February, 2008

It began in the kitchen with Ere. He was busy maestroing the menu and saw me looking. He ran through the options, then added:
Apu lai.
Whatever it

meant, it sounded good. And it was easy to say, so like everything on the boat, it spread. We were saying it to him and then the crew started saying it to us. Apu lai, my friend. The captain always added a boisterous laugh. At least he knew what he was saying. We asked and got various translations: What’s next? What else? What now? But it wasn’t a question anymore.
A-pu lai…
I probably haven’t even spelled it right. We must’ve been around Lance’s by then. Settled into paradise and warmed up on the first few days’ lefts. Steve wasn’t complaining. A goofy from Lennox, he’d been going right for so long he reckoned he had to re-programme his frontside. Seemed to get it pretty quick, riding some board that looked like it was made from a box of melted blue crayons and not foam.
“Deep” Pete had earned himself a nickname by then, going one up, deeper, closer to the reef, like he was at home and the bottoms were well-groomed sand. He left his booties hanging up as rail ornaments and collected scrapes instead. But he knew. He’d gone to a pharmacy in Padang before we left and, undaunted, spent most of the trip dabbed with the brown stains of some Chinese cure-all.
If only he’d bought something for the Sydney lurgy. It was starting to spread, dirty and virulent, uncaring that this was a serious surf trip we were on. Dexter had soldiered aboard with it and from there it skittled nearly everyone in turn, even the crew, “one by one”, as the grinning trinket salesmen repeated as he sat in the HTs channel. He wasn’t talking about the flu; he was waiting for a bite, either from the fish or us.
At least the bug was quick. And the Budyadahri - which, I was told, means angel - was a mercy of comfort. Vitamins. Panadol. Bed. Sudafed. It meant the Bintangs lasted longer than they might’ve.
Curtis, the sole American, managed to stay clear and got his game on at the rights. Those famous, drawing rights. Like a baseball player in his ubiquitous cap, equal to the equatorial sun, the lip and the avid reef.
Apu lai.
Anyone for raw heart? Steve didn’t have time to decide, still in his undies, 6 o’clock in the morning and pulling in a sizey yellow-fin. Every-ready Ere had the knife waiting but he wasn’t up for cooking, said there was a tradition that had to be followed. The heart was not long motionless when Steve put it in his mouth.
‘How was that?’ I asked him once he’d washed it down with mango juice.
‘I made the mistake of trying to chew it.’ The thought of the fish blood in his throat induced another bout of dry-gagging.
We were on the dawn run down to Macaronis, soon to be renamed Zacaronis after Zack, the world’s luckiest 14-year-old. Dexter had noticed the uncanny resemblance Zack bore to the boy on our water bottles, all curly hair and white-tooth smile. So he was also Zaqua and he had every reason to grin. Imagine being taken to the Mentawais when you’re 14? His t-shirt insisted Old Guys Suck, but he’d be hard-pressed to pan his Dad.
Who spent nearly as much time filming and editing as he did surfing. Well, not quite. “Cecil B. DeMille,” I heard him say. In training. But modern day: camera, laptop, and cords. You’d wonder if electronics weren’t now as much a part of a surf-trip as boards, wax and leggies. Rod wasn’t just looking at the counter on his camera, though, he tallied nine days that we had lineups to ourselves.
9 from 13. All thanks to Yu.
Me?
No, Yu.
Jokes that trite were smartly banned. Yu was quite the guide. Pete named him The Master. Hunkered on his haunches like some skinny monk in boardshorts, leading us to empty waves and describing them in three ways: Very shallow, very hollow, or very shifty. He’d roll his hands over into a tube. And his counsel was always this: “Go surfing!”
Green Bush… Thunders… Bloom…
Boom. “Durry” McMurray’s nickname is as obvious as a Cockney with a cigarette. He picked up a Stab mag on board and his speech got stubbed with its steez. Boom. For farksake, he surely blew up in the water. Like everyone, he was only getting stronger and keener as the days passed.
Stoked like the Sydney contingent. Chris and Dexter fine-tuning their turns, their barrelriding. Dave too, and getting to brush up his army skills so he could patch a few reef gashes.
Especially mine.
Apu lai, Mr Flour.
Ere christened me. Every meal he’d be scratching his head: a gluten-intolerant vegetarian? Mr Flour what the hell do you eat? But he handled it with a customary smile and served up first-rate plates. To keep us all fuelled and surfing. Fuelled and surfing.
Apu lai, my friend.
It was always going to be way too soon that we were back in the seedy swelter of the Padang canal; weary, almost hungover, thanking the crew, unloading our boards and wishing it were all beginning again.
Apu lai. What now? What’s next?
… Next year.

Nick Stanley, New Zealand, Rearding his late season 2007 trip

(for the record, "Apu Lai" means "Why not?") ;)

July, 2007

Indo had been pumping solidly for three months. Some of the guides were calling best ever. It had to have a rest at some stage. We were the in between trip, no doubt, but there's no way any of us saw anything but great surf everywhere we dropped the pick. This place pumps even when it's having a day off. The Ments, best most consistent waves on the planet!! With Yoda guiding, subsequently increasing my beer intake by twofold, we parked up at pumping offshore waves pretty much everyday. Very rarely where there any more then 10 people in the water. I would say the surf was crowded enough to make you want to jump in the speedboat twice the whole trip. Ht's, Macca's, Roxies, Rags left, Thunders, Bintangs, Beng Bengs, Nipussis, Pit stops, #$%%$#, #$#$#, ^**^&*^%, Bevo's rights and Bevo's lefts all fired. Indo pulsing, offshore perfection.

We started with the proverbial "campur" (indo for mixed), 4 aussie chicks, Kirsty leader of the Autobots "Optimus Prime", "Kerazy Kelly", Melissa "Megatron" the Decepticon and Junior, "No Veges" whackalot, 3 aussie world travelers, Joshy "60 meg", Stevo "Errol" and "Boyles aint Boyles" plus a real life G-inger, pronounce the G as in, Got to do this Got to do that "Too- too-baloopo" pommy geezer. Throw in a fat white'n'lazy ex surf guide "Me", a surf crazy Jedi knight with a recently fractured, not very, humerus, fine fellow and lord of the board "Bevo" (you may have heard of some of the waves named after him) and "Yoda" himself Yu the barrel riding Mentawai expert guide. Ooops can't forget "Keiko" wonderhands thai massager extraordinaire.

I tell you now the enthusiasm on this boat was at "defcon 1", that is, nuclear frothing all day all night. Even my best vindictiveness just brushed write off! No trip has ever matched these guys for group surf time!! Hyper amped freakos. If they were a hyper colour t-shirt it would be blazing orange with super sweaty armpits..so bright and gooey..it really would freak you out.

We started at Ht's. A great call as the wind was west for three days straight, meaning we were at the best surf in all the ments! Yes thankYu.......Hey you, no Yu... It was stinking hot and the surf pumped, although with a few wide ones. No one was complaining. Perfect 4-5, offshore all day, foot rights on offer. Megatron coped a small hiding. The good ol surgeons table ran it's fingers down her back on day two, taking some steam out of her sails. Being the charger she was she made an almighty comeback and managed a few barrels at Macca's later in the trip. Not before doing 50 chin-ups. why do I feel so weak. wake up man..

The next day started out the same. I took Tobes up to the right up the reef to surf alone and promptly blew me knee. I mean after a couple of seasons in the ments and a dozen more seasons in Indo you would think you could pull out the back of a 2 footer without a problem. But if your knee goes "pop" you know the stark reality, beer is your friend. (times 2 times 2).

We rocked up to Macca's and the first thing we notice, apart from perfect lefts, is no camp! Macca's camp, just like a Bali watch seller, bankruuupt. How good is that. Just a couple of boats sharing playful perfection.

Next stop, Bevo's rights. Now a reverse macca's to surf for the natural footers..yippee. Even inspired me to try out the knee, not before some pain relief..huh, what you say? The surf really was pulsing and I knew a trip to Bravo's was required. The new speedboat is so sick, anything is possible now. Too-too and I surfed ruler edged glassy lago perfection with about 3 other guys out. There were some real bombs coming through. I should know as I exploded on a lot of them. At one stage, at depth, I pressed up to a mushroom side on.new experience, that one.

There was a battle royal for the most time in the water between Too-too and Kirsty but alas the transformer won. Autobot out surfed everyone, the grommet of the trip!. She would surf all day everyday exactly what you would think you would do yourself but somehow didn't manage. Tobes ginger genetics and multiple reef contacts let him down. He later told me that he had left some DNA at every wave we surfed. What a sight covered head to toe with cuts and bruises, still smiling and charging. He may have enjoyed the highest endorphin levels of any human being on planet earth those two weeks...bastard.

Kell was fantastic on the boat and in the water never letting a moment go by without some seriously funny sarcasm. She oozed happy happy joy joy which made our moment, courtesy of a 21 gauge, even more satisfying..Thank you. You don't know how good that was.

Down to Bevo's favourite wave Bevo's left aka Thunders. Pretty much perfect size and angle. It was doing its wide then slide thing and if you took off at the spot barrels were on offer. Good thumpings too!! Here's some advice if it looks like you have to backdoor the barrel to make it you probably won't. Will someone please yell that via a megaphone directly into my brain, preferably just before said event. I think I felt sorry for me ol mate Bevo, trying to emulate his ride!!

We were on the cusp..about to descend to glory glory land but alas the surf gods had deemed our karma was not yet pure enough. When all was set...the call came through "Budei Utara" the dreaded north storm.a Sumatran, local low north wind and passing fronts. Problem is you never know how long for. This one lasted a mere 5 days. Back to macca's for some protection. It fired again!!

Ol 60 Meg, really out did himself. He pulled an amazing reverse Samson. Slater would have been impressed. Gone was the hair and out came the camera. Blasting megs everywhere you could look with reckless abandon. How stoked to have your own paparazzi at all angles. Autobot vs. Megatron photos coming soon.

Errol was ripping from day one and as the Romans did or is that do, he was ripping at least twice as hard on the last day. Too bad the transformers and Flynn were astral travelling from different time zones via the twilight zone. Almost magic.

No vege was deadset ridiculous. She was telling us all how she was glucose intolerant, all the while eating white rice, tomato sauce, apples and drinking coke. Oh, the youth of today! Lucky she was endowed with semi decent reflex genetics and could manage some performance hacks. In fact, I would have to say, in the end we surfed together alone in super fun rights and she was pulling multiple whacks on each wave. I even managed a couple myself, albeit with the accompaniment of a couple of good knee manipulations. A special moment indeed, saved me! Keiko..Keiko..wonderhands..wondergirl. One of the best manual therapists I have had the pleasure of rubbing my body..

Boyles you ol dog.. we should have started at beng bengs.c'mon mate straight to barrelling rights first day. Remember, death or glory!! Classic story teller, just whe you thought..whats up he would throw in an ol adventure story from his memory banks. Hope we added a few more mate.

Well, if your still reading this here is a few things you need to know. BD is the best bloody boat out there, so get on it and blow your own mind!!!!!.The ments guarantee's perfect surf. Where else can you go on a two week hol and be guaranteed to score?

Shello

Late May, 2007

(note while I don't edit the text of the skipper's stories, I do sometimes edit out the names of spots to protect our secrets, such as below)

gday all,

was pretty amazing for about 3 days, first huge day we tackled an offshore reef which was draining below sea level. id told the guys it was like a soft show-ya-poo with a right, which sounds stupid, but it is and was. some waves were unpaddleinable, more so than the biggest meanest **** we saw and they had tiny backs like ****.

the length and strength of the draggings underwater were incredible, the long smashing i got trying to back door the right was horrendous. i started to get near the panic stage and was spewing on the what the cigars had done to my lungs when i finally made it up for a gasp and a few seconds later my board shot up at me, it had been underwater the whole time, probably 25 second. id never seen that.

next day was even bigger, raw, water everywhere, about as high a tide as we get here, the wave from the day before, they dubbed “****” was a real world class tow in option, it was missing ****, **** was a no go. thats when the board got snapped at really good **** and we left early checking spots that dont normally have waves. places that dont see a ripple in most swells were twice overhead.

we pulled up at **** and it was jawdropping, like the right you see in timmy turners movie, but longer, more perfect, letting you out and then another section that was slabbing, but the outside was so far outside and it was just so perfect. super low tide going out, getting cleaner, bigger and better lower tide over the next few hours.

the first solid set that came thru i paddled for and had no hope, it didnt double up in a normal way, it did it in a softer, more perfect and easy way, but it sucked out so fast and hard i just got launched. i was in the air for a few seconds, then winded, then up and over a long long long way, that was scary, if i landed on my fins i would have had to be evacuated. then on the bottom of some deep water.

the swells were moving with such amazing force, speed, interval and strength amazing power

further up the line was a bit more possible to get into it and i got one really special one that i didnt think i would make and was probably the fastest ive ever been blown by spit. often its a violent explosion that hurts your eyes and just explodes, or pushes past you, lifts you up sometimes even strong enough to push you off, but this one was smooth as silk, yet pushed me faster than ive ever been in the tube.

it was really ruler edge, perfect offshore, everything just perfect. there was also 2 epic super high tide **** sessions, another day at this big right and then it sort of went back to its normal big swell range again.

back out tommorow and dont want to spend too much time on this computer so see ya all, the last one was saying 15 on buoyweather, the next is saying 13, blue skies scuzz

below is a comment from Jeffrey, one of passengers on this trip, about the mega barrel Scuzz got:

Hi Chris,

I was just reading your impressions of “The Laundromat” & that incredible wave you got @ **** on your web site. I still can’t believe what my own eyes saw when you took off on that behemoth @ ****….my jaw literally dropped as I paddled up the face of that mofo and thought to myself “no way Jose” that section is too long and he’s too deep…. then I went over the top of the wave and lost sight of you….I looked back over my shoulder and watched a 20 yard section come over and thought that tube must be as wide as it is tall and if anyone could make it, it be you….and then I saw Steve paddle over the wave and he had this look of wonder on his face and I just knew you’d made it……Dude….thanx for that moment and thanx for another great trip……see you next May!

December, 2006

Ok, so our skippers have been a little slow with the stories lately, but that’s because everyone has been busy with the last charters of the season, and busy preparing for the next. There will be many more photos uploaded soon, so be sure to check out our Photos page regularly. We’ll also be updating the Budyadahri page with more photos soon so you’ll get a much better idea of the improvements we’ve made and amenities we’ve added to that boat. We’ll also be adding a few new videos, so be sure to check out our Extras page.

In the meantime, we’d like you invite you to check out the good work of our friends Chanda and Ruby, who run “Holidays With Purpose” aboard the Indo Jiwa. You can find out a little more at http://www.holidayswithpurpose.com or http://www.leapin.org.

Thanks, and more soon!!

-SLAYER

Holidays with Purpose

A surf charter holiday with a difference…. surf the world class breaks of Lagundri, Asu, Bawa and other secret spots while making a positive and lasting impact on the lives of people in the area you are enjoying.

A Holidays With Purpose charter is designed to give you a unique experience to become part of a village community, not simply as a tourist observing, but as a member.
You will have the opportunity to build relationships as you work and play alongside of the local people.

By being a part of a project that is benefiting the whole community, the hearts of the people are opened to you will experience their lives as you never otherwise would.

Each day you will spend a few hours taking part in the LEAP community development project. You may be helping in a building project or making a water tank, helping to plant a garden or hosting children’s activities. In the evening you will return to the boat for a delicious meal and retire for the night in air-conditioned comfort.

Adam "AK" Kobayashi - August, 2006

(editors note: This is not your typical "Skipper Story" in the sense where we give you an update on the latest conditions and stories from our recent trips, but it gives a lot of insight as to who AK, one of our full-time guides, is, as well as who we are as a company. AK is also a very, very talented photographer, videographer and editor. You can see just a sample of his favorites, as well as a price list for his work, here. Lastly, as the photos (all of AK himself) that accompany this text show, AK is FAR from a kook. "Modest" is a better word. Enjoy the read - SLAYER)

G'day all ya'll! I should start by saying thanks for checking into the now legendary Sumatran Surfariis website, and what a site it is! For some of you, having a look here, is a chance to take your mind back to a trip/adventure of a lifetime, remember and almost feel what it was like to be in Indonesia living your dream. For others it may be the starting point for your journey, a prelude of a dream soon to come true...

Scuzz asked me to write this in hopes that our old friends, new friends and soon to be friends could get a glimpse into my own personality, my experiences and what Indonesia and Sumatran Surfariis means to me. I guess the best way would be to tell you how I got here in the first place and why I am still here now 6 years later...

Coming from Southern California, "The Valley", trying to be as "cool" as I could possibly be, at around 20 years of age, I decided that I wanted to be a "surfer". I went to the surf shop and got the latest and greatest equipment that I would need to get on with becoming a surfer...not a doubt in my mind that I'd be the next "Kelly Slater" and for sure the "coolest" guy in town (not many people really surf where I'm from), this would for sure get me chicks, ya know!? So I make the one hour drive into Ventura with visions in my head of "ripping" and smoothly jumping straight into the life of a "surfer." Upon reaching the only break that I really even knew about I remember how instantly humbled I was by the whole experience...sparing you the obvious details of what a kook I actually was (still am really), I don't think I even came close to catching a wave. However, one magical thing did happen on that day...as I was leaving the waters edge with what little ounce of pride I had left, I recognized a kid properly surfing his way down the line and even pulling of a few good turns, fully knowing what he was doing and seemingly well in control...the magic was, to my surprise, I recognized him from school, he too was from the valley...I thought to myself, "if he could do it, then I could do it," instantly the thought of being "Mr. Joe Cool surfer" came back into my mind. When he got out of the water, I initiated a good chat and he agreed to "show me around" and teach me what he could about surfing and the ocean. An already long story short, we made the two hour round trip drive from the valley to the beach almost every single day for an entire year and on one of those long drives came up with the wild idea of going to Indonesia...instantly beginning to dream of getting barreled all day long and taking our surfing to the next level.

Which brings us to May 2000, my friends, including Mat (my young guru and now best friend) and myself were on the other side of the world. Instantly I fell in love with the adventure of travel, the Indonesian culture and the whole idea of being on a boat motoring around Mother Ocean. Two days and one radical night later I found myself on the boat, mesmerized by the abundant stars and the sweet rhythm of the ocean.

It only took that one first session for me to realize what I had really gotten into...the waves were different here and to be honest the Indian Ocean power scared the shit out of me. I was still having the time of my life although being a little disappointed in myself for not being able to surf the way I had envisioned. There was so much besides the waves that captivated me...the nature all around, the tranquility of living on the sea, the Indonesian people and just the eye opening sights of a world completely opposite to the one I lived in back home. Then there was THE day, a day that would change my life for good...

We awoke at Bawa (the wave Tom Curren surfs in "The Search", the one that's just like sunset beach), ya that wave, and it was pumping. Full Bawa Power, pumping by anyone’s standards. I paddled out on my biggest board, shitting myself at the mountains of water seemingly trying to destroy me. I dodged waves for about an hour before Mat came out to join me. As usual, Mat paddled right out and into one of the big set waves I'd been trying to avoid for the life of me. After seeing that I knew I had to try and get at least one...paddled up and over the next two and turned to have a crack at the third...I didn't even come close, tossed by the lip, coming up gasping for air and even better, a brand new board now in two pieces. On one hand I was relieved to have a good reason to go back to the boat and on the other hand I was shattered, this was not what I had pictured in my mind. Very soon after, the wind switched, the swell was getting way out of our league and each set kept getting bigger then the last...the anchor was pulled and we headed to Asu about an hour away where the wind would be offshore.

I'll never forget coming around the corner of that island...it was big, angry, the "nuke zone" was mindblowingly perfect (ending on dry reef) and the waves were literally spitting and growling. OK, give me a break, the guys that were out looked like little stick figures against the backdrop of ALOT of water coming down behind them...one by one the surfers on our boat paddled out for a crack at it and one by one they came back either bloody, scared or both. I watched this all from the top of the boat, in my own little space, telling myself for hours, that I could do this, that I didn't come here for nothing.... but the waves just got bigger and bigger and eventually the sun became low in the sky. Finally I decided that I'd paddle out just to get a closer look and be a bit closer to such an amazing energy I had never seen before.

Even fearless Mat hadn't paddled out yet but he joined me and of course paddled straight towards the peak. Shit you not, I was sitting about a football field on the shoulder, embarrassingly far from the takeoff spot and that of course is when the wave of the day came in! As far away from the others as I was, I still had to paddle like I had never paddled before, sure the wave would break on my head and near panic...one guy yelled "WE'RE GOING TO DIE," maybe that was his sick way of dealing with the fear but I didn't think it was even kind of funny. I barley made it under the lip, the only one, the rest caught inside, boards "tombstoneing", some of them broken. I paddled as fast as I could to the boat, my heart still in my throat, not even knowing what to think. I went straight back up to the roof of the boat where nobody could see me...I was crushed, defeated. I vividly remember thinking to myself that I was done with trying to surf, at that point, that moment, I did not think I was cut out for surfing, I didn't want to ever surf again. OK with my decision, I grabbed a Bintang and watched the sun begin to disappear below the horizon. Then something inside of me changed, I began to think about where I was and how special the whole journey had been and I realized that I wouldn't be there if not for surfing. I decided, right then and there, I was going to dedicate a good part if not all of my life into surfing...one day if I kept trying and trying, I'd be able to surf the waves I saw breaking that day.... I was beautifully determined with a whole new outlook on "my new path!"

I didn't actually get a real barrel that first trip but I really didn't let it bother me. I saw kids with nothing, adults with nothing (by western standards) but still so full of love, joy and seemingly at peace with themselves. This among many things had gotten ahold of me and changed my life.

I booked a trip for the same time, same place, same boat the following year. Every day leading up to that next trip was spent trying to improve my surfing and fitness, getting in the water at every possible chance. Slowly but surely I was getting more comfortable in the ocean and was confident this next trip would be different.

This time we had Scuzz as our guide, a new really great friend Will, some crazy mad chargers from Oz and a few other good men. That trip was possibly the most amazing trip I've had, even now (6 years later), the swell pumped for 24 days straight. It was the first time I got to see Scuzz in his element, always being at some new magic spot and getting endless amounts of tubes with the other two Aussie chargers. This time around I got a few barrels and actually got good waves at both Bawa and Asu (which was a huge personally victory). There were times when I was scared, didn't want to paddle out or take off on a set wave but Scuzz and the boys weren't having it...they literally made me go and each and every time I was happy that they did. Looking back, we scored every wave that to this day, I still call my favorites! As much as the surfing on that trip had an impact on my life, Scuzz had an equally large impact...I admired his love for life, his affinity for adventure, the path he had taken and what he did to get where he was and of course his amazing surfing.

I couldn't leave, simple as that, I just couldn't. Both Scuzz and Will made it possible for me to go out on the next trip to the Mentawais. By the end of that trip I knew that I wanted to be a surf "guide" but not just any surf guide...a Sumatran Surfariis surf guide, this was now my dream and there just wasn't anything else in the world I wanted to do more.

Now August 2006, I've been on more trips then I can even count and learned from the best. Scuzz, Aki, Christina, Yu and some of the other old salts had taken this kid from the valley under their wings...I couldn't ask for a better circle of people to learn from and I know call them family. All of the people I've met along the years out here have had something to offer, taught me lessons and truly inspired me in ways to huge to explain. Simply put, I believe that have the best job in the world. And when I thought it couldn't get any better, this season rolled along...the waves have been insane, especially lately and the guests I've been lucky enough to have on board have been not only fun to be with but many have become life long friends.

To those of you reading this whom have been out with me before, thank you for being a part of what Sumatran Surfariis has become and for those of you on your way out here...welcome to one of surfings greatest families!

So, that's that...I've rambled enough (imagine that, ha) so I'll leave you with a few of my favorite photos you may or may not already seen...a little glimpse into my time out here.

SCUZZ - July, 2006

We are at the end of July now and the last two months have been a lot more like the Indian Ocean we know. Besides a couple of strong northwest badais that came thru and kept everyone on their toes, the weather has been calm and friendly.

The Rincon Elders came back on SOUTHERN CROSS with a few of the guys now having done well over 100 days on our boats. We started with a couple of small days and a new wave. The swell then kicked in and the last 2 weeks of the trip had solid clean waves. We surfed alone in all places but one, where we shared shifts with the Mango in what was a really cool effort by both boats and what it should be like out here. I'm not going to give too much away, but we had a huge variety of great waves, lefts and rights, long and hollow, beautiful settings, stand up tubes, beautiful sunsets, a few fish, and 10 cases of Corona that really added to the experience.

The new tender has allowed us to really roam and we again found a great wave with some of the guys claiming it their best and all getting tubed. The guys said it was one of the best ever and these guys have a May trip every year for the last 6 or 7. We also had a father/son team that was great. We’ve had about 12 father son groups this year so far and its really good to see the bonding and the stoke.

Next trip was a group of Vicco grommets, the youngest at heart being 69 and a full charger. These guys had come before and had scored the smallest June trip I can remember. This time it was solid first day and triple overhead the next few. We never had anything even close to head high, it all being well over. A few of the guys were on skis and the Indo waves gave them a beating with the guys really pushing it. Belt boxes were ripped out continually, boards were dinged, bodies were beaten. The guys really had a good go. We stayed away from anything too shallow and so we were surfing a lot of big powerful deep-water waves. We also had a go at a couple of hollow ones and I snapped a favorite board in a place that was the best I've seen it, serious stand up tubes on some running down a great new reef.

Again we surfed alone at all but 1 place. Didn’t do so good on the fishing, but had amazing weather and a really good time. Our 69-year-old legend smashed his head on his board on a triple overhead set and ended up with 8 stitches in his head. He was back in the water a few days later and along with half the boat, spent one night in Singapore and then on to a boat trip in the Maldives, inspirational. We also had an award-winning journalist on board who is doing a story on the garden at Bawa and the efforts of Sumatran Surfariis and Woodleigh School to give this island a hand in regrowth and adding to the health of the locals.

We visited the garden and distributed some clothes a friend of ours at Insight donated. It was a great day and everyone got a good feeling from seeing what has been achieved so far. This spate of very friendly nice weather I keep talking about has been dry and the gardens wells have become very empty. This is just another learning process we go thru with the garden and our team of local Bawa friends have done well to plant seedlings along the shade lines and under the banana trees. There are now signs up around the island to direct you to the garden and many of the locals have made gardens around their houses with pig proof fences and some of the seeds our guests and our friend Birdie have been sending over. More big thanks to Woodleigh, Clean Ocean and Insight.

On both these trips Aki sent the guys home with hundreds of high quality photos. He is an amazing photog and captures the trip in a way that will stay with the guys forever.

At the same time the SOUTHERN CROSS trip was running, we had one of these guy’s brothers and his sons, and another great return guest of ours Rod and his sons, on SARANYA. They went to the Ments and also had a trip full of swell and calm friendly weather. Chad told us they were the best group he had ever had and the guys were stoked on the boat, crew and waves they got. A few days they had to travel around the corner as the exposed waves were heaving standup barrels.

AK has been on the MIKUMBA and scoring in a huge way. They have been traveling all over the place and all reports from our long-term guests onboard are rave reviews. The last trip AK took a few returns, one being a fellow Patagonia friend who called it the trip of his life and raving so much, the 3 Malloy brothers a few more of our friends at Patagonia booked straight on for a trip this august. Again I’m not going to go into detail about where we surfed, but it was day after day of overhead perfect lineups with no one around, barrels, speed walls, beautiful settings and just your mates hooting, Ovi on land filming and AK taking photos with his 18 mega pixel camera. Lefts and rights and very happy sunsets on the top deck.

Aki is now on MIKUMBA for the next month and will be doing its changeover in Sibolga and exploring further a field. Word from Aki is that so far the guys have had great waves every day.

Shello is back and has done the last three trips on BUDYADAHRI, taking over from Yu, who has been on Mikumba recently and is back on BD now. The BD guys have been surfing the Ments and the word so far this year has been a really good vibe and protocol in the water, great to hear and again how it should be. The guys have the normal stories of all the waves we know going off, lots of barrels and a few waves we don’t talk about doing their thing as well. See Shello’s update for more details.

I’ve spent the last two swells out at Aloita resort. We now have a jet ski there and have been getting into this. A few of our Padang friends from some of the other boats all came out for the first swell and while it was possible to paddle into most of the waves, we all had a go at being slung in behind the peak. Everyone was stoked on the resort, on our Aussie chef Tim's cooking and the overall vibe there. It is a great place. Our trip out there was on the new resort speedboat Michelle. She does 40knots and can make the island in 2 hours from Padang. We made it from the river to be on the pier in 3, stopping for a few things and not pushing her as hard as she can go. We have 2 200hp on the back and she can make Lances right in less than an hour and The Playground in half an hour on some days.

The last swell was the biggest of the year so far for us and I went out alone to tow with Matt, our Aussie surf guide on the resort. The swell built fast and raw and we surfed a left that’s just a bit fast and shifty to paddle into successfully. Running down the line with the ski allowed us to let go behind the peak of some 250 meter speed walls, some up to 3 times overhead. The next day the swell peaked and cleaned up and we surfed this long left, another heavy right where I kicked out of one to cop 15 waves on the head and snap a leggie, and The Ice. The ice was insane, big thick and powerful, waves that you could paddle into, but only the best ones. This was where the ski really put us into some critical situations. On a 6`0 board with just the back foot strap, it took a lot of the challenge and skill out of surfing solid waves but allowed us to catch many waves and really start to play with some serious power.

It was all fun and games until we got caught behind a section or clipped by the lip and then it was a real wake up call to be hurled underwater doing somersaults over a shallow reef. A major level of fitness is needed. We will be taking guests out to tow in certain circumstances as we have the good fortune of a few waves that are not surfed by boats. We wont be towing in to anything that is being surfed and waking out the lineup or taking the beauty of the area away with a noisy machine - that’s a high priority.

We had some Italian divers at the resort as guests while I was there and they had dived the world. They were calling the stuff they saw Top 10 in the world and just raving on about it. So if you have a partner who also likes to dive and wants to spend some time in a beautiful place, this is it.

We have some weather here right now and some unusual swell forecasts for the next week, before what could possibly be another very solid swell.

Empty lineups, tropical barrels and warm sunsets...

- Scuzz

Sheldon - July, 2006

Moments of Mentawai Madness

One minute your sucking pints in your guts in old London town the next your sucking a last gasp of air as a couple of tons of Indian Ocean grunt is about to implode on your head - welcome to the Mentawais. Day 1 and the Ice is delivering 8-foot sheet glass perfection. Most were calling best waves of their lives.

On board we had the Lone Californian and a bunch of sheep lovers mostly residing in the UK with a few from the long white cloud itself. These boys had some serious good karma as we cruised through the Ments scoring pumping waves and perfect sunshine everyday and hardly a boat. No bullshit, like Moses parting the water the BD ruled everywhere we went. The few boats that were there magically pulled anchor and moved on or simply watched.

Up to Playgrounds for super fun in the sun. The natural footers went snap happy at the wave machine. Macca scored a nice trevally popping off Treasure Island and everyone generally settled into the Mentawai dream: good surf, warm water, sunshine and hanging with ya mates. Lances supplied the only missing ingredient: barrels, and a few scored their own PB. Following we had pulsing west swell Maccas for 2 days, no boats and only the camp boys who all divinely came down with a mystical virus. The only hole they saw was their dunny bowl.

By now the boys were as surf saturated as can be and a monumental piss up ensured, but not before a few half pissed punters and myself had a 10pm front lit full moon barrel fest. Eddie the cook also got in on the action riding the new rubber duck through the line up throwing down a floater on a small set wave.

Time to move on. A gigantic giant GT ate our Rapala and feed the masses. More perfect sunshine and offshore 6-8 foot waves for 3 days alone, again. It sounds too much and it was with everyone having a day off to rest frazzled adrenal glands and dopamine receptors.

And so it was surf, eat, Bintang, sleep. For two weeks the placed simply pumped. Our happy campers scored consistent great waves. We just rocked up early and surfed all day. How good was that!!

-Shello