Onshaw
The smothering southerly is here, and it’s making a mess. The rain will come later tonight (9-15mm), but until then, we have a much cooler day (23). I saw waves around waist to chest high, the gruesome onshore junkie variety. The water was pretty empty, but plenty of people were on the beach. Good day […]
Badais, Tribes and Tides
The Indonesian archipelago of Mentawais (‘Ments’) consists of 70 islands, but four larger islands dominate the landscape. The wave-rich area lines the outside of Sumatra and cops the full brunt of swells from the south. June, July, and August are typically peak seasons with the biggest waves of the year, but so far, we’ve only […]
Get Wet
Today’s the warmest day of the week with a muggy 28 degrees. It’s supposed to rain later tonight, but right now you’ve got an A-grade, superdeluxe morning for a swim, walk or even surf a 1 foot crumble on a mal. The combo of new north swell and high tide (H 6:29 am) hindered any […]
Le Gauche
Indonesia is the land of the left-handers. Indo’s orientation to the great swells from the Indian Ocean means they break left more than right. A goofy footer’s paradise. I reckon we surf 4 lefts to every right. I’m a natural footer! Our bump in swell is dropping and the swell magnets are still putting on a show. […]
Ignite
Hey, how are you? 2 weeks ago, we saw a swell on the charts that would coincide with the middle of our boat trip. And yep, it arrived right on time and produced the goods. Mentawais has ignited. Waves are pulsing, and the boats are spreading out to their favourite reefs. We’ve surfed all day […]
Telos
Hi. I’m in Indonesia for my annual surf-infused junket and loving it! We’re surfing the dregs of that swell that hit Bali for the WSL finals, and I won’t lie, it’s now small. When it’s small you can hit the exposed beaches which seem to always have a head high wave…and they’re so hollow. Not […]
Thunders
May, June, July are usually the best months to come to the Mentawais for surfing. It’s when all the winter storms down near the roaring 40s, 50s and 60s kick in, dispersing swell in this direction. I won’t lie, this trip we’ve had a consistent run of 3-5 foot days and beautiful weather – nothing […]
Goofy vs Natural
Fact: The best waves in Indonesia are usually lefts. It’s due to the physical orientation of Indonesia and how it relates to the South Westerly swell source. On a boat charter, there is a constant divide between the natural footers and goofys – we’ve got a 50-50 split this year and the wolf pack go […]
Holey Moley
6 things you may not know about the Mentawais (where I am right now): In 1983 the archipelago of Mentawai was discovered as a surfing destination by salvage diver, west Aussie, Martin Daly. The first wave he surfed was Debuts, at the most southern tip of the islands (coincidently where we just slept the night). […]
Dropped
It’s dropped off a helluva lot overnight. Leftover dribbles best suited to large surf craft with volumes well into the thirties. That’s cool, tomorrow the swell will return. The next few days should have fun waves, tomorrow being the biggest. The Bondi Barefoot is on Sunday, 24 September 2017. It’s a bunch of soft sand races […]
Indo Magic
I won’t mess with words, Indonesia has been pumping this week. Why so good? Well, there’s been a constant supply of swell. Nice long period stuff all the way from the roaring forties down near Antarctica. Most days are 4 foot plus with a few beefy 8-10 foot days this week. Broke 2 boards in […]
MF in BW
Mick Fanning, dubbed the fastest man that has ever set foot on a surfboard, came to Sydney on this salubrious, grey, onshore, wintery morning. The waves are VERY junkie…but at least there is something to surf. Mick’s taken a year off after 15 years on the pro surfing tour grind. I asked him if he […]
Turbo
Nothing like a bit of swell to kick off a week. Even better when it’s a south swell and feeds directly into Bondi. Waves were in the 3-4 foot mark…the banks are funky but at least you can paddle into something. Not a cloud in the sky – need I say any more? I went […]
