Surfing Soapbox: Journey is worth the harsh conditions

At 3:30 a.m. on a cold, wet, windy and dark morning, it’s easy to ask yourself what you’re doing on a 72-foot sailboat, sailing from Brazil to South Africa.

Standing watch on deck, while everyone else is inside the warmth of the sailboat, sound asleep, I find myself wide awake, pondering, why I am here? However, I soon realize that I can see my entire life out there washing around among the sea’s choppy waves, fueling my desire to be here.

To my surprise, I am not bothered by the cold or the constant splashing of the waves that continue to hit me in the face. Despite several layers of clothing, the wind blows right through me, but is nothing more than a breath of fresh air. My watch, which started at 2 a.m., will finish with a sunrise at 6 a.m.

The adverse conditions don’t bother me. To the contrary, what baffles my mind is that in a period of five minutes, 1,000 miles out to sea between Brazil and South Africa, we watched as three huge pieces of plastic trash floated past us, in the last frontier of pristine water, a striking cobalt blue, with one lone bird following our boat.

Sadly, plastic is now more evident with each mile that we sail. The reach of man’s plastic pollution stretches farther than one can imagine, and we are still some 500 miles, or more, from reaching the beginning stages of the 5th Gyre, known as the South Atlantic Gyre.

This gyre, or ocean garbage patch, has never been seen with the naked eye. It feels strange to anticipate what awaits when we do hit our mark and enter into the territory of the 5th Gyre. I would use the word “excitement,” but how can I, when writing about the pollution that plagues are beloved oceans?

My mind reels just thinking about it. I wonder out loud, “What will I see? How bad will it be? Is the 5th Gyre really a floating island of plastic trash?”

I have a number of questions that will remain unanswered. Luckily the most important one will not — I am here because I care, enduring the hardships of a 28-day sail, as are the other 12 crew members aboard. Hopefully, if you’re reading this right now, you care as well.

Peace.

JAMES PRIBRAM is a Laguna Beach native, professional surfer and John Kelly Environmental Award winner. His websites include AlohaSchoolofSurfing and ECOWarrior Surf.com. He can be reached at Jamo@Aloha SchoolofSurfing.com.