The group’s voyage, known as Transparentsea, arrived at Horseshoe Bay last Monday after paddling 110km on their kayaks from Woolgoolga in one day.

During the day, the group photographed whales seen frolicking off Nambucca Heads.

The 36-day voyage by sea from Byron Bay to Sydney is an initiative of professional surfer Dave Rastovich, an environ-mental crusader.

“We had perfect northerly winds from the beginning of the day, right up until the end, upwards of 30 knots,” Mr Rastovich said.

“But the highlight was definitely all the whale activity we had going underneath the boats.

“Juveniles were breaching and tail slapping around us all day and we finished riding swells into Horseshoe Bay.”

The primary aim of the Transparentsea journey was to draw attention to the plight of the migrating whales and Japanese whaling fleets.

David is joined by Californian surfer and artist Chris Del Moro, Australian musician Will Conner, Byron Bay photographer Hilton Dawe and Coolangatta online guru Kristy Theissling.

“During the journey we will record and highlight other areas of environmental concern including the effects of the commercial fishing industry on marine mammals and fish stocks and the state of rivers and estuaries,” Mr Rastovich said.

The Transparentsea crew sailed for about three hours and had reached Hat Head the following day before a dust storm hit.

“We set camp up at Hungry Head and want to do a major beach clean-up because as the saying goes it looks good from afar but far from good,” Mr Rastovich said.

“If we don’t look after our beaches now and keep them clean, the next generation won’t.”

The whale watching industry is worth about $300 million to the Australian each year.

“We needed to surf big-time and while our progress at sea was halted, we scored solid four-foot wedging beach breaks with not another soul in sight,” Mr Rastovich said.

“This has been one of our most memorable trips ever.”

You can keep track of the Transparentsea crew as they head south on the internet at www.transparentseavoyage. com