It’s arguably the most iconic surf spot on the East Coast. And as of this month, it will never be the same. Then again, it was never really the same to begin with. Coastlines are constantly changing, particularly remote, sandy barrier islands like North Carolina’s Outer Banks, where the Atlantic has been moving sand, and reshaping lives, for centuries.

This week, demolition began on the famed First Jetty groin at Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton, North Carolina. The deteriorating structure will be replaced by a new groin as part of a larger effort to stabilize a rapidly eroding stretch of shoreline. For surfers, it marks the end of an era.

The Lighthouse

Cape Hatteras was long known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, a treacherous stretch of coastline responsible for countless shipwrecks. Unlike coastlines anchored by rock, this one is essentially built on sand, constantly rearranged by storms, currents and swell.

The first lighthouse was erected in 1794 and rebuilt several times.…