Santa Barbara Surf Community Gathers For Wayne Rich
by Paul Costales

The Santa Barbara surfing community could be found Wednesday evening (5/28/8) at the Lobero Theater for a jam packed benefit evening of film, music, giveaways, and raffles. What was originally planned as a Surfrider Foundation fund raising event showcasing the film 'Out There', recently grew to encompass fund raising for the medical expenses of local surfer/shaper Wayne Rich.

Wayne Rich is well liked in the community for his shaping skills as well as his style in the water. You can often find Wayne on a characteristic red longboard at Campus Point or Rincon gracefully choosing his lines. Wayne took one on the head during our giant swell in early December, and now needs surgery to correct his neck. Having found himself without insurance, the local surfing community has stepped up to raise funds for Wayne's surgery.

With some generous donations from local surfers and companies, a ton of good gear was live auctioned, and the crowd opened up their wallets. The highest bid was for a balsa wood surfboard blank donated by A-Frame surf which raised $2500. This was won by the guy behind local coffee roasters Caribbean Coffee, who coincidently had a special Wayne Blend for sale to raise money for Wayne. The total of all auctioned items raised over $11,000 for Wayne Rich's medical funds, plus an additional $3,000 from donations at the Ventura Surf Club website.

Surfing legend and Montecito resident Shaun Tomson gave a short speech to the crowd followed by Wayne himself. Wayne was truly moved by the show of support with a wavering voice as he thanked all in attendance. There was immense amount of love in the air, a stark contrast to some chilly vibes surfers can get in crowded situations.

The surf film kicked off afterwards, and a few of the big wave chargers in the film, Garrett McNamara and Jamie Sterling, were on hand. The film showed crazy big wave footage as well as high performance surfing all of this with an environmental message thrown in. Unfortunately for the film-makers, Wayne Rich was the star of the evening. Further contributions to the Wayne Rich Medical Fund can be made at venturasurfclub.org, or pickup a bag of Wayne Coffee at your nearest Caribbean Coffee stand.

The $2500 balsa board donated by A-Frame next to a Timmy Curran board donated by Tom Curren

Jamie Sterling (white hat) awaits his next autograph hound.

Paul Costales is a surfer who lives in Santa Barbara.