27-Year-Old Professional Surfer Arran Strong Goes Missing During Long-Distance Stand-Up Paddle In Portugal
“He was like a son to me,” wrote José Maria Pyrrait, who joined him on the journey.
60-year-old José Maria Pyrrait is an emblematic figure in Portugal’s surfing community and one of the few people to surf Ribeira d’Ilhas on the appropriate craft (a SUP).
He’s into the long-distance paddle game, and he recently set out on a mission from Portugal’s northern border with Spain, around the country’s Atlantic coastline, to where it meets Spain again in the south.
Arran Strong, a Spanish-born British surfer based in Ericeira, was joining Pyrrait for a stretch of the journey on the country’s southwest coast. Strong was a fixture at Europe’s heaviest slabs, its crappiest beachbreaks, and on the Qualifying Series.
Yesterday, according to Portugal’s National Maritime Authority, a paddler later confirmed as Strong ran into “difficulty” while attempting the stretch between Monte Clérigo and Carrapateira, a rugged 17 km-ish section of coastline on Portugal’s southwest coast. The alarm was raised at 11:33 AM local time after Pyrrait reported him missing roughly a mile offshore.
Pyrrait shared his account of the incident on social media, explaining that the pair had stopped off at Arrifana to drink water and take photos before continuing south. As was their routine, he allowed Strong to paddle ahead before intending to catch up.
“When I stopped to wait, I saw his board drifting about 100 metres away,” he wrote. “I paddled as fast as I could to get there, diving repeatedly looking for him, but we were in a really deep area and visibility was very short.”
He immediately contacted his land support crew, who alerted emergency services. Pyrrait climbed aboard a local fishing boat with both boards before spending over two hours searching the area.
Portuguese authorities deployed lifeboat crews, Maritime Police, firefighters, drones, the SeaWatch project, and a Portuguese Air Force aircraft throughout the day. The search was suspended at nightfall on Monday and resumed Tuesday morning.
Strong had been diagnosed with Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency at the age of three, a genetic disorder that can increase the risk of lung and liver disease, including emphysema and cirrhosis. Those who knew him often mentioned that his attitude in heavy waves made his exploits all the more impressive.
In an emotional tribute, Pyrrait described Arran as “like a son to me,” saying the pair had trained and travelled together since Arran was ten years old.
EN: Today was a day of irreparable loss and deep sadness. Arran Strong, who accompanied me during the leg between Zambujeira and Monte Clérigo, is no longer with us. Yesterday, during the leg that would go from Monte Clérigo to Carrapateira, he disappeared from his board when we were about a mile off Arrifana. In short: we stopped off Arrifana to drink water and take some photos, we were there for a few minutes chatting, when we started again, I let him go ahead. As my pace is faster, I always did that, when I caught up with him and gained a short lead, I stopped and waited for him. This time was no different, but when I stopped to wait, I saw his board adrift about 100 meters away. I paddled as fast as I could to get there, I dove countless times looking for him, but we were in a very deep area and the visibility was very poor, I asked my partner on land for help, who automatically activated the rescue resources. A local fisherman picked me and the boards up, and we spent nearly two and a half hours scanning the entire surrounding area with the boat’s sonar. He is still missing, unfortunately with virtually no chance of being alive. Aran was like a son to me, since he was 10 years old, he trained with me and spent weekends and holidays with me, as he told his mother, he was like a son of divorced parents. My love for him was like another son that life gave me. Curiously, he always told me that he would die young. At this moment I feel a deep pain, the faint consolation remains that he left at sea, a place he loved so much. He was young, he had a pure and good heart, but he’s gone. I feel empty and tired, but life goes on. I know you would never accept me stopping on your own; you were resilient like few others. So, I’m going to stop for a few days, in principle on Sunday, August 2nd. I’ll resume the journey, in mourning, but with Arran in my heart, and for him and for all the beautiful memories I have, and despite the pain I carry with me, I will reach the end, God willing. Rest in peace, my “son.”
Our thoughts are with Arran’s family, friends, and everyone involved in the search. We’ll provide further updates as more information becomes available.
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