Member Expedition Sponsorship Series: Analog Adventure In A Digital World

By Colby D.

In a world of technology and speed, likes and clicks, "adventure" has lost a bit of its jazz. With a flexible travel window and minimal budget, it's no difficult feat to fly to a destination and have a fairly good chance of scoring excellent surf. There's minimal unknown. You can google most destinations in the world and pull beta as specific as ideal tide or swell direction. Sure the wind could come onshore or the swell could be funky but overall it turns into a calculation with little margin for error. As I've traveled over the past couple winters, I've realized this lends to an expectation of scoring and more times than not, it's fulfilled. A full skunking is rare. But is that really the “fulfilled” I’m searching for? Is that an adventure?

There's still those that crave real adventure. One with unknown. One with risk and danger. A real adventure isn't characterized by ample highs rather is more about how you handle the perpetual lows. You're always moving forward in hopes of finding those oh so rare highs. The second a fish hits and the line hums, sending the boat into chaos. The moment you get your first glimpse over the dune grass and see right after right, rifling over an offshore reef.

1500 nautical miles from Maine later and man, I hope those moments find us. If they don't though, that's simply part of it. If it was easy, would it really be as good? I find myself falling into the mindset that any moment of the journey could be the apex. The last wave I caught could be the last one of the trip. The next issue with the boat could be the end of her. There is no guarantee, nothing known. With no expectations comes a freedom to experience with a blank slate. When the lows become routine and you're able to find enjoyment in the in-between, the highs, if they find you, become nothing short of euphoric. This, this is what we are seeking.

Cheers to asking local fisherman advice, to the wrong turns and dead ends. Cheers to heart breaking near misses and should have been here yesterdays. Cheers to the suffocating setbacks and all to regular frustrations. Cheers to the locals, giving confused looks and unsolicited kindness. Cheers to the experience and the unknown. Cheers to the chance at scoring exactly what it is you're looking for. Cheers to real adventure.