Sailor with coat, first man to reach surface (10)
I believe the answer is:
tarmacadam
'surface' is the definition.
(tarmacadam is a kind of surface)
'sailor with coat first man' is the wordplay.
'sailor' becomes 'tar' (term for a sailor).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'coat' becomes 'mac' (mac is a kind of coat).
'first man' becomes 'adam' (first man in the Bible).
'tar'+'mac'+'adam'='TARMACADAM'
'to reach' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for tarmacadam that I've seen before include "Road-surfacing material" , "could cover one's tracks" , "Road surface" , "Road surfacing" .)