Welcome back after winter and to kick off the surf season, the first mag of the year is incoming. In this In this issue you’ll find a mix of visuals and words that will push the boundaries of stoke! 

Take a look as we spend a few minutes ogling Lowey’s beautiful and terrifying Mully drop. Drift through Europe’s car parks with Luke Gartside, and meet the Saltburn crew keeping it real by the pier. 

On the cover is Sam Heard at Mundaka. Sam's a former top junior, turned premium wave style addict!

Plus Pheobe Strachan, one of Britain’s hardest-charging surfers, takes the spotlight, while Sean ‘Frank’ Harris reflects on 25 years in the UK surf industry. And many people will relate to Toby Donachie’s story, a reminder of the ups, downs, lulls, and glorious sets of surfing. He’s in it for the long haul.
Enjoy the issue.

Joel Gray, Editor at Large

This one’s packed with inspiration to pull you out of the doom scroll and remind you of the adventures unlocked by simply riding waves.

We meet the founders of Provide the Slide, a not-for-profit putting surfboards into the hands of kids and coastal communities across Africa — giving them the chance to surf, grow, and chase stoke. If you’ve got old boards gathering dust, imagine the impact they could make.

We also check in with Taz Knight and his wife Chloe, who’ve swapped routine for a refurbished yacht and a round-the-world surf odyssey. Thanks to modern comms, we’ve got a dispatch from somewhere deep in the Pacific as they chase the ultimate endless surf trip.

Plus, we’ve pulled together a gallery of dreamy lineups — because if we’re not in the water, we’re at least looking at waves.

Back in the UK, groms are frothing, para surfers are winning medals, big wave chargers are pushing limits, and Alex Williams reflects on the early days of Cornwall’s most iconic reef.

Hopefully these pages fire you up for your next session and keep you away from the endless scroll of clips and conspiracies.

Steve
Editor

Autumn is a season of change – and we felt it this year with a procession of autumn swells marching across the Atlantic, delivering powerful surf to most UK and Irish coastlines. As we say goodbye to the fun and sun of laidback summer, autumn brings the energy. It’s the season to hit the road at home and plan ahead for longer explorations. Surfing and swells open new horizons – there’s always something exciting around the corner.

In this issue we celebrate surfing at home and abroad: road trips, reflections on classic times, and wave-chasing adventures. In the days of cheap flights and hit-and-run sessions, longer sojourns into Europe and beyond took a back seat – but they’re making a comeback.

Memories are truly cemented through on-the-ground travel. Photographer Jop Hermans found this in the empty line-ups of the Scottish Highlands and the wilds of Ireland. Meanwhile, Martin Dorey and his wife set off from Cornwall by e-bike, tracing the coastline of France and Spain to Portugal. And Lara Waves went further afield to uncover the surf and culture of Colombia.

In Rewind, Alex Williams digs out the files from the legendary Euros classic event in Scotland. More than just contests, these events built long-lasting friendships and delivered unforgettable times. I guess that’s the beauty of surfing: the common thread of chasing fleeting moments that stay with us forever. The lure of new horizons and dreams that can be chased on any budget – by any one of us, at any time.

Pretty special, eh? Welcome to issue 229.

Steve
editor

In May 1990, a group of surfers from Porthtowan and St Agnes, fed up with paddling through raw sewage surrounded by sanitary towels and condoms, decided enough was enough. They were going to fight back. So they got together to protest. What started as a local campaign against the outfall of St Agnes, North Cliffs and Portreath, struck a chord with surf communities across the UK – and quickly grew into a true grassroots movement.

Surfers from Langland, Saltburn, Bournemouth, and everywhere in between bought the t-shirt, got the sticker and signed up. The group went from nowhere to 15,000 paid up members in a blink of an eye – at a time when eco warriors weren’t considered cool. SAS changed this. In a few short years the group that had been dismissed as bums were described as, "some of the government's most sophisticated environmental critics,” and, "Britain's coolest pressure group”.
Over the next decades, its members, activists, staff and board played a pivotal role in raising awareness about sewage pollution. Thanks to their efforts, billions of pounds were invested in the late 1990s – direct untreated outfalls were shut off and discharges were at least screened for sanitary waste. It was a huge success.

But successive governments and weak water industry watchdogs let privatised water monopolies siphon off public money for shareholders and fat-cat CEOs – instead of investing in infrastructure. Which means we now face ever-increasing, combined sewer overflows – sewage released when the system is overloaded.

We shouldn't have to surf, dip, paddle or swim in sewage. Ever. We know the damage it does to the environment, and to our health and wellbeing. So the fight for clean seas continues. Fortunately SAS now has 50 staff, thousands of members, local reps, medical surveys, science and legal backing – everything it needs to take on the establishment and finish the job for good.

Happy birthday, SAS. Never stop fighting until the fighting is done.

Steve
editor