What is it about being on surf trips that seems to draw random travelers together? Why does it seem so much easier to connect with strangers when you have set out on your own journey to find the perfect wave? Whatever the reason may be, it has become quite clear to me that social status, country of origin, background, and every other barrier that may otherwise stand between us seems to be easily tossed aside when encountering our surfing counterparts throughout our search for surfing nirvana.

More so during surf trips than any other type of adventure that I have experienced, I have witnessed the rapid bonding of even the most contrasting individuals in brief periods of time. There’s something special that brings traveling surfers quickly together as friends while making all else in their lives irrelevant. Even the barrier of speaking a different language goes out the window when surfers are united by the common denominator of being in a foreign land on the hunt for the wave you have dreamed about since you were a child.

There have been many times that I’ve witnessed gatherings on the beach or in the water that consisted of surfers representing no less than 8 or 9 different countries at a time. Yet within seconds of being there it quickly becomes clear that no one is cognizant of the fact that they come from far away lands. They are brought together through being on their search.

With surf travel becoming as easy to facilitate and as popular as ever before, we are provided the opportunity to make connections with other surfers that can last a lifetime. While it may be the only occasion that you’ll actually share the waves or other experiences with them in the physical sense, the memories of the journey and the people you meet along the way will undoubtedly last a lifetime.

What is it exactly that brings us all together as surfers while out on our travels? I’m not exactly sure. And while I imagine the reasons may be different for all of us, there is without a doubt a uniting force among surfers unlike any other found on this earth. And in that we have another reason that sets surfing apart and gives it a truly unique identity.

Posted by Shaun on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 in Surfing.

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