Wednesday 21 December 2011

Coaching Mentor's

The Go Pro Camera is a great coaching tool.
Coaching has come a long way over the last few years. If you needed an edge in the competitive arena you may have sourced a coach. These days more and more people are just trying to get more fun out of their surfing. Equipment, paddling, manoeuvres, surf travel are just some aspects covered in my programs. For me surfing is about fun, getting frustrated in the water because of a technique flaw is certainly not fun. Coaching makes a difference.

Roti Grommet's
The coaching fraternity is quite small and we all share our information. Martin Dunn, Surfing Australia's coaching director has been a great source of information for me and we often talk about different strategies to improve a surfer’s technique. I use surfcoach.com and attend Surfing Australia's Green Room Coaching conference to keep me at the forefront of coaching techniques. I regularly mentor a couple of South American coaches and enjoy that challenge, including the Spanish lessons. 



A good friend and work colleague at Island Surf School is Simon Chipper we collaborate on many coaching programs. Simon’s extensive travel in Indonesia as well as other exotic locations with world famous photographer Ted Grambeau on RipCurl photo shoots enhances my knowledge base not only in coaching delivery but in video and photographic technology as well.

Simon Chipper - Going native at Nembrala, Roti
So if you think you could use a tune up or need a coach on your next surf trip check out my website,

''get on board and enjoy the ride''


Thursday 15 December 2011

Surfboard Quiver 2011

Surfboard Quiver

The famous coolite 1963
For me my surfing equipment is really important. I started on a finless coolite in the 60's, my first fibre glass board was a 9'6" second hand Dale D fin, it weighed a ton.
These days I have a whole bunch of different boards for different conditions.
I also feel the surfing progression in Australia is in part due to the innovation of our shapers over the years, I am not that keen on imported copies with no R&D behind them so I support the locally made product. I weigh around 80 kg and surf nothing narrower than 19". 
Simon Anderson XFC

My stock board is a Simon Anderson 6'3" XFC. The XFC changed the way I surf, I use big fins and love this model.

I do have a Simon Anderson 6'6" SXE pintail for those longer clean waves. 

Reef Swallow
My Indo quiver includes a few Murray Bourton models. My go to board in the Ments is 6’5” reef swallow. Basically a mini gun type design, awesome speed and great sticking power on late drops. I do have a 6'10" version as well. 

The ledge Tamer
I have worked with Muzz developing a new model The Ledge Tamer. Mine is a 6'2" and is based on the Reef swallow. Excellent paddling power and sticks the super later drops and doesn't out run the barell. I use it at home on one of my favourite shallow ledges as well. It has a multi fin setup which I normally don't use but like the options between four and three fins when I am travelling. 

SXE Pintail
I do have a chambered Balsa Mal I picked up in Ecuador during the World Surfing Games. Don't surf the mal that much because of the variety of short board options that are around. Having said that I have an order in at Island Surfboards for a triple stringer, wooden nose and tail block Mal shaped by Terry Klemm of Klemm-Bell Surfboards fame.  Greg Hogan collaborates with Terry and apart from being a work of art these single fin long boards surf really well. 

One of my short board options when I need some paddle power is a Bourton Fat Bullet. This thing paddles like the Queen Mary but at 6'2" manoeuvres easily. It has a revolutionary hull design and four fins. 

An extravagance is a yellow 8' gun Simon Anderson shaped for me about seven yeras ago. Guns don't really date.The harsh reality is I am never going to use it at 15 foot plus Sunset where it would be perfect. I get to use it a couple of times a year here on the Island, it has an awesome sweet spot but just having a classic Simon Anderson hanging on the wall proves my theory for supporting Australian Shapers. 
Island Surfboard Soft Boards
If you have anything to do with learn to surf I use the Island Surfboards Soft board. Designed by Glyndyn Ringrose, a gun shaper/surfer this soft board is hands down the best I have ever used teaching people to surf. 

Haven't had that much time to give SUP's a real go yet. My feeling is the variety of board designs around today keeps me in the water most days having fun.

My tip for board designs is most guys are surfing too short and too narrow boards. As a coach this is usually where my coaching advice starts. If you would any other advice on boards for Australia or around the world please contact me. mal@surfcoaching.biz 
All you really need to remember is:

                       ENJOY THE RIDE

http://www.surfcoaching.biz/

http://www.simonandersonsurfboards.com/

http://www.bourtonshapes.com/

http://www.islandsurfboards.com.au/




Wednesday 14 December 2011

Sumba December 2011


West Sumba

29th November

Surf coaching program with Alena, Artom, Anna and Andre with a few Bali warmup days.

Garuda flight from Tullamarine to Denpassar.  Arrive at 2.00pm and after meeting Alena at the airport a quick drive to Villa Cara on top of Jimbarin Bay Hill. Awesome view of Airport rights from the Villa.Still have time for a surf at Balangan. Only small quick clean lefts with a few guys out.Big family dinner tonight with Russian cuisine. Alena's sister Olga and her friend Anastasia are staying along with Artom.

30th November
Swell looks a touch bigger this morning so we surf Airport lefts. Wind is still offshore with 3-4ft inconsistent lefts. We surf for a couple of hours and I get fried by the sun.We have lunch back at the Villa and then I take Olga to Kuta for her first surf lesson. Olga gets up at her first attempt and is styling. We have borrowed a soft board from Endless Summer, a Russian Surf School owned by Andre, Anna and Dimma.We all have dinner at one of Bali's best Japanese restaurants called 'Take' in Kuta. 

1st December
Lazy morning then a quick trip to Ulu's. It is pretty small but we find a few waves up at temples. The arvo session is back at Kuta with Olga. Perfect 2ft lefts and Olga is sliding left across the wave face. Alena doesn't believe Olga when tells her what happened.
Dinner tonight at Sardines, one of Bali's top restaurants in Seminak. Surprise surprise the smoked sardines were excellent. Finished off the night with some good music and fun at the Champagne Bar.

2nd December
Flying to Sumba this morning from the domestic terminal. Only 55 minutes to West Sumba. The crew from the Nihiwatu Resort are there to pick us up.
We drive through the hills for an hour and it reminds me go the Bali Bukit from days gone by. The last half hour we drop down to the coast and the terrain becomes dryer.
All the homes look similar. On poles with corrugated iron roofs. The roofs have a tall hat like structure in the centre. Apparently the locals store their prize possessions there. There is always a cooking fire alight inside and usually a concrete tombstone in the front yard to bury the family.Down on the coast we arrive at Nihiwatu Resort and are greeted by Ernst, Ben and the team. We sort our rooms, have some lunch and wait until the tide drops a tad for a sunset surf.The resort is pretty special, only 10 surfers. It is set in 400 plus acres and is connected with the Sumba foundation.

3rd December
Up early for a boat ride around the corner to the hole. 3-4ft A Frames.  Only wind swell so pretty messy but the potential is obvious.Back in time for the hobbits second buffet breakfast.Plenty of snooze time in between three course lunch and dinner. We do manage a couple more surfs on the left at our front doorstep. 

4th December
Still small wind swell. Alena, Anna and I surf the left while the boys take the rubber Ducky to the hole. Nothing special in the way of waves but we did take a look at the local village that more African than Indonesian. Really hot weather and while these villages are better off because of the resort they are still really poor. Health issues must be a problem.
Back to Nihiwatu for a three course lunch pulls on the guilt string a tad.
Boys have crack on the Jet Ski while the rest of us just kick back. 

5th December
Up for our early surf as usual, still really small. Anna decides we all need to trek to the waterfall. After a mini Kokoda hike in really hot humid conditions we arrive at the water fall. We have had bets how high it would be, ranging from 3 to 8 meters. The falls are actually 93 meters and stunning to look at. We swim in the cold water to cool off and have lunch in front of the falls. Pretty spectacular. Long drive back but in time for a late surf. 

6th December
Ground hog day as far as waves go. After the early surf we take the speed boat out for some snorkelling on the coral reef. Plenty of fish around. Lazy arvo with a late surf. We have met an interesting character called Claus Bogh who heads up the malaria prevention program for the Sumba foundation here. He dispels some of the malaria myth and explains with a coordinated approach how to begin to eradicate this disease.  

7th December
Some swell this morning, squeaked a quick surf before the wind came up. Tried a right north of Nihiwatu that picked up more swell but pretty fat. The rubber ducky takes us there but the resorts surf guide, a WA lad called Ben takes us back on the Jet Ski. Not a bad long board wave. Back out in front before dark with an onshore wind. Some size but not much quality. The wave here works best on mid tide. An evening slide show of Nihiwatu, red bull snowboarding and a coaching video.  

8th December
Still some swell. Up before 6am as usual. The wind is offshore and waves are pretty good. The swell direction is important here, needs to have some south in it to line up OK.
Breakfast, the buffet breakfast bar has disappeared for some reason today. We must be eating too much. Still a choice of eggs pancakes etc and the Sumatran plunger coffee blend is the best. Road trip a right south of Nihiwatu. Cross shore and too small. Check out a cliff top village on the way home. Really cool. Lunch and then a surf at 3.43 pm. A little onshore but fun swell is picking up.

9th December
Good waves this morning finally Nihiwatu shows us her potential. Clean offshore waves with an occasional 5ft set. Tricky wave to surf certainly needs a SW swell so you don't get pinched on the end section.
We need to do all the last minute billing etc. Drinks, board and boat hire are all extra.
Pile into the Nihiwatu bus for the ride back to the airport. Need to stop at the antique store for Alena to pick up some world famous Sumba Ikat (specially woven and dyed material).
The west Sumba airport is being renovated from the tin shed it has been. Plane arrives at 4.15 and takes off 20 minutes later.

All in All a really different trip, we didn't get epic waves in Sumba in fact I think everything has to be exactly right for the surf - swell, swell direction, wind and tides but I really enjoyed the Sumba experience, such different place than any other I have visited in Indonesia.




Friday 21 October 2011

Russian Rippers Mentawai Tour October 2011


Saturday, 1 October 2011
Off on my coaching trip to the Menatwai’s this morning. 3pm arvo Malaysian Airlines flight to KL. Take off as the AFL grand final is about to start.
Fly into the international airport at Kuala Lumpur but need to bus it to the Low cost airport 40 minutes away. Leave my boards at left luggage there for at $10. Just over a 5 minute walk away is Tune hotel or more correctly “dog box”. Pretty sure they had to build the double bed in the room to make it fit. Sleep there the night and up at 5.30am to catch the Air Asia flight to Padang. This trip is on a charter boat called the Addiction, I am coaching 7 Russian surfers.
Rizal picks me up and drives 45 minutes to Sumatran Safari’s office. I have brought a soft beginner board for Scuzz, who skipper’s the Southern Cross.
Hang around for the day walking around Padang, getting Indo phone credit and last minute supplies.
The Charter has a cool bunch of surfers; it is the Russian Ripper’s Tour.
Sunday, 2 October 2011
The Addiction is catamaran moored in the bay at Padang, some smaller boats use the river. The charter has been booked and we leave Sunday night. There is some wind around and the crossing is a bit bumpy. We leave around 8pm after a good meal of pasta and salad. Captain Eric gives the safety talk but is more worried about no white wine being delivered. We have quite a few crates of red though.
Everyone is excited, checking out their boards, fins etc. There is some wind around so the crossing from the mainland to the Ments gets bumpier the further we go.
Captain Eric and his wife Nicole are from California and their young son Eli is on board.
Alena, Tanya and Artem have flown in from Russia while Dmitri, Penza, Andre and his wife Anastasia have flown up from Bali.
Monday, 3 October 2011
Wake up early and surf Iceland. Not too much wind and before it gets too cross shore everyone scores some waves. Andre and Ana sleeps in, it is the first time being away from their daughter as well as having trouble sleeping on the crossing.
Have been doing some coaching on technique - the surfers are pretty switched on and fast learners.
In the arvo we head to seven palm. It is about head high with the occasional wide bomb. The girls are the set magnets. Every time they paddle out a bigger set comes through.
We head to the sheltered side of the island for the night. Alena and Andre try some wake boarding behind the rubber ducky or tender in boat language.
Tonight’s meal was roast chicken and tuna with potatoes, rice and salad. Dmitri eats enough for four men.
A slide show after dinner checking out the day’s photos. Ana has taken some extra pics and has a good eye for photography.
The night ends with a Russian DVD.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Captain Eric is up before light and we cruise to Scarecrows. We surf early in some inconsistent waves. Dmitri and Alena score bombs and everyone is pretty stoked. The boys have another surf with another boat of guys. The wind is a bit strong and putting a bump on the wave face.
Lunch is superb and after lazing around we up anchor to check Telescopes. Looks like the swell is picking up with clean 3 foot plus waves. I surfed with the girls and the boys took the rubber ducky off and head for Maccas – hopefully for an early surf. All the boats seem to be around here so Captain Eric thinks we may get Maccas uncrowded. Could be a good call.
Prawns and beef for makan malam. Enak Sekalil!!
The crew are really cool and work hard to please us.
Geni photographer, Toni cook , Andy cook, Yuri boat boy, Azman engineer
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Wake up to a strong wind and Maccas looks average, maybe a lay day?
By 8am the wind eases and the surf improves. The boys are out. Only tow other boats are here so it is a mellow crowd. The big boat goes around the corner and the girls surf silibue lefts. Now called RGP (Russian girl’s point). The conditions are perfect and all the girls are styling. It is a little bigger than we first thought. Girls have a great session. Dmitri and Penza sneak around to Maccas in the ducky.
A howling westerly wind comes through so we take the big boat back to Maccas. The wind eases and the boys are out again not before an awesome sushi and soup lunch.
It ends up a barrel fest. Andre snaps his DHD. Eric scores some waves but Geni gets the best barrel of the day.
Dmitri crashes, he is surfed out. The Addiction cruises to it’s mooring. There is wakeboarding and a visit to the beach and still Dmitri sleeps.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Up early and back around to Maccas. Dmitri and Penza are out, no wind and head high barrels. Only one other boat arrives. Maccas with two boats is unusual.
Alena overcomes her nerves and paddles out. She gets some really good waves and is stoked. The guys in the line up are calling her into waves and cheering. The other guys are getting tubed off their heads. Artem and Andre join us, we have a really good session. Eric takes Tanya and Ana to a sneaky spot called Kruto Point. They have a great surf in 2-3 ft clean lefts. (Kruto is a Russian word for cool).
Before dark we moor back behind Maccas. Eric takes us by ducky up the mangrove lined river to Sibilue village. This is a tiny village with a shop, school and big church on the hill. We are escorted through the village by the local kids who want to know our names. The return trip was almost in the dark and just a little spooky. The village is really poor and I must admit I felt a bit guilty when we returned to the Addiction for a meal of roast chicken, potatoes, fish, vegetables, salad and chocolate cake (the Mentawai dilemma).
We finished the night with the slideshow and more Uno. Artem wins again. Penza wins the second game and the bottle of Jack Daniels is empty!!
Friday, 7th October 2011
Two more boats arrived last night at the Macaroni’s mooring. The swell has dropped so we head north a little and stop at Bat Caves. This is a beautiful spot. Surf is an OK right hander. Dmitri and Alena have an early surf. Alena doesn’t surf on her backhand that much but catches a couple of long rides. The hangover team slowly get up and after our surf take the ducky to explore the bat caves and do some wake boarding.
We head south to Roxy’s. It is light across shore wind and only 3 foot on the sets but still lots of fun. For the first time everyone is in the water together. Everyone’s surfing is improving. I grab the SUP and tandem surf with Ana. Alena and Dmitri stay out till dark. We head around to Thunders for the night. There are two boats here. We thought there could be more. Really good slide show with some coaching discussion at the end of it. Geni had taken the photos from the beach. Eric, Nicole and Eli spend the afternoon on the beach as well.
I win Uno for the second time today.
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Wake up at Thunders with one extra boat, really glassy until 8am then the onshore comes in. The boys are out, Dmitri first in the water again. I take Alena, Tanya and Ana over to another left across the bay. It looks really good but it has a powerful wedge that drills Alena and me. Alena loses her board, Tanya gets rolled while Ana surfs one all the way in. The wind comes up so we race back to the boat in the rain. Croissants for breakfast are good. Eric has an old client over from the States who is on another boat over for breakfast.
We take off back north and look at Rags Right and Green Bush but keep going until The Cut. We surf a small clean fun right hander. Tonight is BBQ night. The crew set up a bonfire and cook chicken and fish with all the trimmings – salad, potatoes, rice, vegetables, Bintangs and red wine. Tanya has all the good music and after beach combing for shells, eating and drinking, fireworks come out. Geni takes some cool time elapsed photos.
Everyone has a fun night.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Big sleep in today. Everyone is a bit dusty from last night’s BBQ. It is overcast and raining with a small swell so no big deal.
We head north to Maccas, only two boats with four foot sets. Everyone including Eric is a little surprised how good the quality is. The boys are out while I take the girls to Krutos. The trip back in the ducky is against the wind and slow.
Geni and I sneak out for a quick surf while everyone is resting. There are only four other guys. For a while we think there is a new guy on the boat until we realise Tanya had cut Andre’s hair.
Hamburgers for lunch and more surfing at Maccas. The girls, including Nicole, take on little Maccas. Everyone gets waves and surfs till dark. Dmitri has mastered the double arm pump to generate speed and is really stoked. A pretty good day of waves. Tanya manages to do the washing as well.
The wind is north-west so we moor inside Maccas. This is Tsunami territory so the crew set up a quick release knot on the anchor for a quick getaway.
Roast lamb for dinner. The slide show is interrupted by a big sea snake that climbs up the back of the boat. Dmitri or Dima is not too keen on snakes. He has been bitten twice in Bali and spent time in Hospital form the bite.
Monday, 10 October 2011
Wake up before 6am. Maccas is smaller but still has 3ft plus sets. Dmitri, Penza, Alena and I are out there. Alena has the best surf of her trip so far. Takes a lot of steep drops and surfs them a long way. In the end, it is just Alena and me. We should go in because it is getting shallow. Alena gets drilled on the reef and gets a few cuts.
After breakfast we decide to cruise to Lance’s lefts/rights. The wind shifts a little so we go past the left and drop anchor at Bintangs. A short fun right, it is small and inconsistent but Penza has a crack. We take the ducky and wakeboard for a while. It took me at least 6 times to get to my feet but eventually I was up. The other guys made it look easy. Alena, Artem, Tanya and Andre are good. The wake on the ducky is small but they had a few tricks happening.
The girls surf the small A frame beachie. Tanya catches about 25 waves and has worked out the pop to her feet. Andre and Artem surf the kayak together then take turns on the SUP.
At dinner (lasagne, spaghetti, salad, fish and vegetables) we toast to Roxy Day which is girls day for this trip. During dinner Eric sets a course for Burger World. A five hour trip north, it is very calm and easy travelling.
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Another day, another wave. We are at Burger World and no surprise that Dmitri is first out. Andre, Artem and I have a surf while Penza is waiting for low tide. Ana is taking photos. Tanya is in the kayak and Alena is trying stand up paddle. Later Alena and I try to catch some waves but it is way too crowded.
We all have lunch and the boys surf with less people. There are about 7 camps in the playground area.
About 3pm we head over the Bang Bangs – a fast hollow left. I surf with the girls till nearly dark. Ana and Tanya get caught inside and fight for the same board. Nicole gets a couple of good waves on the longboard while Alena has found the speed button in her technique.
The sunset is amazing! The boys have taken the ducky to Na Pussi and score some double over head rights. They are pumped when they return in the dark. Dmitri can’t get the smile off his face. Another really fun day of waves.
Prawns and fish for dinner with crème caramel desert.
I sneak off to bed while everyone plays charades.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011

We have anchored back at Burger World for the night but we cruise to Na Pussi in the morning as everyone sleeps. The sea is alive with bait fish so the fishing lines are out and we zig zag through them but have no luck.
The boys surf Na Pussi and I take the girls to Bang Bangs. There are three guys out, a French guy and two Brasilians. They are pretty cool and seem pleased to chat to the girls. We all have some small fun lefts until two more Brasillians paddle out so we jump in the ducky and check E Bay and Pit Stops on the way back to the Addiction.
I must be mixing with the group well because Dmitri starts talking to me in Russian this morning. The boys surf Na Pussi all day and the girls and I go back to Bang Bangs. Alena gets a couple of good waves and starting to do cutbacks. The French man comes back out and we think he is in love with Tanya.
After dinner, everyone plays charades again, this time a mixture of Russian and English. Captain Eric produces a bottle of Jack Daniels which doesn’t help the game or maybe it does because we have a really good night. Artem and Andre describe the chocolate bar Bang Bang and Jet Ski really funny. Alena gives Dmitri the word ‘’fantasy’’ and we get stuck trying to guess it for about 45 minutes. Captain Eric has had a couple of drinks too many and goes to bed. I sneak off too but the team stay up till 1.30pm.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Last day today. The conditions are beautiful and glassy but there is only a small swell. Dmitri, Ana, Alena and I check the surf spots by rubber ducky. A Frames, Two Bobs, Rifles and Pistols and they are all too small. We end up back at Bang Bangs (now renamed Artems). Only the girls and I are out with the French guy from the day before. The tide is lower with some bigger, hollower waves. Everyone get some even when a few more Brazillian’s come out. Alena finishes her surf with an overhead bomb wave. Late drop, bottom turn and maximum speed down the line. A good one to finish the trip on.
There is the last minute swapping photo files everyone has on their trip. Geni has a great photo package for everyone as well.
The boys are still keen for a wave so we check Burger World but it is onshore and not very good. We return to Bang Bangs and Artem and Dmitri have a surf. It gets crowded with other boats.
The rest of the team wakeboard for the afternoon.
We have to start packing up our gear. The realisation the trip is over starts to kick in and everyone is a little sad. The Addiction will head back to Padang tonight. We should reach port around 3am. We will sleep on the boat and leave from the boat to the Airport.
Our final meal of prawns and beef is really good.
We all say our goodbyes. It has been a super Kruto trip.
Friday, 14 October 2011
Wake up at 5.30am on the boat. Time for a quick coffee, last minute goodbyes to those who are up and then a one hour trip to the airport. I fly Padang to Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia. There is a US$25 visa charge on the way in to Indonesia and a 100,000 rupiah charge for leaving. If you are on Air Asia you will get charged about US$25 per sector for your board bag. If you want to get on board a Mentawai charter boat next year start checking now, they are always heavily booked. There are a few things to keep in mind when booking. Two tenders are really good for splitting the pack on the big boat and the amount of days the charter is for. How experienced the captain/surf guide are. I have been a couple of different ones but the best so far were:

Thursday 15 September 2011

Argentina


Argentina - International SurfingAssociation Level one and two coaching course:

A last minutecall up to present Level one and Level two coaching programs in Mar del Platato fifty plus surfers from Argentina, Peru and Uruguay through an interpreterwas challenging but extremely successful. Caco and his team were excellenthosts and I did enjoy the famous Argentinean BBQ.The waves at Mar del Plata were OK. The Atlantic is my least favourite ocean. Number one is the Indian with the Pacific a close second. Theh water temperature here is cold. Winter suits, booties, gloves and helmets are the go. There is reasonable swell but it doesn't last long. Certainly a cool spot to hang out though.

Thursday 18 August 2011

Thailand

Thailand - International SurfingAssociation Level one coaching and Level one Judging course:

Level one ISA coaches from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore

In Julysurfers from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore gathered in Phuket for an ISAeducation program. Apart from the two courses I worked with the young Thaigrommets on some training drills and staged a mock three nation team event. Allthe surfers in this region are super keen and were excellent students. Bigthanks to Thai legend Krab Joob and my friend Krab Laurie for theirorganisational skills. Phuket does have some waves through July August, only small wind swell beach break type stuff. You certainly wouldn't put this place on your surf destination map but if you have a couple of young grommets and a partner who enjoys good food and the famous Thai Massage you might enjoy a holiday here.Kata beach has the most waves and the is a cool surf school at Patong beach run by my friend Decha.
Thai Grommet training: Is everybody happy!!

Monday 1 August 2011

Father Son Mentawai Trip July 2011

18 June 2011
Off to Bali. Will arrive around midnight. Hope Un’s are there to pick us up. No problem. Actually not a bad flight the Arvo one even though it was Jetstar. Had to sit on the plane for an hour because  the water urn had broken and the pilot was waiting for the paper work. Also they had to get extra petrol as the re-fuellers hadn’t put enough petrol in. OMG. Got to bed at Un’s at 3am Melb time.
19 June 2011
Yehaaa. Woke a little tired at Un’s hotel, our favourite place in Kuta. Everything is pretty quiet. Little bit of wind around and some swell. Euro style breakfast for us and then a surf on the beaches. Pat is frothing. Spent most of the day chillin ’with Redo and Eric the local ding repairers. I had time to squeeze in a massage. Cath did the nail thing and then a cheap but great meal at Warung Indonesia.
20 June 2011
Slipping into the lazy days. Cath off shoppin while we think about a surf. Pool looks OK. Have to walk at least 5 meters to it. Ahhh crap, our favourite coffee shop Aromas has been pulled down for a hotel. Finding good coffee nearby is a priority. Steve Palmer reckons Aromas will be rebuilt late 2011. Dinner at the night market. Murtabah, fried chicken and corn and satays. 

21 June 2011
Pretty windy again, overcast mornings sunny arvos. Water temp a bit cooler than normal. Still boardies only. Surfed Kuta area from the reef. A progress. Noel and Dean due in this arvo. Noel and Dean arrived at 4pm. Pat happy now!!!!  Mmmmm where to for dinner tonight?......Nasi Campur at Warung Jogya. 

22  June 2011
Another lazy day. Swell still up with good waves at half way. Pat and Dean getting plenty of waves and sunburn. Need to get the skin ready for the boat trip. Squeezed in a massage. Cath and I went to Richie and Lisa’s pad for dinner in Sanur. BBQ fish.  Awesome house. Lisa works for the Australian Consulate here in Bali. Taxi to Sanur cost about $7.00.
23 June 2011
Not as much wind around today. Boys off for a surf at half way. Cath and I kicking back!. Cath keeps  feeding the cat and the kittens. Funny they seem to hang around our room. Dinner at Lanai on the beach front with Noel. Pat and Dean hooked up with Jack Homer. 

24 June 2011
Day before the boat trip, trying not to peak too early but everyone is getting pretty excited. The three boys are off surfing middle reef and I am sorting last minute details. Spoke to Scuzz in the Ments and everything is sorted. The boys are back from the reef after being smashed by jellyfish!
Ahhh, the mozzie man, he comes once a week to fumigate. He doesn’t wear a mask but his mate does. Cath and I have dinner at the Balcony – Ikan Pepes (steamed fish in banana leaf). 

25 June 2011
Yeah ha! Have booked a van to the domestic airport for 5.45am. If we leave by 6 we will be cool. You have to consider Indonesian rubber time (jam karet). Pat, Dean, Noel and I have been staying in Bali for a few days. Driver turns up at 6.10. He is the Indonesian version of Mark Webber. So Made Webber with a dozen boards on the roof powers through Kuta faster than his counterpart through Monaco. I am in the death seat and am starting to doubt the wisdom of telling him we were late for the plane. Everything ends well and we have time for breaky. Three hour transit in Jakarta left the boys to their own devices and have snuck off to a VIP lounge. $8 – comfy chairs, food, drinks, WiFi etc. Next stop Padang. Scuzz our skipper will do the pick up and take us to his place.
Padang is a huge port and matriarchal society. It is also a nightmare for earthquake and Tsunamiz. Not if but when!
Will board the southern Cross by speed boat. It had to leave the river earlier because  of the tide. Meet up with the boys who have come direct from Melbourne via KL. We have to take two trips out thrught the river to the Southern Cross. The crossing from the mainland to the Ments is about 85 miles. It takes all night and we get tossed around in a massive tropical rain storm. There are 8 air con bunks and a sauna box up top. I am in the box and spend most of the night trying to stay on the bed and man it is hot.
26 June 2011

Wake up near Telescopes and surf the right opposite. Everyone is having a ball. The young boys are frothing. They have had two surfs,  jumped off the top of the boat, gone for a standup paddle down to the other boat here with the Jeffrey Warrens before lunch. Richie Laing finished the day with 5 surfs at 3 different spots. By the way Gado Gado for lunch was awesome. The crew are really cool. They clean, organise, cook, drive the speed boat. I notice the lads are preparing fish for tea tonight. Everyone is stuffed by the arvo so some serious hammock time is called for. Pretty well everyone has a siesta.

27 June 2011
Woke up with a wind shift so we headed north for 3 hours. A rocky trip but the upside was 2 really good fish. The first one a meter long – Mahi Mahi – which ended up as lunch and a small tuna which ended up as sashimi for for tea. The food is awesome.

A few of us surfed an outer rifles reef . Mitch schored 2 deep barrels. The next surf was close to the island and everyone enjoyed a great right hander called pussies. Started to move to a new break and got caught in a massive rain storm and wind shift. Came back to pussies and surfed till night fall. After dropping anchor dinner included freshly baked cake and ice-cream. Aki put on a slide show. Everyone is blown away with the quality of the pics. Beers as usual but because of the excitement factor the whisky and bourbon comes out. Brock and Jimma come over for a visit after having duelling laser battles with Mitch. Such a good night with Aki doing the father/son and group photos. The tall stories started ending in plenty of laughs. 

28 June 2011
Lazy morning with a few boys surfing the right again. Everything starts pretty early. Scuzz checks out the weather around 4am and everyone is up around 6am. Our right gets crowded so we take off and end up surfing Rifles (one of the crown jewels of the Mentawaiis). 5 of us out in pristine surf with barrels everywhere. Pat has the best surf of his life including standup styling tube. Dean reckons his legs wouldn’t stop shaking and mitch gets a couple of super quality waves that would be at home in the best surf movie ever.

The other boys surf another left and right but Rifles is so good we move the big boat up there and after a rain squall everyone has a crack (almost everyone). We beat all the other boats by about 4-5 hours then it starts to get crowded so we take off south on a three hour cruise. I spot some sea birds and wave the magic finger on the fishing rod. Bugger me if we don’t  get a run instantly (Noel thinks I have taken on some bystical powers). Vic, the only guy that hasn’t surfed rifles, reels in a meter long Wahu. We are doing well on the fresh fish count. Sashimi again tonight. The ding repairer, Jap, is doing better out of Richie.

29 June 2011
Head South and for the next 6 days we don’t see another boat, great waves , perhaps the best I have had on a Ments trip, Green Bush, The hole and a host of other lefts and rights. Scuzz and Aki organised their tradional bonfire/barbie  on a deserted island and we BBQ’d some lamb.

July 5 2011
As we headed north again we called in to Sikicup to check in with the harbour marshall. The boys had organised school books and pencils etc for the local junior school. What a blast seeing the joy and the teacher and kids faces. They thought we were Santa Claus. Very inspirational stuff helping communities affected by the Tsunami.

Managed to get Maccas on. It was crowded but not during the lunch time session. Solid barrels, Mitch broke another board, I think he busted four all together while Pat got pile driven into the reef and tweaked his shoulder.

We squeezed an awesome surf in a t Lances Rights as well. Managing to get all the Mentawi jewel surfing spots on was just amazing.

Ended up surfing Bintang’s all day on the last day with Mitch, Dean, Pat and me. The other Boys had a crack at Lances Lefts.

The crossing back to Padang that night was sheet glass, what a way to finish. Arrived back in Padang around 3 am. The deal here is you stay on the boat till morning, wake up and have breakfast before heading to the airport.

To do a father son boat trip is so cool but to get the Ments firing with no crowds as well was bloody bagus. Thanks again to Scuzz, Aki and the team. All i can say is what the boys have been saying since the trip finished. “ I want to go back”

http://www.sumatransurfariis.com/


Powered By Blogger