The Slow Boat To Somewhere…
Watch ‘Transport of Delight’ - the new Search film featuring Mathea Olin
Sometimes you want to explore somewhere you’ve been a little differently. Capture a different feeling and see the place from a new lens. Canadian surf phenom Mathea Olin did this recently, deciding to navigate the freezing waters of the far north Pacific Ocean with some friends on a 37-foot aluminum sailing boat called the Gypsy Baron.
“I’ve gone on many surf/boat camping trips around this island, but I’ve never done it on a sailboat, so this trip was extra special and exciting for me,” says Mathea. “It allowed us to really take our time going up the coast and take in every nook and cranny; check out new places, new sections of reef and kinda go wherever the wind would take us.”
They cooked on a wood-fed stove on the boat, jumped overboard to camp on the rocky shores, and stayed up late to watch meteor showers shoot across clear, cold skies. There were also the empty line-ups, where the only locals they came in contact with were orcas.
“I’ve spent a lot of time boating to camp, away from civilization, out of service and to be honest those are the times and places I feel most at home and connected to myself,” says Mathea.
“I love when you’re in a place where there’s no distractions from the outside world and you can fully enjoy the place you are in, the people you’re with and just enjoy how beautiful our earth is and how insanely special it is to be alive.”
The crew scored too, finding new waves they’d never surfed before, surfing a faithful right hander absolutely firing, and checking out potential slabs to come back to another time. All of the surfing was done in ‘balmy’ conditions for Canada. “It was very warm and sunny. I was only surfing in a 4x3, hood, and boots!”
Despite the incredible weather, there were still blasting winds to negotiate and a few sketchy moments. On the night crossing over, the expert skipper Satch Robertson handed over a radio before bed and calmly told them if they woke up to him yelling from it, he’d fallen overboard. They’d have to come and find him. The guy was almost too relaxed in tricky situations, so Mathea didn’t know how to react when things got rough.
“On our way back home there was one day that was insanely windy, decent size swell, and we were going around a point where there is always lots of water moving, so for me it felt really dicey but for Satch it wasn’t anything he hasn’t been in before and was a little too calm for my liking.”
Those are the moments that make a trip memorable though. The people. The waves. The unique situations you’ll probably never be in again. That’s what The Search is all about. Proper adventure to inspire the next one.
Watch Transport of Delight, in all of its calm yet intense glory.
Filmed and produced by Nate Laverty.