Slow West
SUP International|Early Summer 2019

As dawn sets in, I slip out of my dream world, crawl out of the tent, put my feet on the sandy ground, breathe in the fresh sea air and watch the breaking waves.

Thomas Oschwald
Slow West

A light offshore wind lets the surf break gently but surely into the silver morning water. The desire to jump into this splendour with my SUP surfboard rises up in me as if a magic elastic band is pulling me in. Back out on the water, where my longing and passion can come to rest.

There I stood on this beautiful beach in northern Spain. The waves broke in mechanical perfection on the sandbank. Not a soul around, just me and the ocean. But I knew all this glory would fade; not from my memory, but here and now, on this beach.

How far would you go for the perfect wave? With this in mind, I started a micro-expedition in the middle of September. An adventure that wouldn’t lead me into unknown worlds, but across my home continent to the westernmost point of mainland Europe. Not by car or plane, but on foot and with a skateboard, I went in search of the perfect wave. I packed enough equipment to support me for three to five months on a cargo trailer. A load which I cursed after only a few kilometers. But I also went in search of a bit of freedom, which I found with almost 4,000 kilometers behind me.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once wrote, “If you want to build a ship, do not drum down men to get wood, assign tasks, and divide up work, but teach them to long for the vast, endless sea.” With this yearning for the wide, endless sea, I am constantly drawn out into the world. My ship has neither a sail nor a rudder and I can’t cross the ocean with it. It is a mere piece of plastic and yet I feel the freedom and adventure all the same.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Early Summer 2019-Ausgabe von SUP International.

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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Early Summer 2019-Ausgabe von SUP International.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

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