British surfer goes missing during paddle boarding excursion off the Portuguese coast

A British professional surfer has gone missing during a stand-up paddle boarding excursion off the coast of Portugal.

Police and coastguards were continuing to search for 28-year-old Great Britain junior star Arran Strong on Tuesday after he vanished in the Atlantic Ocean near to the picture-postcard resort of Arrifana a short drive up from the Algarve.

The alarm was sounded just after 11.30am on Monday.

Overnight the friend Arran was out on the ocean with posted a heartbreaking farewell to the sportsman, who overcame health problems to fight to compete on the Olympic stage after his 2016 fifth-finish in the European Under 18s earned him an invitation to represent Great Britain at the WSL World Championship in Australia.

Jose Maria Pyrrait, who had been doing a 560-mile paddle boarding marathon along the Portuguese coast, wrote in his emotional goodbye publication to Arran, even though search and rescue teams haven’t given up on finding him alive: “Today was a day of irreparable loss and profound sadness.

“Arran Strong, who accompanied me during the stage between Zambujeira and Monte Clerigo, is no longer with us.

“Yesterday, during the stage that was to take us from Monte Clerigo to Carrapateira, he disappeared from his board while we were about a mile offshore from Arrifana.

“To sum it up, we stopped off Arrifana to drink some water and take a few photos.

“We stayed there for a few minutes talking, and when we set off 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 would stop and wait for him.

“This time was no different, but when I stopped to wait, I saw his board drifting about 100 metres away. I paddled to it as fast as I could, dived over and over again looking for him, but we were in a very deep area and visibility was extremely poor.

“I called my support partner on land, who immediately alerted the rescue services.

“ A local fisherman picked me up, along with the boards, and we spent nearly two and a half hours searching the entire surrounding area with the boat’s sonar. He remains missing to this day and, sadly, there is virtually no chance that he is still alive.

“Arran was like a son to me. Since he was 10 years old, he trained with me and spent weekends and holidays with me.

“As I used to tell his mother, he was like the child of divorced parents.

“My love for him was like the love for another son that life had given me.

“Strangely enough, he always told me he would die young. Right now, I feel a deep pain. The only faint comfort is that he departed at sea, the place he loved most.

“He was young, with a pure and kind heart, but he is gone. I feel empty and exhausted, but life goes on.

“I know he would never have accepted me stopping because of him.

“He was resilient like few others, so I will pause for a few days and, God willing, on Sunday, 2 August, I will resume the crossing- in mourning, but with Arran in my heart.

“For him, and for all the beautiful memories I have, despite the pain I carry with me, I will reach the end, if God wills it.

Rest in peace, my “son.”

Arran was born in the UK but had been based in Portugal for several years.

The accomplished surfer revealed in an old social post he was looking for sponsors for his “dream” of competing in the 2020 Olympics where he flagged up his acheivements in his younger years which included a fifth ranking in the 2016 European Juniors.

He overcame lifelong health problems after being diagnosed at three months old with a rare genetic disorder that can cause severe lung and liver disease. He used the clean ocean air as a natural form of respiratory therapy.

After suffering a severe epileptic attack in 2018 that forced him out of the water for a year, he used intense triathlon and ironman training to make a full competitive comeback.

He describes himself on his Instagram where he has nearly 7,000 followers as a “professional surfer living with rare disease Alpha-1 Antitrypsin and a surf coach".

He also has his own YouTube channel where he describes himself as Arran The Strong Man.

In 2017 he became an ambassador for the Happy Air Foundation, created by his mum in 2008 to help people with respiratory illnesses and their families.

At the time he said: “I want to help people overcome it and give them confidence that it is possible. I think it is important to raise awareness, so that people are not afraid to share their feelings or anything they have a problem with.”

He has confessed in the past: “The ocean is the place where I can forget all my troubles. It’s the freshest air, it’s good for your breathing, it’s calming and it’s healing for me to be surrounded by water.”

Maritime Police chief Hugo Bravo da Guia, captain of Lagos Port who is coordinating the rescue operation, said early on Tuesday: “The searches were resumed this morning.

“Our aim is to continue searching from land, sky and ocean, but the fog in the morning only allowed us to carry out land searches. We hope we can use more means as soon as the fog dissipates.

“We are still very much focused on finding him.

“Both friends were paddling along the coast. The wind was fine, the ocean was fine. Nothing in the weather conditions appears to explain a disappearance in such conditions, considering also their experience.”

A well-placed source added: “All the information gathered so far point to the possibility he had a health issue while paddling.”

Online records show Arran competed as a surfer in the 2025/2026 season, taking part in the Caparica Surf Fest 2025 and the Pro Taghazout Bay in Morocco.