Exclusive kiteboarding club threatened with $4.6m fine for damaging wetlands

The kiteboard and duck hunting club rebuilt levies, added two helipads, and created a lounge area on the tiny island near Silicon Valley without a permit

An exclusive kiteboarding club on a tiny island - just a 15-minute helicopter ride away from Silicon Valley - has been threatened with a $4.6m fine by a California state water agency, which is accusing the club's owner of damaging tidal wetlands.

Since purchasing the tiny island, the Point Buckler Club, in 2011, John Sweeney, a former professional sailor and advertising executive, has rebuilt levies, added two helipads, and built a lounge area featuring dark green shipping containers, astroturf, a wood burning stove, and bright orange styling to achieve what he describes on Facebook as a "Sunset Magazine look circa 1960s".