Fewer flights to Padang PDG for 2010 season

I've been shopping around for my own trip to Sumatra this August, which requires me to reach Padang, Sumatra. I still plan to go via Jakarta, but there seem to be a lot fewer flights this year (and somewhat higher prices).

• Air Asia had 3-4 flights per day Jakarta CGK to Padang PDG and appears to have withdrawn entirely from that route.
• The short hop Air Asia flight between Kuala Lumpur and Padang is down to a few times a week from the daily service that I recall last season.
• The previously few-times-a-week Tiger Air flights from Singapore are gone entirely.

It's hard to know what drives the commercial decisions of airlines (problem in Padang? better opportunity elsewhere?). It's not out of the question that last fall's earthquake has hit travel budgets as people and companies focus on rebuilding instead instead of travel. Some of the nicest hotels in Padang were also flattened, hurting tourism infrastructure. Hopefully things will pick up again but as always with Indonesia domestic flights it's really hard to depend on flight schedules very far in advance.

Review of "The Drifter" starring Rob Machado

I was strongly predisposed to like this movie. I like travel, I like Indo, and most of all I like traveling to Indo. However "The Drifter" exceeded my expectations in storytelling, music, and cinematography and I'm glad to have spent my own money to buy it.

In terms of the surfing minutes vs. everything else minutes, this is basically a travel movie with a surf theme. There is more non-surfing than surfing in the 57 minute feature. However, to make up for this, there is essentially a 2nd movie on the DVD that has only surfing, additional high quality surf footage, is set to different music and comes in under 20 minutes. Basically a second more old-school surf movie on the same disc with just waves and music. The guy at the shop where I bought the Drifter mentioned this as increasing the re-watchability of the Drifter, which made sense at the time. However, five days after my initial viewing, I popped the DVD in again and found myself wanting to watch the whole thing again, and maybe even try to foist it on a non-surfer or two.

"The Drifter" is the best surf movie I've seen in a long time. It's artfully done, with music that is conceptually consistent throughout, with few jarring transitions. It's a pleasure to watch. The Drifter should be a part of your permanent collection, and is worth your $35. I know $35 isn't chump change in an era where major release titles on DVD cost $4.99, but Netflix will soon have some copies available so you can check it out from them before you buy.

Padang Earthquake Update from Chris Scurrah of Sumatran Surfariis

I just got this email from Chris, aka Scuzz sent around 7:15AM the morning of October 2 Padang local time:

"

Gday ian, thanks for your always kind thoughts, herees what I've been emailing the boys
Gday guys, biggest quake I've felt and really hard to stand, earth opened up, massive damage to town. I'm ok, as is our mutt leeroy, all our office girls(who made it out with about 2 seconds to spare) our 3 boats are all at sea and all fine. Christina is on the way from the states, horrible site to come back to, but atleast she's safe.
Our office is flattened, our house is ok but roof is open to all rain and its raining and mossies everywhere. Nealry all big hotels down or fatally damaged. Going to be western deaths there. Its clean up time now, going to be a long long time, very smashed up, excavators needed, fuel too.
Boats will keep running hopefully, some shops and restaurants opened tonight,everyone jumpy on the aftershocks.
Pretty wild scene with people just driving around dazed.
Thanks for the good wishes, we live to see another day, carpe diem, scuzz

"

I was gratified to hear my friends at Sumatran Surfariis came through OK, and thought I would put the word out as best I can.

If you would like to make a donation, here are two very reputable charities that are probably already on the ground helping people:

http://crs.org/indonesia/earthquakes-typhoons/

https://payment.csfm.com/events/msf_usa/donate.php

Mentawai Spot Observations - Macaroni's

Tide Height

We surfed it in the evening around 4-6pm and again in the morning 7-9 AM. These would have been fairly opposite tide phases and the waves seemed pretty similar in nature.

Swell Direction

The swell direction where we got it big was 180 straight south. The waves we observed were either a super-critical takeoff into a gnarly barrel or further down the line a slower mushy wall without the rippable open face. I understand it's more rippable and shoulder-hoppable with more SW direction, but we didn't see it from that direction so I can't say. Probably the most freakish thing we observed was the wall of the swell down the line was regularly bigger/taller than the part of the wave that was breaking. This seemed to be the case both from the lineup and from the boat.

Swell Size

As it gets bigger, Macca's breaks in pretty much the same spot. This means fun barrels at shoulder to head high turn into heaving, below sea-level pits when well overhead, and the rare double-overhead wave is awesomely gnarly with the top 25-30% of the face throwing out as lip. Evidently if it gets much bigger than 10-12 ft faces it breaks on an outer reef and is just whitewater through the inside.

The Reef

At Macaronis the reef is a big flat slab. If you get really close it it has some sharp stuff attached, but it's not particularly jagged or uneven. The real issue when hitting the reef is the violence of the impact, not so much the scraping/shredding of you skin. Guys have gotten compressed vertebrae and broken bones going down hard on bigger days, so with size comes real consequence.

I was on the inside in 18 inches of water when a big set hit, feeling pretty unlucky. The current sweeps hard down the reef, making it always seem like you are trying to punch through the breaking part of the wave if you paddle against it. However if you just relax and go with the flow the current mostly carries you out of trouble to the bottom of the reef, and you just have to make a long paddle back out.

Wave selection

Macca's is amazingly mechanical. You could move 15 feet in or out and be catching well overhead death slabs or shoulder high leftovers in the same session from about the same spot in the lineup. I observed the waves grinding down the line so slowly and regularly that if you were actually sitting in the lineup there was a zero percent chance of getting caught inside. Maybe this would work differently with a 225+ west swell, but I can't say.

The mechanical nature of the wave really helps when trying to figure out the takeoff spot. Move a couple palm trees further up or down the reef and you are too far back to make the tube or totally missing the tube and not getting barreled at all. If you are in just the right spot you have a heavy drop, a critical wall, pump a couple times then stall really hard to stay in there. It takes confidence to slam on the brakes after driving for speed but Macca's gives you that confidence quickly.

On the bigger days the 4th, 5th, 6th waves of the set were cross-chopped from the first couple set waves whitewater reflecting sideways off the reef and moving down the line. It seem be pretty obvious to avoid those.

At about the 20 second mark check the little wave breaking on top of the suckout - he thinks he's in charge!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwJuKFXpfmY

Mentawai Spot Observations - HT's (Lance's Right)

HT's is less mechanical and more moody than I thought it would be. It's consistently rideable but to get quality HT's you just have to sit there until the tide height, tide direction, and wind direction come together, and then pick the right waves.

Tide Direction.

With an outgoing tide, all the water in the Mentawai channel behind Sipora and North Pagai is gushing out the straits between Sipora and North Pagai. Swell on it's way to HT's has to push in through there, and when the swell slows down relative to the bottom it has more time to feel the bottom and lose energy. I should have figured this would be the case a la Desert Point but it just never occurred to me. When the tide starts coming in hard, on one session we observed a lot of chop coming through the lineup. It was like a continuous boat wake for 15 or 20 minutes, unexplainable considering it was glassy and no boats were going anywhere.

Our last day there we saw consistent overhead sets predawn, and very very few overhead waves for 9 or 10 hours until the tide started pushing in and then suddenly the sets were double overhead with overhead waves just pouring through. Considering the 180 degree swell wrap at HT's, tide push is the only possible explanation for regular overhead waves there.

Tide Height

High tide seemed much softer. A lot of barrels would pinch shut. Some waves didn't really barrel. There was water on the reef but with a little less danger but a lot less wave quality I'm not sure it was worth it. I steered clear of this condition.

At the lowest tide incoming we saw the set waves barreling on the outside, pinching off, doubling up and barreling really hard again through the middle. This lasted about an hour or so and by the time more water had filled in the sets weren't really doubling up any more.

Wave selection

Wave selection is absolutely crucial at HT's. We'd be sitting for the wide ones and then really wide ones would come, throw a closeout barrel all the way to the channel, then mush on the shoulder. Those waves just aren't rideable. Saying you are sitting for the wide ones was also kind of a misnomer, waves would peak or wall up all up and down the line. It's not just one boil of peak on the wide ones.

Up at the Office we saw total closeouts, smoking down the line barrels makeable only by the fastest guys, and slower bowling barrels with drawn out bottom turns, stalls into the hook, and lots of arm dragging. All in the same session at the same spot. The best guys would sit out there for 30-45 minutes with a couple other guys on the peak just waiting for the right wave. It was not a crowd factor, just waiting for the right one.

Crowds

People often quantify Mentawais crowds in increments of "boats", as in "We had south wind and small waves and there were seven boats at Thunders. It sucked." However HT's breaks not too far off the beach in front of Katiet Village on the well-connected island of Sipora. The opportunities for budget-minded surfers to stay with an enterprising hut owner in Katiet for $2 a day are nearly unlimited. In past years up to 60 guys might be staying on land in peak season. The high end resort at Katiet Villas was totally empty when we were there, but the manager and a handyman working there were both out surfing, along with 15-20 guys in Katiet.

The bottom line here is that even if the swell is pumping and the winds are perfect all day, the tide conditions are going to cause big intraday quality fluctuations at HT's. It's definitely a place to sit and watch for a while before having a go, and if you've got your eye on it you can be first out when it turns on.

The second wave in this video is one of the best waves we saw at HT's, rider unknown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnsiYs_sgoo

Best Surf Trip Ever - Mentawais, July 2009

This was my 7th trip to Indo so I feel the subject line requires a bit of justification.

It was my fourth trip with Sumatran Surfariis. There was a lot of drama this year with my buddies bailing and me

stressing about having enough guys to make the trip a go, but once we got there it all rinsed away. Even with a solid swell forecast Scuzz and Yu were unanimous - go South, go South, Tora! Tora! Tora!. I had been leaning that way myself. After years of running from the crowds it was time to just go where the waves are. The hackneyed,
played-out, cliched, overcrowded Mentawais. The Mentawais, where the B-waves would be the A-team anywhere else. When we got to the boat Marsh and I were stoked to see AK paying us a surprise visit. The Padang crew was totally on it and Mikumba was underway within minutes of our arrival on the dock. Straight off the crossing we
dropped anchor at Telescopes at first light 30 min before sunrise, an hour before anyone else came by. The first day there was plenty swell but with some funny wind and lump. Icelands handed out free beatings, no charge. The next morning things were much smoother and Yu put us on offshore, overhead Telescopes with no other boats for multiple
sessions. It was special - I've very rarely had waves that good with so few people out. That was day two.

That night the engine fired up in the dark and at first light we dropped anchor at beautiful head high HT's. We were the only boat there and first ones in the water. Guys trickled out from the beach but with three peaks working the crowd again wasn't a factor. It was an ideal day to get a feel for HT's and figure out how to stay off the Table. In the midday the wind was shifting around so the goofy half of the crew hopped in the tinny and took off for Lance's while Mikumba
stayed at HT's. Lance's had perfect, glassy, overhead lefts with nobody out. No boats, nobody there at all. Bevo and I shared the cobra peak and it was niiiiice! I'll never forget how quiet and peaceful that session was. Lance's is a beautiful spot.

The next day we headed south. Bat Caves had nobody out and it was a lot bigger than it looked. Two boards, one hat, and one booty died at sea. We pulled the anchor and headed for Maccas. As we came around the point into the bay the bommie outside KFC's had 10 foot backs, easy. My heart started racing - it would be my first go at Macca's
and Bevo kept whooping and saying it was going to be ON. I had been telling the guys that Macca's would be "fun, rippable, and crowded" and I was now about to eat my words. We pull up and there is one guy in the water, no boats, and Maccas is throwing sub-sea level death holes. It was a little onshore and backlit making the pit look especially dark. It's making my guts churn just to type this. I dug out my Gath and Yu, Bevo and I had a go. When we paddled past the one guy he was sitting way off on the shoulder, wide-eyed, and visibly bleeding from his neck. The swell was straight south so there was no wall and no shoulder hopping, either take off in the pit or you miss it. We all caught a warm up or two and Luciano came out. One big bomb came through throwing a lip about 2/3 up the face and froze us
all - even Bevo blinked. It's so rare to get such incredible and gnarly waves all to yourself - honestly it was as much Indo as anyone wanted. Hollow, perfect, the edge of anyone's ability, nobody around, the best case scenario you hope you'll be ready for. The carnage continued - another board died.

Next morning we shared Macca's with a handful of West Oz chargers. It was offshore, sunny, cleaner, and still bombing. I never waited long for my turn, having seen it the night before I knew where to sit and pumped and stalled through some of the best barrels of my life. Soja and AK were shooting photos from the tinny and had it in so tight that I paddled out around the tinny a couple times. Everyone had a go at Macca's that morning but it was time to push on to something less intense. The sets were also making the anchorage a bit unsafe. Cap kept yelling "Om De!" as the tops of the big walls pushing into the bay slid under Mikumba. The sets were about eye-level with the top
deck railing. Yu took a heavy one and snapped his board, but came up smiling. Abunai!

With the regularfoots looking for a more user-friendly option Yu bypassed a couple heavy lineups and found us a really fun right, head high plus and nobody around. The magic of the Ments - when it's big and gnarly it always seems like there is some mellow option around. There was still some carnage though - Bolts snapped his boss-looking
yellow 3" thick Tuflite 2 board. The next day we knew better than to leave good empty rights. A couple boats came, surfed, and left, but Yu kept us there for a magical, super-clean sunset session where the performance wave transformed into racy, perfect tubes with just a couple of us in the water.

Thunders was really pretty the next day. Not huge, sets just a bit overhead, offshore, nobody around. I kept telling the guys the swell had dropped, the wind had some S in it and they needed to get out there before all the other boats arrived. But nobody ever showed - we had it to ourselves until we pulled the anchor late in the day. Thunders is a really good wave. After Bevo explained his scar we were all wary of that inside suckout!

On the way back north a couple days later we hit HT's again, first thing in the morning. A couple overhead sets rolled in and we thought, yeah it's ON! Once we got out there the waves switched off for a while - it was just shoulder to head high, weak, weird. After so much good surf in previous days Yu showed patience and steady nerves, and around 4 o'clock from dead low tide the wind went offshore and double up bombs just start rolling through. I guess what the tide took away in the midday it gave back for the sunset session. Gnarly, well overhead double-ups rolling in from the outside and unloading, some more makeable than others. I got a few good ones taking off under the double-up, got stuffed on a few, and was having a decent go - almost everyone out there was as skittish as I was. I was wondering why more of our guys weren't coming out when I found out Jason picked a bad one, got a bad beating and got a nasty fin slice on his leg. Hearing about his stitches (capably performed by Yu) and almost
copping a big cleanup set on the head I took my winnings off the table. I wanted to get video of perfect front-lit HT's more than I wanted another wave. Once again we had for the taking as much Indo as anyone wanted, and we were just super-stoked for the opportunity. Those were some of the most intense rights I've ever witnessed from
the water, just incredible lip concussion, awe-inspiring. A couple of the tuberides we saw were straight out of September Sessions, and the crowds were at about 1999 levels too! Carnage: Three boards with huge holes, one leg had a mouth, and many egos recalibrated.

Next morning HT's was onshore, around the bend for some double-overhead plus Lances. There were two other boats there but only 5-7 guys in the water all morning. I just missed a big one and remember thinking I hadn't looked that far down in a loooooong time. Once again for most of us it was as much Indo as anyone wanted, right there for the taking. We motored on to Scarecrows and there were 2 guys in the water with overhead sets. Nobody ever goes to the Mentawais thinking "I hope we score Scarecrows" but I got a really long barrel on the inside that stands out as much in my mind as any of my waves. It may not have been as gnarly looking but it was super fun, and there were only a few guys out all afternoon.

Playgrounds was forgettable. Yu tried to talk us out of it but most of us had never been and he was totally flexible. I knew he was probably right but I just had to see for myself. It was tough conditions up there, hard SW winds, chop, full of boats and camp guys. I didn't realize it's really just the one island Nyang-Nyang that works consistently. The other spots up there need pretty specific conditions and maybe aren't that dependable. In any case we were so
sated from all the waves earlier in the trip that we actually started the crossing about 4 hours early on the last day. Bintangs, BS, sitting in the breeze, cracking "Garuda" peanuts and throwing the shells off the rail just never gets old.

Mentawais Uncrowded in 2009

By recommendation of our guide Yu and uber-grandmaster Sumatra surf guide Scuzz, we chose to take our trip to the Mentawais over the Telos & Northern Sumatra. The Ments in July are a sure thing - the only reason you'd go all the way to Padang and sail away from the Mentawais would be to explore or avoid crowds. After two trips to Banyaks/Nias/Simeulue and Telos/Nias/Banyaks, I was over the exploration aspect.