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Second Night
We arrived yesterday afternoon, tired of
travelling and amped to get on board.
Seeing the Trader come in was insane,
all of us started living a dream,
looking at what we had only imagined and
crackling with anticipation. After being
on board for a night it's better than I
imagined. The boat has an inviting
friendly vibe, I feel at home here.
We're being totally spoilt, everything
you could possibly imagine the boat has,
and gourmet food and the most
accommodating and friendliest crew I've
ever met. We surfed our hearts out this
afternoon, a glassy, superfine right
hander, 3-4 foot and the most perfect
conditions I've ever experienced. I
can't believe we've got another 13 days
left, to explore and surf - imagine the
best day we're gonna have….. I'm
dreaming, I must be. There's just been
some commotion outside when someone
spotted a sea snake, 1-1 1/2 meters
yellow with black stripes - can't wait
till the morning surf. |
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Third night
We surfed the same spot today, a little
bigger and better - a little soft but
perfect conditions some of the best
waves I've ever had. Must have surfed
5-6 hours there, such rippable waves,
near the end my thigh started cramping
from pushing off the bottom and carving,
snapping and floating off the top. After
lunch we set a course back to the island
we came from yesterday morning, hoping
that with the rise in swell, the small
right we surfed would start cranking out
a few barrels. About an hour of light
left when we reached our destination,
it's small but I jumped off for a paddle
and got a lucky set or two. I think this
is the spot, I caught a of wide ones
which just bowled onto the reef and
reeled over and over for 100metres. With
a bit more swell the barrel would run
the whole way. The swell charts predict
more swell tomorrow. It could be epic.
Third and Fourth days
Third and fourth days of surfing were
small but still some fun barreling sets.
We surfed another reef further down the
bay which also has heaps of potential,
all we need is more swell. Deciding that
this spot is too protected from the
swell, we left at 3.00am in the morning
to travel to a few other islands with
possible waves. After travelling for
half the day we anchored off a beautiful
beach, still no waves but a good
opportunity to go ashore. We paddled to
the beach and surfed a 1 foot left,
peeling perfectly on the reef - another
perfect little setup for more swell. One
of the locals was watching as Lee took a
small one and rode onto a chunk of coral
and lost two fins. Justin and Mick,
scouting for waves and fish, picked me
up on my paddle back to the boat. They
were going to a close neighboring island
where there seemed to be a small left -
bigger than what we had just surfed.
Justin and I surfed a little wedge right
against the jungle rim. It was like a
A-frame shorey, then right onto the
rocks but the left was bowling out along
the reef. Here the jungle was so thick
there were definitely no local
fisherman, just the sound of monkeys and
a row of birds sitting along a bent palm
wondering what we were doing. Some of
the guys are bumming a bit, these small
2-3 foot fun peaks and different setups
aren't feeding their hunger for the
"September Session" waves
expected. That night we decide to head
where hopefully there is more swell and
bigger barrels!
Fifth & Sixth Days
The last two days we spent surfing a
perfect left point but still not enough
swell for it to work properly. We then
moved for an afternoon session and
stayed for the next day - here at least
it picks up a bit more swell even though
the wave is peaky and a bit flat. The
conditions were really good and Doug
missioned ashore with his camera to
click off a few spools in perfect light.
Just off the place we anchored there was
an old shipwreck which made for some
interesting snorkeling. I've been
confined to the deck for the last 2 days
because of a damned ear infection -
luckily the boats well equipped and John
prescribed me a strong antibiotics
course which seem to be working. The
only disadvantage about surfing these
two islands is that there's a surf camp
on each. It's the first time we've had
to share our waves since the trip began.
It's ok for me, at least I'm not having
to nurse and keep my ear dry while the
guys are getting barreled off their
heads. Tomorrow John said we're moving
onto a new group of islands. We're
hoping we'll find a bit of swell, and
surf a few more unknown breaks. This
morning we reached the first island. Not
much swell and a bit chopped up so
Captain John decides to try refuel the
diesel tanks and gas bottles. We find a
small town/port/village, whatever you
want to call it, where we could refuel
and dock in the bay while John gets
permission for us to dock and to
organise refueling. Boredom sets in as
we wait for a couple of hours on the
anchored boat, to pass the time we crack
a few Bintang's and drop a line or two.
Not expecting anything we are surprised
when Justin pulled up an eel and then a
Triggerfish. Not much use except a bit
of entertainment. Sitting at the dock
and still refueling at 6.00pm I'm hoping
to get a wave tomorrow. My ears feeling
a lot better and my energy level's are
peaking after sitting on a mostly
stationary boat all day. At least the
Indies trader is kitted out with
everything we could ask for, we relax in
style - reading mags, watching DVD's,
fishing with a beer or catch a little
shut eye in our air - conditioned
cabins.
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