26 posts tagged “northern sumatra”
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.
I've started to plan my return surf trip to Northen Sumatra in May. I've already been there once. Why am I going back?
- I've seen how consistent the swell is on Surfline (even though it was sort of small last time)
- I know there are a lot of world class spots up there
- There still aren't very many boats operating up that way
- No effects from the recent Mentawai earthquakes
What's different about this trip?
- Boat leaving out of Padang, not Sibolga, Simeulue, or Nias
- A day longer on the boat
- More efficient flights meaning less time off work and more surf time
- Half the guys from last time have had kids and can't go back
Why May?
- Memorial day weekend gets me an additional day for free
- Historically a very consistent month for swell
- technically peak season but possibly a bit less busy than June/July/Aug
A reader asked about tipping on boat trips. In surf travel, just like any other form of travel, there's always potential for a culture clash when people don't know what's expected of each other. Hopefully this will clear away some of that confusion for future visitors to the Mentawais and Northern Sumatra, and result in happy returns for those of us who are looking to go back.
Why tip the crew on a boat trip?
1. Indo is a poor country. The Indonesians working on boats aren't spending weeks away from their families for kicks or for surfing - they need the money. Maybe some of the crew will blow it on crack and whores, but most have direct or extended families that count on them for food, shelter, medical care, school fees, etc.
2. You have been provided good service in a very personal way. Everyone working on a boat works hard either behind the scenes or in direct contact with guests. You'll see the crew first thing in the morning, last thing at night, at every meal, they'll pick you up and take you back to the outside when you're too tired to paddle but just need one more, you'll learn their names, they'll help keep your bunk area tidy, and make sure your favorite boardshorts on the clothesline don't get blown off in a squall.
3. Tipping rewards skills that you, as a surfer, want to be available to you when you come back. You don't want that expert ding repair guy, the guy who shoots great video, or the dinghy driver who knows the safe spots in the lineup at Kanduis to be driving a cab in Padang next time you come back. Make it worth their while. It's a small industry, next time you come into Padang you'll probably see a familiar face and they'll be glad to see you.
4. When the waves went flat you and the boys had a bender and kept the crew up at night, then left a mess for them to clean up in the morning. Happens on almost every boat trip, and a decent tip helps fix any hard feelings.
5. Plus honestly, it's no skin off your back. You probably just coughed up in the neighborhood of 5000 US Dollars for a plane ticket, a hotel night or two, a couple new boards, and 11 or more nights on a private boat. In the grand scheme of things, a nice tip for two weeks worth of work for an indo boat crew is less than the cost of a big night out in a major western city.
How to discuss tipping
- With your group
Agree on an amount. If you're organizing this thing, throw out an amount just try to get everyone to go along. If the cheapskate in the group knows everyone else is coughing up a hundred bucks, then they'll grumble but they'll do it too.
- If going solo
Ask around (a subtle reminder to others who may not remember to tip) but in the end you must chart your own course.
- Ask your guide
You guide will tell you how it usually works, and will organize the crew to all be in the same place at the same time without disrupting anyone's work or sleep (not as easy as it sounds - the crew is busy on the last night!). Generally this happens on the last night of your trip, after dinner but before anyone goes to sleep,
How much to tip
I took a 13 day trip with eight total guests and a crew of 5 plus a guide. The guide refused to accept any tips. We tipped USD100 per guest for USD800 total and the crew (once it had been counted out) was stoked. By the crew's reaction I judged this to be an acceptable, possibly even above-average tip. The total cost of this charter was a little under $20,000 so this amounted to a 4% tip. This is LOW by the standards of US restaurants, bars, taxicabs, and hair salons, but 15% of a charter boat price seems outrageous and I hope expectations never get to that level. Regarding higher-end boats - more of the cost of the trip goes to the capital cost of the boat and less to the variable costs of crew, food, fuel. On luxo-liner boats the crew may be the cream of the crop from other boats and expect better tips in return for better service. The crew can also gauge how much you can afford to tip by the quality of your boards, clothing, equipment and how much the boat costs, so may have higher tip expectations in that situation. So for what it's worth, I'm going to say 4-5% is a good number.
who gets the tips?
Usually there's a hierarchy among the crew. Honestly, this isn't really your business, and these guys need to work together and already have an understanding in place that you shouldn't try to disrupt. It won't surprise you that the guys with the most money invested in the boat and the most responsibility get their take first - guides, captains, cooks. They have the most skills and the most alternate work opportunities. But the underlings don't just get the scraps - the senior guys know their deck hands, skiff drivers, mechanics, and assistant cooks are all part of providing good service and could get work on other boats so they will share. If they are working a full season on a boat things get to be pretty family-like, and you can screw family a little but not a lot.
What currency to use
USD or Rupiah. I'm not being an ugly American here, the dollar really is king. This finally hit me when I watched a Japanese guy fish out 25 US dollars from his wallet and pay the indonesian government's visa fee at the Jakarta airport. If the indo government takes USD, then it's damn near coin-of-the-realm. In theory Australian Dollars, Euros, Pounds, or Yen would also be useful to the crew but would probably entail a much bigger spread between the face value in the country of the currency and the actual value they'll get for the non-USD foreign notes whereever the boat pulls into port. So if you have those currencies and want to use them for tips then you should give 10-20% more in USD value.
Bring new bills
There's no ATM machine on the boat or anywhere you'll be stopping. So if you didn't bring enough cash on the boat, you won't be able to tip the crew. Duh. Also, USD notes that are of an older type or look beat up won't be worth as much in exchange. So when you go to get the notes you're going to take to Indo, make sure you get crisp new ones.
Non-cash compensation
Before a boat trip I asked a Balinese coworker if there were any items that were hard to get in Indonesia that I could schlep over to Indo and give to the crew. She said, "Money!" Seriously, I've heard that school supplies, tools, western-style clothing, surf gear that could be resold are all very thoughtful. So if you've got this stuff laying around and can bring it along to give away, then do it. It's not a substitute for cash, but it will probably find a use.
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"
Did I already mention I love surfline? If you're a premium member they do these long-range forecasts and show you what's coming up in the next two weeks. These things are great as you get closer and closer to the date of your trip. Me, I don't have a trip this year, so this is pure vicarious viewing on my part. If you're heading to indo any time this week, you're scoring. Note that the swell will basically never drop below head high for two weeks. Even if the macker swell for 5/16-5/18 turns out to be a little overstated it will still be plenty big. The only variable now is between two and three times overhead. By the time these things get to 5-7 days out the swell is basically already in the water and the forecasts are pretty solid. I've been watching these charts for a couple years and Indo has two week runs like this fairly often during the season, which is why I devote so much real estate to talking about it - it's pretty much a sure thing with respect to consistent clean swell and benign winds.
Note also the nice SW swell direction, great for some spots in Northern Sumatra and sure to light up spots in the Mentawais that need a strong SW push like Telescopes. If the swell actually comes through at 11 ft 19 sec that is tow-in city.
I'm not the first to name this spot or put up a map, that was this guy or the World Stormrider Guide Volume 2. The spot is also known as Machine Gun Rights. Several boat operators refuse to name the spot, all the while treating it as the focus of their Northern Sumatra boat trips.
However, once I went there I realized the spot is NOT where the online map or the map in World Stormrider Guide Vol. 2 say it is. Those maps are an inside joke that do exactly what this blog post is trying to do - reveal that there is great surf in this general area, and if you actually make it to indo and ask around or book with the right operator, you'll probably be able to score it. Any of the boat operators I list as "dedicated" to Northern Sumatra on this post can dial you in to a session.
There are important downsides to this spot however:
1) Treasure Island needs a fair amount of swell from a specific direction - not every swell angle will get in.
2) It's not a swell magnet - it needs to be decent sized to get going.
3) The area is extremely isolated. Forget about flying in, and it will take a long time to get there by bus/ferry. The area is lightly populated with poor land access to the break. You won't easily be able to buy shelter, food, or transport from locals anywhere near the surf spot. There are definitely no local surfers, nor are there really any local villagers. The extreme isolation means that boats accessing this spot have limited time to wait around for the right swell/wind combo to make it happen. It's at least a few days motor from Padang, meaning if you book a 10 day trip out of Padang and opt to head north you'll surf the Telos on Day 1, Nias on day 2 or 3, and up north by day 4 or 5. Your trip is half gone and you're just getting there. The "Sjalina" operating out of Simeulue, "Mikumba" or "KM Nauli" out of Nias or Sibolga, and "Bohemian" out of Sibolga probably have the closest access and could conceivably surf there on the first & last day of their trip. But remember - for those sensitive to time off work, just getting to Nias or Sibolga takes an extra travel day coming in and going home.
The camp featured on www.simeulue.com claims quiksilver travel as their US booking partner but if you visit quiksilver travel's site the Simeulue camp/boat trip is nowhere to be found. As with most camps/boats in indo that drop off the scene it's probably more perception and loss of marketing partners than the camp folding or going away. Here's the scoop from reader Jon:
"I finally got ahold of quik travel and got the lowdown on baneng beach resort. The old owner got tired of muslim law i.e. not being able to drink beer and took a job w/ the UN. Since the camp is so remote and they're not familiar w the new owners, it is too much of a logistical nightmare to book trips w/ them. The good news is that everyone who stayed at Baneng was stoked on the waves!"
Simeulue is one of the last frontiers in Indo surf travel. It's very exposed to swell, and many of the known breaks were rearranged in the March 2005 earthquake. It's a big island, and boat trips to Northern Sumatra rarely make it past the SE corner. It's very isolated and hard to get to though.
I got a tip from Danny over at Sumatran Surfaris about a promo video that Patagonia had recently posted for an upcoming DVD called "Sea Legs". I happily link to it here as I feel some personal attachment to this effort. After my trip on Budyadahri in August 2006 I was stuck in Padang for an extra day, which happened to be Indonesian Independence Day. The Patagonia surf team was one day delayed arriving in Padang because they got bumped off their over-booked Garuda flight in Singapore, and arrived in the Hotel Batang Arau the evening before I left. If you had to be stuck someplace in Sumatra, the Batang Arau is pretty dialed in with very cold beer and a staff that hustles, smiles, and speaks English pretty well. Anyway, Scuzz was nice enough to introduce me to the affable Chris Malloy and Belinda Baggs, who is seen charging a few in the video. This footage was shot off Northern Sumatra Aug 18-30, 2006 on the Southern Cross, guided by Adam Kobayashi of Sumatran Surfaris. Adam guided my trip on Mikumba in May 2006, knows the breaks of Northern Sumatra well, and will stop at nothing to find the best waves available. Adam's the type of surfer who rides overhead barrels on a fish when most guys are riding their pintail semi-guns. I know he was putting some pressure on himself to score on this trip so I'm glad they did, apparently in both the telos and the banyaks. Here's the archived swell forecast from surfline.com - pumping.
I'm guessing the video was titled "Sea Legs" as the SE winds had been howling day and night for most of my trip Aug 6-17, making for a very rough and somewhat scary crossing. Most of the photos that come back of indo have sunshine and glassy conditions, but if you spend almost two weeks out on a boat your odds of copping a heavy squall are pretty decent. Under pelting rain and heavy seas you learn if the crew did their job refitting the boat during the offseason: strapping down the refrigerators and stereo system, plugging leaks with tar, padding doorways and low overheads so tall foreigners don't bash their heads, applying grip tape in the right spots on deck, and so many more things that take a boat from being "OK" to being totally dialed in and confidence inspiring. You're a long way from help out there.
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.
This itinerary gets you to Padang (Where all mentawai and many Northern Sumatra boat trips depart from) in the least amount of time with the best in-flight service and entertainment and the least board bag charges. You could substitute China Airlines and it might be a little cheaper on airfare but no seatback TV's and $100 more in board bag charges. Friday night after work - grab your board bag and head to SFO AIR SINGAPORE 1 COACH CLASS 744 LV: SAN FRANCISCO 120A ONE STOP AR: SINGAPORE 1140A ARR DATE +1 AIR SINGAPORE 958 COACH CLASS 772 LV: SINGAPORE 1250P NONSTOP AR: JAKARTA/CGK 125P AIR GARUDA INDON 164 COACH CLASS 734 LV: JAKARTA/CGK 420P NONSTOP AR: PADANG 550P Just in time to see the sunset and get on the boat! Get shacked for 13 days and 14 nights Sunday morning - arrive back in port before 7AM or you'll probably miss this Garuda flight. Remember, if you miss this flight, you miss your connection in Jakarta and you'll have to spend the day in Padang, Jakarta, or Singapore. My picks would be Padang at the Hotel Batang Arau or Singapore. AIR GARUDA INDON 163 COACH CLASS 734 LV: PADANG 900A NONSTOP AR: JAKARTA/CGK 1040A This is a bit of a tight connection here, but you should be OK since Garuda arrives back in the international terminal. Non-Garuda indo airlines fly into the domestic terminal and it's non-trivially hard to get your board bag on to the shuttle that goes from the international terminal to the domestic terminal AIR SINGAPORE 957 COACH CLASS 773 LV: JAKARTA/CGK 1220P NONSTOP AR: SINGAPORE 255P SUNDAY AIR SINGAPORE 2 COACH CLASS 744 LV: SINGAPORE 500P ONE STOP AR: SAN FRANCISCO 725P And look at that by the magic of flying east and crossing the international date line you have arrived back in foggy SFO at 7:30PM on the same Sunday you got back into port. That's efficient! So if these are the best flights, what is the price and how do I buy it? You CAN book this itinerary on Orbitz, but the price they will quote is horrific. For example $3,909 for the ticket below, and just $1300 to get all the way to Jakarta. Screwy, eh? Instead I suggest one of two tricks:
