Mentawai

If you told me three days that I would take an uncomfortable overnight boat to a sketchy powerboat to a remote island where I'd get pounded by waves, cut my feet on reef and bow out after less than an hour. And if you told me that I would leave a few hours later to take the same powerboat to the same overnight boat and be completely satisfied by the experience, I may not believe it.

The Mentawai Islands are like surf Mecca to many. I didn't know this and when looking through guide books and on the internet, few specific places were mentioned. I had endured enough tourist swamped locations and didn't want to go to Bali so I went to the Mentawai Islands from Padang.

Shortly after disembarking, I called over two fellows with surfboards slung over their shoulders. They agreed to split the cost of the speedboat charter. After a small breakfast and some coffee, we were off. The pair of British guys had been traveling through Indonesia from surfspot to surfspot for 4 months and had 3 weeks left. One of them has been doing this for 5 years straight and is only 22 years old. I warned them that I was no good at surfing and that I could only stay one night. They picked up supplies for a week as there are no shops or markets on Nyangnyang where we were headed. An hour and a great downpour later, the boat was filled with groceries and we were on our way. Rain and sea spray soaked us within minutes but the narrow mangrove forrest route we took was worth it. A few close calls with other boats and dug-out canoes kept it exciting as we gradually made it to open water. We passed seaside homes and fishing boats and after just over an hour, we made it.

We offloaded the boat and instantly met a few other surfers who told us that the conditions were the worst they'd seen in their three weeks on the island. They planned to stay through September if possible.

After deliberating over which of the many surfspots to venture towards, we chose the closest. A twenty minute walk took us to the spot and it was time to paddle out. I have some experience on small waves on a buoyant and forgiving longboard leading to a soft beach break. This day, I was on a borrowed 6'6" board on large, powerful waves and ruthless reef break. A few strokes into paddling out I knew I was WAY out of my league. The four guys I was with took off with ease, powering along with the well formed back muscles they'd been using day in and day out. I quickly fell behind and after the 200 or so meters of paddling it took to go around the reef, I was already exhausted.

I took a breather and got a feel for where the waves were breaking but I was still quite gunshy. The guys around me were off and running, each with their share of good rides and wipeouts. I missed a few waves before finally getting the timing right but the ability all wrong and I got tossed. In the tumult, I lost hold of my board and re-surfaced to a scared and appropriately upset fellow surfer who'd almost been skewered by my board. Duck diving waves on the way back out, I was getting more and more fatigued and after not too long I called it in for the sake of everyone involved. I sat and enjoyed watching the others surf, getting no grief from them when the came in.

"They were terrible conditions, awful for learning. Like learning to ski on moguls."

"You're a legend for even making the effort to come for a day, I've been in Indo for 5 years and just made it."

Kind words even though I felt defeated. This is a place worth working up to. Take a look for yourselves. A video of a fellow UCSB Gaucho and his brothers. The conditions in the video are much better than when I was there but either way, I was way out of my element.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDG0PjCWyrE