Morning Glass

Indo swell forecast looking solid - Ments or Telos?

2009-06-22T13:41:00.001-07:00

My first day surfing off Sumatra on Mikumba is June 28. We are in luck! Surfline's premium long-range forecast is showing a lot of long period juice headed our way. Now we have some more data to help with out decision on going North vs. South.

First, long range weather forecasts of any kind can be pretty iffy. I look at this forecast a couple times a day and it has been changing a lot lately. Even if the swell arrives 3-4 feet smaller than predicted there should still be head high to overhead waves at most spots. If it arrives as predicted then most spots are well overhead to double overhead.

If the swell is small or there have been consistent bad winds (either straight N or straight S) then I'd 100% want to be in the Mentawais. Let's be totally clear - the Mentawais have more spots, more variety of exposure, and more consistent spots than anywhere in the world, including the Telos. If you could catch the Ments with off-season crowds and good swell then there's no place I'd rather be.

But alas...off season crowds happen only in the off season. Except this year is a global recession and luxury products like boat trips and $200/day resorts are seeing lower bookings than normal. This resulted in April/May crowds that were "ten year lows" for the Mentawais. If there was a year to take chances with peak season crowds, maybe this is it.

So then why bother with the Telos? Good swell there makes for uncrowded hollow rights and lefts. There aren't lots of 5 star waves, but there are definitely some. Telo Island Lodge is in the north Telos has documented a bunch of their local spots, more named Telo spots than I have seen anywhere else. Telo Island lodge uses different names than I remember, but as the area is just now becoming a more mainstream, named destination it will take a little time before the Lance Right vs. HT's spot name issues sort themselves out. The new Resort Latitude Zero is being more circumspect about naming names, but has some enticing photos. Surfline had a 2-part feature on the Telos recently promoting a pro trip to Latitude Zero, and they also got a lot of great photos but named no spots.

As you look at the photos on Surfline from the pro trip, keep in mind that those guys were already on set up on Bali, saw a good swell forecast, and chased it. The photos show not everyday Telos not every day, but with good swell. Quality is great, but it needed some swell push to get overhead at the top spots.

Crowd-wise, if you're on a boat the three land-based options in the Telos cannot possibly cover all the spots. Boat punters out of Padang aren't dumb - most boats have a surcharge to go the distance to the Telos and with the Ments less crowded this year why pay up? Boats based in Sibolga wouldn't go as far south as the Telos. It's kind of inconvenient for everyone and therefore consistently uncrowded.

Sailing Sumatra on "Mikumba" June 27

2009-06-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

There were a lot of last minute deals out there this year, even for some peak season dates. Back in October I had booked Mikumba with Sumatran Surfariis. I knew the boat was solid, and the guide would be on it.

When the economy hit the skids a bunch of the people I thought would come had to bail. I was facing a nightmare - I had committed to a trip that might not go because it didn't have enough people. What happens in this scenario? You get your money back, but only a week in advance, which is really too late to do anything except go to Padang and try to get on with some boat, any boat.

The guys going with me were depending on me to find us the best trip, and I shopped all the last minute specials and emailed every boat I could find to see if they were available during my timeframe. If a boat is available, you have to ask yourself why - is the boat not quite what it looks like on the internet? Is the guide a drunk who likes to sleep late? How bad could the food be? For the posh looking boats you have to wonder if the guide really knows what's going on.

It came down to these factors: Most boats only had one tender boat, and Mikumba has two - this is really key for shooting video or being able to ferry guys between two nearby spots without abandoning anyone. There were a couple of nicer boats available with experienced captains and I seriously considered going with San Souci 2, but $50 more per night for a 14 day/15 night meant the trip cost a LOT more money. I wasn't sure it would be worth it.

Bottom line was through friends of friends of friends and a couple of random guys we got enough people to secure a guaranteed departure. We were totally psyched to get the boat we wanted, the crew we wanted, the dates we wanted, and the flexibility to head to the Telos & Nias with no BS surcharges. There weren't any discounts, but in the end we still got a great value - 14 surf days for $3150, a spacious boat with a 20 foot beam, two tender boats, the freedom to go to the Telos/Nias/beyond, the Mentawais, or both, and a proven guide & crew.

Mentawai historical swell data by month

2009-03-21T13:10:00.001-07:00

As a Surfline premium member, I get access to crazy amounts of data. Over the last year or so I have been manually collecting data for the Mentawai/Sumatra area day by day from Surfline's LOLA model.

To the best of my knowledge, this data for Sumatra isn't based on anything collected by scientific instruments in Indonesian waters or human observation. It's just the output from a complex proprietary Surfline algorithm for predicting swell height, period, and direction based on limited, but real wind speed, direction, and sea state data collected by weather stations, buoys, and US government satellites. As such, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

This narrow swell-focused view does not take into account wind or tides, but I feel these are reasonable to ignore. With the smaller tidal range west of Sumatra most spots work acceptably on most tides and tide flow directions. With respect to wind, Sumatra is noted for light and variable wind. Strong, consistent winds from one direction do happen (like the S/SE pattern July-Sept 2006) but such patterns are relatively rare until you go south of the Mentawais on mainland Sumatra.

So on to the numbers - what I have here is the average "Swell Energy" for each month from July 07-February 09. I use quotes around swell energy because if Surfline said a given day was 3-4 ft at 15 seconds, I just add the smaller height number to the period to get Swell Energy. So a pumping, big-as-it-gets swell of 9 ft 17 sec would be a 26 whereas some 3 ft 12 sec junk would be a 15. This works because wave energy is a function of both swell height squared and swell period squared. To some degree, the two are fairly interchangeable. This isn't to say that 3 ft 17 sec will look just like 6 ft 14 seconds at your local break, but that level of complexity is spot-specific and beyond what I can possibly figure out.

July 2007 Average 21.1

August 2007 Average 21.6

September 2007 Average 20.3

October 2007 Average 18.4

November 2007 Average 16.9

December 2007 Average 15.1

January 2008 Average 16.1

February 2008 Average 16.8

March 2008 Average 17.9

April 2008 Average 18.9

May 2008 Average 19.9

June 2008 Average 19.8

July 2008 Average 20.6

August 2008 Average 19.9

September 2008 Average 19.7

October 2008 Average 17.2

November 2008 Average 13.6

December 2008 Average 15.2

January 2008 Average 16.5

February 2008 Average 14.9

I know there are a lot of sites out there that crunch historical data and give it away for free like this one - but there are differences. Since magicseaweed has to cover all sorts of crappy unreliable spots in Florida, the Caribbean, Brazil, etc, their bar for "ridable" is a lot lower than the average Mentawai boat trip punter. To say that Macaroni's is "rideable" between 62% and 90% in January might be true in the Florida sense, but if you pulled up there and the swell was 4 ft 11 sec, the guide wouldn't even drop the anchor before pulling a U-turn and heading for Thunder's.

From what I have seen swell energy of 19 or 20 should be enough juice to make swell magnets go overhead+ and get all but the neediest spots into the shoulder-to-head high range. This is the swell that gives you the session of the trip, everyone's best wave of the trip, all the keeper photos and video clips, and sticks in your mind and makes you determined to come back next year. In peak season, you can see the islands off Sumatra do that pretty consistently.

Mentawais vs. Telos vs. Banyaks boat trip itineraries

2009-03-21T12:37:00.000-07:00

I'm going on a Sumatra boat trip in late June/early July. This much I know for sure. But I still have some questions

Since I don't have enough people to charter a whole boat, will my trip definitely sail?
What itinerary will give us the best waves with the lightest crowds this year?

I'm going to do some research to see what else is available for my dates in case my trip falls through. Maybe one of my buddies has to cancel, maybe nobody else will book, who knows. But this year I need a backup plan. Hopefully researching availability will also give me an idea of what crowds might be like in different areas, and I'll add to this post later with my findings.

As for 2) I know the Northern Mentawais have the highest spot density and consistency, but I have heard horror stories of Mentawais crowds with 6 camps in the Playgrounds. I have personally witnessed 8 boats at Thunders during a couple days of small swell & S/SE winds. How many boats will actually be running when I am there?

Since so many boats are now offering the "Telos/Hinakos" option out of Padang, I thought I'd do a little exploration on what is reasonably possible. Logistically, there are only four places to start or end the crossing to or from Padang assuming you actually want to surf on your first and last days. From south to north: South Sipora (HT's/Lance's), North Sipora (Telescopes/Icelands), Playgrounds (Kandui, Rifles, Bank Vaults, Ebay), and South Telos.

Traditionally Mentawai charters have been 10 days/11 nights or 11 days/12 nights. When starting in Padang, in order to spend meaningful time in either the Banyaks or far southern Mentawais you need at least 13 days/14 nights, with additional days beyond that adding additional flexibility. I'm aiming for a 13/14, 14/15, or even a 15/16 trip if I can pull it off, so I should have the flexibility to do a more unusual trip, IF that's the call.

a) Traditional Ments Trip ranging from Playgrounds to Thunders

This area still has the highest concentration of consistent world-class waves in the world, it's only a question of crowds. My backup plan research should give me some info on crowds during a specific period.

b) Southern Ments trip from HT's to the tip of South Pagai

Going south of Thunders is a significant commitment (for a Mentawais trip anyway), but a pretty reliable crowd avoidance strategy. Spots are relatively unknown with a lot of bogus maps and info out there, but the potential is solid.

c) "North-South" trip starting in the northern ments and ending in the Telos

The range from HT's to the northern Telos encompasses a lot of 5-star spots with a big range of consistency & crowding. It allows you to test the waters in the Ments and leave if the crowds start to test you. Downside is the trip from Playgrounds to South Telos is long, you skip Maccas, and your time at HT's will be limited and early in your trip.

d) Telos-Hinakos only

Depending on which boats and camps are booked when, this could be the least crowded itinerary, with generally only a light sprinkling of Padang-based boats. Avoiding the long run up or down the back of Nias means you could spend some time moving between southern Nias, the Hinakos, and western mainland Nias instead of pushing on.

e) Telos-Nias-Hinakos-Banyaks

The Banyaks have some great waves, but the boats based in Simeulue and Sibolga are on it enough to give the Padang-based guides pause before pushing past Nias. Swell direction can also be a factor in lighting up more Banyaks spots.

What would you do?

Mentawai bookings hit hard by global recession

2009-03-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

With official recession status established in the US and looming in Australia, anecdotal evidence indicates the Sumatran surf industry has been hit hard by slow bookings and last-minute cancellations in Q1 2009. Q1 is normally be a peak time for bookings for travel during the May-September high season.

The industry consists of 40+ charter boats and over a dozen land-based camps and resorts scattered from North Pagai Island in the Mentawai chain to Simeulue and the Banyak islands north of Nias. With 6-12 surfers per trip spending between USD2500 and USD5000 each, one week in peak season could see over USD100,000 in tourism dollars flowing through companies based in Padang, the capital of Western Sumatra province. Obviously not all this money is spent locally. Commissions on these trips paid to booking agents range from 10-30%. Boat owners and guides are generally not in the business for the money, most being surfers themselves they are willing to cut their own profits to low levels to cover their capital costs, stay in the water, and enjoy personal relationships with long-time return guests. Still, around half the revenue coming in is likely spent locally on fuel, food, salaries, tips, maintenance, lodging, and government taxes.

The recent news is not all bad. For the 2007 and 2008 seasons fuel costs soared, causing charter price increases and fuel surcharges, especially for more fuel-intensive trips from Padang heading north to Nias and beyond. However recently fuel costs have decreased with the drop in oil prices, and those fuel surcharges are generally a thing of the past.

Another side effect of reduced fuel prices is that it gives charter operators with half-filled trips some latitude to discount prices or leave port half-empty. With fuel prices sky-high during 2008, many boats would not leave port less than 80%+ of available spots filled. In a good economy, this was a way to keep per-person prices down while leaving some margin. But with today's fuel prices and slow bookings, many operators are choosing to guarantee sailings of half- or mostly-empty charters to incent new bookings and bring in needed revenue to offset the fixed costs of boat ownership and off-season maintenance.

Finally, boat captains and booking agents may be more willing to accomodate individuals rather than holding out for a low-hassle, full-boat booking that puts the responsibility to fill the boat on whoever puts up the money for the booking.

As evidence, I got a promo email from wavehunters.com on February 20 with a lot of half-empty, discouted peak-season trips. This sample is only 4 boats of 40, but since wavehunters makes frequent updates regarding availability and discounts I looked at their site to sort of "update" their promotion and see how things are going right now for peak season trips in May-July.

Apr 28 - May 09: (Nusantara) 4 spots *$2800pp (Guaranteed to sail)
May 02 - May 14: (Addiction) 10 spots * Highly discounted
May 12 - May 23: (Nusantara) 7 spots *$2800pp (2 more minimum to sail)
May 22 - Jun 02: (Bintang) 12 spots *$2100pp 11 night trip / $2290pp 12 night trip (6 minimum to sail)
Jun 05 - Jun 16: (Bintang) 5 spots *$2100pp 11 night trip / $2290pp 12 night trip (Guranteed to sail)
Jun 09 - Jun 20: (Nusantara) 3 spots *$2800pp (Guaranteed to sail)
Jun 18 - Jun 30: (Navistar) 7 spots *$2580pp individual / $2313pp 8 person full boat booking (4 minimum to sail)
Jun 19 - Jun 30: (Bintang) 12 spots *$2100pp 11 night trip / $2290pp 12 night trip (6 minimum to sail)
Jun 23 - Jul 04: (Nusantara) 6 spots *$2800pp (Guaranteed to sail)

Jun 27 - Jul 09 (Addiction) 6 spots * Discounted

Jul 21 - Aug 01: (Nusantara) 10 spots *$2800pp

Jul 17 - Jul 28: (Bintang) 12 spots *$2100pp 11 night trip / $2290pp 12 night trip (6 minimum to sail)

It looks like Navistar will guarantee sailing at half full and Nusantara will sail at 40% full. Addiction was not really discouting in February but they are now, and sail with 6 of 10 bunks filled. Two Navistar trips promoted in the earlier email have now booked out. Going beyond July, Bintang only has 4 of 11 peak season May-September trips booked, so they are clearly hurting. Bintang was saying minimun 6 surfers to sail in February but now they are saying minimum of 4, this on a large boat that holds 12 surfers.

Elsewhere, the ultra-luxe Midas has reduced peak season rates by 20% to get new bookings, and 6 of their 11 sailings for the May-Sept period are unbooked.

Indies Trader 4 "Off the Market", "quite busy"

2009-03-21T11:36:00.001-07:00

As I initially heard from Evan at SurfThereNow in this post and from reader Rick Cameron last fall that Indies Trader 4 was for sale, no doubt a sign of hard economic times and a plunging stock price for Quiksilver. Nicknamed "The Death Star" by envious boat captains and their guests, Indies 4 has been the most extravagant way to cruise for surf in Indonesia and the Marshall islands, with a high top speed, luxurious ensuite cabins, helipad, and rates rumored to be between $1200-2000/person/day. However, the "recession" circumstances reported on earlier may have changed for the better.

In an exchange with Indies Trader representative Anthony Marcotti, I asked about the status and availability of Indies Trader 4. He noted that "[Indies Trader 4 is] off the market and quite busy… it has 5 charters this summer in the Mentawais."

Perhaps the owners could not get the price they wanted in the off season and decided to bite the bullet and run another season in the perfect waves off Sumatra.

New Telo Islands Surf Camp - "Resort Latitude Zero"

2009-03-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

Looks like our former Panaitan Island guide, Todd Roesler is teaming up with one of the most respected Mentawai / Sumatra skippers, Matt Cruden for a new surf camp/resort in the Telo Islands. Matt was recently featured guiding WCT pros on his boat Mangalui Ndulu in the DVD's "Fitty Fitty" and "Somewhere". This resort also has the advantage of being serviced by Todd's boat, Nomad. The resort's website is here.

The site doesn't mention anything about the camp's location within the Batu / Telo island group, though likely it is in the northern Telos near the major village/port.

There is some land-based competition already in the Telos: A brazilian-operated camp in the southern Telos, and the Telo Island Lodge in the northern Telos. The Telo Island Lodge does as good a job of documenting the northern Telos spots as anyone

http://www.teloislandlodge.com/surf.asp

Having spent a couple days in that area when conditions were less than epic, it's unclear to me how many of the spots they name actually work consistently versus those that are fickle about wind, swell, tide, etc.

In my experience the Telos deserve their reputation for low crowds and good surf. The 5-star spots may not be happening every day, but the most consistent spots can still be a lot of fun. In practice the Telos feature clusters of surf spots that tend to spread out the crowds in a given area and offer variety between heavy hollow waves and more rippable performance waves.

Global wind map points the way to good surf conditions

2008-07-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

I saw this image on a Clean Tech blog about the potential of offshore wind farms. As we all know, more wind = more swell and less coastal wind = more glassy conditions.

A few points to make:

1) Check out the southern Indian Ocean vs. the southern Pacific Ocean in the bottom "Northern Summer" image. Higher wind intensity in the southern Indian Ocean = relatively more swell for Indo and West Oz.

2) Check out how dead the North Pacific is in Northern Summer and how the Southern Hemisphere is still pretty lively during Northern Winter. This is why the North Shore is dead flat in summer but exposed places in Chile, Peru, Oz, South Africa, and Indo have surf year round.

3) Check out how calm the wind is off Angola in Northern Summer. It's one of the biggest purple spots on the map and would be receiving significant southern hemi swell at that time of year.

4) Check out the crazy intense wind off the horn of Africa in Northern Summer - Wow, what the hell?

Photos from my Northern Sumatra boat trip

2008-06-03T15:53:00.001-07:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/mikumba2008

This was my sixth trip to Indonesia and third boat trip surfing the islands off Sumatra. The photos are of spots in the Telos, Nias, and the Banyaks north of Nias. It was awesome - much more commentary coming soon after I shake off jet lag and a serious work backlog.

Surf Travel Blog www.surftherenow.com Notes "Royal Pelagic" for sale - are Mexico boat trips unviable?

2008-03-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

My friend Evan started a new surf travel blog recently. He's got a lot of good news and info up there, with frequent updates.

http://www.surftherenow.com/

I was just reading it and learned the Royal Pelagic is for sale. http://surftherenow.com/?p=49

This is the super-luxe fishing boat conversion that was recently doing charters to SE Mainland Mex around Huatulco and Salina Cruz. That area of Mexico benefits from frequent all-day offshore wind, numerous quality right points, and limited land access and facilities. I'm hoping that the charter operation was successful and the current owner is selling for other reasons, because I'd consider a boat trip to Mex if I don't have 2 weeks to do Indo properly.

[UPDATE 4/7] I emailed a reader who knows this owner of Royal Pelagic, she notes that they couldn't find people who wanted to pay this much to boat around Mexico. RP was maybe a little ahead of its time, but I think luxury surf travel has a strong future.

Avoiding seasickness on your Mentawai boat trip

2008-02-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

If you get seasick sometimes but really want to do the Mentawais or Northern Sumatra the right way - a.k.a. on a boat, then you're in the right place. If you always get seasick and you really dread it, then you should probably stay at a camp, specifically one you can fly to on Sipora, Nias, or Simeulue. Anyway, if you feel like taking your chances, here's how to plan your trip:

1) Pick your boat

2) Pick your destination

3) Choose your medications

4) Choose your sleeping arrangement

5) All else fails: Puke with a buddy

1) Picking your boat:

Generally the boat solution is a catamaran, but there are definitely cost or space tradeoffs. Wide catamarans roll even less. Catamarans are also faster than monohulls of similar size and power (sail or motor). Sailboat catamarans are the most reasonably priced catamarans, but can be quite tight on space. So if you expect to be able to sit and edit video or have the loud TV-watching beer drinkers not disrupt your afternoon nap, then you may want to pay up for a power catamaran. The Freedom 2 and 3 boats and Addiction seem to be the nicest large power cats right now. A smaller but quite nice choice is Tengirri. An older but still fast power cat is Nusantara. Remember that going fast costs the captain money - just because the boat can go fast doesn't mean it will.

On the list of boats to avoid, I'd put Indies Trader 2 near the top. That boat pitches, bobs, and rolls like a cork. I sat on the back deck of Budyadahri one afternoon at Lance's Left and watched the Indies Trader 2 at anchor roll around like crazy. There's a head-on shot of the boat on the Indies Trader website that shows these frame buoy hangers off the side of the boat. If you hadn't seen them in action you would think they are for fishing or something, but the truth is they are an attempt at dampening the boat's roll with buoys. The Indies 3 and 4 didn't exhibit much roll when I saw them, but they are considerably more money.

2) Pick your Destination

You will be most exposed to seasickness during the long crossings from Sumatra to the islands because you are spending the longest time in potentially the roughest water with no place to hide and no time to stop. Consider a boat trip that lets you fly to Nias/Sipora/Telos and pick up the boat there to eliminate the crossing. Indo airlines are sketch and this may cause more wasted time in Padang, but the options are out there. Trips that take the longest crossings such as Padang-Telos are probably the riskiest for seasickness.

3) Choose your medications

I like Bonine or it's generic, chewable equivalent. Get the pills stored in punch-out sheets so you can keep them in your pocket for the crossing or squall and they will stay dry even if you get rained on while puking over the rail. That way if you fumble and drop one you haven't spilled a whole bottle. If you don't need them by the end of the trip then leave them on the boat for some poor sap who didn't read this.

4) Choose your sleeping arrangement

Avoid the far front of the boat. Avoid the top bunk. The exact middle of the boat is the part that pitches least. If you weren't smart enough to be first down the steps to throw your bags on the optimal bunk, then explain your condition to those in place with more flexibility. Promising bribes of duty free booze, GU, powerbars, or beef jerky couldn't hurt as those things can be pretty useful in the islands.

5) Puke with a buddy

The single worst thing that could happen to you on a boat trip is to fall overboard at night, alone, while the boat is underway. You will be gone, nobody will know, and when they realize you are gone they will not be able to find you, and that will be end for you. So if you are going to puke over the rail and the boat is underway and pitching all over the place, then brace yourself, hold on tight, and make sure someone always knows you are out there. Even if you have to keep one of the crew up all night, give him an extra $20 tip when it's over just DON'T FALL OVERBOARD AT NIGHT WHILE UNDERWAY.

My surf travel blog's new home - MorningGlass.com

2008-02-18T19:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my friend Bill for letting me use his catchy and otherwise unused domain - http://www.morningglass.com/ for my surf travel blog. I'll get my post archives migrated over soon.

Has " Indies Explorer " left the Mentawai charter scene for good?

2008-02-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

Indies Explorer boat first caught my eye when featured in a surf video a while back. It's one of the largest and most recognizable charter boats in Indonesia, a Pinissi schooner over 100 feet long, bright white with two tall sailing masts. I saw this iconic boat at Thunders in August 2006. It was a small day of forgettable surf and 40 people were in the water groveling for some chest-high sets. Indies Trader 4 was also there, so we felt pretty smart that our groveling session didn't cost $1200/person/day.

About Indies Explorer, when I was looking for a Mentawais charter boat I was intrigued by the large size and relatively low per-day cost, but the boat holds 12 guests which was sort of a turn-off and the schedule didn't work out for the dates I had available. That day at Thunders I felt fortunate to have skipped since it looked like the boat didn't have much shaded common space with a view of the surf (always a precious commodity on surf trips). The sleeping cabins below decks all had ventiliation hatches in the middle of the main deck and the deck sloped up forward and aft, basically killing the most logical place for a picnic table, hammocks, etc. When we drove by in our dinghy there were also bits around the stern that looked kind of beat up and run-down. I scrutinized the other boats we came across as much as possible - there are only so many boats over there and I wanted to see what kind of shape they were in, did they pitch and roll a lot when anchored, etc. The truth is that some boats just look better on the internet and Indies Explorer is probably one of them. Using 6-year-old photos on the booking web site is one slightly deceptive practice - recent boat photos are always a good thing to ask for.

Anyway to make a long story short, I was thinking about all this because I recently learned that an overnight storm washed "a big white wooden sailboat" up on the beach in Padang. I don't think there are many other such craft near Padang besides Indies Explorer. For all the things that looked impractical about it you can'd deny the boat has soul. If anyone is thinking about going on Indies Explorer in 2008 or knows if it did in fact hit the beach drop me a line.

DVD Review: New Emissions of Light and Sound

2008-01-29T18:01:00.001-08:00

This is the best use of leftover footage I've ever seen. Take leftover footage of the Hobgoods, Taj Burrow, and Yadin Nicol (w/crazy haircut) from Secret Machine (same photogs, same trips), mix with a well paced and synchronized Sasha soundtrack, blend in artsy underwater shots, behind the wave shots, good editing, scenery shots and BAM! you have this DVD. I have a strong affinity for surf movies with great music & great waves. This one has both. I wish my trips to indo had this Sasha soundtrack playing while I was there.

If you really hate electronic music you should probably give this a miss. If you can tolerate or enjoy electronica then this is very well done and you will find it highly re-watchable.. If you had a big TV and a good sound system you could put this DVD on as background at a party and be psyched. The disc automatically starts playing about 20 seconds after you stick it in (more like a CD than a DVD) and automatically loops back to the beginning when it's done.

Mentawai Boat trip bookings bouncing back after slow 2007

2008-01-29T17:58:00.000-08:00

It's the beginning of what the cruise industry calls "Wave Season", the first 5 months of the year when the majority of cruises, the majority of leisure travel, and the great majority of indo boat trips get booked. From what I've been hearing Mentawai bookings for the 2008 season have been pretty strong. The 2007 season had slow bookings because of the strong, consistent SE winds in the Ments during July-Aug-September of 2006.

These winds didn't really affect Northern Sumatra but they caused bad word of mouth for the whole area. It's not hard to imagine why - with strong SE wind you blow out all the rights that typically need some combo of N or W wind. When most surfers are regularfoot and HT's, Bank Vaults, and Rifles are blown out for the better part of 3 months, you're going to have mostly dissatisfied guests. If they wanted windy lefts they would have gone to Fiji.

The bottom line is if you've been thinking about a boat trip this year you should book early, especially if you want a specific boat, need specific dates, or want to go off the beaten path. Many of the most popular boats/guides are booked out a year or more in advance by repeat customers. Boats going to more obscure areas like Northern Sumatra or the southern Ments need longer trips, which means fewer total trips to choose from on top of fewer boats that run those routes.

Waimea shorebreak now a beachbreak

2007-12-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

I went to the North Shore weekend before last in hopes of catching the pipe masters and getting a few waves. Instead the North Shore was plagued by kona winds and I aggravated a knee injury so I caught an earlier flight home.

Anyway, regarding Waimea: the shorebreak has been a key place for me to get tons of barrels and escape the crowds between OTW and Rocky's on my past North Shore trips. However this year after they opened up the rivermouth a strange sandbar formed out in the middle of the bay. Conceivably it might have been pretty good with non-kona conditions and a bigger swell, but the dependably hollow waimea shorey body whompers were basically gone. It was literally about 30-40% surfers out there with only a dozen or so bodyboarders/bodysurfers at noon on a Saturday. Pretty unheard of.

Moral of the story - opening the rivermouth can ruin the shorebreak. Turns out that just like the OTW-Pipe stretch, sand flow is also a big factor at Waimea. Learn something new every time.

Luckily the swell had some north in it and the kona winds meant it was just beautiful hot and sunny at Pounders over in Laie. We duly got pounded with only a handful of kids in the water and had it to ourselves on Sunday. The Kahuku grilled shrimp never tasted so good.

Going back to Northern Sumatra - 5 month countdown

2007-12-04T18:04:00.000-08:00

I've started to plan my return surf trip to Northen Sumatra in May. I've already been there once.

Why am I going back?

I've seen how consistent the swell is on Surfline (even though it was sort of small last time)
I know there are a lot of world class spots up there
There still aren't very many boats operating up that way
No effects from the recent Mentawai earthquakes

What's different about this trip?

Boat leaving out of Padang, not Sibolga, Simeulue, or Nias
A day longer on the boat
More efficient flights meaning less time off work and more surf time
Half the guys from last time have had kids and can't go back

Why May?

Memorial day weekend gets me an additional day for free
Historically a very consistent month for swell
technically peak season but possibly a bit less busy than June/July/Aug

"Secret Machine" - my new favorite DVD

2007-11-30T18:07:00.000-08:00

I don't know what took me so long to see it. The music is fantastic, 90% of the surfing is in great waves, typical ripping from Taj and the Hobgoods. The artsiness of it makes a statement. This aspect of the editing/music really took me by surprise given the schlocky-looking trailers with the Hobgoods wearing collanders on their heads. The gimmick kept me from this one for too long.

I'd rate the re-watchability right up there with September Sessions. Easily worth every cent.

Surf video reviews: Young Guns 3, Absolute Mexico, Aquatic Dreams

2007-10-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

Since the great majority of surf videos are not sold or reviewed by mainstream media companies I thought after I bought a handful of them I'd post my thoughts. Here's what I care about in a surf movie, in the following order:

great waves
great music
cinematography/photography/aesthetics
great surfing with a healthy mix of maneuvers

Young Guns 3 disappointed after YG2 had set the bar so high ON MY CRITERIA. I acknowledge that the younger Quik guys are growing up and pushing the limits more and more. The aerial maneuvering is mind blowing. Having said that, probably 20-25% of the DVD is 1-2 maneuver waves at a wedgy closeout beachbreak left. A long long way from the 4-6 maneuver linkages at Maccas or Rifles in YG2, each shot from shot from 3 or 4 different angles and accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack. I liked the fact that G-Land had its own section in YG3 and it's about time someone went back there and shot the new school on that wave. It takes a lot of water photogs/boats/skis to get the shots at G-Land because of the huge playing field, tide changes, currents, etc, and they got the shots. As a surfer who likes going left and getting shacked G-Land is the end-all, be-all wave. As a photographer it's a pain in the ass. Front-lit morning G-Land is onshore, rarely glassy or offshore, and by the time the 10am offshores pick up the harsh midday light or sponsor-unfriendly back lighting is a factor. Never mind the other hassles of currents, distance from shore, and lineup size. Safe to say it ain't HT's.
Absolute Mexico looks great, the surfing is much more on the WCT guys at La Jolla with only a smattering of big-wave Puerto Escondido. It is a great companion to "A Fistful of Barrels", which I also recommend. The music is latin but lively, and thoughtfully selected. You also get a healthy sense for what's IMperfect about the wave at La Jolla when pros are complaining about the swift current and the heavy drops.

Aquatic Dreams looks low-budget but delivers a pretty high action quotient. It's not groundbreaking in any way. The WA barrelling right sequence gets repetitive (Gas Bay?) but the waves are sick and it's not the Box. Expectations were fairly modest for this one and in my opinion it over-delivered.

Rags Right is gone - 3 ft. of reef uplift in Southern Mentawais

2007-10-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

The article below came out on 9/28. I've been getting married, getting away, and getting sick so have been kind out out of it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/sports/othersports/02surf.html

This article quotes Scuzz (Chris Scurrah) and Christina of Sumatran Surfaris. Sumatran Surfaris is currently doing a company trip/relief mission combo and probably invited some media along to cover the trip. The article quotes respected CalTech scientist Kerry Sieh as saying that the southen Mentawais have been lifted roughly 3 feet according to GPS. The article notes that Rags Right is gone and Macca's is shorter, shallower, and more dangerous. As far as other spots go, if Rags Right is affected that much then Thunders is probably pretty different with lots of exposed reef on the inside. It was pretty shallow/hollow but rideable from 3-5 ft faces, hard to know how it will be affected. The Hole may also be gone since it was shallow/heavy to begin with and pretty far south. Green bush was named by Surfing Magazine, has been featured in videos, looks shallow, and I believe it's near macaroni's so it could be gone also.

Did the recent 8.4 Sumatra quake affect surf spots in the Mentawais?

2007-09-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

First of all I don't have any information now, but will post any I receive as I hear back from friends or contacts with first or second hand experience. The only people who know the real scoop are out on boats now or will be going out over the next month or so.

I realize it is a bit crass to be discussing surf spot changes when there has been loss of life and much loss of property in the area, but if you can take a longer term view the world class spots offshore from Sumatra are some of the most consistent in the world and are one of the best chances to bringing low-impact, high-dollar tourism and development to this area. Ask yourself, would Dr. Dave Jenkins have started Surf Aid to prevent malaria in a group of rural, undeveloped islands on the _eastern_ side of Sumatra? Surf spot changes (which are bound to be mostly negative) will impact the long-term growth prospects of this region. I hope there were no negative effects on spots and that the word gets out that Macca's is still working while people are still thinking about where to go for next season.

Generally speaking it usually takes an 8+ earthquake to materially deform the earth's surface, and the 8.6 that hit North of Nias in March of 2005 has had a big effect on spots in Nias, the Hinakos, Simeulue, and the Banyaks. I did some imprecise Google Earth measurements and Lagundri Bay on Nias is about the same distance from the 8.6 Northern Sumatra quake as the southern end of South Pagai in the Mentawais is from the recent 8.4 quake. I realize the most recent quake may or may not have created much uplift but just on distance alone it still could affect Thunders, The Hole, and other secret spots in the southern Ments. Waves on Enggano or mainland Sumatra could be more significantly affected. Finally, Northern Sipora (the telescopes area) suffered a direct hit from a 7.2 aftershock. That's almost as big as the Loma Prieta earthquake that hit the Bay Area in 1989. Even if there was no effect on local surf spots it might be a bit harder to find a family to stay with if you want to go feral in Tua Pajet.

China Airlines - Cheap, Convenient, Indo boat trip flights, now safer?

2007-08-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

Taiwan-based China Airlines has one of the most convenient sets of flight schedules to and from the US west coast to Bali and Jakarta. They are consistently one of the lowest-cost options. The reason they have to charge less is that until about 5 years ago they had one of the worst safety records of any significant international carrier. I read an article (subscription required) in today's WSJ that indicates perhaps positive safety changes have been afoot at this airline, and it's probably still safe to fly despite the recent fiery (but not deadly) incident on Okinawa. Here's an excerpt from the article:

I like what I'm reading in the article below re: process and dedication to safety. I felt a little wary flying them last time around but would be more comfortable flying them to Indo again for my next boat trip. Of course they still have board bag charges and not-quite-Singapore-air service levels, but what do you want here, fast, cheap, AND good?

From Wall Street Journal:

"Analysts say China Airlines has posted a marked improvement in safety and operational performance since 2002, when a China Airlines Boeing 747 crashed while flying from Taipei to Hong Kong, killing 225 people. That crash became a catalyst for an overhaul in its approach to safety, analysts and company officials say.

China Airlines now has one of the youngest fleets in Asia, with an average age of six years for its aircraft. It has hired former executives from Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways, two of the world's best-run airlines, to advise it on engineering and maintenance. Derek Cridland, Cathay Pacific's former director of engineering, now works there as a consultant.

"I have actually been quite impressed at the turnaround at China Airlines over the last five years," says Damien Horth, an analyst in Hong Kong with investment bank UBS. "I do get the impression when I talk with the company that there has been a big change in the culture."

Indeed, China Airlines' efforts to improve its safety record echo the earlier success of Korean Air Lines Co. in salvaging its reputation after a series of crashes in the 1990s. Like China Airlines, Korean Air broke with tradition, seeking advice from foreign experts and revamping its training procedures.

In addition, China Airlines passed a rigorous operational safety audit conducted by the International Air Transport Association in 2005, and it was recertified this February."

This is better news than you'll be reading about any Indonesian carriers and I'll have to fly them on my next indo boat trip no matter what.

Tipping the crew on your Indo boat trip

2007-05-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

A reader asked about tipping on boat trips. In surf travel, just like any other form of travel, there's always potential for a culture clash when people don't know what's expected of each other. Hopefully this will clear away some of that confusion for future visitors to the Mentawais and Northern Sumatra, and result in happy returns for those of us who are looking to go back.

Why tip the crew on a boat trip?
1. Indo is a poor country. The Indonesians working on boats aren't spending weeks away from their families for kicks or for surfing - they need the money. Maybe some of the crew will blow it on crack and whores, but most have direct or extended families that count on them for food, shelter, medical care, school fees, etc.

2. You have been provided good service in a very personal way. Everyone working on a boat works hard either behind the scenes or in direct contact with guests. You'll see the crew first thing in the morning, last thing at night, at every meal, they'll pick you up and take you back to the outside when you're too tired to paddle but just need one more, you'll learn their names, they'll help keep your bunk area tidy, and make sure your favorite boardshorts on the clothesline don't get blown off in a squall.

3. Tipping rewards skills that you, as a surfer, want to be available to you when you come back. You don't want that expert ding repair guy, the guy who shoots great video, or the dinghy driver who knows the safe spots in the lineup at Kanduis to be driving a cab in Padang next time you come back. Make it worth their while. It's a small industry, next time you come into Padang you'll probably see a familiar face and they'll be glad to see you.

4. When the waves went flat you and the boys had a bender and kept the crew up at night, then left a mess for them to clean up in the morning. Happens on almost every boat trip, and a decent tip helps fix any hard feelings.

5. Plus honestly, it's no skin off your back. You probably just coughed up in the neighborhood of 5000 US Dollars for a plane ticket, a hotel night or two, a couple new boards, and 11 or more nights on a private boat. In the grand scheme of things, a nice tip for two weeks worth of work for an indo boat crew is less than the cost of a big night out in a major western city.

How to discuss tipping

With your group

Agree on an amount. If you're organizing this thing, throw out an amount just try to get everyone to go along. If the cheapskate in the group knows everyone else is coughing up a hundred bucks, then they'll grumble but they'll do it too.

If going solo

Ask around (a subtle reminder to others who may not remember to tip) but in the end you must chart your own course.

Ask your guide

You guide will tell you how it usually works, and will organize the crew to all be in the same place at the same time without disrupting anyone's work or sleep (not as easy as it sounds - the crew is busy on the last night!). Generally this happens on the last night of your trip, after dinner but before anyone goes to sleep.

How much to tip

I took a 13 day trip with eight total guests and a crew of 5 plus a guide. The guide refused to accept any tips. We tipped USD100 per guest for USD800 total and the crew (once it had been counted out) was stoked. By the crew's reaction I judged this to be an acceptable, possibly even above-average tip. The total cost of this charter was a little under $20,000 so this amounted to a 4% tip. This is LOW by the standards of US restaurants, bars, taxicabs, and hair salons, but 15% of a charter boat price seems outrageous and I hope expectations never get to that level. Regarding higher-end boats - more of the cost of the trip goes to the capital cost of the boat and less to the variable costs of crew, food, fuel. On luxo-liner boats the crew may be the cream of the crop from other boats and expect better tips in return for better service. The crew can also gauge how much you can afford to tip by the quality of your boards, clothing, equipment and how much the boat costs, so may have higher tip expectations in that situation. So for what it's worth, I'm going to say 4-5% is a good number.

who gets the tips?

Usually there's a hierarchy among the crew. Honestly, this isn't really your business, and these guys need to work together and already have an understanding in place that you shouldn't try to disrupt. It won't surprise you that the guys with the most money invested in the boat and the most responsibility get their take first - guides, captains, cooks. They have the most skills and the most alternate work opportunities. But the underlings don't just get the scraps - the senior guys know their deck hands, skiff drivers, mechanics, and assistant cooks are all part of providing good service and could get work on other boats so they will share. If they are working a full season on a boat things get to be pretty family-like, and you can screw family a little but not a lot.

What currency to use

USD or Rupiah. I'm not being an ugly American here, the dollar really is king. This finally hit me when I watched a Japanese guy fish out 25 US dollars from his wallet and pay the indonesian government's visa fee at the Jakarta airport. If the indo government takes USD, then it's damn near coin-of-the-realm. In theory Australian Dollars, Euros, Pounds, or Yen would also be useful to the crew but would probably entail a much bigger spread between the face value in the country of the currency and the actual value they'll get for the non-USD foreign notes whereever the boat pulls into port. So if you have those currencies and want to use them for tips then you should give 10-20% more in USD value.

Bring new bills

There's no ATM machine on the boat or anywhere you'll be stopping. So if you didn't bring enough cash on the boat, you won't be able to tip the crew. Duh. Also, USD notes that are of an older type or look beat up won't be worth as much in exchange. So when you go to get the notes you're going to take to Indo, make sure you get crisp new ones.

Non-cash compensation

Before a boat trip I asked a Balinese coworker if there were any items that were hard to get in Indonesia that I could schlep over to Indo and give to the crew. She said, "Money!" Seriously, I've heard that school supplies, tools, western-style clothing, surf gear that could be resold are all very thoughtful. So if you've got this stuff laying around and can bring it along to give away, then do it. It's not a substitute for cash, but it will probably find a use.

Indo Surfing Boat Trip Web Sites

2007-02-25T18:28:00.000-08:00

This is a semi-complete list of all the agencies and operators that are selling boat trips in Indonesia. Consider this a work in progress. I expect this will need to be updated again in the future. Please note that some boats based in Padang may run trips to either the Mentawais or Northern Sumatra, so they are shown on both lists. For the Northern Sumatra boats, I've noted which boats are dedicated to Northern Sumatra. These will tend to have more experienced captains that know the spots better. The Mentawais have too many boats to list here, but the other areas have a smaller number of boats so I've tried to list them here.

Mentawais
Sumatran Surfaris - www.sumatransurfaris.com
Quiksilver Travel - www.quiksilvertravel.com
Saraina Koat Mentawai - http://www.mentawaiislands.com/
Indies Explorer - http://www.wavescape.co.za/indies.htm
World Surfaris - www.worldsurfaris.com
Wavehunters - www.wavehunters.com
Waterways Travel - www.waterwaystravel.com
Indies Trader boats - http://www.indiestrader.com/
Freeline Surf - www.freelinesurf.com.au

Northern Sumatra (Telos, Nias, Hinakos, Banyaks, Simeulue)
"Mikumba", "Southern Cross" (both dedicated to Northern Sumatra) - Sumatran Surfaris - www.sumatransurfaris.com
Indies Trader boats - http://www.indiestrader.com/
"Bohemian" (dedicated to Northern Sumatra) - Waterways Travel - www.waterwaystravel.com
"Indo Jiwa", "Tengirri", "Mangalui Ndulu" - World Surfaris - www.worldsurfaris.com
"MV Addiction", "Mangalui Ndulu" at Wavehunters - www.wavehunters.com
"Aileoita II" - Saraina Koat Mentawai - www.mentawaiislands.com
"Sia" - www.surftravelonline.com
"Sjalina" (dedicated to Northern Sumatra) - www.quiksilvertravel.com, www.freelinesurf.com.au
"KM Nauli" (dedicated to Northern Sumatra) - http://www.surfingsumatra.com/

West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Lebongan, Lombok, Sumbawa)
"Moggy" World Surfaris - www.worldsurfaris.com
"Dreamweaver", "Partama" - www.surftravelonline.com

East Nusa Tenggara (Timor, Roti, Sumba)
"Mahalo II" - www.waterwaystravel.com
"Moana" - www.surftravelonline.com
"Sri Noa Noa" - www.freelinesurf.com.au

West Java (Panaitan Island)
"Nomad" - www.nomadsurfindonesia.com
"Just Dreaming" - www.quiksilvertravel.com, www.freelinesurf.com.au\
Peucang Island camp - www.surfpanaitan.com/

Panaitan Island - Off the Beaten Path

2007-01-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

I went to Panaitan Island off West Java a couple years back, where Timmy Turner camped out and shot Second Thoughts. Panaitan Island is part of Ujong Kulon National Park. It was inhabited before Krakatoa blew up and killed everyone on the island in 1887 or so, now a National park in a very natural state. I'm not exposing or promoting anything here, just wanted to share my experiences and you can judge whether or not the island is off the beaten path for a reason or if you're dying to beat a path there.

The island has some very strong points going for it, but the cons will become apparent below. For now, here are the pros:

Easy transportation logistics - fly to Jakarta with nonstops from most Asian cities, a few hours drive to your boat.
very light crowds with few boats and no land-based surfers
some spot variety

Overview

A lot of what you don't read about surf spots concerns consistency - are they mysto waves or do they do their thing every day? The spots on Panaitan generally need specific conditions and more-than-background swell. Surfing all day every day is conceivable but unlikely, even if your endurance permits it. Also, all but one spot are exposed to the trade winds that prevail during peak swell season.

No trip to indo is complete without a little reef rash but the spots on Panaitan are pretty much for experienced surfers only. There are plenty of novice-friendly waves in Indo but only one on Panaitan and it's not worth the trouble. Either you are comfortable in the tube or you should head elsewhere.

Here's a breakdown of the spots. I don't think I'm revealing any super secret info here, this stuff is in the world stormrider guide, wannasurf.com, and that other indo surf spot book I reviewed. Some of these spots are called "Inside Left" or "Inside Right" elsewhere.

One Palm Point

This is the main attraction, an absolutely world class machine-like left that reels for hundreds of yards. It produces one of the best lineup photos in the world with 3 waves in the same picture all barreling perfectly. If you watch Second Thoughts, someone at the end of the DVD (Travis Potter I think) gets a 48 (!) second barrel at One Palm, and then gets worked on the reef. You get occasional glimpses of the shallow reef in the DVD, but really only if you're looking for it. The funny thing is that it actually IS really shallow, from start to finish, and you actually will hit the reef very hard most every time you mess up, and sometimes even when you do everything right. The upside is you'll get the longest barrel of your life there, period, end of story. I paddled out with three buddies and our guide in a 3mm fullsuit and Gath Helmet, we had it to ourselves under ideal mid-tide conditions and a swell that was showing shoulder to head high. I got four waves there, pulled in four times and got one ten second tube and four car accident reef beatings. I'm not talking about grazing the reef or scraping my foot or getting a little raspberry on my back, but hard impacts that could cause major joint damage or remove large chunks of skin. I've got One Palm scars on my back even through the wetsuit. On my last wave I was flying down the line in the barrel when, without warning, a completely dry coral head showed up about five feet in front of me. I mean like 4 inches out of the water dry. My board thunked into it, I flew off the front and got rolled hard on the reef like grandma pasting a pie crust with the rolling pin. While getting rolled if I hadn't put my hand in front of my face I probably would have torn the end of my nose off. I was pretty shaken up when I got back on the boat, not tired, not happy to be alive, not in need of a beer, just totally shaken up, like PTSD thousand yard stare mentally shocked. Such an unreal mix of rush, danger, and pain.

One Palm needs a decently big swell and a mid tide, and is the only spot on the island that won't blow out with strong SE trade wind. It's experts-only, and even insane chargers like Timmy Turner wear wetsuits & helmets there for reef protection.

Napalms

Napalms is the photo slut spot on the island. The boats park in the channel looking right into the eye of this reef-pass like left. The wave looks beautiful in photos, and any jerk can get good shots here from the deck of the boat drinking a high-formaldehyde "Anker" beer. The wave barrels from start to finish, and the guys

Perfect wave 2, Indonesia (YouTube video embed)

who have it wired will stall on the outside, pump two or three times through the slower section in the middle, then race through the inside barrel and kick out. At a couple feet overhead the wave slows down and requires some stalling, and at shoulder high or below the inside barrel may not really be makeable.
For lesser riders, blowing the takeoff is forgiven but getting too far back for the inside barrel or failing to kick out can be problematic. You won't necessarily hit the reef when you fall, but if you're not on the last wave in the set, you'll get pushed into knee-deep water on a very uneven and sharp reef with cuts to follow. The reef at Napalms is pretty much dry at low tide, yet the wave won't be breaking much further out. Experts only under those conditions, otherwise advanced with Gath recommended.

Illusions

This right breaks on W wind and can be quite shallow, yet doesn't really get hollow. Pretty fast down the line though. Call it a hotdog wave with consequences.

Apocalypse

This is the too-fast-for-pros Backdoor Pipe lookalike featured in Second Thoughts. Watch Koby Abberton try really hard to make this wave in that DVD. He's pumping, not stalling. If you're reading about surfing on a blog then there is a 99% chance you wouldn't make it either. There's probably a reef down there somewhere but I think the beatings here are more about high speed and heavy water. Like most rights in indo, it needs glass or W in the wind, so don't expect to find it doing it's thing on a July or August afternoon. It's way inside the bay, but has some kind of trench of swell amplification going so probably holds the most size of any spot on the island.

Ted's

Ted's is a fun, hollow-but-forgiving low tide left that picks up more swell than Napalms or One Palm but handles less wind. Glassy or N wind best, but light trades might be OK. Ted's has very makeable left tubes, and despite the visible dry reef on the inside and trying tons of dumb stuff on the outside, I never even touched the bottom here. As you get the wave wired you can take off further and further back, maybe even backdooring the initial peak. The wave ends in a bumpy rip section that conveniently flushes you away from the reef and back towards the lineup. It's really hard to tell what's happening at Ted's from a dinghy or the channel at Napalms, but if it's glassy and low tide it's probably good. I surfed four or five sessions here from shoulder high to overhead and had a hell of lot of fun. We saw some bomb sets come through but the spot doesn't really handle much over 8 ft faces very well, generally closing out. So figure on a 6-7 ft 14-15 sec swell Ted's would probably be maxing. This wave is very photo-unfriendly - our cook took a couple of water shots but given photo-ready spots elsewhere on Panaitan you will probably never see photos of this wave published anywhere.

Pussy's

A long, slow longboard type wave that picks up a lot of swell, handles trades OK and oddly will keep you inside and make you paddle a whole lot for some of the slowest waves in Indo. Low tide might be better but seriously, longboards only. It's a nice place to relax and screw around, especially if you can get the dinghy driver to ferry you back out to the top of the point.

How to get waves

The Camp

This guy who owns a surf camp at Grajagan wanted to start a camp here inside the point at One Palm. He bribed some officials, chopped down some trees, and started to build a surf camp in what was a totally pristine national park, including blowing up reef to build a dock, and hired some indo guys and a crappy boat to hang out there. This camp may or may not be running but the entire industry seems to have coalesced around the idea that the camp is a BAD THING. Nobody is willing to accept advertisements for the camp and their web site doesn't work. I'm not going to buck that trend by posting any info about who owns it or how to book it, if it even still operates. I will say that having been to the island and seen the layout of the spots, a boat big enough to sleep on and prepare food is essential. Being abandoned in the sun for 3 or 4 hours across a three mile wide bay or having to go back to the camp for a meal in the middle of perfect wind or tide conditions would defeat the entire purpose of coming to the island, and also could leave you in a bad spot if you got injured while surfing.

Boat Charters

A boat charter is the way to go and the best option for a boat charter is the Nomad. The Nomad also had one of the cheapest boat charters in indo when we went in 2005, $140/pp/day. Without the need for a long crossing or lots of motoring these charters can be shorter, like 7 or 8 days. The website for the Nomad is www.nomadsurfindonesia.com but the owner Todd is trying to sell his boat/business. He'll be running trips for early season 2007. If you book directly with Todd it will most definitely save you money. He pisses off surf travel agencies that book the Nomad by undercutting their prices but he's the best game in town for West Java so the agencies have to grin and bear it.

The other boat is Just Dreaming but I think it's a notch down from Nomad. It looked smaller and more crowdedand kind of ghetto. It may also be bookable directly on it's website, but Google it to find the URL or check the major online surf travel agencies.
A third boat option is that from time to time boats will transit from Timor area to Sumatra and on their Bali to Southern Sumatra leg they will often stop at Panaitan. Indies Explorer (big white two-masted sailboat) and Indo Jiwa (another 100ft+ sailboat) offer such trips in the early season.

A fourth boat option would be local feral boats. If you really want to do this then perhaps hanging out in west java fishing towns like Anyer or Labuan would be the way to arrange it. This assumes that your time is cheap and your tolerance for hot sun and bare-bones sleeping arrangements is high.

One of the best reasons to take a boat to Panaitan is the chance to go climb Anak Krakatau in lieu of surfing on your last day. It's a unique chance to see the remnants of one of the greatest natural disasters ever and smell the sulfur of an active volcano to boot.

The Locals

There's a hardcore crew of Jakarta expats that will take a boat out to the island for a long weekend when the swell is up. If they are there they will take off deeper and emerge more often than the visitors, thus by default getting the set waves. They have seen their share of drama and visitors but overall are nice guys with a great attitude.

Overall - it's a go.

It's worth going for Napalms and Ted's alone. Panaitan should be a go for early season (late March-May) or late season Oct-Nov. This will give you max odds of good winds combined with good swell. It's a no-go for June-Sept unless you're really focused on scoring One Palm as consistent trade winds will ruin other spots.