Yosemite’s iconic Half Dome is to rock climbers what Rincon Point is to surfers — a place of unbridled beauty and internationally celebrated perfection. However, while Yosemite sits on a vast expanse of permanently protected government land, Rincon, despite its lofty status, remains very much vulnerable to ruin at the hand of man. Should a threat be posed to Rincon Point’s surf break, what can be done to fight to protect the wave? How will the community ensure that one of the world’s most famous and spectacular waves is kept from extinction?
Enter Save The Waves (STW), a worldwide watchdog on the lookout for surf breaks teetering on the brink of destruction with the singular purpose of protection. For the past decade, STW has been building a résumé of success, its members’ efforts helping chalk up victories for embattled surf breaks in Mexico, Nicaragua, Ireland, and Spain. Working as a facilitator between various surf-minded organizations, STW helps give voice to wave-preservation efforts in communities big and small to such a degree that, when the group succeeds, the importance of the “saved” surf spot is recognized from the local government level all the way to the United Nations. Now, our beloved Rincon Point, the Queen of the Coast who calls the Santa Barbara/Ventura County line home, is on their protection radar.
Santa Barbara’s Will Henry, an avid photographer and surfer who first fell in love with the Queen during his days at Carpinteria’s Cate School, founded Save The Waves in 2001 after running headfirst into what exactly the potential death of world-class waves looks like. Henry had made numerous visits throughout the late 1990s to the surf-rich island of Madeira, an unspoiled point-break paradise with European comforts (the archipelago is technically part of Portugal) and warm water off the northwest coast of Morocco. A relatively new surf discovery, the magic of Madeira and the healthy supply of powerful Atlantic Ocean swells instantly had Henry transfixed.