other message out of this is that surfers need to continue going to Surfrider's Action Alerts and sending in those letters. The more letters we get, it will make a difference. These guys are backing down and we need to help. It's critical. It's a huge deal that Surfrider has done this. Ten years ago we would have lost this battle.

CD: Did anything good come out of having the Marina built at Rosalita in the end?

SD: The only good thing that came out of Rosalita is that it serves as a white elephant. We can use it as an example of a project that didn't work. And we did that and we caught Fonatour totally off guard. I said, 'look, I've been working on these projects for over ten years, this one is a failure and this is why.' And they were bummed. Because you know, they probably thought the project was good. But they've got bad engineers, and bad data. And look, this is why we stopped building breakwaters in California because we know they don't work. So we can look at that project and say, we know why these projects don't work now.

CD: So it's been a pretty rewarding week for you guys, and I guess for surfing in general.

SD: It's been great, but I'll tell you what, it was scary getting yelled at by a Mexican undersecretary.

CD: Well, it also can make you realize the impact you can have when you really make an effort to get things publicized in the media and get public support by something you're doing. You're just one person but can have a huge impact.

SD: The message is that surfers do have power, we need to be wise about how we use it and we can make a difference. This is huge.

CD: How are you approaching Fonatour now that they've backed off?

SD: Well, we were on another highest rated Mexican talk show today and we put a totally positive spin on it. We said, 'we want Fonatour to win the Nobel prize in tourism. If they eliminate these marinas and don't destroy Baya de Los Angeles, we'll make sure they get the Nobel Prize in tourism. But my message was also, look, Fonatour's lobbying U.S. investors to invest in this project. It's our job to help them make sure they would make money. But as it was, there was no way they were going to make money. As it stood, there was no way they'd make money.

They know they don't have the money to build these big marinas, so a dock offshore is fine. That will keep them from dragging anchors. Floating marinas look good to us. They don't like not having support for these things. And hopefully when they officially announce these changes, Surfrider, Propenninsula, Wildcoast and Save Our Waves will go give them a medal.