Being the number one surfer in the world means you spend a lot of time in the water. For John John Florence, that time isn’t spent on the surf board alone. In this four-part series, we follow Florence’s progression from dinghies and Hobie Cats to his 48-foot gunboat, VELA, culminating in his first trans-Pacific voyage: from Hawai’i to the Northern Line Islands in the South Pacific.
WATCH EPISODE ONE:
Having always wanted to do a trans-Pacific trip, a surfing injury created that silver lining, the opportunity to make this dream trip happen. In this episode, John John and crew set their sights and charts on the Line Islands, a long stretch of islands along the equator about 1000 miles south of Hawaii, between there and Tahiti.
WATCH EPISODE TWO:
The anticipation of the trip is behind them, and the vast blue sea is all that’s ahead. John John and crew tighten their teamwork, fight some sea sickness, and keep busy exploring their playground, the Pacific Ocean.
"IT’S THIS MIXTURE OF EXPLORATION AND THE CHALLENGE OF GETTING SOMEWHERE."
WATCH EPISODE THREE
The Nature Conservancy welcomes the crew of VELA to Palmyra Atoll. While exploring and enjoying this truly wild place, the guys learn how the work being done here is helping restore the atoll into a thriving ecosystem.
WATCH EPISODE FOUR
Starved for surf, the guys make two island stops to catch some waves and meet the locals. Releasing some energy is a must, as seven days of open-ocean sail are ahead of them en route back home to Oahu.