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Oct 17th surf report

Our latest group of guests left today.  It was a good trip with consistent surf the whole time and some epic sessions sprinkled throughout.  We got fun Ebay, Bankvaults, 4 Bobs, Beng Beng…..   Everyone was happy with their decision now to not cancel their trip after the earthquake and we were very happy we could get enough fuel and supplies in to pull it together for them.  Look for an article in Islands Magazine to be coming out in the near future.  Their crew was on this trip and they got some good waves and stories and photos for their magazine.  Fun trip! 

Our new group arrived this afternoon and got right out into some really fun, head high plus 4 Bobs with no one else out.  We only have 10 guests right now, first time we haven’t been full since early March!  Our season is winding down, unless some of you want to book soon!  Looks like smallish surf in the forecasts for this week but I’m sure we’ll have fun! 

Sep 23 surf report

Wednesday morning (9/23) started off pretty darn small. Everyone was starting to watch the swell forecasts for a nice healthy swell due on Friday. A boat motored to check Hideaways early and, although it was offshore and clean, the waves were small and inconsistent and there were already two boats on it, so we returned to the resort and surfed 4Bobs. After lunch several of the guys launched a dive trip, and five of us hopped in a boat to check what we expected to be tiny but clean Beng Beng. Once again, we never made it. On the way to Beng Beng, we noticed that the winds were really pretty light, maybe 5 mph or so. Hey, back home we all surf if it's 5 mph onshore, so let's check Nipussi. Score! Nobody out, and the sets were going several feet overhead. Way better than knee high Beng Beng! We surfed for hours, shaking our heads at how clean and big the wave faces got, then nursed our noodle arms with Bintangs watching the sun set on the ride home.

Sep 21st surf report

Monday morning (9/21) a new swell was supposed to arrive, but at dawn it looked pretty small out front. We ate a casual breakfast, and decided to send the big boat with some lunch to Beng Beng around mid-morning. Some of the guys were keen to surf, so we sent an early boat to check Hideaways, hoping for maybe head high swell on the high tide. They ended up getting some fun ones, but by the time the big boat arrived the combination of inconsistent waves and low tide convinced everyone to bail. A few guys went back to the resort in the small boat, while the rest went to Beng Beng.

Beng Beng was really clean, and we were the only boat there. But the sets were still really inconsistent. Not sure where our new swell was? A few guys surfed and a few others just hung out in the beautiful surroundings, munching on a boat load of lunch food and listening to music.

We checked Hideaways again on the way back. A few guys jumped in and grabbed the few nice waves that did come in. The rest of us found the Bintangs that were stashed for the ride home, and supervised the surfing from the comfort of the big boat.


Sep 20 surf report

Sunday morning (9/20) the call was for an early trip to Burgerworld. Man is it hard to rally a dozen guys at dawn! We did a pretty good job getting out of here though, and had a full boat in the water by about 7:00 am.

As we left, 4 Bobs was showing about head high on the sets. That's quite a bit of swell for Burgerworld to be working at its best. When we arrived, the ocean had a little morning sickness and the swell was definitely big for Burgerworld, with some of the outside sets going 2x overhead. Those are the ones that mush out and roll through the whole lineup in one big burger, giving the place its name. But there were definitely some good smaller ones mixed in.

The second boat showed up an hour or so later with lunch. By that time the ocean had cleaned up nicely, and we were still the only boats on it. Everyone had fun, and several of the guys grabbed nice waves up near the shore at a couple of feet overhead that produced good little barrels.

After a few hours everyone's arms were pretty worked, so we packed up. One boat went straight back to the resort, and the other took a pass by Beng Beng. Conditions were clean and the sun was high, but the swell looked pretty darn small. Two of us jumped in, while some of the others headed to the beach to check out the island. The swell picked up a bit, and although it was still pretty small there were some decent rides, and the four guys (!) in the water had a good time.

The mid-day sun cooked us pretty quickly, and everyone was pretty baked when we got back to the resort. In the late afternoon there was talk of sending a boat to check Bank vaults, but the wind wasn't quite right and 4 Bobs was looking pretty good right out front. A few guys surfed that, and ended up with some nice photos to prove it.

Three of us set off on another fishing trip in the small boat. We dropped Brad and his spear fishing gear at the edge of the drop-off on the other side of the little island out front. Then we drift fished the bottom for a while using the prawn heads from the kitchen as bait. We got a few bites, but that got old, so we rigged up and trolled around behind the two little islands. There was a lot of surface activity, with something big chasing baitfish all over the place. Finally we hooked up with a nice little tuna - perfect size for sashimi! That ended up a great appetizer before our shrimp dinner.

Sep 18th surf report

Friday morning (9/18) started out windy. With a new swell and light winds forecast for later in the day, we had a lazy morning and headed out in the speedboat around 10:00.
The plan was to meet at Nipussi, check it, and then proceed to Beng Beng. We never made it. When we arrived at Nipussi there were maybe 4 boats on it, but only about 10 guys out. The wind was shifting to offshore Nipussi and side-shore Beng Beng. Ray suggested we hop out and surf for a while, hoping that the other guys would head in for lunch. We radioed back to the resort to send lunch, and filtered into the lineup.

Sure enough, an hour or so later it was just the Kandui crew in the water. Sets were going just under 6 feet Hawaiian, with some head high inside waves throwing nice little barrels. We surfed for hours. Ray shot 700 photos from the beach, and got a lot of nice ones.

Late in the session the wind shifted more onshore and the new swell looked like it was starting to show. Time to motor and check Rifles! With about an hour and a half of light left, we cruised back to the resort to find Rifles too small to be worth trying. We settled for a short 4Bobs sesh and a big lasagna dinner with some fresh greens from Dave's greenhouse. Another tough day in paradise.


Sep 17th sure report

Saturday the new swell was definitely showing. A boat left early for Bankvaults, and a few guys hit 4Bobs which was going well overhead on the sets. I started there, but when the size came up headed over to Karambat Left. Gooooddd call! It was shoulder to head high on the sets with a dozen turns of pure pleasure. Just me and Agus from Siberut out. Those indo dudes are so much fun to surf with. They're all about stoke and fun. Neither of us knew more than a few words of the other's language, but laughs and cheers are universal. After a couple of hours a few bigger sets rolled through, going a couple of feet overhead. After brushing the reef, with my leash strap luckily taking most of the hit, I decided to declare victory and come in for some antiseptic and food.

The afternoon sesh turned out to be a fishing trip in the speedboat. Ray, Mike, Brad, and I trolled back and forth between Snake Island and Rifles. We saw some bait fish on the surface, but didn't get any strikes. It was a beautiful ride nonetheless, just great to be out in the ocean.

Sep 16th surf report

Wednesday (9/16) started off really windy. Everyone was mostly hanging around the restaurant in the morning, with only Paul braving choppy head-high 4Bobs. Nipussi and Bankvaults were the only spots likely to be working with the north wind, so the plan was to send a boat there early, and follow up with the big catamaran which would park there and hang out all day. Unfortunately, several other boats had the same idea. By 10:30 there were maybe 25 guys out at Nipussi, with another dozen at Bankvaults. The good news was that the waves were big and clean, going 2x overhead on the sets at Nipussi and head+ at Bankvaults. Sets were a little inconsistent, but even so early afternoon a lot of guys had had their fill, and the lineup was down to 8-10 guys.

One of the boats headed back to the resort for a big lunch, and maybe half the group stayed with a big cooler full of snacks, drinks, and sandwiches. Conditions stayed clean for them, and everyone got a good case of noodle arm. Ray took literally hundreds of great pictures from shore before he couldn't take it anymore and had to get some Nipussi himself.

Sep 15th surf report.

Our last couple of days were pretty big. The swell had a lot of south in it and we were hoping for that epic Rifles session. We had a little wind window for it, but not the day of days like we always imagine when a nice Rifles swell is in the forecast. But the pictures I will send of the session we did get will probably not get us any sympathy from anyone for our “bad luck”. We also got some Hideaway’s, a little more manageable this time, and some more Ebay, and some big 4 Bobs one afternoon that was looking a little Rifle’ish, only about 1/100 as long. See if you can pick out which picture is 4 Bobs from the one’s I’m sending. It might not be as easy as it usually is!

Our new group arrived today. Forecasts are not as good as they were for the last group, but I’m sure we will get some good surf. It’s the holiday season here and we are short staffed therefore I will be super busy, so our 3 time returning guest, Brad, will cover the surf reports for me this trip.

September 10th surf report.

Our new group showed up on Saturday and were welcomed with some nice, uncrowded, overhead Rifles. We were out just after dawn and surfed it all morning until the tide was too low. There were smiles all around as that is the kind of waves you come to the Mentawais for! And there has been waves ever since. We have been surfing Rifles, Kandui’s, and all the regular spots as well. Nothing super big, but plenty of swell and it looks like there is more to come with the grand finale coming on Sunday. Stay tuned!

Aug 3rd surf report

Well, our latest swell wasn’t the macker we were hoping for, but it had a good amount of west in it and the winds were right for the spots that take that direction so it was all good. A few of our guests really wanted to surf Telescopes so we got a pre dawn boat together and got to Tele’s just after first light. It wasn’t big, but it was really clean and there was the occasional, healthy set that would roll through. All in all, it was worth the effort getting there. The rest of the swell was spent surfing the other lefts in the area, Ebay being the most fun during that swell. It was overhead, clean, and mostly just our guests in the water. Don’t know where everybody else was, but we will not complain! We have a new set of guests coming in tomorrow. Looks like there are a few moderate swells lining up for them, and maybe a nice one towards the end of their trip. Fingers crossed!

July 7th through 17th surf report

Sorry for the lag in the surf reports!   We have had 3 swells roll through these last 10 days.  But we were so spoiled by the epic month that preceded them that they seemed a bit lack luster.  There were moments at Kandui and Bankvaults and Hideaways, with plenty of fun surf in-between at Ebay and Beng Beng and the other usual spots.  All in all, our guests scored some good waves and everyone is happy.  But you should have been here last month!  Attached are photos from the above mentioned spots.  Maybe not so lack luster.

 

I’m going back to Padang for a week, at the risk of missing a Rifles swell, but I will keep you up to date on what’s going on. July 1st and 2nd surf report.

Our newest swell was showing a little yesterday morning and it picked up through the day.  Unfortunately, so did the wind and not a lot was looking good.  But by the afternoon, the swell was looking solid and the wind gave us about an hour window of opportunity before dark and our guys took full advantage of it, surfing some clean 4 Bobs and pretty clean Rifles.  Some of the sets were going double over head at Rifles and a few of the guys were able to get score a good barrel before dark.  This morning, Rifles was looking a little funky so we headed for Bankvaults where it was double overhead and clean.  About half the guys surfed there and the other half surfed a little secret spot we have.  It was overhead there and fun as well, and they surfed it by themselves for most their session.  We have been going right most the time this trip so the goofy-foots were stoked!  We are still looking for some good swell to be hanging around tomorrow.

June 26th and 27th surf report

The swell was definitely looking bigger in front of the resort on Friday, but a devil northeast wind was blowing hard and that only left Nipusi as an option for us. It was well overhead and fun. Only a few other guys were out, and not for long so our guys had it pretty much to themselves. In the late afternoon we got what we were wishing for and the winds dropped. We rushed over to Bankvaults and we liked what we found. It was double overhead, glassy, and no one was out! Conditions were great the rest of the afternoon and everybody got some good ones. Brad Gerlach is still here (he extended when the saw how much swell was coming) and he was showing us how it is done in the thick, shifty lineup of Bankvaults. I’ll attach some pictures.

On Saturday we were up before light, squinting our eyes to see if Rifles had anything going for it. The winds were dead calm. We could see a few peeling up there so about half our crew downed a quick cup of joe and jumped in a boat. The waves were a foot or two overhead with the occasional plus set coming in and we had it to ourselves. There were some nice barrels coming through and we had a great time! Later in the morning the rest of our crew got out there. Their timing was good because even bigger sets started coming in! There were no boats in sight and only a canoe with a handful of guys surfed with us the entire day. As the tide was going out midday it looked like the bigger sets were coming in less frequently so a bunch of the guys, including me, went in for lunch. Bad call! The conditions got even better and the bigger sets came in every 10 or 15 minutes and only a handful of guys were out! Brad said it was the best Rifles session he ever had, and the digital proof backed him up. Our guest, Bob, almost followed my lead to go back to the resort, but stuck it out in the midday sun and got about 5 standup barrels for his reward! I’ll pass a few photos along and I’m sure some video will pop up on a website or two. After lunch I headed back out in time to get one wave before the wind came up and killed it. It was a painful evening watching the video of that lunchtime session for those who missed it! The last couple hours of the day those that had any energy left surfed 4 Bobs. It was overhead with near perfect conditions and not a bad booby prize for us that lagged on that epic Rifles session. We surfed until dark. As I was sitting in the channel at 4 Bobs waiting for the jet ski to pick me up, I was thinking about how good and uncrowded it was today as an empty, glassy, perfect, head high set rolled through 4 Bobs and I wondered if there is any better location on earth.