On this day Mark 'Sanga' Sainsbury was found floating face down at his home break of Avoca. Attempts to revive him failed and it's believed he suffered an aneurysm. He was 25-years old. Credited with inventing the floater, Sanga was a teenage prodigy winning many competitions including the prestigious Hot Buttered Pro Junior in 1985.
Mark Sainsbury was a diminutive natural footer from the central coast of N.S.W. who won the world Amatuer title in 1986. The following year he had a cameo in Mad Wax, the cult surf film, which featured ‘Sanga’ displaying his acting and surfing skills alongside Gary Kong-Elkerton, Ross Clarke-Jones and Tom Carroll.
However, it was the lip-glide that Mark is best remembered for. Tracks photographer Tony Nolan remembers vividly his reaction when he first saw Sanga pull the move in a contest at the 1985 Pro Junior held at Narrabeen.
“Oh god it was amazing! When I saw him do it I went, ‘what the hell was that?’ I’d never seen anyone do that before. He went up with the wave and came down with the curtain. Everyone though it was a hell of a move,” recalls Nolan.
Sanga was one of the areas favourite surfing sons and an extremely popular figure amongst his peers. According to the Surfing Encyclopaedia, Mark Richards said of Sainsbury. "He was an unbelievable surfer, and I credit him with inventing the floater...and you couldn't have met a nicer person if you custom ordered one."