Surfers Against Sewage

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is the UK’s leading clean-water campaign group. SAS fights for clean, safe recreational water free from sewage effluents, toxic chemicals, nuclear waste and marine litter. SAS also campaigns to protect surf spots from environmental damage and negative impacts on wave quality, and to safeguard waveriders’ right of access, altogether making our seas a better place for everyone to enjoy.

Eco-friendly cards: Card from responsibly managed forests (FSC®), vegetable-based inks, recycled paper envelopes, compostable outer slips.

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Card size: 160x160mm. Blank inside.

Photography: Kirstin Prisk (SS101, SS103, SS105, SS106, SS107, SS112, SS115, SS117, SS118), Jason Theaker (SS102, SS111, SS116), Ross Hoddinott (SS104), Mike Newman (SS108), Tony Plant (SS109), Doug Chinnery (SS110, SS113, SS114), Tommy Schultz (SS119, SS129), Karlee Whitman (SS120), Sean Davey (SS121 - SS128 & SS130)
Text on Reverse of Card

Code: SS101		 'Who is this man? He commands even the winds and the waves, and they obey Him.'

Luke 8:25
 

Code: SS102		 'There is, one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath ...'

Moby Dick, Herman Melville (1819-91)
 

Code: SS103		 Bodyboarding was pioneered by Tom Morey, who designed the first mass-produced bodyboard in 1971, calling it a 'boogie board' because of his love of music.

Today, it is one of the fastest-growing water sports in the world and has the advantage over surfing in that it is generally easier to learn. However, the modern sport is about more than just lying on your board catching waves - the pro-bodyboarder has a wide range of aerial manoeuvres, spins and backflips in his or her repertoire.

Take note, though, that surfers are not always the first to recognise the talents of the bodyboarder, so if you have a preference for this sport you might find yourself rather mockingly referred to as a 'sponger'!
 

Code: SS104		 The idea of global warming might make some feel like investing in a beach hut in preparation for more sunny days at the seaside. In fact, as SAS warn, the implications for recreational water users are huge.

In particular, the UK can expect to see more rainfall during the winter months, making winters milder but wetter. The summers are likely to become hotter and drier, but extreme weather events will occur, which could cause localised flooding. There is the potential danger of more pollution incidents, with the risk of people becoming ill from sewage-contaminated water. SAS are concerned that the water industry is not yet ready for this challenge and they are lobbying for preparations to be made. Most crucially perhaps, they are campaigning for the UK to invest in more offshore renewable energy technologies that, correctly sited, can produce clean and safe energy at no cost to the environment.
 

Code: SS105		 'They say the sea is cold, but the sea contains the hottest blood of all, and the wildest, the most urgent.'

D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930)
 

Code: SS106		 'the sea has never been friendly to man. At most it has been the accomplice of human restlessness'

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)
 

Code: SS107		 Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more; Men were deceivers ever; One foot in the sea and one on shore, To one thing constant never;

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
 

Code: SS108		 Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968) popularised the modern sport of surfing. An Olympic champion swimmer, and the first person to be inducted into both the Swimming Hall of Fame and the Surfing Hall of Fame, the following words of Duke's will resonate with surfers everywhere:

'Out of the water, I am nothing.'
 

Code: SS109		 'I don't know much, but I do know that I love to surf!'

Isaac Gaunt, 13
 

Code: SS110		 'The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.'

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-90)
 

Code: SS111		 If only all beaches were as pristine as this one. Marine litter - examples of which include household waste, waste from beach users, sewage-related debris, galley and cargo-room waste from commercial shipping, nets and fish boxes from fishing vessels, waste from industrial production or distribution and medical waste - is a problem that impacts on both humans and wildlife.

For wildlife, entanglement is a real issue. This can result in reduced movement, serious injury or death depending on the type of litter involved. For humans, we have to be wary of injury from broken glass, rusting metal or discarded medical waste.

SAS is campaigning on a number of different levels to tackle the torrent of marine litter that is deposited on UK beaches every year.
 

Code: SS112		 There is pleasure in the pathless woods, There is rapture in the lonely shore; There is society where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not man the less, but Nature more,

Lord Byron (1788-1824)
 

Code: SS113		 'As I gaze upon the sea! All the old romantic legends, all my dreams, come back to me.'

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-82)
 

Code: SS114		 SAS campaign for safer shipping and believe that the most sensitive parts of the UK coastline should receive greater protection against the threat of shipping disasters. They would like to see the designation of such areas as Marine Environmental High Risk Areas, which would prevent ships from entering a defined area if it contains a potentially toxic cargo.

It's not just chemical and oil tankers that represent a threat: a booming cruise-ship industry is set to sail from, and to, UK shores more frequently. With many cruise ships carrying as many as 5,000 people, these floating towns can cause significant pollution. With solutions now available to treat sewage fully on-board, SAS calls on the industry to make that investment.

Contact with toxic cargoes, such as oil or slicks of cruise-ship sewage, represents a health risk to recreational water users, choking marine wildlife, damaging coastal fauna and putting the unsuspecting water user at risk. It is SAS's mission to tackle the toxic tide.
 

Code: SS115		 'Give us back our [surfing], we cry to Heaven in our hearts - [surfing] rather than indifferentism; for out of nothing comes nothing. But out of [surfing] may come the cure. Better have pain than paralysis! A hundred struggle and drown in the breakers. One discovers the new world. But rather, ten times rather, die in the surf, heralding the way to that new world, than stand idly on the shore!'

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)

(Ok, ok, we have altered this quote a little, substituting 'surfing' for 'suffering' - sorry Florence!)
 

Code: SS116		 The rainbow mirrors human aims and action. Think, and more clearly wilt thou grasp it, seeing Life is but light in many-hued reflection.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
 

Code: SS117		 Surfing has grown into a well-established sport and culture, and an important industry in the UK. Today, surfers come from all walks of life: lawyers, doctors and businessmen sit in the line-up next to tradesmen, students and groms (short for 'grommet', a term for a young surfer, usually under the age of 15). Surfers and waveriders make up over 1 per cent of the UK population - a minority, but a passionate and increasingly powerful one. The Protect Our Waves (POW) campaign officially expands SAS's campaign to include an important issue close to the heart of all surfers and waveriders: protecting the waves. POW will campaign against threats from offshore and nearshore development, and environmental impacts, and it protects surfers' and waveriders' rights of access.
 

Code: SS118		 SAS believe that people of all ages should be able to enjoy the water recreationally, without the health risks associated with pollution. Scientific studies have consistently highlighted that those using beaches, lakes or rivers for recreational water use are most at risk of falling sick from an illness associated with sewage-polluted water. In some cases this risk is three times greater for recreational water users than for the typical bather, because sports such as surfing involve more immersion and ingestion of water.

It's not just sewage that gets discharged into the water that people use to surf, windsurf, kayak or simply bathe in. Each and every day, thousands of harmful toxic chemicals are passing through the pipes that lead from our sinks, showers and toilets into the sewage treatment works. SAS is also calling on the mainstream corporate companies to adopt a precautionary approach and substitute 'harmful' chemicals with 'kinder' substitutes.
 

Code: SS119		 ‘Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.’

Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81)
 

Code: SS120		 It’s behind you … This image reminded me of a few quotes and I couldn’t decide which to use – so I’ve included them both!

‘Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out.’

Anton Chekhov (1860–1904)


‘We are born wet, naked, and hungry. Then things get worse.’

Anon.
 

Code: SS121		 'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.'

Mark Twain (1835-1910)
 

Code: SS122		 As a surfer, sooner or later you will probably suffer a wipeout. You can lessen the chances or the severity of the wipeout by doing your research: find out about unique conditions or hidden dangers before entering the sea. When a wipeout does occur, here's some advice for the novice surfer:
  • Don't panic. You will use up more energy struggling against the inevitable.
  • To avoid nasty knocks on the noggin, put some distance between yourself and your board when falling.
  • Some surfers find it helpful to curl into a ball as they go under. Use your arms to protect your head against collisions with your board, rocks or anything else solid.
  • Keep your eyes open if you can, otherwise you are more likely to become disorientated and lose all sense of direction when swimming for the surface.
  • If, after surfacing, you have suffered an injury, stay with your board and signal for assistance immediately.
 

Code: SS123		 'Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.'

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82)
 

Code: SS124		 It’s no wonder that surfing is so aspirational – it is more than a sport or a pastime, it has its own unique lifestyle. Surf culture informs fashion, language, spirituality, music and art. From the daredevil exploits of the big wave riders, to the development of the skateboard for ‘surfing’ on land, or the attempt (by Australian Nat Young) to register surfing as a religion, surfers are making their mark everywhere!

One effect of riding the waves is to acquire an affinity for the natural world, and surfers are often active with environmental issues. In May 1990, a group of surfers from Cornwall founded Surfers Against Sewage: an organisation that has gone on from these humble beginnings to become the UK’s leading clean water campaign group.
 

Code: SS125		 Only for the brave, big wave surfing is usually described as surfing waves that are at least 6.2 metres high. Surfers paddle into, or are towed onto, these waves on surf boards known as ‘guns’ or ‘rhino chasers’.

When it all goes wrong, as it has in this image (unless the surfboard just fancied a day out on its own), it really goes wrong! In the ultimate wipeout, a breaking wave can push surfers down to 6–16 metres below the surface, with sometimes less than 20 seconds to get back to the surface before the next wave hits.

Only to be attempted by the very experienced, ideal big wave surfing locations include Oahu, Hawaii (where this image was taken); Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania; Mavericks, California; Aileens, Cliffs of Moher, Ireland; and in the UK, Cribber aka The Widowmaker in Newquay, Cornwall.
 

Code: SS126		 ‘What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?’

Vincent van Gogh (1853–90)
 

Code: SS127		 Until fairly recently, popular culture has portrayed surfing as a male sport. Stereotypical images of bleached blond surfer ‘dudes’ prevailed – yet serious female surfers have been riding the waves for centuries.

An ancient Polynesian legend describes a candidate for the very first female surfer. Mamala was a kupua, or demi-god, with the ability to take the form of whatever she desired, most often represented as a giant lizard, crocodile, shark, and not least of all, as a beautiful woman. She was known as a fearless and skilful surfer, dancing on the roughest of waves. These myths no doubt informed the lives of women to come: for instance in 1905 a surfboard belonging to Princess Kaneamuna of Hawaii, dating back to the 1600s, was discovered in her burial cave.
 

Code: SS128		 ‘Live dangerously and you live right.’

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)
 

Code: SS129		 ‘It is good to be solitary, for solitude is difficult; that something is difficult must be a reason the more for us to do it.’

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926)
 

Code: SS130		 Today, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) campaigns to cover six main areas: sewage, marine litter, climate change, toxic chemicals, shipping and protecting the recreational wave resource. The organisation represents all recreational water users in the UK, from surfers and sailors, through to bodyboarders and windsurfers - but it also recognises how crucial it is to protect the marine environment for the wildlife that rely on it.

One of the joys of surfing is the feeling of connecting with the natural world, and it can offer some extraordinary opportunities for wildlife encounters. We aren't the only animals to enjoy catching a wave. Dolphins frequently ride the waves. According to marine behaviourists, this may be a natural behaviour adapted from swimming in a mother dolphin's slipstream when they are youngsters.
 
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