No ugly hotels or nasty tourist camps!
Are you proud of your local break? Like, really really proud? When someone asks, “Where do you surf?” do you tilt your head back, puff out your chest and say, “D Street, bro.” Or do you hate surf your local break? Like, grimace and complain and slap the water and be all annoyed?
Well, if you are the former did you know that you can kick big bizness in the balls and set it up as a World Surfing Reserve? It’s true!
A fine group called the Save the Waves Coalition has a process where you can apply for your break to be recognized. It will proudly appear alongside current surf reserves Malibu, Ericeira (Portugal), Manly Beach (Nick Carrol), Santa Cruz, Huanchaco (Peru), Bahia Todos Santos (Mexico), Punta de Lobos (Chile), Gold Coast, Noosa and Guarda do Embau (Brazil).
How difficult is? Well savethewaves.org has a tab on its website that walks you right through. Before beginning maybe take a few moments to discern if your local meets the criteria.
1) Quality and Consistency of the wave(s)
QUALITY OF WAVE(S)
SURFEABLE DAYS / YEAR
SITE OF PRO CONTEST
WAVE VARIETY
2) Environmental characteristics
RECOGNIZED BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT
THREATENED SPECIES PRESENT
CONNECTED TO WATER RESOURCES
PAST/PRESENT WAVE THREAT LIKELY TO BE MITIGATED
PROTECTED DESIGNATIONS
UNDEVELOPED AREA
KEY ISSUE IDENTIFIED
CLEAR AVENUE FOR LEGAL PROTECTION LOCALLY
PROVIDES KEY ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
3) Culture and Surf history
SITE OF NAT’L CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
IMPORTANCE IN SURF HISTORY
SITE OF REGIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
4) Capacity and local support
LETTERS OF SUPPORT FROM:
SURF COMMUNITY
GOV’T SUPPORT
NGOS
BUSINESS
ACADEMIA
SUSTAINABLE FINANCING
CLEARLY IDENTIFIED MANAGER
SURF IS KEY PART OF LOCAL ECONOMY
CLEARLY IDENTIFIED RESERVE AMBASSADOR
D Street? Are you ready to shine?
What do you do if you hate your local break and want to see it dealt the same punishment it deals you on an almost daily basis?
“Gold Coast, Noosa and Guarda do Embau (Brazil).” Hahaha, perfect.
Most of you might’ve noticed I’ve been far less active in the comments section as of late… I’m still lurking. once in, it’s near impossible to leave the laughs given and received here.
Reason being? I’m just crazy busy rebuilding my little Coastal town… we had a 7.8 Earthquake back in November 2016. Seabed rose up to 3m in parts and caused mind boggling damage to the state highways that feed our Town.
The road North was closed for over a Year (still got a few years of ongoing repairs left) turning what was a 45 minute drive to my favourite spot into a 10 hour drive.
Anyway welcomed emergency Legislation was pushed though to by-pass the consent process and crack into works to open the road that feeds people into our tourism reliant Town.
That’s been done and all roads are now open. The kicker is that the powers that be have decided to misuse this emergency legislation to literally bulldoze though a coastal cycleway and associated rock embankment almost right on the high tide mark at one of the most iconic and what we thought one of a few protected Surfbreaks in the Country!! These works have absolutely nothing to do with emergency earthquake repairs!!
Fuckers…
Sling us a signature or some $$ for the high court appeal and take nothing for granted, because if it can happen here it can happen anywhere… cheers.
https://www.savethewaves.or…
Heard about that. Total government numbskullery. Hopefully they don’t butcher the wave.
I’ve signed.
I drove the long way down for a surf trip in July last year. Its a gem! More valuable to tourism than a cycleway imo
I’ve got no issue with the cycleway itself as it going to be an amazing asset for the Village just the process in which it is happening… There are many options in which everyone can be keep happy. it’s just that they’re going down the cheapest and easiest route with no regard for surfers, the break and the blatant misuse of protocol, procedure and power involved is staggering.
Siggy 5,481!
Signed. The pic is just too good. And it made me kicking myself for only visiting Northland when I came to NZ 2 years ago. Hope it’s not too sharky and moreover that the road works will get done.
Your World Surfing Reserve, sponsored by Your Local Real Estate Agent and Tourism Authority!
I mean, if that’s what it takes to keep oil piers or whatever from fucking up a coastal zone, I’m all for it.
I would be too, if they had any force whatsoever in law, say the way state parks and rec reserves do. But they don’t. And if you wanna see how much moral force they possess, check out the illegal jetski behaviour along the Gold Coast points next swell. WSRs are nice in theory, but in real time, not even the surfers pay any attention.
Chas,
Will the “Bro-Am” at D get us any points?
Will “Rat” be our CLEARLY IDENTIFIED RESERVE AMBASSADOR?
WAVE VARIETY: We have 2 key ones here: Tubes that Close Out and Closeout Tubes. Well wind blown shit is a third, but i doubt that gets us much.
One criteria to add is: Number of Surfable Waves / Number of Daily Surfers. Clearly D would suffer significant pain here.
Waves are like fish. Load up your buddies in a van and catch all the endangered ones in a big drunk loud group before someone else does then wax poetic about its demise.
Threatened Species Present = Aging short boarders ,slowly drowning under a sludge of hipsters , SUPs , foils , Softboards……….., looking to surf away on a wave of mutilation .
From the application I sent in for my local spot!:
“1) Quality and Consistency of the wave(s)
QUALITY OF WAVE(S): Shit
SURFABLE DAYS / YEAR: 200 or so of decent(ish) shit
SITE OF PRO CONTEST: N/A
WAVE VARIETY: Shit, shit, or… shit, take your pick.”
… I think my spot has a shot!!
200 DAYS OF DECENT SHIT? KVF, where is this shangri-la? Not at my beach, that much I’m sure of.
Ha! I definitely oversold it! I should have said “200 or so of sometimes decent(ish) but mostly horrible shit.” You can catch a wave and maybe pump once… if you don’t mind ankle biters!
Ankle bites are considered firing here in Jerz….. did 3 “turns” here once in 2011 and wound up in the psyche ward from uncontrollable laughter….
“Did 3 “turns” here once in 2011″ hahaha