4 posts tagged “playgrounds”
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.
