What this is
Surfers SPF is a field manual about sun exposure in surf and open water conditions. It treats the subject as an exposure management problem rather than a product question, because in this environment the product is the smallest part of the answer and the session is the largest.
The distinguishing fact of surfing and open water swimming is duration. A long session is hours of continuous exposure, with light arriving off the water as well as from the sky, wind and salt working on whatever is on your skin, no shade within reach, and no realistic opportunity to come in, dry off and reapply anything. Almost all general sun advice assumes you can step under a tree and put more on. Out there you cannot, so the decisions have to be made earlier.
It is published by Northbank Media and written in British English.
Who it is for
People who are going to be in the water anyway. Surfers, longboarders, bodyboarders, open water swimmers, paddlers, coaches, lifeguards in training and anyone whose weekends are spent on a coastline. The manual is not written to persuade anybody to spend less time outdoors. It is written on the assumption that you will not, and that the useful question is therefore what you do about it.
What it refuses to do
It names no brand and recommends no product. Not one, anywhere on the site. Where a category matters we describe what the category has to do and leave the choosing to you.
It carries no affiliate or referral links. None, on any page. There is no link on this site that pays us if you click it.
It invents nothing. No statistics, no studies, no protection percentages, no prices for anybody else's goods, and no UV index reading attached to a place and a date. If a sentence needs a number we cannot source, the sentence changes.
It does not give clinical advice. Moles, marks, patches, diagnosis and treatment are questions for a GP. Where a subject reaches that line, the manual stops and points at the NHS and at the British Association of Dermatologists.
It does not moralise. Sun exposure writing has a habit of sounding like a disappointed adult. That tone does not change anyone's behaviour and it is not used here.
How it is paid for
Two declared lines, both stated in the footer of every page.
A paid register. Surf schools, coastal clubs, water safety training providers and outdoor instructors can buy a listing. The register is alphabetical, labelled as paid on every entry, and built out of disclosed facts that can be checked: trading name, where they operate, qualification body and award held where one applies, and public liability insurance where it applies. It is never a ranking, there are no scores, no badges and no editorial comment. A listing is not a safety endorsement, and we have assessed nobody. Full terms are at criteria and rates.
A newsletter sponsor line. One labelled sponsor line per issue, with a published rate card. It cannot influence any guidance on this site or in the newsletter, and the list of what it cannot buy is published in full.
There is no display advertising, no AdWords, no programmatic advertising, no sponsored articles, no paid links and no commission for introducing anyone to anyone.
Who writes it
Articles are published under the masthead rather than under invented bylines. We would rather not attribute the judgement of a publication to people who do not exist. The editorial position is the publication's.
When we are wrong
Write to us through contact with the page and the correction. We publish corrections with a visible note. We do not remove accurate material because somebody dislikes it, whether or not they are on the register.