newsletter of sas winter 2010

newsletter of sas • winter 2010  82 pipeline_82.indd 1 22/10/10 13:54:45 Surfers Against Sewage Unit 2, Wheal Kittty Workshops, St Agnes, Cornwall...
Author: Philippa Quinn
11 downloads 1 Views 8MB Size
newsletter of sas • winter 2010

 82 pipeline_82.indd 1

22/10/10 13:54:45

Surfers Against Sewage Unit 2, Wheal Kittty Workshops, St Agnes, Cornwall. TR5 0RD T 01872 553 001 www.sas.org.uk Executive Director Hugo Tagholm [email protected] Campaign Director Andy Cummins [email protected] POW Campaign Officer Dom Ferris [email protected] Beach Clean Campaign Officer TBC [email protected] Office, Membership & Merchandise Manager Wendy Nicolson [email protected] Fundraiser Peter Lewis [email protected] Finance Officer Jo Burn [email protected] Finance Assistant Claire Longman [email protected] Admin Assistant Heidi Peasley [email protected] Board of Directors Dr Tony Butt Alex Dick-Read Jim Gorrod Richard Gregory Chris Hides Martin Hunt Lesley Kazan Pinfield Nathan Mansbridge Alex Wade Adviser Peter Crane Pipeline Design A-Side Studio www.a-sidestudio.co.uk Photographers Andy Hughes, Andy Cummins, Wendy Nicolson, Dom Ferris, Mike Searle & many others. Printing Martin Luck Design & Print 01326 558 000

Far FFrom having spent the summer gallivanting F From one perFect perFFect wave to another, the campaigns team used every scrap oFF energy they had available to deliver some Fantastic F results For F our beaches, waves and oceans over the past three months. We have also been overwhelmed at the level of support that you, our members, have given to the campaigns over the summer. From more members taking part in campaign actions to hundreds of youth volunteers joining us at beach cleans; from new supporters entering madcap challenge events to the number of new members simply joining up to support our ongoing and expanding campaigns. The campaign highlight of the summer, and arguably the last few years, has to be the Blue (Brown) Flag action that took place in August. This really took the mainstream media by storm, and as you’ll read on pages 14 & 15, caused quite some controversy within the water industry, with councils nationwide and, surprisingly, amongst some of our environmental allies. This action has effectively galvanised all the hard work SAS has been doing on the misuse and abuse of combined sewer overflows over the last few years, and will act as a new baseline for our future projects. The Motivocean Beach Clean Tour in August was also a huge success, with many hundreds of volunteers joining us at locations right across the UK. We still have more events to organise, so if you’d like to volunteer with SAS, this is one of the best ways you can join us to take direct, grass roots action to improve and protect your local beach environment. Do check out pages 6&7, particularly if you run a youth club, school or university surf team/course or any other youth project as we can tailor a beach clean and surf event just for you! There have been many other actions and events during this period, that have all been fantastic, and I’d like to thank all of you who volunteered, campaigned, fundraised or simply helped out in whatever way you could. Your support is a vital part of SAS and together we really are making a difference to the protection of our beautiful beaches and surf spots. I hope you’re all getting some clean, autumn waves wherever you are. See you out there.

Hugo Director 03

pipeline_82.indd 2-3

22/10/10 13:54:56

Full sewage s treatment t is utterly vital v all year! y how sas represents you! If you ever wondered just how SAS represents you, then this Pipeline is a pretty complete example of how we take you voice and make sure it’s consistently heard at the appropriate level. Over the last 3 months we have: • Exposed flaws in the Blue Flag system with a contentious direct action using the mainstream media to generate the pressure for real, tangible improvements. We successfully forced beaches that want to fly the coveted Blue Flag to meet the strict Blue Flag criteria and provide you, the beach user, with information about raw sewage entering the sea before you swallow it. • Organised 28 volunteer beach-cleans all over the UK with the resources & equipment to allow our members to be a direct and active part of the campaign at a grass roots level. • Published and promoted the Waves Are Resources Report. This scientific document enables planners to understand that surfers, waveriders and other water-users are significant coastal stakeholders, and promotes the social, economic and environmental value of waves to the entire community.

“We’ve surfed in

seWage-polluted W Wage-polluted Waters and fallen W ill. We Walk W over high tide lines of marine litter before paddling out”

• Door-stepped the water industry’s European Water and Wastewater conference, reminding and reinforcing the need for year round UV sewage treatment at coastal areas popular with surfers and other water users. • Promoted online petitions backing the campaigns and encouraged debate about our projects amongst our members and supporters on social networks These are great examples of how we achieve tangible environmental and wave-protection benefits for our beaches and surf spots. What makes SAS unique amongst ‘similar’ UK organisations is that the team here are surfers, water users & waveriders. We’ve surfed in sewage-polluted waters and fallen ill. We walk over high tide lines of marine litter before paddling out. This not only motivates and drives the team, but it also gives SAS our unique viewpoint and credibility amongst our peers. Thank you for giving your voice and support to help us continue the campaigns protecting oceans, beaches and waves for everyone around the UK.

Andy Campaign Director pipeline | www.sas.org.uk

pipeline_82.indd 4-5

This might come as a surprise to your granny, and for that matter to the managers at your local water company, and even the licensers at the Environment Agency, but the months outside the bathing season are the best for surfing around the UK. Hundreds of thousands of surfers across the country plunge into the cold, quality waves throughout the depths of winter. Improvements in wetsuit technology means that even in January waveriders can enjoy the sport for several hours at a time, and arguably more quality waves are surfed in the winter than the summer. As you know, ingestion of and immersion in sea water are an integral part of the our water sports experience but this can also worryingly result in surfers being 3 times more at risk of infections from polluted waters. This is why we were on hand to greet delegates at the 4th European Water and Wastewater Management Conference in Leeds this autumn. Our campaign team, along with SAS volunteer activists, reminded delegates that turning off Ultra Violet (UV) sewage treatment systems outside the bathing season dramatically increases the health risk to surfers, water users and waveriders. With our activists donning wetsuits and carrying surfboards with luminous UV campaign slogans, we ensured every delegate was made aware of the problem, whilst handing them all a campaign postcard reminding them of their obligations to protect water users all year round. We are extremely concerned that Anglian Water and Scottish Water turn off their UV sewage treatment outside the bathing season at Pease Bay, Mablethorpe and Cleethorpes – all surf spots that predominantly work in this winter period. We have collected hundreds of petition signatures & emails from committed surfers and waveriders who use the waters at Cleethorpes, Mablethorpe and Pease Bay throughout the winter, calling for year round UV sewage treatment. You can still sign the petition at www.sas.org.uk. We’ll be passing these concerns onto the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reminding them of their responsibility to prove an absence of water users should the wish to turn off UV treatment.

The action in Leeds gave us the opportunity to strongly remind the water industry that when they are looking to save energy it should not come with an increased health risk to water users. SAS supports the water industry’s efforts to reduce their environmental impact. However there are many ways they can do this without increasing the risks to surfers, including; using sewage for renewable energy (methane gas) production, transport and operational energy audits and adoption of new efficient technologies. These options and more need to be exhausted before even considering reducing sewage treatment, a massive backward step for the water environment. 05

22/10/10 13:55:16

huge success as hundreds oF youth volunteers join sas For the 20th anniversary beach clean & sports tour. In the last week of August, Surfers Against Sewage, in association with myGames (powered by v) & the Quiksilver Foundation, hit the road with the biggest beach clean tour in our history. Since 1994, the volume of marine litter on UK beaches has increased by 146%* and SAS is helping combat this tide line of trash through its beach cleans and ongoing environmental campaigns. ‘Motivocean’ was SAS’s most ambitious beach clean tour to date and calling in at 23 major UK beaches and waterside locations across the nation, including 9 locations in the south west and even undertaking a beach clean on the river Thames. We were delighted with the turnout to these events, with over 700 youth volunteers participating across the UK to date, and well over 1000 volunteers getting involved overall. We removed hundreds of bags of litter, which contributed to more than 5 tonnes of marine litter that SAS has removed from beaches around the country this year alone. The tour saw some good weather and bad, and some hugely impressive turnouts, not least at Croyde, Sennen, and St Ives. We were blessed with some great waves and some less good days… We had a fantastic community spirit at all of the locations; it’s always nice to bring together our members, volunteers and supporters to take direct, grass-roots action at our beautiful beaches. The atmosphere was fantastic at pipeline | www.sas.org.uk

pipeline_82.indd 6-7

each of the dates, and we really got a sense of our volunteers making a collective and positive difference to the environment everywhere we went. It was an uplifting experience all round. Everyone was welcomed to the events however, thanks to the major support of the national youth volunteering charity v through its mygames programme, SAS was able to offer youth volunteers surf lessons as a reward for volunteering for a couple of hours to clean the beach. The sea and coastal environment are vital components of so many sporting activities from sailing to surfing, and SAS hopes to further build awareness about coastal conservation by linking beach sports to the protection of the environment. We still have a number of beach cleans to hold as part of Motivocean beach clean initiative before the end of the year. If you are a school, youth club, university or just an interested youth volunteer, please do get in touch with [email protected]. We can cover all youth volunteer expenses, including surf lessons. We hope to attract over 1000 youth volunteers (16-25 years old) through the scheme this year alone, and are confident of hitting this target, with your help. The mygames programme calls on young people to undertake exciting volunteering projects in the community that promote and celebrate the values of the

“We removed

hundreds of bags of litter, Which contributed to more than 5 tonnes of marine litter that sas has removed from beaches around the country this year alone”

2012 Olympic Games. Values that include friendship, respect, excellence, equality and determination. The nationwide mygames programme is providing wide-ranging volunteering opportunities for 10,000 young people. Projects will focus around the themes of Education, Culture, Environment, Health and Sport. SAS is in discussions to continue our involvement with the programme into 2011 as we go to press. A few words of thanks must also be said. Firstly THANK YOU to all our volunteers who did an amazing job (if you haven’t received your Motivocean volunteering certificate yet please email: [email protected]), WELL DONE to all our regional reps who helped organise events, thanks to Thames 21 who we couldn’t have worked without in London, thanks to the surf schools that worked with us, thanks to Richard Gregory for filming at Croyde, and to all the other people that helped us out at events. Not forgetting a huge thank you to v and to the Quiksilver Foundation. For more details please visit www.sas.org.uk *Marine Conservation Society Beach Watch statistic. 07

22/10/10 13:55:20

“It is easy for us

to see that these ‘world-class waves, just like other unique natural features of this planet, should be protected.”

Waves Are Resources The ground breaking WAR report clearly highlights why Waves Are Resources and, as such, should be recognised as valuable assets, protected for this and future generations. The WAR Report not only focuses on the intrinsic value of waves to surfers but also the economic value to the wider community. Where better to launch the report than on the first day of the Boardmasters, the UK’s largest surfing competition? The Boardmasters is obviously critically dependent on waves and brings approximately £1,700,000 into the local economy. On the first day of the competition, our campaign team arrived on Fistral beach in two mini-tanks, WAR Report in hand, carrying smoking flares to ensure everyone at the event knew about this important launch. We all know the UK is blessed with some worldclass waves on all of our coasts. The very best waves in the UK could almost be considered freaks of Nature. They are the result of a combination of offshore bathymetry, unique coastal geology and prevailing wind and swell patterns found almost nowhere else in the world. It is easy for us to see that these worldclass waves, just like other unique natural features of this planet, should be protected. However, wave quality is just one factor that is considered in the WAR Report analysis. Consistency, location, size of surfing communities as well as personal preference are all scrutinized in the report, making for interesting reading. As surfers, many of us will know better than most about the myriad of threats that constantly jeopardize our finite surfing resource, our waves. These concerns underpinned a massive expansion of our campaign remit with the launch of the new Protect Our Waves pipeline | www.sas.org.uk

pipeline_82.indd 8-9

(POW) campaign in 2009, focusing on protecting waves from overzealous coastal developments, environmental impacts and to safeguard waveriders’ rights of access. For the first time in the UK, the WAR Report explains the value of waves to surfers and nonsurfers alike. For people who don’t use the sea, the value of waves can be measured financially. Surfers travel to surf waves, eat, need accommodation and other supplies whilst they are on a trip, and even permanently settle in communities where there are surfing waves. In doing so, surfers and their friends and family who may join them, will all spend money in return for these goods and services whilst chasing the next surf session. The WAR report comprehensively details how the entire community around quality surf spots benefits from waves. Importantly, this legitimizes the framing of waves in the planning process as valuable resources for the entire community, not just surfers. We are currently ensuring that all relevant planning bodies in the UK have a hard copy of the WAR Report. We expect the WAR Report to be referenced alongside SAS’s other reports when coastal development schemes are in the planning process. The WAR Report was written by SAS Director Dr Tony Butt PhD. Dr Butt is one of the World’s most highly respected authorities on the science of waves and how they interact with the coastal environment. The report is a really interesting read and you can download a copy of the SAS WAR Report on the SAS website, or contact us for a hard copy. A big thanks to Dr Tony Butt for putting together such a great report and a valuable campaigning tool. Thanks to Mike Searle & Andy Hughes for the images. 09

22/10/10 13:55:27

regional round ups Cromer

Thunderstorms were forecast and the beach was well looked after by the local council, however we were joined by 43 volunteers of all ages and removed over 75kgs of litter. The weird pile competition, in which prizes were awarded to the people who found the most bizarre items of litter, was won by the discovery of a dinghy.

east Witterings

Strong winds did not deter 42 beach lovers helping us to remove over 100kg from this beautiful beach, to the surprise of some locals on a nearby bench who stated that we “would not find any litter on this beach”. Among the many bags of rubbish and usual mountains of marine plastics, the weird pile competition was a tie between a giant block of Tar and some handcuff keys!

Compton, isle of Wight

The team were greeted by warm sunshine and crystal clear waters on this beautiful beach. 101 volunteers, many of whom joined us after speaking to us on the beach, helped us remove 263kg of litter. The weird pile competition took a more worrying turn as young volunteers returned on two occasions with still warm disposable BBQs, a growing problem on our beaches. However the atmosphere was amazing yet again and it was beginning to become clear that we were involved with something quite special.

beach communities stand up to marine litter Sunset on August the 1st, bank holiday Sunday and 4 weary beach cleaners sit on the rocks at the beautiful Widemouth beach and reflect on the adventure that was the 3rd annual Barefoot beach clean tour. Over the previous five days, the SAS and Barefoot Wines beach clean crew had travelled from the far East of England to the windswept West of Wales with the sole aim of making 5 of the UK’s beaches barefoot friendly for all to enjoy. Each of us felt very proud, the tour had been a storming success. Together with the help of 415 fantastic volunteers, we had removed over 1 tonne of Marine litter from our treasured marine environment. The overwhelming majority of the litter collected was plastic; plastic that will never truly break down and causes untold damage to the marine system. These beaches were not chosen because they were especially dirty, in fact they were chosen simply because they are average UK beaches and we would expect to find similar levels of litter at beaches all over the UK. Another factor in our choice of these 5 pipeline | www.sas.org.uk

pipeline_82.indd 10-11

beaches were the presence of strong beach community at each of them, communities that are passionate about the protection of their beach. Each beach clean was rounded off with a wellearned free BBQ and wine tasting, courtesy of Barefoot wines. Allowing the volunteers to reflect together on a job well done. Ali, Brooke and Emma from Barefoot really helped add to the team spirit at each event and worked tirelessly to make sure everyone had full bellies and cups to match the bags of litter collected. Ali Feest, chief Barefooter said, “ It is fantastic news that this years tour was such a success and that people from every community rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in. We really enjoyed hosting BBQs at every stop on the tour, each giving us the opportunity to reward the volunteers for all their hard work and for them to sample a selection of delicious barefoot wines. Our partnership with SAS has enabled us to transform another 5 beaches into stunning Barefoot friendly beaches.”

neWgale, pembrokeshire

“With the help of

415 fantastic volunteers, We removed over 1 tonne of marine litter from our treasured marine environment.”

Home of SAS beach clean team member Ross Beese, windswept and rugged Newgale was the single biggest success of the tour. 130 highly committed Welsh beach lovers joined us to remove an amazing 306kgs of marine litter from the beach. Special mention must go out to the lifeguards who helped out with their quad bike to remove large items.

Widemouth

The team rolled back into Cornwall after 6 long days on the road, with high hopes for the last leg of the tour. Our hopes were not dashed, in spite of the wind and rain 90 volunteers joined us to remove 295kg of litter from their beach. The weird pile became the weird tree, which younger volunteers decorated with a multitude of strange litter items, including an intact light bulb and a plastic monkey. 11

22/10/10 13:55:44

“THE Party of the summer helps SAS celebrate 20 years and a year of campaigning to remember!” After all the planning meetings, council processes, the objectors ridiculous and juvenile scaremongering, and hard work by our team of organisers, the SAS 20th Anniversary Ball finally took place on Friday 3rd September. The new site at the Porthtowan Eco Park looked spectacular in the early autumn sunshine, and the weekend was also graced with the first perfect swell of the season, so we expected to see many smiling faces as they arrived at the event – and that we did. The procession of weird, wonderful and spectacular costumes that unveiled themselves as the guests began arriving at the Ball site gates was quite staggering – some of the very best the SAS Ball has ever seen. This is one of the key factors that makes the SAS Ball a unique affair; bringing together the surf community, in fancy dress, for a party to celebrate the protection of the coastal environment and waves that bind us. The opening act, Ben Howard created a buzz rarely seen for the first band to grace any stage at events of this sort. He’s a star that’s fast rising. The King Blues, pipeline | www.sas.org.uk

pipeline_82.indd 12-13

who are one of the UK’s most energetic live acts of the moment, and probably the most vocally campaignorientated band that took to the stage on the night, blew everyone away with their powerful performance. Headline act Example packed the dancefloor and really got the crowd jumping. It was great to see such energy on stage and the crowd definitely responded accordingly. The Ball had been sorely missed since it was last held back in 2006, and SAS, Sportsvision and SW1 Promotions made a huge effort to bring it back to celebrate 20 great years of environmental campaigning. The event was a celebration of all that SAS’s campaigns have and continue to achieve for our beloved surf spots and beaches. Importantly, it also gave SAS the chance to meet lots of our loyal members and supporters, which is always a highlight of the event. The Ball also raised vital funds for SAS’s ongoing environmental campaigns, which continue to achieve massive amounts for the UK’s waves, beaches and oceans.

“The procession of

weird, wonderful and spectacular costumes that unveiled themselves as the guests began arriving at the Ball site gates was quite staggering”

It was a great one-off celebration, and we were delighted to see so many old faces, supporters, members and new SAS followers joining in the party. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll hold it again, but we have no firm plans at this stage. The event has always been there to celebrate and support the ongoing campaign, and it is on this that we must continue to focus. The Invinci-Ball helped draw people’s attention on the fact that SAS is still here, loud and kicking in 2010, campaigning hard on behalf of the whole UK surf and water sports community to make sure there is a clean, wave filled future for us all and generations beyond. We’d like to thanks Katy, Liam and Susie at SW1 Promotions, Andrew and Jamie at Sportsvision, Tim at the Eco Park, all the acts that played, and all the volunteers who helped out on the night. Thanks to Andy Hughes for all the images. 13

22/10/10 13:55:51

SAS highlights the flaw in the Blue Flag scheme that allows bathers to be exposed to raw sewage without warning!

We believe that when raw sewage is discharged onto our beaches we should all be told about the risk before we go in it. Common sense? We think so. Imagine our joy when we reviewed the Blue Flag criteria and discovered Blue Flag clearly and strictly requiring real-time public information during and after storm drains discharge sewage. Great news! Or so we thought…. From the list of Blue Flag beaches around the UK we immediately knew that the vast majority of these beaches were not in a position to meet the strict criteria requiring public warnings after combined sewer overflows (CSOs) spills. Last winter, we sent out a number of Freedom Of Information requests to a number of Blue Flag beaches affected by CSOs, asking whether beach operators ask to be informed after their CSOs discharge raw sewage into their beaches, rivers and seas. The information we collected was shocking. Almost every Blue Flag beach that has a CSO didn’t request information relating to their CSO(s) discharging raw sewage, meaning they clearly couldn’t reliably warn the public about sewage spills. Blue Flag’s strict guidelines required any beach that cannot comply with this criterion (criterion 28 of the scheme) to take down the Blue Flag until they are in a position to meet all criteria. pipeline | www.sas.org.uk

pipeline_82.indd 14-15

So, we produced an SAS Brown Flag and started planning the action to break the story at one of the worst offending beaches; Whitburn in Sunderland. The story broke with a Guardian exclusive during the first week in August. On day one of this shocking story, the first radio interview started at 5am and, 12 hours later, with over 30 radio and TV interviews completed, we had successfully exposed the Blue Flag scheme’s failings.

In the aftermath, we had many heated discussions with local authorities and the bodies charged with designating Blue Flags around the UK. The most common excuse for not providing information for the public was their interpretation of the criteria was different to ours. To see the guid ance in full, Google “Blue Flag beach guidance”. To directly quote from the Blue Flag’s imperative criterion 28: “…the public should be informed of the pollution or potential danger by posting information at the beach, at all access points, in the media, tourist offices or other relevant means of communication. If the hazard is in the form of polluted water then the public must be informed that bathing is not safe and the beach should be closed to swimming. If there is any infringement of Blue Flag criteria, e.g. sewage pollution, and to ensure the integrity of the Blue Flag, the flag must be temporarily withdrawn and information posted on the Blue Flag information board or at the beach.” Reading this, I’m not sure how else you can translate it other than – ‘let’s warn people when there’s sewage in the sea’. The level of excuses for inaction was reminiscent of the MPs scandal. These bodies might have believed they were sticking to the letter of the law, but that’s debatable! And of course we debated it over and over. The breakthrough came after a rainstorm in August. We went out in force to Blue Flag beaches in question around the UK and collected evidence of CSOs spewing out raw sewage, the Blue Flag flying, people in the sea and NO warnings posted at all. We used this to great effect to negotiate with the relevant bodies and almost immediately; Keep Britain Tidy’s

Chief Exec released a statement on behalf of all the Blue Flag bodies in the UK. To paraphrase, “...although Keep Britain Tidy believe all beaches currently meet Blue Flag criteria, from 2011 onwards all Blue Flag beaches with CSOs discharging into or adjacent to the bathing area must have a mechanism for real time notification of sewage spills..” This was a contentious campaign and upset a lot of people, perhaps, because they currently have a vested interest in promoting the beaches we had concerns over. Even the Marine Conservation Society briefed against us to the press. We were the sole voice calling for these improvements, which has resulted in an amazingly swift victory and will see vast improvement in information provided to you, the water user, at Blue Flag beaches. If you’ll pardon the pun, it’s brought about a real sea change in how the industry views the action needed on CSOs. We’re using this victory as a stepping-stone to call for better real-time public information at all of our important beaches whilst also calling for increased capacity at sewage treatment works and for planners to adopt Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). And just as importantly, we can all play a part by using water more responsibly. The less clean water we waste, the more capacity at sewage treatment facilities for treating sewage! Many thanks to Andy Hughes and Andrew Kingsley Tubbs for donating the fantastic photos for the brilliant brown flag. 15

22/10/10 13:56:04

SAS faces for you to meet in all corners of the UK Our network of SAS regional reps has now been in place for just over a year, and has been an invaluable asset to the profile of SAS and the campaign since day one. We first brought together this talented and varied group of individuals from their remote beaches spanning the whole of the UK in September 2009, and they have each stepped up to the mark in their own special way. They all became part of the SAS team on a voluntary basis, and today provide our ‘satellite offices’ in pretty much all the major surf and coastal locations the UK has to offer. If you haven’t been in touch with your rep yet, please do drop them a line to say ‘hi’ and get involved in local activities, details at: sas.org.uk. The reps have had a hugely busy year so far; helping in a variety of ways from organising beach cleans to raising funds, attending campaign actions to being media spokespeople on key campaign issues affecting their area. They have also helped organise local volunteers, and are always looking for more to join the movement that is SAS. pipeline | www.sas.org.uk

pipeline_82.indd 16-17

Over the summer, many of the reps helped out organising beach clean events as part of the Motivocean Tour, without which we couldn’t have created such a national dynamic to the initiative. Their local knowledge, contacts and general grassroots know-how were essential in inspiring so many volunteers and removing marine litter at many of the 23 locations the tour visited. A number of the reps have also become media spokespeople over the course of the year, taking on radio or television interviews, both on a strategic and a reactive level, even on campaign issues as controversial as CSOs and the Blue (Brown) Flag. They have also acted as SAS advocates whenever opportunities have arisen with the local press, which is something that helps embed our campaigns firmly in the minds of local surfers and water users everywhere. We have seen regional reps becoming increasingly active on campaign actions themselves too, becoming a central part of the developing campaigns. They have also been delivering schools talks, hosting film nights, arranging Christmas parties and much, much more. Even is it’s just to let them know you’re interested in helping out from time to time, please do get in touch with your local rep to let them know.

“If you haven’t been

in touch with your rep yet, please do drop them a line to say ‘hi’ and get involved in local activities.”

We also love to grow this regional network of active volunteers so, if you’re interested in becoming an SAS regional rep in your area, please email us with your CV and a cover letter letting us know about what you’re most interested in helping out on. Send to [email protected] Thanks to the Rip Curl Planet Foundation for their support for the regional reps network. 17

22/10/10 13:56:20

Win!

Life time membership to SAS & a SAS hoody & T-Shirt worth £260! www.sas.org.uk

draW fri 3r date d deC

3 nights camping for up to 6 people on the North Norfolk coast in a Mongolian style Yurt, worth £240! www.deepdalefarm.co.uk

We’d like to say a huge thank you to everybody who has already bought tickets; so far we’ve raised nearly £5000 for our campaigns!

An awesome Loose-Fit Lonsdale longboard, hand shaped and glassed in Cornwall by Phoenix Diplock worth £575! www.loose-fit.co.uk

Help us reach our target of £10,000 and sell the tickets in your pipeline:

A three night break in a tipi for up to 5 people at the stunning Cornish Tipi Holidays site five minutes drive from some of the prettiest villages and best coastline in Cornwall worth £440. www.cornishtipiholidays.co.uk

• Friends & family • Target your street • In the pub • Local surf clubs • Work colleagues Whoever sells the most tickets will win a luxury eco-break for two people at the fantastic Bedruthan Steps Hotel in Cornwall. www.bedruthan.com. For more tickets get in touch with Pete on 01872 555958 or [email protected] Well done to members Bob Adams and Ryan Bannister who have already sold a stack of tickets - 159 and 54 respectively!

iF every sas member sold just 1 more tic ticKet ticK Ket K et each we’d smash our FFundraising target! 1st Prize A unique Gul Union Jack wood veneered longboard, a rare SAS branded summer Gul Recore wetsuit, a longboard bag, leash, Gul wetbag & towel and £500 worth of Gul vouchers to spend in store, worth approximately £2000! www.gul.com

A custom shaped Eden surfboard – the ultimate high performance sustainable ecoshortboard worth £380! www.edenproject.com Unique body board hand crafted for Jack Johns, one of the best body boarders in the world www.boogtique.com £250 worth of Rip Curl vouchers to spend in the Rip Curl Newquay Pro Store! www.ripcurl.eu £250 worth of Quiksilver vouchers! www.quiksilver.co.uk £250 worth of Howies vouchers! www.howies.co.uk 2 night stay for 2 people in the fantastic Aramay Boutique B&B in St. Agnes, voted Britain’s funkiest B&B 2010 – 2011 worth £250! www.thearamay.com Limited edition print of Jack Johns by world renowned surf photographer Mickey Smith, signed by both rider and photographer! www.boogtique.com

3 day hire of a 1970’s VW campervan worth £225! www.campersforhire.co.uk Sector 9 Shipsterns Bamboo Longboard Skateboard worth £170! www.kingofwatersports.com An Etobicoke jacket from Finisterre described by the Sunday Times as “a lesson in style and practicality” worth over £100! www.finisterreuk.com

£50 0

A multi award winning surf coaching day and an SUP introduction session worth £100! www.globalboarders.com A great collection of surfing books all signed by the authors, a real one off – Alex Wade – Surf Nation / Tony Butt - Surf Science & The Surfers Guide to Waves, Coasts, and Climates / Sam Bleakley – Surfing Brilliant Corners Signed copies of Footprint’s indispensable guides ‘Surfing Britain & Ireland’, ‘Surfing Europe’ and ‘Surfing the World’ www.footprinttravelguides.com An adventure day for two people at TYF Adventure, choose from activities including rock climbing, kayaking, or their famous coasteering! www.tyf.com Enjoy a day’s sailing cruise in the beautiful Fal Estuary for two people followed by dinner at the award winning restaurant ‘the cove’ www.sailaday.co.uk & www.thecovemaenporth.co.uk We’d like to thank everyone for donating the prizes

pipeline | www.sas.org.uk

pipeline_82.indd 18-19

19

22/10/10 13:56:42

Tell us about your latest projects or news: Improving the quality of the River Wandle which flows through South London. I work for the Wandle Trust with volunteers to remove rubbish, improve habitat and water quality and I’m currently looking for funding for our Trout in the Classroom project.

Name? Bella Davies Age? Old enough to be pulling out the odd grey hair (and realising that at least six more really do grow back in its place) Occupation? Development Officer for an environmental charity How long have you been a member of SAS? Since about 1993 I think Why did you join SAS? I’ve always loved the sea and childhood holidays made me aware of the issues of sewage outflows from an early age. As soon as I heard what SAS were doing I wanted to support them. I’ve always admired their commitment and continue to be impressed by the difference that a dedicated group of people can make, both on the ground and politically. I’ve also always liked that they stand for ‘not just surfers, not just sewage’. What made you choose Life Membership? I became a life member for three reasons: I knew I’d always support what SAS stands for; it was clear that SAS had grown so much and had such a wide reputation that they weren’t going to go away; and I was fed up with filling out cheques as the years seemed to tick by so quickly! pipeline | www.sas.org.uk

pipeline_82.indd 20-21

web member’s ’ area ’s Did you know that in the Member’s Area of the SAS website there are now some great offers and prizes up for grabs? We run monthly competitions and as an extra bonus to SAS members we’re now offering you exclusive Retail Discounts from our partners, so you can make some great savings on surf gear, surf holidays and more! Just tap in the password ANNIVERSARY to gain access to the Member’s Area and the special offer codes! Don’t forget this password also gets you a 10% discount on most SAS clothing in the online shop!

Win! You could bag this issue’s competition bounty by emailing your answer to the questions below to [email protected] or post your answers with your name & contact details to the usual address. The deadline for entries is Friday 30th November 2010.

Win an Indo Mini Original worth £89.99! The Indo Mini Original is a smaller version of the Indo Original deck design and teamed up with the new Mini Original roller, the result is a deck and roller combination which is great for riders of smaller stature and young children aged from 4 to 10.

Q) During the 2010 Scottish bathing season 13 beaches recorded single sample failures, but how many beaches failed outright to reach bathing water standards?

neW new For F winter! We’ve got some brand new recycled, hemp and bamboo accessories in the online shop for winter! We have beanies, scarves, pashminas, socks and ear warmers, perfect for keeping the postsurf chill at bay - and they make fantastic stocking fillers!

We also have a fab set of 4 different designs of Christmas cards, all beautifully designed by Kate Sutton www.katesutton.co.uk and printed on 100% recycled card. On the back of each card is a message about the effects of pollution on waves and our waterways, so it’s a brilliant way of spreading the campaign message to all your friends and family this Christmas! They’re available in a mixed pack of 8 for £3.15, or packs of 10 of each design for £3.60 (member’s prices). We also have some beautiful recycled gift wrap to go with the cards and 10 sheets cost just £4.50 to members.

We have five pairs of Billabong gloves worth £21.95 to give away! These are the Billabong 5mm SG5 Mesh Wetsuit Gloves, perfect for keeping you in the water for longer this winter! Please include your size preference of S, M or L with your answer Q) Blue Flag beaches with CSOs that can discharge sewage on to or adjacent to the beach will soon have systems in place for real time warnings when sewage is discharged onto the beach. When will these improvements be in place?

“a brilliant

Way of W spreading the campaign message to all your friends and family this christmas!”

reeF eeF wear sas! eeF sas The boys from Reef have been supporting SAS recently by rocking our new tees on their recent StringerBessant and Reef tours. We’ve been following the t-shirts’ journey on stages across the UK as

the boys keep us up to date with photos of them in action! Thanks for your support guys! www.stringerbessant.com All tees available online at www.sas.org.uk/shop photography, Kim Aldis © 2010, www.kim-aldis.co.uk 21

22/10/10 13:57:02

if you Want to take part in a sponsored event or organise your oWn fundraiser, ContaCt pete on [email protected] or Call 01872 555 001

We’d like to say a huge thank you to our amazing fundraisers Who have raised over £3600 for our C Campaigns ampaigns in the last 3 months – We Couldn’t ouldn’t do it Without you!

Anna Strzelecki from Isea Surfware organised a fashion show in Narberth and raised nearly £300.

massive support for sas at the greenaWay pro Elle Bianca Doran organised Zimzala UK at the Coast Café in Dunbar Scotland which raised over £300! The Driftwood Gallery in Newquay raised £155 at their Eating Waves exhibition www.driftwoodgallery.co.uk

Clare Lewis organised the annual Inter Island Walk with 46 walkers courageously completing the 7.5k walk raising £3300 in total with £206 going to SAS.

Natalie Fox & Kate Czuczman from Chicks with Sticks organised a fundraising evening with a man auction and raised over £400.

Peter Wilkins and the Bristol Surfing Club raised £150 with a local fundraiser.

Philip Brown (above) finished the Denes Doone Run in a time of 1 hour and 47 minutes and came in 108th. 188 entered and 167 finish the race. Philip raised nearly £600 for SAS. Philip’s wife Emma and children Edward & Ellie also did the fun run and Edward just missed out on a medal! pipeline | www.sas.org.uk

pipeline_82.indd 22-23

The second edition of the Greenaway Pro, the surf competition and party in memory of much-loved Surfer and lifeguard, Tom Greenaway, took place at the end of August and once again, SAS was proud to be one of the nominated charities the event supported. We scheduled the first Motivocean beach clean to take place at Porthmeor, St Ives on the during the competition, and welcomed almost 50 youth volunteers who helped remove marine litter from the beach. We were stoked to see such enthusiasm and, despite the beach being one of the cleanest beaches we visited, we still managed to take bags and bags of small items away, cigarette butts and small pieces of plastic being the main offenders. Our young volunteers were then rewarded with a surf lesson in perfect waist-high offshore waves – what could be better! The competition was a huge success and raised a massive amount for the charities it supports. We’d like to say a huge thanks to organisers, not least Matt Smith, for their support, which makes a huge difference to our ongoing campaigns protecting waves, oceans and beaches for surfers right across the UK. We plan to do even more at the competition in 2011, so please do pop along to see us there next year! 23

22/10/10 13:57:31

sponsorship SAS Diamond 2010 sponsor

SAS Gold 2010 sponsor

SAS Silver 2010 sponsor

SAS Bronze 2010 sponsor

SAS 5 Star sponsor

SAS 3 Star sponsor

SAS 2 Star sponsor

SAS 1 Star sponsor

SAS Partners

SAS Media Partners Carve | Boards | Surfers Path | Wavelength | Pitpilot | Yachts and Yachting | Drift | Surfgirl | Three Sixty | Magicseaweed | A1Surf | Windsurfer | International | Cooler Magazine | Kitesurf | If your company would like to support SAS campaigns protecting waves, oceans and beaches around the UK please contact Hugo on [email protected] or 01872 555 951 to discuss opportunities. pipeline | www.sas.org.uk

pipeline_82.indd 24-25

25

22/10/10 13:57:46

there is not a beaCh in the World Without marine litter!

Name: Address:

Join surfers against seWage for a sponsored abseil in neWquay! tear -off When: Saturday 19th February 2011 Where: Lusty Glaze Beach, Newquay Cornwall

Tel:

To take part contact Pete on: Email: [email protected] Call: 01872 555001

Email:

Send to:

Date of Birth:

SURFERS AGAINST SEWAGE FREEPOST SWB40874 St Agnes, Cornwall, TR5 0ZZ We’d like to thank Lusty Glaze Adventure Centre 27

pipeline_82.indd 26-27

22/10/10 13:57:57

pipeline_82.indd 28

22/10/10 13:58:04