Week #3 in Indo – Featured Blog

The Indian Ocean isn’t known as the Swell Factory for nothing. Another week of really fun waves, ranging from head high through to well overhead. Winds were mildly onshore for a day or so, but just enough to ruffle it up slightly. The reefs handle the onshores pretty well anyhow.
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Not a fan of the onshore at home, but if the water’s a balmy 25C or so, no worries. Or should I say “Tidak Masala”

Been trying to learn a bit of Indonesian whilst we here. Every day the surf guide gives me 2 new words to learn, so have a bit of vocab going now. Actually an easy language as languages go. Interestingly there are a fair number of words that are Afrikaans, well Dutch I guess.
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The Dutch had a big presence here back in the day, so some of their words have been adopted. Banana in Indo is a “piesang”.

​One of the waves down the east coast is a super fun left and right peak which the ou’s reckon is similar to Trestles – just with no-one out. Has quite a sandy reef as well, which means you can go for close-out manoeuvers without having to be too worried about getting cheese-grated.

​Waters always slightly murky there as there’s a small creek which runs out next to the break. The surf guide swam to shore to get some shots from the front, and on the way back out had a small reef shark swim about him for a closer look. Just a small dude, but enough to remind you they’re out there nonetheless.

Loving surfing in my “jeans” – keeps the sun off ya legs and stops the reef from chowing your legs too. Lost count of the number of times new guests have looked at me strangely, and then politely asked why I’m surfing in jeans!

​Actually wettie leggings made by Billabong. Just 1mm, so don’t make you hot at all, and are super comfy to surf in. No more boardie rash, wonky boardie tans and no cuts on ya legs. Triple whammy bonus. Def gonna be buying more when I get home.

Bit paranoid about the sun these days after Garth had a bit of skin cancer cut out, so the less sun exposure the better methinks. Plus when you out in the blazing equatorial sun for a month and a half you have to be safe rather than sorry. Must have carried at least 4kg’s of sunscreen over, and have used most of it.

Also always surf with our caps, as helps heaps not only to keep the sun off your face, but to help with the glare – which can get pretty full on late arvo at some of the spots. Feels like it’s frying your eyeballs. Our “saffa strings” do the job to keep our hats with us – just 2 fishing clip swivels and a small bit of string in between. Clip on onto the tag of your rashie or shirt, the other onto the cap, and off ya go, hat can get washed off but still attached to you. No annoying trips over the reef to fetch it.

Was a good week for the premier left in the region. Coupla cranking days out there. In the process of trying to overcome my aversion to backside. Never ever go left at home, so no idea what to do! Like driving a car but there’s no steering wheel! Serious kook-alert.
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Have to say this is the ideal wave to do it on. Really mechanical, and really long. If you’re a goofy or love backside you’d go ape for this spot when it’s on.

​Plucked up the courage to take off on a mid-sized set, only to see it start to bowl ahead of me…so chickened out and straightened out like a nerd…..and saw it barrel of down the reef whilst I headed for a flogging. In retrospect should have at least had a go at making it seeing was gonna get tumbled regardless. 

​Had a day at the sucky right reef close to the resort. Always cool to sit and watch village life go by from the line-up. There’re a bunch of huts right in front of the surf spot, which breaks really close to shore, so in between sets you can sit and suss out everyday life. Like pigs wandering along the beach. And piglets. And chickens. And roosters. And lighties with half-boards. Not sure if you win the coin toss you choose the front or the back half though?

It’s one of only 2 spots in the whole island chain that have a few locals. Must be hectic to have to learn on a wave like this, but guess you don’t know any different so that’s what you do. Turns the kids into insane barrel riders, that’s for sure. They all look so relaxed in the shack, and somehow never seem to hit the reef when they wipeout, just pop up smiling and laughing. Wish I could share the “charge and laugh” attitude, instead of my scared shoulder hop approach at this spot.

One of the island chains famous spots is called DC’s, short for Depth Charges. A crazy shallow super fast barrel. Guaranteed to part your skin from your body if you fall. So don’t fall. Dude got concussed and half scalped out there this season and had to be airlifted back to Singapore. Definitely for chargers only. It needs solid swell to break, and showed its face mid-week. We drove past en route down the coast and stopped and mind-surfed it for a bit. Nice from far, far from nice. High tide only, and even then you only a rail-catch from disaster.

​Finally got to surf a spot called Le-Ba. It’s a great lil right tucked away behind an island, so the swell has to refract right round the island, hence needs good sized swell to get in there. Sucks up on a ledge and for all the world looks like it’s just this big closeout ahead of you, but it just holds up right the way through, peeling off at pace along the edge of the island.

Had my Superman rashie on that sesh so the ou’s made the call that every bail out had to be a Super man – so got the “up, up and away” look going. Only “air” I’m every likely to do!

​Cos is definitely a bail out at the last minute spot as it suddenly just sucks dry on a rock shelf as it hits the beach. One of our crew got dragged over it and bounced along it, and on paddling back out said it was not something he’d recommend!

Another lekker week in the islands, gonna be hard to leave this place. Could happily just stay forever! Well, at least until the winter swells start showing up and scaring the kak outta us!