Gold Coast surf story heads worldwide
A Gold Coast surf conservation film heads to a world festival tour before a special Tugun screening on 11 July.
by Andrew McKinnon
ECAT (East Coast Activation Tour), a short feature film about the surfing conservation movement, has been officially selected in the Save The Waves Film Festival 2026 World Tour.
Gold Coast World Surfing Reserve and Gold Coast Surfrider Foundation are co-hosting a one-night-only screening of the annual Save The Waves Film Festival at the Tom Atkin Hall, Tugun, on Saturday, 11th July from 7 pm – 10 pm, which includes the GC production of ECAT, a feature doco.
The STWFF 2026 Tour is the world’s only International Surf and Environmental Film Festival.
Straight after the World Surfing Conservation Conference (WSCC 2026) in February, host organisation Gold Coast World Surfing Reserve Inc hit the road running on a five-day surf conservation safari called “East Coast Activation Tour” (ECAT) from Gold Coast to Sydney.
From the “Conference to the Tour” is the subject of a short feature doco “ECAT” directed by GCWSR that has been officially selected to join the Save The Waves Film Festival Worldwide.
ECAT involved 22 surfers from Peru, Costa Rica, Rapa Nui, Chile, Mexico, Spain, USA, Bali, and Australia, packed into three vans & one car with over 30 surfboards, including the Caballito de Totora (Peruvian Reedboard), convoying down the highway on a coastal crusade.
The International Delegation was warmly greeted by NSR (National Surf Reserves) designations at Lennox Head, Angourie, Crescent Heads, Port Macquarie, Norah Head, Manly & Bondi. Interviews were conducted with the CEO of Save The Waves, Nik Strong Cvetich, Organiser Andrew McKinnon, and Peru’s Carlos “Huevito” Arzola, Magoo De la Rosa and Catalina Zariquiery. Connecting community, culture, and conservation was the main theme of the coastal mission.
ECAT epitomizes the growing Global Surfing Conservation movement that continues to gain strength & momentum worldwide. There is a constant stream of resolute conservationists and academics, adding another layer of surfing activism and influence supported by voluntary organisations outside of the mainstream sport base that resonate with the recreational surfer.
ECAT captures the first time ever a South American Team (San Bartolo from Peru) has competed in the World Club Championships/Usher Cup at Snapper Rocks on the eve of the WSCC.
While the rambling road trip incurred a flat spell chasing surf, it was blessed by perfect sunny weather and the natural beauty of the locations. Scoring a pumping post swell at Snapper Rocks, and a bonus segment on the Caballito de Totora reed board from Huanchaco, Peru.
The ECAT documentary was produced by cameraman/ editor Josh Hamilton (The Edit Suite), tracing an Australian/Peruvian tour from Bondi to Noosa in 2016 when GCWSR was endorsed, but in 2026, the road trip was reversed, driving south from the Gold Coast to Sydney 10 years later.
This historic journey was not without its share of dramas, such as shark alarms, losing the surfboard load off the roof, and being stuck in a city hotel lift for an hour waiting for the local fire brigade to prise open the doors!
Yet despite the unexpected obstacles, the Tour finished on a high note when Huevito’s Caballito Reed board was gifted to former World Tour Pipeline Master and First Nation Champion Robbie Page’s Royal Indigenous Surf Museum/Cream Surf Shop at Kempsey South on the road to Crescent Head.
A fitting finale and outcome for the ECAT journey.
Other STWFF films include Pertama - The Life of Rio Waida (Bali’s first WCT Pro) by Matt George, Haagua an Indigenous Surf Film celebrating Native American culture, Surfing Sao Miguel Azores, In Between the Tides by Miguel Blanco, Granny Grommets from Albany WA by Leah Rustomjee, Peace of Mind, surfing in Ghana & Saving the Bay, a surf location under threat.
MORE INFO on the films and tour dates HERE
2026 has been a milestone year for GCWSR marking its 10th anniversary and hosting WSCC & ECAT events.
A year to remember and thanks to ECAT has a legacy to reflect on and further inspire other coastal crusaders to follow up on like-minded missions to protect surf ecosystems.
ECAT has been proudly sponsored by COALAR, PROM PERU, EMRO, LATAM Air, TRACKS, OCEAN ROAD, OLAS Peru, Pacific Longboarder, LOCALE magazine, Save The Waves Coalition, GCWSR & The Edit Suite.
