When It’s Pumping… (The Arrival)
There are so many variables that need to come together on The Search. Wind, swell size, swell direction, tides. Flight connections, flight delays. Car connections. Local whispers. Whether there’s something actually rideable where you’re headed or it’s all just a myth.
Will you score or get skunked?
All of that builds up during planning and traveling. The anxiety. The excitement. The anticipation. It’s like you’re holding your breath, unable to exhale properly until you arrive and see it with your own eyes.
Then, when it’s pumping… there’s nothing quite like it. A release of tension followed by elation, followed by the scramble to get out there…
“It's like, you almost can't contain it, it feels so exciting,” explains Mason Ho.
“You almost can't contain it and you're trying to calmly gather your gear together, put your trunks on and wax your board, but really, it's just like everything's jumping through your skin and your ears. Just to get out there and like, wow, it's never gonna be like this and you're always thinking it's never gonna be like this ever again.”
“You forget about the entire journey you've been on, even if it takes you a week sometimes to get there,” adds Victoria Vergara. “There is so much excitement. So much happiness and fulfillment, like wow, we did right, we're there.”
Perhaps Gabriel Medina sums it up best, simply saying, “maybe it's one of the best feelings in surfing, you know?”
Definitely a moment you remember. A feeling our entire culture chases to every corner of the globe.
But if you don’t leave, you won’t arrive.
Where’s The Search taking you next?
