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JULY, 2008 An
Intimate Look at The Young Buns: Sumatra 2008 1)
Mr. Predictable (MP) WM receives a Sharpie unibrow at Coffee Bean in Singapore airport before TYB have even fully gathered from their respective flights into Orchard Tower Airport. WM awakens to a gaggle of cute Japanese girls laughing and pointing at his beautiful new look; a unibrowed hard-core Kelly's Cove local donning an old green shirt reading "Feather River '87" is timeless comedy. TYB arrive in Padang safely with all board bags gathered and in the possession of our trusty Indonesian crew from Sumatran Surfariis. At the Hotel Batang Arau, TYB consume beer and food while catching up and bantering pre-boat launch surf trip topics ("Banter" also happens to be the name of a certain YB's gay Jack Russell back in the States). Matt George hovers somewhere in the background plotting his next cheese ball drama for whatever ridiculous surf related project soon to be released into surfing's mainstream media. Most of TYB get massages down the alleyway from the hotel. Most of TYB get more than massages. Names of these participants will be omitted as to not incriminate any members of TYB. Anyhow, heavy rains and tidal issues delay the departure of the Southern Cross and TYB don't leave "Port" at the typical 8 PM departure performed in previous trips. TYB eventually are off and running around 3AM. The trip has commenced. Scarred brains are now in the not-so-distant future. Swell is predicted to be giant this first day, followed by 2 more significant swells over the duration of the next 13 days. MP has come through again, further proving the deal he made with the devil was indeed legitimate. Day 1 TYB arrive at Hollow Trees around 3 pm. The swell is big and HT's is solid 2x overhead with bigger sets. The wind is slightly onshore and the swell is a little too south to create the long "office" barrels that are often seen in "name your video"… It
is common knowledge that Moorpark is a hotbed of surfing talent. SM is
no exception when discussing this area strewn with elite world-class watermen.
SM must have been really jet-lagged. SM loses his board following an uncharacteristically
nasty wipeout. SM is swiftly escorted by walls of whitewater onto the
"Surgeons Table". SM realizes SPTG is next to him sharing a
similar situation following his own wipeout; the difference being SPTG
has managed to not lose his surfboard. SM loudly yelps out "I am
tombstoning" and latches onto SPTG's board in what looks like a panic
driven attempt to save himself from a perceived impending death. SM and
SPTG are washed over the Surgeons Table into the lagoon. Neither party
is injured and SM survives! WM
breaks his "go to" shortboard. This surprises none of TYB… Note:
Earl from Novato, to our amazement, surfs for 7 hours straight: www.earlseyes.com Equipped with beers, MP and myself go fishing with Eddie around 6:45 AM. We return with 2 nice sized Trevally and one Barracuda. TYB surf very fun 7 Palms all morning. Fun, barreling/ripable peaks that felt like a beach break. 6-8 foot faces on the sets. This afternoon TYB hang out Aloita Island resort. TYB play ping pong, drink, smoke, get massaged, stand-up paddle, surf the internet and relax in a tropical paradise. A beats me at Ping Pong. WM beats me at Ping Pong. PS offers me to drink someone else's cold coffee. I take him up on his deceitful generosity….thanks again PS! DH is chilling and soaking it all in. To no one’s shock and awe, TM is smoking hash and popping enough Larazepan to make an elephant collapse. Day
4 Moving on….. Day 5 TYB awake to a lovely looking 4-6 ft line-up at Scarecrows. Reeling lefts with a few barrel sections. The reef is far off of the island; a cloudbreak of sorts. A few boats are closing in on the horizon and the SC quickly departs and ferries TYB back to 7 Palms. Swell direction has changed and it is a tad bigger than last time. Palms is less peaky and more shallow/dangerous. At one point during our session, STPF decides to get on all fours over dry reef and let a surge of white water hit him, resulting in meat ground feet and knees! In the arvo, TYB head back to Scarecrows. An hour before dark, the place really turns on and the line-up clears out some. This evening TYB get rather intoxicated. I wake up with "GT" written in blue sharpie on my forehead with a flattering, thick blue unibrow compliments of PS…..I think? Day 6 TYB are hung over today. Buffaloes is about 15 foot on sets (faces) Ho Brah! Fun waves, but more of a readjusting/transition day for TYB. DH gets multiple long tubes of crunchy chocolate snacks wedged in his hair while reading/daydreaming about Vee necks and the good ol' days at Indochine. SM talks a lot on the phone pretending to be a business man. PS is on Sat phone checking in on his 14 year old girlfriends back in the Bu'. A is watching ZooLander by himself again?!?! WM is having flash backs to the days of Keira Knightely, when love was all but lost at sea….. Day 7 TYB wake up in the Southern Telos to one of surfing's most frustrating combos…big swell and bad winds. The SC motors north for 3 hours. DB pulls through again and we end up at Slayers and Monkeys by mid-morning. Perfect conditions. No boats. Slayers isn't really a surf spot according to DB. It is a mutant of a wave. Long, heaving barrels which break surprising close to the beach for an Indo wave. Slayers is a very shallow wave with a very sharp reef. It has no shoulder or guaranteed exit. PS, MP, TM, WM and myself all have a go for a few hours at Slayers, while the rest of TYB surf perfect Monkeys down the point. Sets at Slayers were spaced about 10 minutes apart; the perfect amount of time to regain our nervousness from our previous waves' semi-built up confidence. Sets were big enough to make us really think twice before elevator dropping over the ledge. All takers at Slayers come back to the boat with some great tube time and reef markings. *True to form, PS aka "Mr. Casual/lazy", lets himself get axed at the end of a beautiful/makeable beast of a wave photographically documented by SPTG. More coffee PS. More coffee! Monkeys, I assume, is named in part due to all the rowdy primates shaking the jungles' pre-historic vines at the shores edge. SM and PS head into the beach at Monkeys for some alone time. They disappear into the jungle and TYB now begin to understand why the Caballero's family tree has no branches. 2nd session at Monkeys is super fun. DH is loving life on PS's XTR pod, while the rest of TYB get wave after wave for hours on end. Lucky for TYB, we all get detailed descriptions of WM's waves. WM:
"Dude, did you see me blow my tail out 8 times in a row on that last
one?" Scary tubes and WM's blow tail clinic pretty much sum up this perfect day in paradise. Day 8 The Rasta guy from Brazil named "Mario" owns the land camp at Rollins. Today is the best he has seen it all summer season. Sets are approximately 8-12 foot on the face. It is heavy and shallow as usual. The wave out the back is also doing what it does when it's good! TYB are off their rockers, as Rollins is one of TYB most favorite waves in the whole wide planet!! All TYB get great tubes for breakfast, lunch and afternoon. * 2 "Campers" vibe out on myself and WM after an all but a passing mention of "Shark Pits", located near their most oddly populated and boring hometown of Bodega Bay. But I digress…. TYB enjoy another great Sushi dinner…the spoils of the previous days' Tuna catch. A drunken slide show of the day’s events go on after dinner. TYB get wasted. WM and myself wrestle on the roof, while TYB sprays us down with beer. TYB fall asleep to a crazy base-jumping video presented courtesy of Captain DB!!! Day 9 Speed-boating in the dark at 5 AM with MR, PS, SPTG in route to "Coronas" with DB at the controls. The consensus among TYB is that this is possibly the best right-hander any of them have ever surfed!! A slabby, 2 section, barreling wave with a challenging take-off in front of a big reef/rock formation, only begins to describe this place! Coronas is shallow and very top to bottom, yet VERY makeable when navigated properly. Swell is solid and TYB get kegged out of their minds all day long! I cut my foot and bruise my hip. PS blows some easy ones; falling asleep and mumbling in the barrel again…who knows?? WM makes some great Corky faces in the green room! MP is, well, "predictable" and gets some retarded tubes. SPTG helps out collecting footage for TYB upcoming videos' wipeout section, while also scoring a really long and impressive tube. SM does Kerrupt flips in the tube (not a surprise from a Moorpark local) Parko, Fanning and Dingo have nothing on TYB. Come sundown, PS is on the beach hallucinating and scarring the local villagers after getting some late evening "trippy" tubes that are quite round and deep. Captain DB's B-day turns out to be a great time and a fitting end to an ideal day in surf trip land. Day 10 Back to "Burn Point" and "Ledgey Bay" to play out the day during a temporary period of decreasing swell. Waves are fun, but not worth much mention. Oh yeah, it's dice game night….. Following another macan bagus courtesy of Ehri, TYB get going on the dice game at around 8 pm. DH loses one Dice over the side of the boat an hour into the game. This is the biggest break of Mps' life, as he was on his way to a certain defeat!! DH automatically loses and pays his dues by swimming naked around and under the boat. The funniest/weirdest part of DH's punishment for losing this sacred game, is how many times WM comments on the size of DH's penis during DH's swim?!?!? *For the sake of being fair, I will leave this email open for interjection. It is only appropriate for all those accused of homoerotic behavior to defend their "innocence". Fast forward 30 minutes from the completion of DH's swim and a heavy YB "sharpie session": A solo and naked WM paddles over and onto the Budyadahri. TYB are in shock…. 'We have a poofter among us….' mutters DB under his captains' breath as he drinks with the innocently victimized crew on the Budyadahri. Following this routine upon the Budyadahri, WM retreats in self-disgust back to the SC. Meanwhile, the rest of TYB head on board Budyadahri (clothed) to enjoy duty-free debauchery in the form of Wild Turkey, amongst other poisons. Myself and MP are first to paddle back to the SC…..extremely wasted! WM anxiously awaits our arrival and is very angry over our non-willingness to conform to his homoerotic behavior some 2 hours earlier. WM and I grapple amongst this drunken madness. MP and WM get into it on a more angry level. WM throws a beer at MP's face, leading to a cut on MP's butt chin. WM almost dies at the hand of a raging MP. I throw up all over the bow of the boat and pass out, only to regain consciousness to PS taking pictures of me. Day 11 TYB battered and hung over are cruising to "Churches". Swell is still in the water, but the forecast predicts a sharp increase by tomorrow afternoon and into our final day. The SC motors through the beautiful inter-coastal/mangrove lined channels that lead to our destination. The scenery is spectacular! Upon arrival we anchor 50 ft. off a sand spit on the Leeward side of "Churches Island". TYB have definitely made the best of what could have been a depressing and painful "post-dice game" day. I fall asleep as we enter into Episode 3 Season 2 of Entourage. WM acquires another pseudonym: "Drama". Day 12 TYB awaken just off "Bonfire Beach" aboard the SC. Churches starts out small, but gradually builds in size as the new swell fills in. The water couldn't be more clear and beautiful, while the lefts coming down the reef are very fun and ripable. Come mid-day, the SC motors up to Coronas for an evening session with the hopes of more glory barrels. Upon arrival, there are signs of the new swell filling in, but it is not nearly as good as our inaugural session. TYB feast on an amazing Pasta dinner and watch Aki's final slide show. TYB fall asleep to a terrible bootlegged copy of "Borat". Day 13: Last Day TYB arrive early to Coronas and discover that the swell has indeed filled-in. The good sets are infrequent. A slightly different swell direction (more South I think) has made some set waves almost unrideable. TYB get their fair share of tubes and call it a morning after a good hour and a half in the water. The Telos camp crew, along with Budyadahri immediately paddle out upon our exit. "Dr. Evil" is going to get sooo pitched!! The SC transports TYB down to the Southern Telos for the last go out of the trip. The winds are bad at Rollins and Show-Your-Poo is not working. Buffaloes it is! Big, blue, clean and offshore Buffaloes looks pretty good as TYB head out for their final session. Sets are 20 feet plus on the faces. TM and Drama (on PS's 6'8 Merrick) lose their boards to the jagged shoreline after being cleaned up by a set. Some great waves are ridden. It almost feels like snowboarding. TYB all return to the SC. Both lost boards are recovered but battered. TYB pack up board bags, listen to music and drink beers as the crossing back to Padang begins. The crossing is smooth and we arrive early. After paying up all monies owed, eating breakfast and saying our goodbyes, TYB head off to the airport with AK and a round of Bintangs. On the Padang flight to Singapore, I almost kill PS after I kick my infected foot into the metal undercarriage of the seat in front of me. The swift kicking of my foot is the knee-jerk reaction to being sharpied across the neck by this man-child considered legally retarded in 20 of the 50 United States. Singapore was, ah, fun………………………………...........................! The End
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:
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. Nick Stanley, New Zealand, Rearding his late season 2007 trip (for the record, "Apu Lai" means "Why not?") ;)
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.
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 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..
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
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.
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.
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..
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)
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
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.
-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
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
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...
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.
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...
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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 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 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
-Shello |
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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.
