spook, I love night surfing sessions too. Everything feels sooo different out there. I always find myself thinking Im going to be a sharks nite snack or some wave is going to pummel me. Havent done that in a very long time though. BP and I only had nite swims last time we were in Kochi.

Spook- I was talking to the Law yesterday. He just got back from over there. Got good waves by all accounts. He rattled off the names of the places he surfed, some I recognized as your turf. Ebay. He was there for that big swell and surfed Hideaways, if I can get some pics off him I'll post them. The boat was the Pelagic?

Luv nite surfs.. Have done a few moonlit sessions and also a few care of our headlights!

hey all

been away for a few weeks sorting out some things (visas, business stuff etc) and then i've been sick and lying in bed the last few days...

mantas, yep that swell from a month or so ago was pretty epic at all the lefts up here. not sure if i mentioned it before but apparently kandui was 8-10 foot and insanely thick and scary. inside kanduis was cleaner. hideaways would have been pretty solid on the first day of the swell, but a more manageable 6 foot the day after. of course for an ex-pro surfer, 'manageable' is all relative

a few days ago the rusty guys rocked up and i snapped some pics of josh kerr and jay davies boosting. jamie o'brien was also going nuts but i didn't get many nice shots of him. just before they arrived i had a few hours in the water. fun barrels and smackable walls.

i've also included some pics from mainland sumatra. we went up to a plce called the harau valley for a few days - it's a 175m high gorge with only a few hundred metres of flat at the base. sitting in a motorcycle sidecar driving past rice paddies on the way in, the gorge just looms up with all these waterfalls gushing everywhere. very very cool. there's bugger all to do there but it's a great place to relax with the missus for a few nights

The best payphone I've ever seen, Bukkitingi


Harau Valley homestay and view from the lookout



One of our crew with a new pet - Dewik found this python 20m away from our house. All our guys also helpfully reassured us that there's bigger ones out there, and smaller poisonous snakes too. Great. I've also sen a lizard the size of a small dog kicking around too.


Jay Davies, mid-wave boost at Pitstops



Josh Kerr, air king. This guy was head and shoulders above all the other Rusty team. Pretty phenomenal to watch one of the world's best air guys going nuts out the front

jebus the height.
and fabulous timing spook.

it's massive huh? he's about 10-12 feet above the flats - that's like jumping off a roof
the other guys were doing smooth functional airs. on a normal day they'd look awesome, but compared to josh kerr they didn't even rate

Hey Spook,

Nice pics mate. I cant see 2 of them though.
I'll bet it was great to escape from Gilligan's Island for a while eh? The boys are still talking about a trip next May. At this stage, that's all it is, Talk. It's getting harder to get frequent flyer trips now. It's all booked up for May next year already.

Keep up the good work

Ahhh....the pics just came through. That is huge (snake and the air) !!

wow! Thanks for the spook! That guy has really launched himself - damn! how far offshore is that? Looks really close. What a show going on down there You guys get lots of pros coming through? Next request some more sunset surf sess!!

Just as a matter of interest Spook, how do you get to your island?? If for example we were coming from Japan, where would we have to fly into etc etc

TB, Ill try to answer on spooks behalf as he might not be able to post again for a while.
This area is pretty remote. almost everyone comes through Padang Sumartra. this I pulled off the Pitstop hill website.

Getting to the Hill is really done in two main stages. Once you arrive in Padang, leave the rest to us.

Getting to Padang (West Sumatra)
Generally via Singapore, Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur.

Transfer from Padang to Mentawais
A choice of 2 comfortable ferries (fast or overnight)
Optional upgrade to SMAC Padang to Mentawai (Rokot) flight
Mentawai Ferry harbour to Pitstop Hill speedboat ride

That's, uh, our website. Nice one Mantas!

There's a ferry 3 times a week from Padang to a nearby island. One ferry is quite nice and comfy if you get a cabin, the others are all wooden, rickety and dirty. We just put our guests on the nice metal ferry and make sure they have an aircon cabin.
There is also a flight, but unfortunately it doesn't coincide well with international flights arriving in Padang.
From your ferry or or airport arrival in the Mentawais, we pick you up in a speedboat and it's a one hour trip to the resort. Jump out at the beach, our crew carry your stuff from the boat and you go surfing and live like a king for 10 days

You can also get here independently, and stay at a very basic homestay. It's a bit of a mission but possible. But you get a different experience as you don't have access to boats to go surfing and (as it is very remote out here) you need plenty of time and must bring all your own food and water etc etc

It wasn't until I came out here for an extended period that I realised all the logisitcs and costs involved in running a resort, or even a basic camp. It's a nightmare, but the rewards are worth it!

CB, this time of year ( the peak season) is when sponsors send off their troops in boatloads in search of epic waves for the coming summers advertising and surf mag stories etc etc.

When I was helping on a mate's boat back in 97' we were surfing a isolated spot and another boat comes round the corner, zodiac drops off the surfers to where we were.. Kelly, Occy, Dorian, Kalani, Robb, Luke and the list went on! Billabong Challenge in tiny waves.. Still awesome to watch!

Spook. Kerrzy going to space on that one!. My bro is up to HT's land camp start of july.. Been trying to scam my way there.. Wife just shut me down! :(

Keep the pics coming...

was that trip to sumbawa indo?

there's also cheap homestays at katiet now - a few bungalows at $10 a night, so no need to go to the flash resort if money is tight. from what i hear off-season is a better bet, so you're not sharing the wave with 6-10 boats

Yeah the Billy challenge was Sumbawa. They actually surfed off at Yoyo's.. The whole trip for them was a sham.. tiny waves and the boys didn't even want to surf! Kelly wanted to go fishing!

I think Katiet is where my bro might be staying. Can't be too many places up at HT's!

Indo, thanks for the info - that area looks sick

>When I was helping on a mate's boat back in 97' we were surfing a isolated spot and another boat comes round the corner, zodiac drops off the surfers to where we were.. Kelly, Occy, Dorian, Kalani, Robb, Luke and the list went on! Billabong Challenge in tiny waves.. Still awesome to watch!

now thatd be some stoke!!

Spook, checked out that katiet place and looks exy! I doubt he'd be staying at a place like that!....

Sounds like some serious sucking is required here Indo. I find it easier if you plant the seed early and let them get used to the idea.
It aint easy.

problem is when they want to go too. Surfing wives can backfire when you are trying to get away.. I'm calling a boys trip next time to Indo.. she can come to the Maldives with the family!

yes, there's always a trade off. Maldives would be a great family trip.