Floating Riders of the Indian Ocean, Chapter I
The Boat
A drifting home in the Indian waters
Floating Riders of the Indian Ocean by Raúl Ruz, Chapter I
It’s early morning. You wake up. All of a sudden, your home looks smaller. You hear different voices from those you're normally used to, no sound coming from the little window up the wall. Nothing stands still still: all around, everything is walling gently. It’s still dark outside. Something is thumping upstairs and there's muffled sounds of wood hitting on wood. Your surf mates are ready to hit the ocean.
I had never travelled in a boat before. I remember doing it just once though, a little tour for a few hours across the Mediterranean. On this boat everything was new and inspiring. I had no idea what I was going to do and what was going to happen and I felt the rhythm change. Life turned simple and basic here.
A boat trip is something every surfer wants to do. Some friends —some since long surfers— suggested the idea. They told me this trip was a rite of passage for surfers: nothing else but blue waters, surfboards and friends, far away tucked in the Indian Ocean. Before leaving, I wondered if I would be able to get used to floating all day, to sharing time from dawn till dusk with people I didn’t know. I feel happy now.
In this way of life days start very early. If it’s not your travel mates waking you up when messing with surfboards and gear, the 6am alarm rings will. At that hour, the sun is so strong you can’t stay in the water for long. Before having breakfast you already enjoy the first waves, you get some sleep, you surf, have something to eat, take another break, surf again. Time is fragmented and discontinuous, everything flows at a different rhythm and pace.
The unhampered horizon lies ahead. When you’re floating off the coast of the Maldives, incredible views open up in front of you. Vivid and astonishing colours appear, while sitting on the gently rocking boat after surfing all day, the sun slowly setting. It no longer matters if you did the perfect wave that day. When nature discloses in all its beauty, you —tired yet happy— enjoy the show.
Pictures. Raul Rúz
Map. Ángela Palacios
Words. Vincenzo Angileri & Raul Rúz
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Traveller/s
Raúl Ruz
Surfer and Photographer
Raul is a Barcelona based photographer. He works as a freelance for national and international magazines, as well as for several fashion and advertising brands. Avowed longboarder and sea lover, the search for the wave brought him to travel to many different places of the world, Morocco, Australia, Costa Rica and Maldives among others.
@raulruz
