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How a big-wave surfer from Chile has leveraged his fame to help protect his country’s most beloved point break BY JOEL HERSCH
PHOTO: JEFF JOHNSON
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hilean big-wave surfer Ramon Navarro was raised in the small coastal community of Pichilemu, where for four generations his family has made its living diving for mariscos (sea food) along the rocky beaches, fishing for sea bass, and cooking over open flames on the beach. Navarro’s love for his home was forged in the water, and his passion was born in the cold glassy barrels of Punta de Lobos, one of the greatest big-wave lefts South America has to offer. “Everything I know about life, my father has taught me, and everything I know about the ocean and nature—to respect it, protect it, and take care of it—I learned from my family,” says a mustachioed 35-year-old Navarro in the first two minutes of Chris Malloy’s film, The Fisherman’s Son. At 29 minutes, the movie succinctly chronicles Navarro’s Chilean roots, a rise to big-wave-rider fame at the 2009 Eddie Aikau surf contest in Waimea Bay, and his decision to use his newly earned visibility to become a powerful voice and ambassador for surf conservation in Chile. In the last decade, there has been an onslaught of land grabs along the Chilean coast, where corporate entities have recognized unique natural beauty and in quick succession worked to develop infrastructure like hotels, parking
garages, and new homes. It was during Malloy’s early pro-surf touring days that he witnessed firsthand the way small communities were changing as a result of careless development by outsiders—damaging ecosystems, driving up populations, and altering people's traditional ways of life. In Pichilemu, Navarro was the one who said “no.” The Fisherman’s Son is tied closely with Santa Cruz-based nonprofit Save the Waves, which aims to protect the world’s best surf breaks from major development and other threats to their environment. The organization has worked in Chile for about nine years and Punta de Lobos for two, and is now partnered with Navarro, says Save the Waves Executive Director Nik Strong-Cvetich, who is featured in the film. “The film tells the story of Ramon, which is incredible because he went from being a nobody to one of the greatest big-wave surfers in the world, and then made his decision to return to his home, which you don’t see a lot of other pro surfers make,” Strong-Cvetich says. “He cares about that place and wants to do what’s right for it. He’s seen what’s happened to many of the world’s most popular surf breaks and how they lose the magic they once had.” Save the Waves has been running a campaign called “Punta de Lobos Por Siempre,” or "Punta de Lobos Forever," for two years that
aims to acquire and preserve 23 coastal acres of land in Pichilemu, prevent development, and protect near-shore marine environments. “It would be the first time an organization actually bought land to conserve a surf spot,” says Strong-Cvetich. Two of the key properties currently being targeted, which are held by a number of private owners (who have agreed to sell), will cost about $1.5 million. “Within the title of the land, it stipulates that you can’t build on it,” Strong-Cvetich says of the acquisition plan. The film and “Punta de Lobos Por Siempre” are backed by Patagonia, which will match donations for the campaign up to $100,000, he says. In 2003, Punta de Lobos was selected to be named a World Surfing Reserve, which is a Save the Waves program that seeks to conserve the most epic surf spots around the world. If everything goes according to plan, the site will be dedicated this fall. “Ramon has been at the heart of this, and it’s really his vision,” Strong-Cvetich says. Since Save the Waves began working in Pichilemu, StrongCvetich says that Navarro’s efforts have helped to stop some “pretty heinous construction projects.” In the last year and a half, there was a plan to build a seven-story hotel right on the Punta de Lobos point, an underground parking structure, and 22 cabanas.
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