Freshwater is a great wave and SAS are calling on all surfers and waveriders for an urgent show of support at a public meeting at 7pm on Sunday the 25th of September at the Sandpiper Hotel (IoW).

The proposal identifies surfers as the only group the development will impact but then tries to play down the impact by implying the concerns of surfers are unimportant as they only “use the wave occasionally”.

This great wave has been surfed consistently since the 70s and by some of the UK’s best surfers. Current British Champ and IoW local Johnny Fryer says: “Freshwater Bay is a great wave and helped me develop my surfing skills. It vital that surfers stand shoulder to shoulder to protect Freshwater for the entire IoW surfing community. We’ve already lost Niton, another good pointbreak to development. Losing Freshwater would leave a massive hole in the local surfing community.”

This is a great opportunity for the surfing community to take a strong stance and ensure any potential developers are well aware of the importance of this wave. Attend the public meeting at 7pm on Sunday the 25th of September at the Sandpiper Hotel.

We are super excited about hosting the location of the SAS movie ‘Protect our Waves’ on Friday night.

It will be a great night of a double bill of surf movies and we hope to see you there.

Click here to find out the address of our Bristol Shop.

Happy Days here in Wales.

This is a shot of our team rider Nick Radford

This inspirational film captures some of the best waves and beautiful coastline around the country, but contrasts this with a strong environmental message, as you would expect from our homegrown ocean guardians. Drift managed to grab five minutes with Rich, to find out a little more about the man behind the film…

How did you break into filmmaking?
I started out as an assistant to a few artists (Tony Hill, mainly) who were involved in filmmaking. A little while later I briefly became a wildlife film cameraman, but pretty much on the same day as I made it I fell in love with Anna, my sweetheart, and the idea of being away from her (and now our three daughters) some 300 days a year wasn’t feeling good.
Also, I wanted to be able to craft what I was working on, and so I became a director of photography (DOP), working on documentaries and music videos to begin with and then later on commercials, animations and films (you can see some of my other work at www.rsdop.com).
I filmed the Arctic Challenge 2000 in the Lofoten islands and there met Terje Haakonsen. Over the last few years I’ve been to the far north with Terje and his friends, and I think it was this work that made me think about filming surf.

Who or what influences and inspires you?
I’m influenced by so much stuff… I think Sean Mullens’ ‘Birthright’ is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen recently and I pretty much always cry watching the video for ‘1234’ by Feist.

Andrew Kidman’s films made me feel in some way connected to other surfers around the world and I like Patrick Trefz and Mickey Smith’s work. But it’s the guys I see every day near my home at the beach and their relationship with the water that inspires me to reflect that love on film.

How did you get involved with SAS?
I had been interested in working with SAS for a long time. I admired what Chris Hines was doing back in the beginning and then I started bumping into Andy Cummins around the place playing around with sustainable surfboard ideas (www.loraxsurf.com is a project I’ve been neglecting recently – I love surfboard design). Andy and Hugo saw ‘Powers of 3’ and asked me to come see them for a cup of tea and it just seemed like it was the right time to do something. The cup of tea was back in the spring last year but we didn’t really get started until the autumn. The film came out at the end of February, so only really took us a few months to put it together.

Did you storyboard the film, or shoot organically and piece it together afterwards?
There were no storyboards. I liked the way in ‘Powers of 3’ you could feel the friendship between the surfers,. so the SAS film had a kind of loose narrative of some friends on a road trip meeting locals at quiet spots. I was hoping that through these characters and the way the film is shot you would experience the sea and the coastline in an intimate and familiar way. We shot mainly at dawn and dusk to capture the most beautiful light and help protect the identity of some of the secret spots that we wanted to shoot at. We had decided from the beginning that all of the SAS issues would be contained in some funny little animated sequences and that the surfing – and most importantly the sea – should be idyllic, hopefully inspiring you to protect what you love and are passionate about – clean, beautiful waves. In the end the film has no need for words

Who got involved with the project?
I had so much support on this film; I was really inspired by the generosity and attitude of the surfers we worked with, and by those we came across in the early mornings on the cliffs and in the water. Charlie Chambers, a friend and filmmaker, was by my side, laden with gear clambering up and down cliffs and sliding across reefs, as well as driving us hundreds of miles through dark icy nights. Thanks must also go to the gang of accomplices from the world of music videos who helped us to finish the film once it was photographed.

Was this your first ‘environmental’ project?
I’ve always been interested in the relationship we have with nature (especially the sea and water), so I’ve done a few projects that had environmental ideas. It was pretty interesting for me to see how it affected my own life and attitudes once we got started – I’m suddenly acutely aware of litter and the amount of junk that is produced because of my existence.

I wanted to make this film for Surfers Against Sewage, but also to express in the simplest way possible my own relationship with the sea; to protect it and honour it. We all share in this world and these are our problems, which we face together, so all we can ask of each other is to do our best. I think that the apocalyptic cloud that hangs over us can be paralysing – all we can do is little things in our everyday lives. Whatever we feel we can do on any one day. Some days we can pick up the shit on the beach and other days we say “fuck it” but that’s ok… it’s just doing what we can, when we can. If everyone did just little things it would make a huge difference.

What’s next for you?
I’m in the middle of shooting a new video for the Chemical Brothers, and after that I’m starting on a film about terrorism.

All photos by Charlie Chambers

As well as SAS’s new film, ‘Protect Our Waves’, featuring the likes of Gabe Davies, Toby Donachie, Candice O’Donnell, Jack Johns, Jayce Robinson, Sam Bleakley, Nathan Phillips and Richie Sills, The Surfscreen will also be showing Cyrus Sutton’s ‘Under the Sun’, a beautiful exploration of the divergent scenes of Australia’s Gold Cost and Byron Bay.

It’s £3 on the door, but money raised will go to SAS, so come along and show your support.

We’ve been working with the acclaimed director of photography Richard Stewart, know particularly in surf-circles for his involvement in ‘Powers Of Three’, and have been filming up and down the country to capture spectacular footage of beaches, coastlines and waves with some of the UK’s best surfers in tow.

We wanted to create an inspirational vision of some of the best waves and most beautiful coastlines in the country, and contrast them with the environmental threats facing our beaches and surf spots today. With footage from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and surf action that includes shortboarding, longboarding and bodyboarding, it’s a real rarity in the surf genre and one that evokes the current surf scene in the UK.

The film features some beautiful and impressive surfing from Candice O’Donnell, Gabe Davies, Sam Bleakley, Nathan Phillips, Toby Donachie, Jacks Johns, Trev Garland, Jayce Robinson, Richie Sills and a number of other home-grown talents who donated their time to be part of the production.

These beautiful surfing and scenic images are juxtaposed with innovative animations focusing on our current campaign issues, from combined sewer overflows and marine litter, to coastal development threats and protecting the increasingly pressurised surfing resource that is waves. The characters in the animations, surfers Candice O’Donnell, Toby Donachie and Jack Johns, react to the environmental problems they come across, resolving them by taking the issues to those in power. The film also ends with the next steps you can take as a fledgling campaigner, from reporting pollution incidents to the Environment Agency to exposing a problem with the help of the local press to renewing your membership with Surfers Against Sewage.

With the increasing environmental pressures on coastlines around the world, including the wave resources itself, there has never been a more important time for surfers to campaign to protect the environments and waves that make our sport such a unique pleasure. The ‘Protect Our Waves’ film is meant to not only remind you of the beauty of this wonderful sport we share, but importantly to inspire you to use your voice, use your skills, use your network to help preserve this amazing gift for future generations.

We are hugely grateful to Radiohead, Ben Howard, Jackson C Frank and Martha & the Arthurs for donating the music for the film – an amazing soundtrack from some inspirational musicians.

We are currently organising a mini tour of the film with our partners The Surf Screen, and will be showing the film in the coming weeks with the help of some of our regional reps. Dates will be posted here on Drift, as well as the SAS website, or you can join our Facebook group and keep up-to-date with the latest announcements.

Confirmed screenings
26 February – World Premiere, Miners and Mechanics Institute, St Agnes Cornwall, from 7pm
28 February – Solva Memorial Hall, Solva, Pembrokeshire, Wales, from 7pm
3 March – The Roxy Bar and Screen, Borough High St, London, from 7pm
7 March– Tynemouth Life Brigade Watch House, Tynemouth, from 7pm

We would particularly like to thank Richard Stewart for all his hard work and energy on the project. We would also like to thank the Quiksilver Foundation, the EoG Association for Conservation and The Surfer’s Path for their support.

2010 is a bit of a landmark for SAS – it’s our 20th anniversary, and we’re planning on celebrating this in all sorts of ways throughout the year. More importantly, we’re going to use this opportunity to raise the profile of our campaigns right around the country, and create even more momentum to protect our beaches, oceans, waterways and waves.

Last year saw the launch of what is probably the biggest change in SAS campaigns since our inception way back in 1990. The new Protect Our Waves campaign introduced a division dedicated to protecting and accessing the resource for which we all share a passion – waves.

This is a significant move, and one that reflects the increasing need for waves to be recognised as an important recreational resource, something enjoyed by a growing of people every year.

Safeguarding the health of recreational water users was very much the central foundation of SAS, and for many years it has worked to protect the health of surfers, bodyboarders, windsurfers and all manner of enthusiasts who take to the UK’s waters in the name of sport and entertainment.

Subsequently, SAS has diversified, extending its campaigns to protect the environments we all enjoy as well as the individuals from a variety of threats, from shipping and marine litter to climate change and toxic chemicals.

Each of the phases has won significant victories along the way, helping make our experiences in the water more enjoyable, safer and more sustainable than ever before. But there’s still a massive amount of work to do to ensure the UK’s coastline is cleaned up and protected to the extent it deserves.

The Protect Our Waves campaign offers a new force representing waveriders rights. It is dealing with access issues, coastal development concerns and specific pollution threats posed to popular surfing spots. The launch at Kimmeridge Bay saw hundreds of surfers, windsurfers, kayakers, bodyboarders and other water users congregate to express their frustration over the limited access they currently have to Broad Bench, one of the UK’s finest south coast waves.

It’s thanks to our members and supporters that we can continue to roll out innovative, effective and exciting campaign initiatives protecting surfers and all other wave riders and water users around the UK. We’re always aiming to increase the opportunities for our members to get directly involved, whether by joining us on the campaign trail, helping out at beach cleans and awareness events, or supporting the campaign through exciting fundraising opportunities. So remember to renew your membership and get involved to ensure we can achieve the following and much more for our beautiful coastal environment and precious waves. We’re doing loads this year, including…

• Preventing water companies from turning off full UV treatment of sewage discharges in the winter months, just when the best waves hit our shores and you want to hit the sea!
• Pressing for greater regulation of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to protect surfers and all recreational water users from harmful pathogens such as Hepatitis A and E-coli 0157, which can be associated with these all-too-frequent discharges.
• Developing the Protect Our Waves campaign, calling for greater recognition and protection of the UK’s finite surf resources and associated beaches.
• Continuing our campaign against the growing problem of marine litter by pressuring industry and government to address the issue centrally.
• Increasing the number of SAS regional reps and local activities for you to get involved with.
• Nationwide beach clean and education tours – there are more coming to an area near you this year, so please do come along and get involved.

Finally, there have been growing calls for us to bring back the SAS Ball and, should we do so, as a member, you’ll be first to hear about it and get priority tickets. We’re keeping an eye on the Facebook fanpage, and if the number of fans is anything to go by, we’ll have no choice but to bring it back!