The stretch of shoreline from the Hook at 41st Avenue to Natural Bridges State Park is as close to holy as it comes for many surfers, so why shouldn’t it receive the kind of recognition afforded the temples at Chichen Itza or Notre Dame Cathedral? The Save the Waves Coalition thought world-famous breaks deserve worldwide props, so it came up with the concept of World Surfing Reserves, sort of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of surfing.
The idea, first floated by Patagonia founder Yvon ‘Let My People Go Surfing’ Chouinard, gained traction in Australia, where there are now nine National Surf Reserves with plans for 16 more. Davenport-based Save the Waves seized the idea and has already begun instituting it on a global scale. In October of this year the Coalition, along with the International Surfing Association and Stanford University’s Center for Responsible Travel, bestowed the first World Surf Reserve designation on Malibu’s Surfrider Beach. Now Santa Cruz—the, ahem, birthplace of surfing on the mainland—is in line to become the second.
“We’re considering it very strongly for a World Surfing Reserve,” says Dean LaTourette, executive director of Save the Waves. “I think it’s probably not a matter of if but when at this point. We’re only looking at doing two to three sites a year, so we have to really prioritize because we’re looking at areas all over the world.” The next reserves will be chosen at Save the Waves’ annual meeting in January. Santa Cruz will compete against surf breaks in Brazil, Peru and South Africa for the honor.
The designation carries no legal weight. It’s seen more as a point of local pride and a selling point for the local tourism industry. The WSR manifesto, penned by Drew Kampion, former editor of Surfer, Windsurfer and Surfing magazines, lays it out: “In enshrining these surf spots the program will be enhancing and, in a sense, enshrining their surf-oriented communities, too—affirming what has great value in that place. A WSR is a celebration of place.” The organization hopes that by raising awareness of the importance of surfing in an area, the designation will eventually lead to stronger protections for it.
So what does it takes to become a World Surf Reserve? Save the Waves sets out four criteria: 1) excellent, consistent waves in 2) the kind of environment that would warrant coastal protection with 3) a history and sustained presence of surf culture and 4) broad community support for the project.
According to Jim Littlefield, director for the Northern California chapter of the Surfers’ Environmental Alliance, which nominated Santa Cruz for the honor, the city inarguably meets the first three stipulations. Now he just needs to marshal enough support from the community to round out the whole package. To get it done, Littlefield worked with outgoing Mayor Mike Rotkin to draft a resolution considered at the City Council meeting on Tuesday afternoon, just a few hours after press time and a little before high tide.
“Resolutions usually take the form of having a number of ‘whereas’ statements: ‘Whereas this is true and this is true, this is therefore resolved,’” explains Rotkin. “The whereas statements include a lot of information about how central surfing is to Santa Cruz—to its cultural amenity, to its economy, to its history—and it goes on to resolve that we support the idea of making Santa Cruz into a World Surfing Reserve.” Rotkin expected the resolution to pass with the overwhelming support of the city council. “I’m almost positive it will pass seven to zero,” he said. This is one Santa Cruz wave that can handle that many people.
