Come Experience The Natural World Of Padre Island
National Seashore With Captain Billy Sandifer!

Attention Volunteers! The 2012 Big Shell Beach Cleanup is scheduled for February 25th this year. This event just can't happen without the help of our volunteers and your help is needed again. See you there!

17th Annual Big Shell Beach Cleanup

The Big Shell Beach Cleanup will be held Saturday, 25 February, 2012. Volunteers will meet at Malaquite Pavilion on PINS and the event will commence at 7 a.m. To reach Malaquite Pavilion just stay on S.P.I.D. through Corpus out onto N. Padre Island where it becomes Park Rd. 22. Just keep driving till you come to the entry gate of PINS. Tell the attendant you are there to volunteer for the beach cleanup and you will not be charged admission. 2nd. Set of buildings is the Malaquite Pavilion. Huge parking lot. It’s on the left side of the highway. All volunteers will be back at the pavilion by 2 pm. 4 wheel drive vehicles, trailers for hauling trash in and out of the work area and working volunteers are needed. Walking volunteers are welcomed and those without 4 wheel drive vehicles will be afforded transportation to and from the work area. Those unable to pick up trash but having 4 wheel drive vehicles are most welcome to aid in hauling volunteers. The event doesn't re-schedule and will take place rain or shine. Use the map below to help coordinate where to line up, park, and get ready at the Malaquite Visitor's Center.

Big Shell Cleanup Parking Lot Diagram

Snacks, water and soft drinks will be available in the work area and refreshments will be available at Malaquite following the event courtesy of CCA Corpus Christi Chapter and Dominos Pizza. Long trousers and sturdy foot wear are recommended. Don't pick up broken glass or flammable items. Report them to your section leaders. Volunteers will receive event t-shirts. This is a worthy event and it's only possible because of volunteer participation. Won't you please come and join us.

Capt. Billy

The 2011 Big Shell Beach Cleanup Wrap up Article.

On Saturday, March 19, 2011, 501 people cleared 44 tons of trash from the 16 to the 26 mile PINS Big Shell Beachfront. That brings the total amount of trash removed from the beach by this event to a whopping TWO MILLION, ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEEN THOUSAND POUNDS. The event was overall probably the smoothest one ever and after any number of tough weather years we finally had the perfect weather conditions for the event. I used to think how wonderful it would be if some day we could actually pick up a million pounds of trash. It wasn't even a goal. Sounded too grandiose; it was just a wish to be placed on that "wouldn't it be nice" list most of us have. As I look back over the years I am in utter awe of this cleanup and the many hard working folks who are commited to making the environment a better place and help make it happen. This event is somehow a living being. It draws people to participate. This year we were short some long term players but they were replied by excited, determined new ones.

E.J. won the "hard luck" award for the second year in a row by blowing his transmission 25 miles down island and having the pleasure of Rudy from PINS NPS Maintenance pull him all the way in with a front end loader. E.J. and Pam won the prize last year as well when they pulled up in the parking lot Saturday morning with a smoking, hot trailer wheel axle but this is so much more interesting. Although a very few are tiring of the event it seems there is more interest in it every year we are bound to lose a few volunteers every year to increased maturity but they are replaced by smiling younger ones. Other causalities were low in number with only one broken leaf spring and one broken rear drive shaft that I know of. I lost my water pump and a charter yesterday down at the 18 mile and hated it as I was intending to attend the Bassler's Port Mansfield clean up today.

One thing I found odd this year is everyone was talking about the poor driving when I thought it was pretty good. Bumpy but O. K. for everyone except for trailer haulers. It's never god for trailer haulers and that's why we appreciate them so much. They really risk damaging their equipment more than the rest of us. Reminds me of Ralph Wade driving up to me in the Devil's Elbow one day. He snorted and said, "Some fool asked me how the driving was in the Big Shell". I told him somewhere between hateful and impossible just as it has been for thousands of years.

17 years ago when I first started this event every now and then someone would suggest to friends of mine that the only real reason I did so was to generate business for my charter service. Only one person ever made reference of this to me personally and he learned it was poor judgment on his part and trust me he never brought it up again. The deal is you can't make a living down there; you just do it because it is who you were meant to be and what you were meant to be. If you are an adult with a job you make more money than I do. The overhead is prohibitive, and I have never gotten over 100 charters per year. Most guides hope to do 200. But out there on the beach there simply are too many obstacles working against you. In the bay you can go find a leeward shore line but in the surf the wind is hitting you straight in the face and there is no place to hide. For the past month and a half the Sargassum weed has made fishing quite tedious and sometimes impossible. Some years the Sargassum will begin to be less of a handicap in March or April and other years it stays right through July. Add extended lengthy periods of high tides, winds and swells and hurricane and other tropical inities and it readily becomes clear there is no money in it; just the longest and toughest days in the charter business. And repairs and maintenance on vehicles is an absolute nightmare. But I would be nowhere else doing nothing else as this is who I am and what I do. I read in an e-mailed that was forwarded to me recently in which the guy stated "Billy Sandifer is the guy everyone wants to be without having to go through all the hardships he has to go through to be that guy they want to be." Funny.

As amazing as the cleanup is folks would be stunned with the planning and donations necessary to carry out this event. This year Mz. Samantha Koepp of Grande Communications in partnership with the Outdoor Channel joined the team and were major supporters in many and much appreciated ways. Friends of Padre, Ruth Parr Sparks Foundation, David Ainsworth Trucking Co., Sharkathon, CCA Corpus Christi, Bassler Energy and Coastal Bend Audubon Outdoor Club continued their invaluable support. Domino's Pizza, Smart shield Sunscreen, HEB, Shore Fishing and Casting Club International, Fishbites and Spooners provided food and gifts. Outdoor writer, David Sikes, of the Corpus Christi Caller Times, Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Salt Water Angler and Padre Island Moon helped get the word out. The event T-shirts were designed by Ben Beaty and fabricated by Gambler Graphics. Believe it or not one of the most demanding and tedious of all the jobs concerning the cleanup is doing the never ending footwork involved with dealing with all the players and seeing that the event t-shirts are top quality and ready on cleanup morning. Long time friend, Ace Leal. Has taken on and done a wonderful job taking care of the t-shirt footwork for years. You are a Saint Ace. If you see him, say thank you because he surely deserves many more thank yous than he gets.

Led by Laura Paul, Goldston Engineering CH2MHIll showed up with volunteers from as far away as Colorado and rented their own 4 wheel drive vehicles for this; their second event. New this year was Team Industrial Services headed up by Clay Wernli and we hope to see them back next year. Reagan Arnold and a crew from Citgo jumped right in to get it done as did Spectra Energy of Houston. Stephen and Donna Gregory were very supportative as they have been. Michael Laskowski Sr. and Jr. of Trac-Work Inc. Railroad Maintenance and Rehabilitation in San Antonio furnished gloves. Hum; furnished gloves doesn't really seem like a big deal, does it? Well figure the price of 600 pair of gloves and it changes the picture a bit; doesn't it? I am so honored to be in some small way involved with this event. I can tell you that the Big Shell Beach is the cleanest I've ever seen it. I am so proud of each and every one of you as you should be of yourselves.

Speed limit is 15 now through 5 July due to Nesting Kemp's Ridley Turtle season. Keep an eye out and be kind to all of the Creators children. What a Hoot.

If we don't leave any; there won't be any. Capt. Billy L. Sandifer

The 2010 Big Shell Beach Cleanup

Mr. David Ainsworth and his operations manager, Kenny Smith, showed up with 2 big rubber tired front end loaders and each was pulling three 16 foot trailers that they had put 4 foot sides on for the occasion. The stats this year are impressive. The Bassler's Port Mansfield Group had 90 people and got 5 miles of trash. The North end event had at least 450 volunteers and the total amount of trash was 103 tons. Close to 17 miles of beach was cleaned. But somehow to me personally the numbers are overshadowed by the pure heart and drive of the volunteers this year. This event was extremely tough, from the very beginning, the weather hammered us, we had vehicle problems galore and we just kept on going and did it anyway. We ran alongside trailers in sheets of ice cold rain in high winds, we got on our knees and pulled our trash bags behind us when we couldn't stand up any more, soaking wet clothes actually dried on us as we worked in the chill and low humidity of the incoming Cold Front.

Everett Johnson and Pam arrived at the parking lot with a hot brake and never got to participate. Tyler Thorsen was a Section Leader and his front right wheel began making loud clunking noises in route to this assigned work area and he ended up stopping short and working where he was. I realize this year that unless you were there I simply can’t explain this event to you. It’s all heroes with hearts as big as Texas and the absolute determination to make things better for their having been there. We learned this year we need bigger tool boxes. Mr. Ainsworth sheared off the first ball hitch he ever saw give way in his life and several of us spent 45 minutes with a hammer and 2 rusty pairs of vice grips trying to replace it. We got it done but then the replacement broke also. 2 in one day. Finally Mr. Ainsworth ended up tying a tow strap around the bucket on the front end loader and the leading trailer’s hitch and pulled the whole shebang in backwards for 26 miles of beach. During this adventure the tow strap broke 6 times. By the way, he didn’t have a helper and was doing all this single handedly. Beginning to get the picture?

I’ve never said it before but there is not a single event in Texas to compare with this. And that ain’t Billy bragging; that’s Billy being very humbled at being blessed by the Creator to be allowed to play a small role in this unbelievable event. In a world that sometimes seems to have gone crazy and is filled with "it’s all about me and how big my fish is, or my truck is or my boat is" types there is absolutely nothing even in the same league with this event and the wonderful people who come from all over and spend their Saturday straining their backs to the limit while asking absolutely nothing in return simply to make outdoor Texas a better place to visit. Thanks to all our sponsors: David Ainsworth and Ainsworth Trucking, Ruth Parr Sparks Foundation, Sharkaton, CCA Corpus Christi Chapter, Stephen and Donna Gregory and Miller and Kathie Bassler, Smartshield Sunscreen, Tex-Maps, David Sikes and the Corpus Christi Caller Times, Everett and Pam Johnson and Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Ron Behnke and the Salty Angler, Time Warner Cable, Tex-Maps, Daniel Dain and Domino’s Pizza, Jay Gardner and the refreshment crew of CCA Corpus Christi, and Coastal Bend Audubon Club. Special Thanks to Ace Leal, Gambler and crew for the hard work put into the t-shirts. Michael Laskowski Sr. and Jr. of Trac-Work, Inc. Railroad Maaintenance & Rehabilitation officed in San Antonio provided 550 pr. of sturdy work gloves for volunteers and we are extremely thankful to them for their kindness and support

We broke over 2 millions pounds due to 103 tons this year. So now we have 2,030,000 lbs. of trash removed. YOU ARE AND WILL ALWAYS BE "MY HEROES." Your humble brother in the sand. Capt. Billy L. Sandifer

Big Shell Beach Cleanup March 14th 2009

Those who visit and fish the area South of the 15 mile area of PINS beach regularly for any length of time soon realize there is really nothing easy about it. It’s harsh and hostile and totally unforgiving and it always has been. Guess that’s why I have loved it so for so long. Hard and hostile places breed strong, self reliant, colorful people and these are the people who have been my chosen family all these years. Simply planning and executing a successful day’s fishing can become quite a task. Then if tides, winds and weather aren’t just perfect (and they rarely are) it becomes more and more complex and difficult

Now imagine 502 people showing up before daylight on their day off with many traveling hundreds of miles to be there in 45 degree temperatures with drizzle and 24 mph North winds and picking up 800,000 pounds of debris (most deposited by Hurricane Ike) and you have the story of the 14th. Annual Big Shell Beach Cleanup. From toddlers to school children to red necks to house wives to PhDs. Bikers to Environmentalists to Cowboys. All equal; working side by side and doing their absolute best to get as much debris as possible collected and removed from the National treasure that is PINS and which means so much to so many.

Their reward for this day of pain and strain in miserable weather was an event T shirt, some sunscreen and "Fishbites" and a map and a pair of gloves. Most got hotdogs and pizza. Kinda’ slim wages but the real pay off was 9 3/4 miles of clean beach in the Big Shell and a couple of miles cleaned by this year’s Port Mansfield group of 25 volunteers who came across by boat and were met by 4 wheel drive trucks which had driven in from the North end. This portion of the event is a first and was organized by Miller and Kathy Bassler of Bassler Energy Services of Deansville, Tx.

Another first in this year’s event was that NPS (National Park Service) personnel at PINS were full partners in the event and not only worked with us but furnished invaluable heavy equipment and trucks. To the NPS personnel it was just another day in the trenches as they’ve been battling the debris since Ike and their effort continues now. For days prior to the event the "backdrug" roads through Big Shell with large front end loaders so volunteers could get in and out of the area. It remained extremely difficult to pull trailers south of the 20 mile but without their efforts it would have been impossible. I’ll stand tall and tell anyone that NPS personnel led by Facilities Manager, Larry Turk, have done more work on PINS in the past year than has ever been done there before

The bone chilling, wet and cold conditions made hard work miserable for everyone but our volunteer truck drivers pulling trailers really had a tough time in the soft sands South of the 20 mile. Even the most experienced got stuck at least once or twice and had to be pulled out. I don’t think I’ve ever given these trailer pullers the full credit they earn and deserve. They risk and endanger their personal property more than the rest of us and that extra effort needs to be realized and acknowledged. So a great big and well earned special thanks go out to these hard working folks. Most of the volunteers were back at Malaquite by the official ending time of 2 p.m. but quite aa few worked beyond that and 8 of us joined NPS personnel on Sunday and continued the effort till we simply could go no more.

Prior to this event the first 13 events picked up 1,030,000 pounds of trash. The 800,000 pounds collected during this event brings the event total to 1,830,000 pounds. This record event collected as much trash as 10 previous ones had but I think it very important not to "steal the thunder" of earlier events as there are 2 big reasons for this years tremendous amount of trash gathered. First off there was that much more trash to pick up and secondly the NPS joining in helped dramatically Everyone who has worked in any of these previous 13 events has worked their backsides off just as much as this year.

We are grateful to all of our sponsors and I’d like to recognize them individually. CCA Corpus Christi Chapter provided hot dogs and refreshments for volunteers at Malaquite. Daniel Dain and Domino’s Pizza provided pizza for tired volunteers. Coastal Bend Audubon Society furnished the restrooms at the 15 mile. Fishbites, Smart Shield Sunscreen and Texmaps furnished product for volunteers. HEB Plus of Flour Bluff donated a gift certificate for sundry items. Michael Laskowski Sr. And Jr. Of Trac-Work, Inc Railroad Maintenance and Rehabilitation officed in San Antonio furnished 600 pair of work gloves and then personally hauled 4 trailer loads of trash. David Ainsworth of Ainsworth Trucking in Corpus Christi provided 2 truck and large trailers filled with ice chest and bottled water for volunteers. Jerry B’s Kayak Sales and Rentals of Corpus Christi donated coupon discounts to volunteers.

Without "getting the word out" this event would never exist and we are extremely grateful to Kellie Smith and Time Warner Cable Media Sales, Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Salty Angler and David Sikes and the Caller Times for the great publicity they gave the event. Thanks to Gambler Specialitys for doing such a good job of the t shirts and to Ben Beaty for his awesome graphic design of the shirts although I must say I’m prettier than depicted. As rough and tough as depicted I’ll admit; but prettier.

Another first for this event is financial contributions to the event and other worthy causes on Padre Island through donations to the newly formed "Friends of Padre." The board of FoP is made up of Dr. David McKee, Tyler Thorsen, Steven Naylor of Round Rock and myself and we were all personally "in the trenches" with everyone else as well as managing the organization. Substantial donations were received from Mr. Leon McNinch and Jim Mayo of the "Ruth Parr Sparks Foundation, Stephen and Donna Gregory (they paid for all the t-shirts and made a sizable donation as well), Kathie and Miller Bassler of Bassler Energy Services in Deanville, Tx. made a donation and organized the Port Mansfield volunteers, Sharkathon, Mr. Jimmy Jackson of Beeville, TX. And Mr. Johnny French.

Sunny Beaches.org was present with 37 volunteers. Mrs. Alvaredo brought 19 school children from Robstown, Tx. Awesome.

And my friend of more years than I care to recall, Mr. Ace Leal, who you may only know as "the t-shirt guy" deserves a very big THANK YOU ACE because he earned it several times over this year. He not only handled most of the chores concerning the t-shirts; which has been unusually complicated this year but has been my main "go to" guy on every aspect of planning this very complicated event. When everyone else was busy with something else Ace’s reply was always "sure I will" or "I’ll be over in a few minutes."

I am very proud and blessed to be a part of this event. If you take a moment and think about how crazy everything around us is these days and how many people are getting caught behaving horribly over selfish greed and a total lack of concern for anyone else or any thing but themselves this event stands tall and proud as proof that there are still kind, concerned, selfless people who not only are willing to give of themselves but to eagerly do so simply because something needs doing and nothing is expected in return. Each of us walked among such people Saturday and were counted in their number and it honors us and it honors PINS. As always, YOU ARE MY HEROES. Humbly your brother in the sand,

Capt. Billy L. Sandifer

ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY

 During 2007s "event of record" 440 people picked up 95,560 pounds of
trash and cleaned 13 miles of beach on PINS. During Saturday’s 2008 event
400 people picked up 115,500 pounds in bags and including large items
brought in the total is estimated at 65 to 70 tons.

They cleaned 13.7 miles of beach. Less people yet record distance cleaned and record amount
of trash removed. We surpassed the 1 Million pound mark by 30,000 pounds. Although the morning temperature was a brisk 42 degrees some volunteers
traveled in open vehicles from town into the work area and I observed
volunteers in wheel chairs picking up trash in two separate sections.

Although Capt. Ron Behnke of "Salt Water Angler" is recovering from
serious back surgery he and Julie were there with other family members and
pulling a trailer and also gave the event high quality advertisement. A
well earned thank you to the Behnke family and their publication.

David Sikes of the Corpus Christi Caller Times went out of his way to give the event as much exceptional press as possible and so did the publication, Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, the local Corpus Christi CCA Chapter and
Time Warner Cable Media Sales.

Ainsworth Trucking Company continued to be not only a major financial supporter of the event but furnished 2 trucks and large trailers loaded down with ice chests of iced down bottled water for volunteers in the field and hauled huge loads of trash out. Mr. Henry Perry, Ainsworth Trucking Company, is invaluable in the field due his experience and good common sense and is a genuine blessing to this event.

The Ruth Parr Sparks Foundation was a major benefactor and the event is
indebted to them and extremely grateful for their support. So is Mr. Jim
Mayo of Mayo Ranches andalthough he prefers not to be mentioned I find it
impossible not to do so. C.C. CCA President, Troy Adler, and Brush Country
C.C.A. were in the "trenches" walking the walk" rather than talking the
talk..

Michael Laskowski of Trac-Work Inc. Purchased 500 pair of work
gloves for the event and then pulled a large trailer in the work area
gathering trash. TAMUK ANGLERS and Sunny Beaches Org. Furnished solid
number of volunteers.

Daniel Dann and store manager, Stephanie Benham, of Domino’s Pizza delivered pizzas for volunteers at the conclusion of the event and CCA Corpus Christi’s Jay Gardner whipped up a goodly supply of his famous cheese-chili dogs as well.

Co-Organizer, Tyler Thorsen, of www.corpusfishing.com and board member of CCA Corpus Christi, was as invaluable as always and so was long time friend, Ace Leal, the t-shirt
man and another co-organizer. Mr. Joe Escoto, the new superintendent of PINS, and Cynthia Rubio of the Turtle Recovery Program spend the day likewise "walking the walk" in the work area and off duty Park Ranger Pat Donahue patrolled the area with a full first aid kit should problems have occurred.

Smartshield Sun Protection, H.E.B., TEXMAPS.com, "Fishbites" and
Carsonmap.com continued their wonderful support . Gambler’s Specialities
Ink of Corpus Christi did an awesome job on the t-shirts in short order
and my dear friends, Dr. David McKee, Ph.D. at Texas A&M University-Corpus
Christi and businessman, Steve Naylor, of Round Rock continued their
dedication to this worthwhile endeavor.

Mr. Brian Hawkins of the "Texas Country Reporter" T.V. show filmed the entire event and a show on it will air in May. Gas is over $3.00 a gallon, personal commitments overwhelm us
all in our everyday lives and it was a cold morning to get up on your day off and drive some distance at your own financial expense to do hard physical labor all day. The title of this comes from my ol’ military days, "Above and Beyond the Call of Duty."

Throughout the event it kept running through my mind for I realized that was exactly what was happening right before my very eyes and I am overwhelmed with admiration for all of you.
If "what goes around really comes around" you’ve all bought some exceptionally good karma on this deal. Your are my heroes.

Your Friend and Admirer,

Captain Billy L. Sandifer

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