THE QUIKSILVER CROSSING CHANGES TACK.....see latest Captains Log.





























A Deliberately Random Assortment
by Jeff Hornbaker


 

As a devotee to the observation and documentation of the life above and below the oceans, I travel. Addicted to this dynamic for over 30 years, there is a sense of enlightenment with every introduction to something or somewhere.

As we know, life is a bit of a dance, and my dance is to record what I experience and then share with others. Since my writing skills are basic at best, I take photographs. If you do it right, every picture tells a story. Now in the western world, some stories always have to be better than others, and the most frequently asked question is “of all the places….” And this leads me to the philosophy of an amphibian-vagabond-travel-junkie….


When you set foot on the road to find waves, find meaning or just move, pack accordingly, but leave your head full of thoughts and judgments at home. To travel is to experience. To experience is to live in that moment. And in that moment, there is no best place, best wave, best food – it is all a gift. And there you have it

 
Most of you reading these words have followed your instincts and dove deep into a life governed by the ocean, her waves and movements. She is vast and infinite, and lifetimes could be spent experiencing all of her. During our time, there is one such group that has created a project known as the Quiksilver Crossing that is doing just that. It is a vehicle to the unknown, where the only tie to firm ground is an anchor, and even this is temporary. There are a very few outlets that facilitate this constant movement of exploration, of eyes wide open to what may come. We explore and arrive by oceans the way ancients did; however, the Crossing is a multi-faceted project of science, exploration, surf discoveries and sharing rather than taking.

 

The cache this project brings back to the mainstream is rich with experience and, in my case, visuals that show us the beauty in every moment. There is no objective to find a great place for a surf camp, the biggest wave in the universe or pay a ransom to those who could kill themselves for some award marked with X’s – the Crossing just is. We share, we pick up our trash and most of our footprints wash away in the tide line.

The Indies trader is a time capsule trying to get back to the essence of surf exploration, primal urges and pristine experience. In the long run it spits out less than pure ideas, motives and it just keeps moving. We arrive as guests, not as conquerors. We are welcomed in living rooms of fish huts and jungles. At all times we are humbled. Not all those who arrive on the boat are cut out for such elemental pleasures, and they don’t last long. They bring with them memories of what they are leaving behind, and they soon return back to them. Was it the Beatles that said, “Life is what’s happening while you’re busy making plans”?

– Jeff Hornbaker, May 2005

 

 

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