Surfers dream of a job that allows for months spent in foreign tubes. We found it!
My arrival in Bocas del Toro, Panama, coincided with the last few days of Carnaval, a tradition of week-long partying that I believe started in Brazil but has since been absorbed by nations across the world. Much to my surprise, Bocas is not only a surfing haven, but also a renowned party destination for South America’s wealthiest and North America’s most “free-spirited” (see: no bras, blonde dreds, septum piercings) twenty-somethings. A Caribbean Ibiza.
I’ve not partaken because the waves here are best in the early early morning, and even slight hangovers have been known to cripple my delicate frame into the late afternoon hours. In short, I’m a pussy.
Every morning around seven I hail a cab out to the surf zone and see what the day has to offer. I surf either the terrifying beach break or the dribbly reef and by the end of my session attempt to cozy up with another group of surfers. Cabs are $15 each way and when you’re on your own that adds up real quick.
Today I surfed the terrifying beach break and my ride-share victims were a three-pack of Aussies, at least one of which was quite the talented surfer. After the session we hopped in their car and I asked what they do back in Australia.
“Well, Matt’s a sparky (electrician), John here’s a chippy (carpenter) and I’m a plumber (plumber),” the talented one tells me.
All of them tradeys (tradesmen). Here for a month.
This reminded me of the time when, in Indo, I met a traveling Aussie duo, one of which was a chippy and the other a miner. They had worked twelve-hour days all summer and repaid themselves with a four month Indonesian sojourn.
All of this anecdotal evidence led me to wonder, is a tradesman the best possible occupation for a traveling surfer?
I asked the car what they thought.
“Well, it’s a trade-off, ya know?” the portly one replied. “We work our fucking cunts off for a few months, but then we make good money and have long holidays. A lotta blokes are fucking around at home with whatever retail job, making shit money and eating pingers to pass the time, and then they end up with no cash and short holidays. Meanwhile, we’re here. So yeah I like it better.”
There you have it! Tradesmen work hard and play hard, and that is probably the ideal situation for an aspiring surf traveler. At least in Australia.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe most American handymen are on contracts that pay menially, dictate a nine-to-five presence and allow two weeks vacation.
So, what’s the best occupation for an American frother? Surely one of our readers is sitting on the secret to wealth and free time…
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I’ve met a fair amount of Pilots, who seem to have excessive time off / money / travel perks. I’ve heard boat captain can be good too – work 3 months / get a month off. I’ve met a few fisherman as well.
Most experienced tradesmen own their own business, so when you’re the boss, I think you decide when you want to work.
I work in a very seasonal tourist area (outerbanks of north carolina) I do photography/video work for a few magazines and clients, decorate weddings, work at a surf shop, and im a sales rep for a bodyboard company. Theres no shortage of good work in the late spring trough the late fall. When winter comes around i take off. This year its a month in puerto rico followed by 21 days in nicaragua. When my plane touches down back in the states the wedding season is starting to kick off and im back to work. Bust your ass hard enough all summer and save your cash for the winter. Tons of us do it here. You cant kick a pile of sand and hit someone here who hasnt spent months out of the country surfing mental destinations. Also because my schedule, and everyone i work with surfs, i barely ever miss a swell. First one i missed was this january in PR because o had to be at surfexpo.
I should also add because of my random checks from obscure surf publications and R&D for boogie sales my surf trips are tax write offs
You gotta make your life open to scoring. Its about priorities. My girl now is trying to get a job at an airline because she just wants to travel for free, surf and lay on exotic beaches. Im totally not gonna stop her cuz filghts are expenseive hahaha
you new yorkers taking over bocas now? geez. guess you werent happy with occupying the entire eastern Caribbean, you went west now…
young mike, enjoy the nightlife down there. you’ll look back and remember the good nights more than you will the good sessions.
Are you traveling without a girlfriend? If so, I will give you some fatherly advice. Partying in Central American tourist zones should always be treated as priority. You’re a pussy at surfing hungover only because you don’t do it enough. Trust me when I say that down the road you will remember and appreciate barely coherent late night adventures much more than the waves you surfed.
Is “invented something” a euphemism for deliver hand jobs in exchange for money?
This sparky makes $75.50/hr. Davis Bacon wages for a journeyman in Hawaii. Non union with the pay. Winning.
Two Things:
Carnaval started in Europe, and believe it or not it has christian roots. It was a way to go looney before the beginning of the lent. That’s why it is always the day before Ash Wednesday. Kinda like a marathon session im pumping indo the day before going back to a flat summer spell. Brazilians are just the ones that go crazier…
If you study hard enough through college —surf every day instead of all day —you can end up getting a Phd scholarship with very liberal hours (i.e. non at all), which allows you to work as much as you want per day, wherever you want in the world, for 4 years. Just go to some humanities-related field!
this is very probably the worst advice ever given to anyone
Probably is… You’ll end up unemployed and broke in four years, with nowhere to go and nothing to. Maybe even end up giving surf lessons to beginners in the summer… But hey, you still got paid while free to organize your schedule, which translates more or less into: surf as much as you want for 4 years. Besides, being alone in remote Indo for a while, you have some time to kill, and then you can pick up those books between sessions and trick your guilty conscious into believing you’re actually working.
Also, as my name kinda implies, I actually like to study. Probably just shooting myself in the foot here… I guess there’s no use in taking advice from a guy like me. I’ve truly been my worst victim
I’ve thought about starting a surf blog for newbies and other barneys with click-bait headlines. Revenue stream being eventually tons of spam ads. That should enable my surf travels to all the world class surf spots I constantly expose to the masses. They should be pretty uncrowded upon arrival.
In my experience, single guys working on oil rigs or in the mines seem to have the best work/surf balance… But I dont think it really matters what job you have, it’s more the chains/responsibilities you gather over time that get in the way.
Key word: single
I know of people who have worked on yachts and ended up in the Maldives for 6 weeks with nothing to do but swan about looking boaty and surf your brains out waiting for master to get back from Monaco. Then again I know people who have ended up with Arabian businessmen getting treated like shit within sniffing distance of Ibiza.
Ahhh yesssss. Silly me. I forgot that writers have a maximum wage law of $2/article.
*writes article from remote destination on surf trip*
“Hey, any ideas for a job where you can surf a lot?”
Heard beach grit is being sued by Robbie Maddison. Confirmation? Blood Feud?
Only threatened!
That Prick
Negatron might have an valuable opinion both on the desirability of being a Plumber/ travelling surfer and the difference between a ‘Tradesman’ and ‘Handyman’. My understanding is that they are natural enemies and sworn to the complete extermination of each other [see “Hydrogeologists/ Water Diviners”, “Doctor/ Every other Cunt in the Health Care Delivery Space” etc].
I think the only gain I had from being a Plumber whilst traveling was a stellar immune system from having my hands down sewer pipes all the time.
I recall surfing a flooded river reef in Indonesia, dark brown barrels. I was the only one that didn’t almost die.
Towards the end of my high school education I first heard the mantra “find something you love to do, and you’ll never work a day in your life”.
Over the past 20 years that has become one of the most overused self help cliches in existence, yours truly included. I spouted that dribble on auto pilot to anyone who dared ask my broke, over worked ass ‘what do u do for work?’ etc.
From my life experience though, I learnt that’s a fucking crock of shit- a lame excuse for not making any money and living below the poverty line.
If I could delorean back to 1996, i’d tell myself ‘do something that’s scalable and pays the most money in the least time, and you’ll set yourself up for life. Don’t worry about enjoying it- its fucking work’.
If I spent 5 years figuring that riddle out, by now I’d be fucking sailing.
Interesting take! I hope you’re wrong.
He’s not wrong, trust a broke surf shop owner…fml
he’s not. some work sucks more than others, but even a “dream job” becomes work once it requires your time and prevents you from doing other things.
Yeah the only people who say that and mean it are a) people who have become filthy rich and really only “work” at watching their employees make them more millions and b) fucking idiots.
to be fair to them watching other people work to make me millions would be one of the few instances in which that mantra would ring true.
Oi BeachShit you should’ve hired me to do travel articles I would’ve surfed the dawn patrol sesh and got coked out of my brain the night before. Double the action.
I for one am jealous that Australia has a functioning Middle Class!
Oh bless your heart you must be so young. The best job for the aspiring traveling surfer is having a spouse who has a good job with a high salary and benefits.
However, they tend to have quite a bit of input in choosing the destination. Being that they write the checks and all.
Find a kid who rips (preferably one who has just dropped in on you) and who has just been sponsored for many millions, seduce his mum, travel the world and stand in knee deep water yelling abuse at him. Also go surfing a lot yourself. DadGrit.
Marine Biologist or bud trimmer. Just depends on the IQ level
Male prostitute.