Remembering Arran Strong
Friends, family, and the surfing world remember a waterman who truly lived every day like it might be his last.
Last week, the Portuguese lifeguard federation disclosed that 75 people had drowned since the beginning of the year.
Most drownings barely make it beyond the local news.
Last Monday, a few group chats suddenly filled with links to the same news story, followed by a flood of “Was it Arran?” texts.
José Maria Pyrrait had set out on a journey along the roughly 830 km of coastline from the Minho river, separating Portugal from Spain in the north, to where the Guadiana river does the same in the south of the country.
Near the end stretch of the journey, he was joined by his former mentee, Arran Strong, whom he described as “like a son to me,” for a crossing between the beaches of Monte Clérigo and Carrapateira, on the country’s southwest coast.
As the pair paddled past Arrifana beach, Pyrrait, an experienced paddler, overtook Strong and gained some distance. As he reached the southern end of the beach, he “sat down and waited for him,” he told Correio da Manhã. “When I looked back, I only saw his board,” he continued. “I even thought he had jumped off for a swim.”
Pyrrait paddled toward the unattended board, floating roughly 100 to 150 metres away, and repeatedly dove beneath the surface searching for Strong.
“But we were in a really deep area and visibility was very poor,” he shared on a social channel where he documented his journey.
He immediately contacted his land support crew, who alerted emergency services. Pyrrait climbed aboard a passing 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 to search for Strong. The search began on Monday. Each evening it was suspended at nightfall before resuming in the morning. Strong’s body has still not been found.
Pyrrait believes Strong may have had an epileptic seizure, preventing him from calling for help. In 2018, Strong had suffered one that kept him out of the water for a year. Reacting to ill-advised conspiracy theories on an Instagram post about the incident, Justin West, a former coach of the British surfer, retorted: “Arran suffered a rare genetic disorder that meant he often surfed with a big wave life jacket as he sometimes blacked out in the water.”
The genetic disorder is known as Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, which increases the risk of lung and liver disease, including emphysema and cirrhosis. Strong had also been diagnosed with epilepsy following the 2018 seizure, another setback he learned to live with. Instead of seeing either condition as a hindrance, they seemed only to fuel his desire to become stronger and go all in on his professional surfing dreams.
Hawaiian prodigy Kalani David also had a genetic disorder that caused seizures, and in 2022 he suffered the same fate as Arran while surfing in Costa Rica.
Laura Crane, who met Strong after moving to Ericeira at 17, told Stab he rarely complained about his condition, choosing instead to approach life with relentless optimism and an almost stubborn refusal to slow down.
“He struggled with it for sure, but he always showed a brave face,” Crane said. “Arran Strong by name, and by nature.”
Strong logged water time like few others, and if you’ve spent any time surfing Ericeira, chances are you’ve paddled past him on days big, small, perfect, or terrible.
It was through surfing that he made many of his closest friendships.
Throughout the week, social media quickly filled with tributes from those friends who couldn’t believe this was how he went. On a placid summer day in the Atlantic.
In a heartfelt tribute, Pyrrait revealed that Strong had told him many times he believed he’d die young. “There remains only the faint consolation of knowing he passed away at sea, the place he loved most. He was very young. He had a pure, generous, and good heart.”
Crane told Stab Strong rarely spoke about those things directly, but looking back, she wonders whether he lived with an awareness that his time might be limited. “Now when you look at this moment, it does feel somewhat like that,” she said. “He knew time is finite for all of us… but he lived his life like that.”
Another close friend and Ericeira resident Gony Zubizarreta wrote: “Thank you for all the times you called me to go surfing when I didn’t feel like it, thank you for that unmatched energy you gave off, thank you for asking me so many things, and listening so intently. We’re going to miss you terribly, both in and out of the water.”
Crane credits Strong for changing the way she looked at life. “He was the person who inspired me to live every single day to the maximum. Anybody that ever met him was touched by that same incredible energy. You never saw him complain about what he was dealing with. He was the king of positivity.”
She said Strong had an uncanny ability to know when people needed him. “It was like he had this secret sense of knowing when people needed a little boost. He would always check up on me. Any difficult moment myself or my little brother had, Arran was always there to pick us up.”
She continued: “He respected everybody and everything he touched. Whether it was the ocean or the people he met, he never discriminated. It didn’t matter whether you were the guy looking after him in Morocco or a billionaire. He treated every single person exactly the same.”
On his relationship to the ocean, she added: “He was one of the most underrated surfers I’ve ever seen. When that kid was aligned, every wave was connected to him. He had a connection with the ocean like no one I’ve ever known.”
Former flatmate, loyal surf partner, and close friend Miguel Blanco wrote: “He was a special human who had a unique way of bringing everyone together.”
Crane also praised Strong’s mother, Shane, saying she never let his health stop him living the life he loved, and that she had been trying to stay strong for his friends in the days since his disappearance.
After publicly thanking Blanco for looking after and supporting her son through some of life’s more difficult moments, Shane wrote resolutely: “Now it’s time to pass on his love and zest for life. He surely lived it fully in his 27 years.”
Many others from across the surfing community contributed to the collective digital eulogy. Among those were Lucas Chumbo, Tom Lowe, Eithan Osborne, Marco Mignot, Lucca Mesinas, Koby Abberton, Natxo Gonzalez, Willian Cardoso, and a select few we leave here:
“A special soul.” — Tiago Pires
“Special human. Always with a smile.” — Leo Fioravanti
“Arran was a very good person. He will always be remembered.” — Yago Dora
“So sad to wake up and see this. I loved Arran and his positive energy. So happy I got to share some fun times with him in Portugal and Hawai’i. I can’t believe it. An inspiration to many. Will miss his classic accent and smile!!!” — Makai McNamara
“Nooooooo!!! Braa LOVE Arran frkn LOVE him. I’m sorry for this loss Miguel and family and friends and town. Surf angel✨💛🔱✨” — Mason Ho
“We lost one of the greats. He’ll be looking out for us now.” — Yolanda Hopkins
“Gonna miss you, Arran.” — Dane Henry
“Biggest legend around!!!! Always pushing the limit.” — Shane Sykes
“Rest in peace Arran.” — Jai Glindeman
On Saturday, August 1, just before midday, traffic in Ericeira came to a standstill as the Ribeira d’Ilhas parking areas reached capacity. More than 300 people, including friends, family, neighbours, acquaintances, and rivals, paddled out for one last goodbye to Arran Strong.
In one final, heartbreaking coincidence, the film Strong had spent years working on with Ricardo Pina was completed on the morning he disappeared. Laura told Stab he poured himself into the project over the last few years. “I’m devastated he will never get to see it.”
Not long ago, during one of the last swells before summer settled into Ericeira, I saw Arran Strong sprint paddling past me as a sizable set was marching towards us. It was late afternoon, grey, and glassy, but there were two different swells in the water creating weird refractions that reminded me of a drunk stumbling over to go spew in the corner.
One particularly mutant thing jacked up and pitched wide toward the rocks, already barreling when Arran swung his board around and airdropped into a foamy trough and pulled into a well-overhead salon.
I looked behind for a moment to see what became of the rest of the wave before the next one landed on my head.
To this day, I don’t know whether he made it out of that barrel.
Now I like to think he’s still in there.
At the Surface of the Sea
Blue Space!
Without Forest
Where one sways…
A Constructive Place
It Has a Clear Sky
This place is a line between the Sea and the Land, at the surface!
Below, there is Life,
Above, there are Stars — what I Am… a Star,
This Place is Peaceful and Serene
Here one can find a Balance between… the constant Motion of the Sea and the Life that exists beneath it…
Arran Strong, December 16, 2020
