WRITTEN BY Lyndsay Harper
Rachael Tilly shares how a Baja surf trip became the reset that fueled her third WSL win.
Baja has a way of stripping things back. Away from civilization. No crowds, no schedule, no pressure. Just the rhythm of the tides, the relentless sun, and a stretch of coastline that quietly demands your attention. For Rachael Tilly, three-time WSL World Champion, a few days in Baja became something more than a surf trip. It was a rare pause before the season ahead, shared with a group of women from different backgrounds and approaches to life. With no pressure beyond catching waves and watching the tide, the trip became a reminder of why surfing—and the community around it—matters in the first place.
Rachael arrived in Baja fresh off an ISA World Championship title in Surf City, El Salvador, where she claimed gold on a custom Josh Martin hand-shaped board after a week of graceful nose rides and sweeping turns. The WSL season was coming up quick, but before the jerseys, heat times, and nonstop travel kicked back in, she was craving a reset. Even as one of the most consistent longboarders of her generation, the mental weight of an always-on competition schedule has a way of adding up.
She'd never been to Baja, but the promise of uncrowded waves and getting fully off-grid had always intrigued her. Team Free Fly's Emi Erickson—a big-wave surfer based on the North Shore—was already familiar with the area, often heading to Mexico's big-wave spots to train during Hawaii's flat spells. Around the same time, a crew of Free Fly anglers was planning their own Baja mission. So, we jumped at the chance to send everyone down there and document all of it—surfers, anglers, photographers, and filmmakers getting together for a rare overlap of worlds.
After recruiting surf photographer Christa Funk and filmmaker and diver Nicole Gormley, the surf crew was officially locked in. The plan was to hit the East Cape for a few days of chasing swell before linking up with the angler crew for a rowdy rendezvous. As the women arrived in Baja—flying in from different corners of the world—it was immediately clear that each of them brought their own unique energy to the trip. The group had only met once or twice before. Different personalities started to take shape in the group chat in the weeks leading up, and five days off-grid together would certainly be interesting.
The Crew
Rachael brings a sense of levity and ease, not unlike her signature style on a longboard.
"I love having fun and making people laugh—that's definitely a role I try to play. Keeping the positive vibes up and living life with a lot of joy is something I strive for," she tells us.
There's Emi—equal parts fire and focus. She brings a quiet sense of direction shaped by years of big-wave training and time spent in serious water. As an athlete at the peak of her career, she's dialed into taking care of herself and listening to her body. While she usually seeks out waves of consequence, she still has plenty of fun chasing down smaller swells.
Christa Funk, camera always in hand, flips effortlessly between lighthearted energy and laser-focused creativity. When she's in the water shooting some of the world's biggest waves, her athleticism and concentration are unmatched. But when she's on land, she's endearingly playful, injecting laughs into every conversation.
And if you've ever met Nicole Gormley, then you're familiar with her permanent smile, and calm, grounding presence. As a filmmaker and storyteller, she's incredibly observant and brings a reassuring warmth into every situation. She has an easy way of turning strangers into friends, and really rounded out the group.
Flow State in the Desert
Mornings started before sunrise. Coffee was brewed in the dark. The group shuffled toward the beach around 4:00 AM everyday to catch first light over the East Cape. They surfed early before the heat set in. Then came a reset—back to the house to cool off, a dip in the pool, a moment in the AC. The days were dictated by tide and temperature rather than time.
On their first full day, they went out for a sunset session to find pretty flat conditions—not what they'd hoped for, but hard to be disappointed with an empty beach, 80-degree water, and a dramatic sun hanging low on the horizon. Slowly, almost on cue, the waves began to pick up. The women paddled out one by one. Just the four of them out there as the sky shifted into an otherworldly wash of color. The waves were perfect, the lineup was empty, and the energy shifted. No rush. No pressure.
"We all knew, while it was happening, that we were in a really special moment," Rachael says. "We were all so present. It was kind of a coming-together moment. We found our flow with each other."
After trading waves till dark, they came in for dinner and a bonfire on the beach.
"By the end of the night, everyone had found one-on-one time with each other," Rachael tells us. "We discovered so much common ground. We all share a deep passion for our craft, and that translated really effortlessly into a mutual respect and an exciting dynamic."
Daily Rhythms
As the days passed, the trip fell into a nice rhythm. Surf, rest, surf. Finding joy in simple things: a clean nose ride, a shared wave, a nap on the beach. The conditions varied, but it didn't matter. Expectations fell away.
Each woman brought her own approach to the day, and those energies began to complement one another. Emi's focus kept things moving with purpose, while her adrenaline-fueled, big-wave side came out on the dusty roads—whipping into turns like an F1 driver. Both Nicole and Christa's skills came fully into focus when the group went for a dive—both holding their breath for minutes at a time, calmly swimming through reefs, capturing beautiful photos, and rarely coming up for air. Meanwhile, Rachael kept it lighthearted on the waves and during the in-between moments—making friends with plenty of roadside donkeys and wild dogs.
"It felt really rare. Everyone showed up as themselves, and there was so much respect for that. By the end, it didn't feel like a trip—it felt like a crew."
Between surf sessions and exploration, something clicked. After just a few days, the group felt less like a collection of individuals and more like a unit. Comfortable. Loose. No walls.
"Even though we didn't get a ton of swell, it was some of the most fun I've had surfing this year. It was all about the company and the rhythm that we had with the beach, the setup, and each other."
The Whole Point
For Rachael, the timing couldn't have been better. With the WSL season coming up quick, Baja offered a reminder that connection and joy aren't distractions from performance—they're essential to it. Stepping into competition from a place of fullness rather than fatigue changed the way she approached the months ahead.
Soon after returning, she'd go on to do exactly that—battling through six straight heats to claim her third WSL World Title. And she couldn't be more grateful. Even at the highest level of surfing, success isn't only built on discipline and drive. Sometimes, it starts with stripping things back—finding your rhythm, your people, and remembering why you fell in love with the water in the first place.
