Jon Frank's blog

This week, Oceana's corporate partner Nautica invited us to Key West Race Week to spread the word and gather support for our opposition to Congressional efforts to open up Florida’s coasts to offshore drilling.

In the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009, there’s a proposal that would open up currently protected areas in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling.

On October 28, Oceana, Nautica, and actor Adrian Grenier joined GQ to honor OCYC Commodore Kristen Berry at the GQ Gentlemen's Ball. We were delighted for Kristen to receive recognition for his advocacy work and for being a true steward for the oceans.

Additionally, ticket sale proceeds for the ball generated thousands of dollars in donations for Oceana and three other worthwhile charities - UNICEF, The Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation and The Pat Tillman Foundation.

Check out the video below to hear in Kristen's words why we should care about the oceans >>

One week from today, OCYC Commodore Kristen Berry will represent Oceana as its honoree for the GQ Gentlemen's Ball. The event brings together Adrian Grenier, Ashton Kutcher, Mark Wahlberg and Josh Duhamel as ambassadors for Oceana, UNICEF, The Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation and the Pat Tillman Foundation, respectively. In addition, Nautica, HP, Gillette and Ketel One support one of the four pillars that represents each charity: conservation, education, leadership and integrity.

The 2009 Nautica Malibu Triathlon is just one month away and Oceana still has available spots for our race team for the Olympic distance race (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run) on September 12 and the Classic distance race (.5mi swim, 18mi bike, 4mi run) on September 13.

OCYC Commodore Kristen Berry was the first OCYC member to race for Team Oceana last month in New York, but you can join his distinguished company by signing up to race for Oceana before Monday, August 17. »

I'll be racing this year, but last year I attended as a spectator and was excited to see all the celebs that did the Pacific swim, the Pacific Coast Highway bike ride and the run down the pavement and blacktop along Zuma Beach. Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman and Cindy Crawford were just some of the famous faces to grace the beach in 2008 and I know many will be there in 2009 too.

Swim. Bike. Run. Those were the only three actions on the minds of thousands of participants in Sunday’s Nautica New York City Triathlon. Thanks to a generous invitation from Nautica - an Oceana corporate sponsor – Kevin Connor and I arrived in the Big Apple on Thursday for three days of information sharing with these tremendous athletes (and their entourages!)

Regardless of whether we met someone from Western Australia or the Upper West Side, there was a definite connection between the triathletes and the well being of our blue planet. Scuba divers, recreational fisherman and surfers were among the crowd, and they all enjoyed relating their experiences from the Hudson River to Lake Placid to Kailua Bay. With the help of an energetic and passionate volunteer corps, we generated hundreds of new Wavemakers for Oceana’s eNewsletter and spread the word about protecting the oceans to hundreds more.

While Oceana's Ranger catamaran prepares for its expedition later this summer, there is a fascinating expedition currently being lead by the Living Oceans Society. A vessel carrying two Deep Worker manned submarines left British Columbia on World Oceans Day (June 8) and has been exploring the Hecate Strait and the Queen Charlotte Basin ever since.

The goal of the expedition is to study deep water corals and document threats to their well being. As Oceana has documented in fisheries around the world, one of the most glaring and obvious threats to corals is destructive bottom trawling. Watch this video from the British Columbia expedition, which features a bottom trawling animation and video from Oceana.

A victory for ocean lovers everywhere. After three years and thousands of petitions, the United Nations has officially declared June 8 as World Oceans Day. The UN designated June 8 as World Oceans Day in 1992, but every year since then organizations, schools, aquariums and ocean advocates have unofficially celebrated that day. Now, thanks to a new resolution, the designation is official every year as of this year.

It's undeniably significant that one of the world's most powerful governing bodies has decided to take a day to celebrate the bounty and beauty of our seas. Our hope is that this designation encourages people to appreciate all the oceans have to offer, every day of the year.

For Spinsheet magazine's March issue, OCYC Commodore Kristen Berry wrote about marinas and yacht yards being the starting point for sailors to contribute to water conservation - specifically in the Chesapeake Bay. For you sailors in Virginia and Maryland especially, this article is a must read. (hint: Toggle to Full Screen)

Oceana CEO Andrew Sharpless recently added to his writing resume by having an article published in Oyster Yachts' seasonal newsletter. Andy composed an insightful overview of the threats facing the world's oceans and common misconceptions about the cause of those threats. Click here to read the article (and unless you have telescope vision, remember to Toggle to Full Screen.)