I didn’t do too much with SmartFin, but it was a very cool project to be involved with back in 2018. And it was one of the few times I’ve gotten to combine my two passions: engineering and surfing. I volunteered to beta test an instrumented surfboard fin. It was an impressive feat, since fins are very thin, and surfers expect them to still have high performance. This project is a creative way to take advantage of the fact that surfers spend a lot right next to coral reefs, an area that is hard to take measurements in but scientifically useful. I helped develop tools to give a little back to the surfer by telling them more about their rides and wave count. It was great meeting all the fellow volunteers that shared a passion for the ocean and working with scientists dedicating their careers to ocean health. As a bonus, I had the honor to appear briefly on BBC clip below surfing 1 foot waves in front of Scripps Center for Oceanography. Looking back it just makes me recognize all the countless often underappreciated ways good people are trying to make difference in the world. It all adds up to a better world for all of us.
Check out the latest from Smartfin here: https://www.surfsmartfin.com/. It’s hard to say if they are still active, but they did publish back in 2021.
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