Surfing and non-surfing Santa Cruzans alike can now rest easy knowing that the 7-mile stretch of cliff between Natural Bridges and Opal Cliffs, home to legendary Steamer Lane, the Hook and the grom-friendly waves at Cowells, are protected. Kind of. Santa Cruz was officially declared a World Surf Reserve in an announcement made Feb. 24 by the Davenport-based Save the Waves Coalition, which is responsible for bestowing the largely ceremonial honor.
The designation will function mostly as point of local pride but many hope it will also prove to be a selling point for tourism and a deterrent for over-development of the coast. At least those were the reasons cited when Santa Cruz’s nomination was unanimously supported by resolution of the city council in December.
Along with Santa Cruz, a two-and-a-half mile swath of coastline just off the coast of Portugal at Ericeira was also named a reserve. Santa Cruz and Ericeira, picked from more than 100 other nominees world wide, join just two other named reserves—Malibu in Los Angeles and Manly Beach in Sydney.
Save the Waves bases the award on four characteristics: quality and consistency of the surf zone, environmental characteristics of the area, the surf culture and history and finally, support from the local community. The city officially recognized the award in a March 3 ceremony at Santa Cruz’s Surf Museum. County Supervisor Mark Stone, who also serves on California’s Coastal Commission, was among the speakers. “Santa Cruz is a leading example of all of the criteria used to make that decision,” Stone said, calling the award a “global recognition for what Santa Cruz means to the surfing world.”
