"Aloha Lowen" is a campaign to raise awareness for a better attitude in ourselves, towards one another, but also to that great place we all love, the Ocean. Highlighting the good the bad and the ugly parts of surfing, and ways we can all make the Seas a safer, cleaner and more joyful place for everyone.

I am a member of two well known and established water activity groups in Newquay, Cornwall. The 'Newquay Surf Life Saving Club' and 'Wave Project', a charity that takes young people who might be vulnerable or have additional needs surfing, as we believe in the therapeutic benefits of the water. I interviewed them and several others to explore the difficulties with pollution and attitude. The Ocean is such a wonderful place that should be enjoyed by everyone, but is that always the case?

Surfers are on the front line when it comes to noticing change in the seas environment, it creates a deeper connection, and deeper need to protect the Seas and each other. Threats are vast and very complicated from sewage to industrial waste, fishing, plastic and climate change, it can affect the quality of the surf and the health or marine and human life, but are uniquely positioned to make a difference!

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Duke Kahanamoku is known as the “godfather of modern surfing”, after the near wipe out of surfing after the colonialisation and annex of Hawaii in the late 1800s a few pioneers held onto their love and traditions which led the way for ‘The Duke’ to be able to popularize it once again. Through his swimming, and lifesaving abilities, surfing demonstrations and his great character, surfing blossomed and spread, as did surf life saving techniques and the first lifesaving clubs started appearing.

Duke not only wanted to spread surfing but also an attitude of “aloha”, with his "Creed of Aloha".

The first ever Surf Life Saving club was in Bude, Cornwall in 1953 due to a visitation by an Australian called Allen Kennedy but..

Cut to 2025. I talked to Newquay Surf Life Saving Club about their experiences. Many were passionate to share, and feel passionate to make change. We can laugh and joke about situations but for them they are more on the front line, often “wading in what seems to be sewage or pollution up to our waist”, “half the session for nippers being cut in one year”, they often get a sense of what it may really be like, rather than when information gets watered down for tourism. These people are training to save others lives in what can often be dangerous situations, with the added worry of pollution. The myths that are passed around of bleeding from the eyes, and deaths. However, some of these claims are very real. Mohammed al-Sayis’s death in Gaza, Heather Preen in UK from E. coli.

Regarding Gaza, the brilliant and moving documentary “Gaza surf club”, involves one of the main characters getting to leave to visit Hawaii, he never returned, claiming Hawaii knows how to look after each other and their surroundings, so it is beautiful, and not the reality he had been living. Maybe it is that “Aloha” spirit, maybe they understand something more about looking after things? It moved him to stay.

Also many times, I hear a surfer say “don’t worry it’s just algal”, but these algal blooms deplete Oxygen in the water which harms marine and human life making it toxic too.

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Wave project is a charity that takes vulnerable children surfing, this becomes not only something to help the children, but to give respite to mothers and fathers. The joy the surf can bring such change for them, at times sessions couldn't go ahead because of sewage alerts, this now leaves a worrying thought in the minds of those caring for them and the team involved.

Not to be all doom and gloom, Sam Bass from ‘Fistral beach School’, has a brighter view of the situation, as did many other schools, the pollution on the larger bays never gets that bad, they have never had to cancel, if anything, it will just be road run off, and he hopes the surf gets busier and more people come and try it and visit because Newquay heavily relies on its surfing. He felt SAS ‘Surfers Against Sewage’ are there to tackle the issues where needs be. ‘Lee Norris’ from ‘Slide and Glide’ also mentioned how he hasn’t had difficulty, the only time was when he went out with his daughter in the Surf Life Saving team, he experiences the pollution, which they "waded through waist deep".

Nationally, Scarborough Surf Sisters often feel moved, and take part in protest run by SAS, and think the answer is to just stop paying the water companies, refuse to pay the waste element of the bill. Often, they get warnings not to get in the sea because of sewage after heavy rain, when there hasn’t been any rain...

What about how we treat each other?

I also discussed “Surf Rage” and Etiquette in the surf, how can we make it safer for all of us to be there when often temperatures arise, and even fights break out. Many surfers shared stories with me from being chased out of the surf, being growled at, localism, sexism, snaking and stealing waves to violence. Dave Farrow from 'Karma Surf Boards' believes the way to tackle this is for surf schools to really teach etiquette to beginners and everyone who is trying to learn, so people know what they are doing out there, rather than paddling right into an area they shouldn’t be in. Bass suggested that there isn’t much of an issue, but if more advanced surfers are getting angry with beginners but are in the beginner’s section on the beach that is on them and they should know better. Nick from 'Karma' said “surf rage is a lot like road rage” people just need the same awareness out there, it can be dangerous, yet people just saddle up right next to each other, and you wouldn’t do that in normal life so why do it there? Norris said he notices how people are angrier towards bigger boards and just hopes in the future we can start to be more accepting.