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Since the very
beginning, legendary surf photographer
Jeff Hornbaker has spent more time on
the Indies Trader than any other
Crossing passenger. His unique
perspective on the project as a whole,
tempered by his worldly sensitivity and
photographic third eye, provide a
valuable summation on the deeper meaning
of this boat's persistent questing.
There's something special about this
boat, isn't there?
It's great that there's an icon out
there that people can relate to - where
they understand what surfing is or not -
they're impressed by the fact that the
boat's been all the way around the
world. And then when you tell them what
you're looking for, at first, they don't
really understand that you'd commit so
much of your life to finding waves.
That's a real interesting point to try
to make people understand. Most people
out there are just trying to feed
themselvesy photos Quiksilver
wanted, he just wanted the boat out of
his river.
Do people get excited when they see
the boat?
Well, it's nice that the boats gotten
the publicity now that you can go into
the deepest third world country and a
lot of people are already familiar with
the project and they get super excited. |
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Self portrait
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People swim out, paddle out or get
another boat to drop them off just to
have a look.
What's it like meeting people from so
many third world countries?
What really impresses me is that, on our
society, everyone's trying to attach
themselves to things, to make themselves
part of this group or that group, but
they don't really extend an open
invitation of any sort. Most places that
the Crossing goes, those people, all
they want to do is stare. Whether it's
their surf breaks and their waves, or
their food, or whatever. |
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At work in the Caribbean
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That's something that our society has
gotten kind of backwards. Were out there
fighting each other and slashing
people's tires if someone surfs
somewhere they're not supposed to.
Whereas I don't think I've ever been to
a place that's semi-remote where
anybody's told us that they don't want
us there. And that's where I've learned
a lot. The less you have, the more you
want to share what you do have. And the
more you have, including your waves, the
less people seem willing to share. So in
that respect, if more people could spend
time on the boat and see that, maybe
they'd have a little different
perspective.
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On one of the earliest trips...
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So there's a lot to learn from being
on the boat?
Most of the experiences on the boat that
I've had have been real humbling in
terms of the power of the ocean or the
expanse of nature or the generosity of
people. And surfing, well, we don't
always find surf. Sometimes you spend
days and days in the tinny boat, driving
hundreds of miles and not seeing one
potential line-up. But that's only a
part of the whole process. Some people
get on the boat and its like they've
paid their ticket to Disneyland and they
want something out of it immediately.
And they get frustrated when they have
to work for it, or they have to get
knocked around for 36 hours before they
get to a place that possibly has some
waves. |
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..somewhere in French Polynesia
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But then a lot of those same people,
later on in the trip they'll start to
chill out and relax, and when the swell
does come together, maybe towards the
end of the trip and maybe only for a few
hours, they're like, "oh that was
one of the best trips I ever had."
But if you could reel it back and play
it back for them, it was all really
challenging for them.
A little hardship is good for us, eh?
If somebody's seasick for 36 hours, it
changes their whole life. And at the end
of that bout, everything just becomes
blissful. Whereas the week before the
most important thing was to get a brand
new car or something, now all of a
sudden they just want to feel okay. |
In a really silly way, the boat changes
everyone it touches. And as it goes
along, I think it's going to build
character in a lot of people. Because
there's hundreds of people that are
filing on and off the boat.
The ocean has a way of sorting people
out. Whether its in big waves, or
whether you're trying to traverse vast
expanses, there's just so many different
emotions that are involved with the
ocean. It's a huge petri dish of sorting
people out and getting them to
experience things in different ways…and
then when you get waves, especially
waves that have never been ridden
before, it's just an interesting
embellishment on top of the rest of
it. It's just the icing on the
cake of the core adventure.
The world has become very accessible and
there are probably not too many places
that have not been explored in one way
or another. So its kind of one of the
last adventures, besides space, that
makes you feel that you're really alive
doing something very unique and that
there's a possibility of discovering
something that really hasn't been
experienced, be it geographically or
something in the ocean, or a wave, or
whatever. But all in all even a small
wave becomes magic if you've spent a
bunch of time trying to find it. |
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Veronica Kay
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Troy Brooks
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Strider Wasilewski |
Getting in on the action.
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