Go Feedback:Surfer AIDAN BROWNEhas the experience of a lifetime in the Mentawai islands off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia
WHAT COMES to mind when you think of Sumatra, Indonesia? A quick glance at Wikipedia indicates that Sumatra is the sixth largest island in the world, has lots of tropical rainforest, is a major producer of coffee, and is the home of several endangered species such as the Sumatran tiger, rhino and orang-utan. Even though Sumatra has all this and more to offer the visitor, for surfers the main attractions are offshore.
Indonesia is widely regarded as having the best waves on the planet, and the Mentawais as having the best waves in Indonesia. The waves here come from the low pressures that form off the coast of Antarctica, sending lines of swell towards the archipelago of Indonesia.
The Mentawai islands sit just south of the equator and are at a perfect angle to catch the swells that have travelled thousands of miles from the Southern Ocean. The islands are the first piece of land these waves meet on their journey northwards, and by the time they break they are perfect for surfing.
There are two ways to surf the Mentawais – either stay in a land camp or on a boat. The boat option is the most popular and it is estimated that there are up to 30 charter vessels operating in the islands during the peak season. There are approximately 10 land camps.
The ideal time of year for a surf trip is from April to October, which coincides with the dry season, southeast trade winds and consistent swells. I visited the Mentawais in mid- March, which is early season, in a bid to surf less-crowded waves. In the middle of the dry season there can be a lot of surfers at the most famous breaks.
The Mentawais were discovered as a surf destination in the late 1980s by Martin Daly in his boat, the Indies Trader. Before this there were not many visitors to the islands. With very limited infrastructure and facilities, they were not on any tourist trail. They are very remote and many of the approximately 60,000 Mentawai people live a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle, mostly along the coastal regions.
The interior of the islands is comprised of dense rainforest, but there has been a lot of logging over the years. Surfing is bringing jobs and income to the region, offering a more sustainable future than logging. This area has been victim to numerous tsunamis and earthquakes over the years, and suffered badly in the 2004 and 2010 quakes.
The Budyadahri(Sea Princess), an 80ft Indonesian-built boat, was my floating home for two glorious weeks of surfing, eating and sleeping. I travelled on my own but there were eight other surfers on board, all Irish-Americans from Long Island, New York. We travelled with Sumatran Surfariis and started the trip from the Sumatran port of Padang.
All the crew on board were Indonesian, except for an Australian surf guide. We had a captain, first mate, engineer, chef and two deck hands. These surf charters are fully inclusive trips and everything you need is on board. The charters provide three meals a day, drinking water, soft drinks and beers. Most charters are 10 or 11 nights, but I chose Sumatran Surfariis because it offers longer trips of 14 nights.
We surfed many different waves during our trip. In the area around Siberut island we surfed waves such as Scarecrows, A Frames, 4 Bobs, Bank Vaults, Nipussi, Pit Stops, Beng Bengs, Seven Palms, Icelands and Burgerworld. Further south we surfed the famous waves of Lances Right off the island of Sipura, and Macaronis off the island of Pagai Utara.
The highlight of the trip was the three days spent surfing Macaronis, considered by many to be among the best waves in the world because they break in the same place and at the same speed every time, no matter how big or small, and provide the surfer with good tube rides and performance sections.
Each of these waves had its own characteristics, but the common factor with all of them was that we were surfing world-class waves, just south of the equator, in a pair of board-shorts and a T-shirt. This was a long way from the cold water and wetsuits of Bundoran or Long Island.
This part of the world is not on many tourist itineraries, but for surfers it is a place of pilgrimage. Waves celebrated in the surf magazines that we read in Bundoran or Long Beach are no longer the stuff of dreams. At the end of 14 days we all agreed that surfing in the Mentawais was better than we had hoped for.
As we tied up to the quay in Padang at the end of our voyage I took one last look at the Budyadahriand made a promise to myself – I'll be back.
Returnflights from Dublin to Kuala Lumpur with Ethiad €750. Return flights from Kuala Lumpur to Padang with Air Asia €70. Fourteen nights all inclusive boat trip with Sumatran Surfariis €2,200, sumatransurfariis.com.
Aidan Browne runs Bundoran Surf Co, Main Street, Bundoran, Co Donegal. See bundoransurfco.com.
