Vancouver Island holds many secrets, but you can find them if you look. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
The west coast of Vancouver Island holds many secrets. I grew up there, poking my nose around different corners, slogging through the mud beneath the trees in search of waves, and I have not found most of them. There are endless waves breaking off endless points and over endless shifting sandbars, many of which require more than just legs to access. It’s a stunningly beautiful place made more beautiful by the work that goes into seeing those beautiful places. Canadian surfer Mathea Olin knows that as well as anyone, and she decided to explore the rugged coastline of her home in Rip Curl’s Transports of Delight II.
“Finding waves where you can surf and you’re the only one out, like, those are moments for me when I know where I’m meant to be,” Olin said. “Those are the moments I’m going to continue to find and explore our coastline and push my limits on a sailboat and just overall learn more about the ocean and who I want to be.”
Vancouver Island isn’t exactly known for it’s perfect, sunny days. The storms come fast and hard, full of driving rain and howling wind. The ocean is moodier there than many other places; ripping currents and freezing cold water that’s sometimes crystal clear and other times as clear as mud.
Olin, like many who call the island home, has a strong connection with the place she grew up. And growing up in Tofino, the ocean is home. Like anywhere else, you can’t always bank on perfect waves.
“For me a huge part of it is just being out there in the ocean. Out in nature,” Olin explained. “It’s definitely a cherry on top when you actually get swell on a sailing trip.”
As I mentioned, Vancouver Island is full of secrets, and Olin wants to keep uncovering them. It’s a magical place, but it’s not just because of the waves.
“Being a surfer, you’re always so enamored by the coastline and what it has to offer,” she said. “Every corner we rounded there was something new to look at. Little moments like that make me want to keep going a little bit farther, not knowing what you’re going to find.”
This is the second such trip Olin has done, and she learned a few valuable lessons from the first go-around.
“Last trip was a crash course in sailing with friend and mentor Satch Robertson,” Rip Curl wrote. “This time, Mathea came prepared. That’s the beauty of doing things for a second time. You know more, have a sense for extra goals and can truly let go of any anxieties. There’s something incredibly empowering about having the skills to chart your own course too. To take your adventure into your own hands. The freedom to explore wherever the wind takes you — and the confidence to make the journey your own.”
