For some Gulf surf shops, from bad to worse

Oil dispersants a concern

Currently, there are a few tropical storm systems that have pushed waves to the Gulf. For shops like Fluid in Fort Walton, Florida, board sales recently got a quick lift with the waves, but people are worried about surfing in possibly contaminated water.

“There are surfers resisting good waves because they are scared. I don’t know if ignorance is bliss, but when you look at the water it looks beautiful. You just know stuff is out there but I guess I’m just living with it,” Carr said.

According to Johnny Mcelroy, Hurricane Alex, which brought head high surf, also brought currents and winds that pushed the visible oil away from his local beaches. He said he has recently been surfing Alabama Point, a 200-yard point break on the Westside of Perdido Pass that separates eastern Alabama from Florida.

“It’s in the back of your mind,” he said of the oil, “but it’s like dealing with sharks. You know they’re there, but you gotta’ surf -- it’s a way of life. It’s just a new way of life and it really sucks.”

According to Matt McCain, marketing director for the Surfrider Foundation, surfers need to be aware not only of oil, but of contaminants caused from cleaning dispersants being used to clean up the oil.

Michael Sturdivant, who is the Chairman of the Emerald Coast Surfrider Chapter, which covers most of the Northern Gulf, said there have been a lot of problems with testing in the area.

“A few months into the spill, there was still no water quality tests being done in certain areas, and there was advertising saying water is clean and beaches are safe. The problem is they were not testing for oil or dispersant related compounds.”

Sturdivant said notifications are getting better, but Surfrider is securing an independent testing lab in Washington that was used during the Exxon Valdez spill. But the process is timely and expensive – costing $350 per test and samples have to be shipped over ice.

Sturdivant said he knows of two people who have become ill after surfing. In Pensacola, he said a girl paddled into oil and went to the hospital after burning her eyes, most likely as a result of the dispersants in the water.

“As surfers we can literally taste the water, so we know what’s going on a lot of time before officials do,” Sturdivant said. “We are going to have to deal with this now for a while. If people could sell their houses right now, a lot of them would move.”