The Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project would like to invite you to join them this Saturday at Alki Beach for a two-hour clean-up, from 10 a.m. to noon. KOMO 4‘s predicting partly cloudy and a high of 77. You can RSVP here; look for the Surfrider tent at the intersection of 59th SW and Alki Avenue SW.
Afterwards, those of drinking age are in the right place for a Surfrider-hosted celebration featuring Barefoot Wine and surf-inspired fare. Tacoma’s acoustic rocker Vicci Martinez advises you to come along with her to the celebration at Cactus Restaurant, noon to 2 p.m.
We’re mentioning this because we’re a little tickled at how well the Barefoot Wine sponsorship fits in — yes, you do want to go barefoot at the beach — but also to point out the good work of the Surfrider Foundation, who publish a continually updated report on beach conditions called “State of the Beach.”
In their section on Washington beaches, you learn that there are — believe it or not — about two dozen surfing spots, but that cities and town nearby have yet to promote them. That’s outside of Westport, a state leader in surfing tourism. The state also scores low on “shoreline structures,” if you include the beaches of densely-inhabited Puget Sound. Surfrider hopes to see the removal of shoreline armoring that kills beaches. Seattle earns praise on that account:
[T]he Seattle Department of Transportation, King Conservation District, and Washington Sea Grant have jointly spent $310,000 to install 18 concrete panels along Seattle’s urban waterfront. Each panel measures about 5 by 7 feet, with faux rocks or ledges at various angles. The scientists also stuck nine troughs to the walls and filled them with small rocks and gravel, creating mini tide pools. The goal is to create nooks and crannies where algae, tiny sea insects, small fish and crabs can hide out.
