New FCD Patagonia T Shirt Coming Soon

New T shirt coming soon courtesy of Fletcher Chouinard Designs and Patagonia. Proceeds to benefit STW Chile disaster relief.

Malibu To Be Declared World Surfing Reserve

Legendary California surf break the first in global network of World Surfing Reserves

Save The Waves Coalition, in partnership with National Surfing Reserves Australia and the International Surfing Association, is proud to announce the forthcoming dedication of iconic Malibu Surfrider Beach as the first World Surfing Reserve.

The enshrinement ceremony for the Malibu World Surfing Reserve will be held at Surfrider Beach on October 9th. There will be a paddle-out celebration, daytime media event, and evening fundraiser to celebrate this special occasion. The October 9th event will also mark the commencement of a stewardship and preservation plan for Malibu aimed at building general awareness around the importance of protecting the world’s greatest, most cherished surf spots.

Malibu is California’s definitive pointbreak and one of the world’s first ‘perfect waves’. Following World War II, Malibu helped established directions in technology, surfing style, and the image of the sport that are still followed today. It remains a transcendent name: included in more than 75 surfing films, representative of a Southern California lifestyle, and represented by name on any number of products and businesses.

A Local Stewardship Council, made up of community members intimately familiar with and dedicated to surfing at Malibu, will be responsible for implementing the stewardship plan to protect Malibu’s environmental, cultural, social and economic benefits. Confirmed members of this Council include local surfing legends Allen Sarlo, Andy Lyon, and Steven Lippman, as well as community members Bill Parr and Michael Blum. Honorable Mayor of Malibu Jefferson Wagner, also known as Zuma Jay, has also voiced his enthusiastic support of the initiative. More stewards will be announced soon.

>> Read the full story here...


* All Malibu photos in this post by Bill Parr.

Letter for Ireland's Crab & Doolin

From: Save The Waves Coalition
To: Senior Executive Officer of Planning
Clare County Council
Aras Contae an Chlair
County Clare, Ireland
Re: PL 10-8006 New Pier at Doolin, County Clare

To Whom It May Concern:

“The secret is officially out. Ireland is one of the top surfing destinations in the world.” – from Discover Ireland (www.discoverireland.ie)

This letter contains important arguments from Save The Waves Coalition about the proposed new pier, rock revetment and harbor development at Doolin near Crab Island in County Clare.

We respectfully yet adamantly request that planners of the project known as “PL 10-8006” in County Clare cancel current plans for the new harbor pier in Doolin and instead engage directly with the West Coast Surf Club and Irish Surfing Association to revisit alternative existing designs of this project. Alternate designs exist that do not damage the world class surfing waves at Crab Island and Doolin Point, and would ensure that surfers accessing the waves are not endangered by passing ferries.

Save The Waves Coalition is a nonprofit organization based in California with thousands of supporters worldwide, and our sole mission is to protect surf spots and their surrounding environments. It has come to our attention that the proposed design for rock revetment and new pier extension at Doolin would destroy the quality of the surfing waves at Crab Island and Doolin Point, due to wave backwash and wave energy reflection created by the new pier construction. Furthermore, surfers who visit the waves at Crab Island and Doolin Point would be forced to cross the operating paths of ferries using this new facility, consequently endangering their safety with these large boats.

Crab Island and Doolin Point are internationally renowned surf spots visited by thousands of Irish and overseas surfers, and this natural surfing attraction drives a robust local and regional economy based on surfing tourism. The proposed development will effectively destroy or drastically alter the surfing attraction of the area. Personally, I have surfed Ireland’s waves and found them to be unforgettable due to their unequalled quality and consistency. This type of environment for surfing is increasingly difficult to find in the world and is unique. It must be protected.

Our major concern is that this project will destroy a naturally occurring recreational opportunity - surfing - that is already in limited availability worldwide. Surfing and waves are a very limited and valuable resource that must not be destroyed nor altered.

Surfing waves are naturally occurring and exceptionally low-cost to society, and they provide and in fact create a well-developed and rich local surfing economy and culture. In fact, Irish surfers were employed and filmed for nationwide advertising campaigns with Discover Ireland in 2007-08. This means that the government of Ireland recognizes the important cultural and economic value of its unique surfing coastline. These surfing resources must be permanently protected for the benefits of culture, environment and economics.

Save The Waves Coalition respectfully insists that the planning authorities responsible for the new pier project at Doolin clearly and directly address the concerns of surfers who would lose a limited recreational resource if this project is executed as designed. Local surfers have informed our organization that their concerns and interests have not been addressed in the documentation and proposal of this project. By working with the local surfing club and the Irish Surfing Association, we believe that County Clare can find an acceptable alternative to this project without destroying the waves or endangering surfers in the water.

It is important to note that an online petition is now circulating and has already gathered over 3,500 individual signatures asking decision makers to consider these arguments to protect the surf spots at Crab Island and Doolin Point. We look forward to a comprehensive solution to address our legitimate concerns reflecting the interests of local and international surfers.

>>> Sign the petition to save these waves!
Photos by Mickey Smith.

Rebuilding Chile

There's something incredibly rewarding about witnessing something you love being built over time. It's the tangible, visible result of hard work and dedication. Here are a couple of photos of our recent work in Chile for tsunami relief aid:






We're helping a community group in the Bio Bio Region of coastal Chile to build greenhouses for sustainable, organic, educational gardens that create jobs and resources for the unemployed.

>> Click here for more photos of our recent tsunami relief work in coastal Chile.

>> Click here for a news update on our work in Chile.

>> Click here for a first-hand account from our fieldworkers in Chile.



A blurry shot of fishermen who lost everything to the tsunami, receiving new nets in Colmuyao. Please forgive the blur, it's low-light wintertime in Chile.

Surfer Activists - In Action

Here at Save The Waves, activism is in our core. The main part of activism is action. Here are a few photos of surfer activists in action in Arica, Chile, protesting an illegal breakwater construction that threatens northern Chile's best surf spots:






> Read more about this here.