"When Mr. Salter was in Egypt's land, let my people go..."
There are many troubles and travails in the life of surfer. Being cold, becoming frustrated at self and others, finding parking. Leaving a wetsuit drying outside and it raining, walking barefoot on rocks, losing the wax comb. Saltwater dripping out of nose onto computer keyboard, blowing the takeoff while the lineup is watching, etc.
None of these, though, are as troubling or travailing as the very sad case of Reuben Santer, a teacher who described surfing as his life. Mr. Santer, enjoyed the watery game so much that he moved to Devon, there on the pendulum’s westernmost tip and surfed and taught and surfed and taught until one bad day he developed a a nasty ringing in his ear. He went to the doctor and was told the problem was likely caused by surfing in sewage and to take a month long break.
He did, eventually felt better and swung again after the time was up though failed to notice signs warning of even more sewage. Out he went only to land back in the doctor’s office with even worse symptoms. “Extremely loud tinnitus, this time followed by an attack of rotational vertigo, deafness and vomiting.”
Ugh.
Things devolved from there as he writes in The Guardian:
My recovery began smoothly, but then it kept coming back, again and again. I was completely debilitated, never knowing when an attack would strike and forced to spend days in bed recovering from each episode. It lasted for months and I became scared to go out on my own in case I’d have an attack and not be able to get home. I spent months on the sofa and eventually lost my job.
A specialist eventually diagnosed me with Ménière’s disease: a chronic inner-ear condition with no known cure that causes progressive deafness, roaring tinnitus and loss of function of your balance organ leading to rotational vertigo. The doctor thought it could have been due to sewage but said it would be impossible to prove.
Now poor Mr. Santer is trying to hold gross polluters and politicians to account, imagining his story of woe will move them to act. Hope springs, I suppose, though, in my experience, gross polluters and politicians don’t really care about much except lining filthy pockets with fresh inner-ears.
Bastards.
Spread the news!! Especially in surf zones that don’t have sharks as an effective deterrent.
Geez kids are self entitled whinging arseholes these days. Back in my day the water was always dirty and you just got on with life. Feeling sick? Drink Tooheys Old.
Stayed out of the water on a really good morning earlier this year, post massive rain event, where the water was brown and disgusting looking but it was clean and overhead at a normally insanely crowded spot. Watched the couple guys who did brave the runoff get the best waves they’ll probably ever get at that spot. Have deeply regretted sitting it out ever since.
That’s shit. Thoughts and prayers 🙏
As my old man used to say: better to sit it out than shit it out the next day.
Don’t be put off, you Need to go out underturd
Worked with a guy from Gautamala who told me that when he had an ear infection down there his father made him walk ten miles to a doctor who packed his ear with donkey shit to cure it.
Worth a try.
didn’t work
The doctor “thought”. Case dismissed. If he wants to waste his money in name of the environment he could always donate it to Greta Thunberg so she can fly around the world yelling at the sky.
Haha, except she takes a sailing boat.