Surfing—a maritime activity by definition—has always kept a hand on the tiller. From pre-contact Polynesia to the quartet of passage-makers found in the following pages, surfers take naturally to long-form swell riding.
Surfing is rife with points of sail. From Quigg to Cabell, Edwards to Muñoz, Greenough to Choate, wind-driven exploration has maintained a through- line in the culture. Longer shapes, longer lines. Whether playing in the surf at Capo Reef or enduring equatorial baptisms in the pursuit of uncharted coral experiences, hulls are hulls.
And while sailboats are hulls you can live in, something in the surf spirit embraces speed. The adage “slow for a boat, but not bad for a house” comes to mind. In the words of legendary Santa Cruz yacht designer Bill Lee, “Fast is fun.” No wonder so many surfing sailors eschew traditional displacement designs for multihulls, thereby embracing Hawaiian beginnings.
Regardless of hull count, sailboats remain a means of transport, a mode of shelter, and a way to study and embrace the concept of trim. These stories explore all of that, as well as the most primal draw: adventure.
The Voyage of the Rhino
Eight thousand nautical miles before the mast—from Dana Point to Teahupoo.
By Austin Cooper
Deep Learning
Navigating the Gulf of Thailand, the Malacca Strait, and Sumatra aboard the 35-foot Endurance monohull Calypte.
By Torren Martyn & Aiyana Powell
Patience & Placement
Trevor Gordon’s self-discovery along the course of least resistance.
By Ethan A. Stewart
Gunboat Captain
Exploration, efficiency, and riding open-ocean swell aboard Vela.
By John John Florence
[Feature image: a view aboard the Sarimanok, circa 1990, pulled from the first issue of TSJ. “We built a traditional outrigger canoe out of ancient materials, used no modern navigational devices, and sailed through the Philippines to Bali, then 4,000 miles across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar, retracing a route of migration that brought people there thousands of years ago,” wrote photographer Don King. “It was a wet and wild trip, going 55 days without seeing land, the boat battered to pieces in the storms, living only on rice, fish, and coconut. One of the crew members died, and we had to leave another sick one in the Cocos Islands. The trip definitely took a few years from my life.” Photo by Don King]
