7 posts tagged “ht's”

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.

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:

1. great waves
2. great music
3. cinematography/photography/aesthetics
4. 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.

The big quake is coming to the Mentawais

If you've always wanted to surf the Mentawais (Siberut, Sipora, North Pagai, South Pagai) but just haven't gotten around to it, you should go soon.  I hate to cry wolf here but Sumatra has been very seismically active lately.  There were TWO major quakes of Northern Sumatra, the Christmas Tsunami quake that killed hundreds of thousands of people and THEN another huge 8+ quake off Nias in March 2005.  The Nias quake rearranged (reminder to self - find photo of uplift in Simeulue) surf breaks all around Nias, but didn't really affect the Mentawais.  When we sailed by the SE corner of simeulue we saw where the former waterline had been lifted up by about half the height of a coconut tree - 15 or 20 feet out of the water.  Yes there are new breaks and some breaks got better, but most breaks got worse.  Bawa, the famous swell-magnet right in the Hinakos is not nearly what it was before.  Forget about catching it like Tom Curren did in the Rip Curl search video from 1994.

Whether the upcoming Mentawai quake pushes the breaks up or down, any change to the bottom contours of a perfect wave like HT's or Macaroni's is a change for the worse.  Nature does not by default create perfect ruler-edged reefs - great surf spots are a freak of nature, even in indonesia.  Also note that it's the offshore reefs that refract swell almost 180 degrees around to HT's lineup - if they submerge or rise that spot may stop working entirely.  

Crowds are lower than they have been for years

A few days back I got a mass marketing email from Sean Murphy the president of Waterways travel.  I've pasted in his message below in quotes.  What he's saying echoes what I've noticed on booking sites and heard from other sources.

"

WHY:
The Mentawai Islands are experiencing a downturn in traffic for a variety of reasons.  Last year was one of the worst seasons in the Ments in recent history due to slightly less swell than previous years combined with persistent south wind conditions.  When the winds blow from the South in the Mentawais there are only a few breaks that favor this wind such as Thunders and Burger World which also pick up quite a lot of swell.  In attempts to get their passengers the best surf possible many of the boats congregated at the few spots which were best given the conditions.  As a result, many charters experienced crowded conditions, unfavorable winds, or lack of swell given the breaks chosen by the captains and passengers on-board.

Compounding the poor conditions many experienced last year, it was apparent to all who made the journey that there are a number of upscale land camps under development which have already opened, or were scheduled to open for the 2007 season.  Although this is true, the land based resorts are experiencing their own problems this year.  Accessing the land camps has proven difficult, often requiring unreliable local ferry transportation.  Macaronis Resort had based its schedule around a sea plane operation which has just been cancelled effectively resulting in the cancellation of all bookings for the 2007 season.  Other currently operational resorts such as Aloita Resort (Telescopes/Playground) and Katiet Villas (HT’s Lances etc) have wide open availability for the 2007 season as a result of late confirmation of flights from Padang to Rokot (Mentawais).  Katiet and Aloita are not listed under specials below.  Contact our office if interested in Mentawai land based resort for current detail.

Finally, WaterWays has been approached by many boats over the past 2-6 weeks that are either represented by other surf travel operators, or have been operating independently, to see if we could produce any groups for them this season.  For the most part we have turned these boats away preferring to stick exclusively with our current fleet which is proven and thankfully mostly booked this season.

Given that most the resorts and many of the yachts have the bulk of their space remaining available at this time, it is unlikely that their occupancy levels will increase significantly.  Most people booking a 14+ day trip to Indonesia book well in advance, especially if trying to coordinate a group.  Our March/April groups have been surfing with no crowds even at the big name breaks – empty lineups.

WITH ALL THE ABOVE FACTORS IN PLAY, THIS IS THE BEST TIME FOR THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION AND GET TO INDO TO EXPERIENCE THE BEST SURF IN THE WORLD"

All across Indonesia local farmers, merchants, and fishermen live in front of world class surf breaks.  For a very small fee, you can probably get a place to sleep and eat some local food.  I'm not going to talk about these options in this post, because first of all, they are rarely marketed on the internet, so I can't help you find them.  Second, I've never stayed in one, so can't make personal recommendations.  These arrangements are generally referred to as "feral", and I use the term with no disrespect.  It's just not for me, not right now.  What I've got listed below are non-feral options on Sumatra and the offshore islands.  Some have A/C, some have internet access, some have a speedboat, but all have non-exclusive access to 5-star waves straight out front.

I may get around to discussing non-feral options in Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara in a later post, but for now, this is just Sumatra options. 

Northern Sumatra (ex-Lagundri):

Baneng Island Resort Simeulue

Asu Paradise (formerly "Gangster's Paradise")

Hinakos Hideaway

Telos Lodge

Mentawais

Playgrounds surf camp (playgrounds)

Wavepark (playgrounds)

Kandui Surf Resort (playgrounds/Kanduis)

Macaronis resort (North Pagai/Macaronis)

Aloita resort (Northern Sipura/Telescopes)

Katiet Villas (Southen Sipura/HT's)

Eco Bay (playgrounds/e bay)

links and more camps coming soon...

Check out this site for a reasonably good listing of global surf camps, that includes some of the indo camps I mentioned above.

I consider myself an expert on travel logistics to Indo.  I've planned flights for myself and a other people.  I've spent hours on the phone trying to cash in frequent flier miles for Indo tickets with American, Delta, and United.  I've worked all the angles.  I know how much time and money it takes to get people from the west coast of the US to the Mentawais, and here's the scoop:

Buying a cash ticket to Padang

If you are in the US, traveling with surfboards (as opposed to bodyboards), and want to pay cash for your ticket to Padang, you should definitely book with Quiksilver Travel.  That's right, a human agent, not a web site.  I've worked for internet travel companies for years spending time building a better travel mousetrap but right now there is no website that can put together the itinerary that most surfers need at the best price.  The itinerary has to be manually built by a human agent on one of those green-screen things.  Bryan Pohlman and Debbie at Quiksilver travel are on the ball.  That's really all you can ask for in a travel agent, just someone who's responsive and pays attention to detail.  Wavehunters is also a decent alternative, but steer clear of Waterways unless you absolutely have to.

Pinching Pennies?

The major surf travel agencies have contracts with Singapore Air that will save you some money.  There are two catches though:  You have to pay by check (this saves the airline 2.5% credit card fee) and you DON'T get frequent flier miles for your 19,000 mile roundtrip.  Nineteen thousand frequent flier miles is worth about $200.  So for a $1500 published fare plane ticket you should save at least $250 by booking through Quiksilver.  Sometimes the airlines offer the agencies contracts with an additional 10% off over the credit card and mileage savings so you pay about $1100 to go to Indo.

Book early to get on Singapore AIrlines

Singapore airlines flights from the west coast will totally book up, especially for Friday departures.  They don't overbook, so when the plane is full you can't buy a seat at any price.  Because Singapore Air is the poshest way to get to a bunch of cities in India without connecting in Delhi, lots of Indians fly this way.  Expect your plane to be full of ethnic-Indian extended families who go as far as Singapore.  Your flight to Indo will typically be empty.

Cashing in Miles to get to Padang - Airline alliances

Unless you oddly have a lot of miles with Singapore Airlines, cashing in miles means you will get as far as Singapore or Jakarta, then have to buy a separate, cash ticket to get you to Padang.

United - Best best - can put you on either United or Singapore Air - push hard for Singapore, get your own TV and save big on board fees.

Delta - Delta's ludicrously useless deal with China airlines will only get you to Taipei.  Delta miles are good on Singapore air though.

American - Only Cathay Pacific or JAL can get you to Indo. 

Northwest - They can get you as far as Singapore or Bangkok on Northwest planes.  Expect less from Northwest, but free is free.  

US Airways - You can definitely get tickets on United but I have no idea about Singapore.

Southwest - Rapid Rewards won't even get you to Mexico hahaha you have no hope, give up and pay cash

Upgrading for free?

If you fly a lot you may be upgraded for free from time to time on domestic flights.  However, don't expect this on a long-haul transpacific flight.  Transpacific flights frequently take off with empty seats up front because this is how they get business travelers to actually pony up $5K for the ticket. 

Boat travel logistics is an unappreciated aspect of the trip that you don't really grasp until you've been there.  This post assumes you're on a boat that cruises at 8-10 knots, and even fast boats can only go fast during the day.

The Crossing

First of all your prototypical 11-night boat trip leaving from Padang really only has 10 surf days.  The first night and the last night has you crossing the channel between Padang and the islands.  It really does take all night.  if the wind is up for any reason, the crossing could get pretty bumpy. 

Playgrounds/Northern Sipora

The shortest distance between Padang and the Ments is to the Playgrounds area between Siberut and Sipora.  This area is densely packed with spots that work on a variety of conditions.  Bank Vaults, E Bay, Rifles, Kandui, Burgerworld, Pit Stops, Chubbies, 4 Bobs, etc.  Northern Sipora is nearby with also has 2 good lefts and one epic left, Telescopes. Because this is the typical arrival and departure point for the Mentawais and has consistent spots that  work with almost any conditions, a boat could conceivably spend all 10 surf days in this area.  This is a risk you take when booking the cheapest trip you can find.  However, if you're scoring pumping  Rifles, Telescopes, and Bank Vaults for a week straight you'll be too tired to care that you never made it down to Macaroni's. 

Southen Sipora

About half a day's motor from Playgrounds, this area has HT's and Lance's, both of which are consistent waves that work on opposite wind conditions.  Always lots of boats congregated in this area.  Coming straight here on your first day is pretty unlikely since the guide wants to make sure you get some waves the first day and Playgrounds is a sure thing for rideable waves.  You could conceivably surf this area on your last day but you'd only get a half day session because the crossing would take so long.  Figure you get 8-9 surf days max at HT's.

North Pagai/Macaroni's

From Playgrounds, on a typical boat it takes a full day to get down to Macaroni's.  Which means you either miss surfing for a full day or you drive there at night.  No waves for a full day is a non-starter early in the trip for the guests.  Motoring all night the night before or after the crossing is a non-starter for the crew, or at least a favor the guide can't call in very often unless he thinks it will get everyone a healthy tip.  So therefore you cannot spend the first or last day of your trip at Macaroni's, leaving you with a maximum of 8 surf days as far south as Macca's on a typical 10 day trip.

South Pagai

The South Pagai area has heavy duty hollow waves like Rags and really consistent swell magnet waves like Thunders.  A typical boat will spend most of a day getting to and from Thunders from Macaroni's, so you're really left with about 6 days max in this area, and those days must fall in the middle of your trip.  The area south of Thunders is home to a number of semi-secret spots that require specific conditions, for example the spot where Dane Reynolds got the killer left barrel in Young Guns 2.  Surfing magazine outed this spot as "Green Bush", but chances are you won't surf there without taking a longer trip with a motivated, knowledgeable captain.  Most boats will not go south of Thunders because it adds a half day of motoring each way and the captains either don't know about or won't chance the spots that require specific wind and swell directions.  

Breaking the Cycle 

There are a finite number of boats, their schedules are published, and the only real flexibility the guides have is in the middle 5-6 days of their trip.  Therefore although it may seem farfetched, it's not that tough for a guide who knows the boat schedules, the current conditions and the spots to guess where the other boats will go and go somewhere else to score uncrowded waves.

Even the lazy will score in the Mentawais

Scuzz of Sumatran Surfariis sold me on a Ments trip by noting that in spite of the 40-odd charter boats, "There are so many 'B' waves in the Mentawais".  If you have pumping swell and no wind, then there will be 25 quality waves going off all over the ments, and even with two boats each on 20 top spots you'll still score more waves than your endurance can handle.  Given their consistency, Mentawai B waves like Icelands, Bank Vaults, Lance's, or Thunders would be destination waves anywhere else in the world.  Getting one of them with just you and your friends out will make for an unforgettable session.

I've only taken boat trips on moderately priced boats.  Spending money on a boat comes down to being "feral" or "rich".  It's kind of like what time you wake up in the morning.  If you wake up at 7am, everyone who gets up at 6am is crazy and everyone who gets up at 8am is lazy, all about your perspective. 

The very fact that you're considering a boat trip indicates you've got $250 a day for a lot of days plus a lot of airfare so you're pretty much in the "rich" category when it comes to surf trips.  You are in the rarefied set of people who surf well enough to deal with Indo waves, have 2+ weeks free time to go on a surf trip, and make enough dough to blow $5K on that 2 week surf trip.  However, when you're out there at Thunders and the Indies Trader 4 rolls up at 22 knots and starts spewing out dinghys, jet skis and team photographers for $1200 per person per day, then you'll feel kind of feral on your mere $250 a night boat.

Here are some boat features that add a lot of cost to the trip:

1. private or twin-share cabins
2. gourmet imported food like good steaks and haagen daz
3. new boats
4. fast boats
5. new, fast boats

Notice that of all these things, only going fast has anything to do with getting waves.  The rest of that shit only matters if it's flat or non-surfers are coming along. 

Even with a fast boat, just because you're on a boat that can do 24 knots doesn't mean the captain is willing to drive it fast.  Martin Daly was quoted as saying that driving the Indies Trader 4 at full speed is like tearing up $100 bills as fast as you can.  Fuel in Indonesia now costs much more than it did in 2004, since the government rolled back fuel subsidies.  It's hard to believe that the government of Indonesia used to subsidize the gas that rich westerners burned driving around in charter boats, but it's true.  So if you're a boat captain and you've already made the crossing, it's much cheaper to sit around at playgrounds and wait for the swell to come up or the south wind to die rather than hauling ass down to thunders and giving your guests a shot at offshore barrels.  The willingness to drive the boat far and fast is pretty much up to the captain, but it can make the difference in scoring a variety of lefts and rights or being stuck with the same few spots.  The other factor with speed is safety.  Going fast at night is a major no-no, and even during the day it's risky with chop on the water or poor visibility since there's all kinds of logs, junk, and fishing nets floating around out there.