So the adventure begins...
Well, even though you're 9000+ miles from home you're constantly reminded oif how small a world we live in. I board the plane to Padang and meet 2 other guys en route to Kandui. They both live in San Diego county. One is in commercial real estate and the other (you'll love this) is from Wichita an went to KU for a year or 2 before he transferred to SDSU. How about that?!
After getting our stuff and meeting up with 1 other guy going to the resort (a professional Australian rules football player) we meet up with our guide Ray and the conversaiton goes like this...
Us: Hey Ray! Great hotel here. It will be nice to get a little rest and then catch the ferry in the AM...
Ray: Yeah...well, actually dont't unpack but grab a bite to eat cuz we're leaving in 3 hours.
Us: Cool! We're gonna get there tonight and surf in the AM...
Ray: Yeah...well, see the thing is, the ferry is in drydock. They discovered a crack in the hull last week so we're taking a charter boat.
Us: ???
Ray: It's one of the nicer boats but it's gonna take us about 10-11 hours and the seas are really big so if you get motion sickness we need to get medicine...
Yup. So we get on a surf charter which is an OK boat but you wouldn't book a trip on it, and we start motoring out to the resort. Once we leave the harbor the fun begins. The seas were about 10' plus and it was pitch black. I never get seasick...until I'm on a 50' boat getting tossed around like a cork in 10' + seas with strong winds. Luckily, I fell asleep pretty fast so the only times I really got to feeling sick were the times I got up to make sure we were still alive or the captain hadn't fallen asleep.
We finally made it to the resort around 8AM and it's gorgeous; they did an incredible job here. We checked our boards and mine all made it inticat but the fish's nose got smashed so I'll be doing some ding repair tonight. Our crew is 3 guys from the US, 3 Aussies and Ray the guide; that's it. PLus, the # of boats was cut in 1/2 on October 1st so we're pretty much surfing every wave with just the 6 of us and Ray who helps you paddle into waves, not drop in on you.
The winds here are insane; 15mph sustained and straight south. Couple that with a huge south swell and our options are severly limited. So, we went out front to the wave within paddling distance (but why paddle when they'll drop you off right there) and went for the first session. Holy sh!t. "Crappy" here means about 5-6' and FAT; takes forever to break and the winds are side/off shore so you're just getting rained on with every wave. When it does break it's sketchy. The reef sits about 4' deep in most places but it's alive so there are coral heads growing up and in places it's about 1' deep. It took about 15 minutes to gather my thoughts and calm my heartbeat which was off the charts. Finally, it came... All the other sounds seemed to go silent and time slowed to slow-motion. I turned, closed my eyes and paddled my ever loving ass off. It picked my up I opened my eyes looked down the line....and BOOM...I'm up. Holy f'n crap, I'm up. 3 ozzies are hooting, the guide is yelling GO and I'm flying down the face of a wave, faster than I have ever gone. It opened up for about 25 yards and I pumped like I've never pumped before trying to make the sections; the wave is sooooo fast, even on a mushy, blown out day. I made the first section but the 2nd closed out way too fast and I was caught; I couldn't go over the back or just wait for it to open up. Bryan, reef....Reef, Bryan. Yup, nowhere to go and I was in about 2' of water and it was sucking off the reef as the next waves were coming. A couple waves came through and I got worked but luckily only sustained a small cut of fire coral on my knee, and a couple scrapes but no more than if I were walking on rocks; barely noticable but the board was not so lucky. Huge gash in the bottom and the fin got a little torn up but we'll fix it later tonight. But I did it; I caught my very first wave inthe Mentawai's and not some slouch, either. The waves here are ginormous. At 6' I liken the size and "feel" to maybe 8' back home but way cleaner. I'm certainly a bit out of my comfot zone but with every wave rolling through it gets easier. I have to remember that this is day 1 of 11 so I'm just pacing myself as we all wait for some lighter winds.
We're leaving here in a few minutes to go surf a left named Beng Beng which works better with this wind but shouldn't be as big. I'm still getting my feet wet, so to say, and I'm not sure how much I'll be catching but I'm paddling out for sure.
I'll tell more tales later but I made it here and I made it here to do what I came for: catch waves. See you all later!! This place is maybe the most beautiful place I have ever seen...
After getting our stuff and meeting up with 1 other guy going to the resort (a professional Australian rules football player) we meet up with our guide Ray and the conversaiton goes like this...
Us: Hey Ray! Great hotel here. It will be nice to get a little rest and then catch the ferry in the AM...
Ray: Yeah...well, actually dont't unpack but grab a bite to eat cuz we're leaving in 3 hours.
Us: Cool! We're gonna get there tonight and surf in the AM...
Ray: Yeah...well, see the thing is, the ferry is in drydock. They discovered a crack in the hull last week so we're taking a charter boat.
Us: ???
Ray: It's one of the nicer boats but it's gonna take us about 10-11 hours and the seas are really big so if you get motion sickness we need to get medicine...
Yup. So we get on a surf charter which is an OK boat but you wouldn't book a trip on it, and we start motoring out to the resort. Once we leave the harbor the fun begins. The seas were about 10' plus and it was pitch black. I never get seasick...until I'm on a 50' boat getting tossed around like a cork in 10' + seas with strong winds. Luckily, I fell asleep pretty fast so the only times I really got to feeling sick were the times I got up to make sure we were still alive or the captain hadn't fallen asleep.
We finally made it to the resort around 8AM and it's gorgeous; they did an incredible job here. We checked our boards and mine all made it inticat but the fish's nose got smashed so I'll be doing some ding repair tonight. Our crew is 3 guys from the US, 3 Aussies and Ray the guide; that's it. PLus, the # of boats was cut in 1/2 on October 1st so we're pretty much surfing every wave with just the 6 of us and Ray who helps you paddle into waves, not drop in on you.
The winds here are insane; 15mph sustained and straight south. Couple that with a huge south swell and our options are severly limited. So, we went out front to the wave within paddling distance (but why paddle when they'll drop you off right there) and went for the first session. Holy sh!t. "Crappy" here means about 5-6' and FAT; takes forever to break and the winds are side/off shore so you're just getting rained on with every wave. When it does break it's sketchy. The reef sits about 4' deep in most places but it's alive so there are coral heads growing up and in places it's about 1' deep. It took about 15 minutes to gather my thoughts and calm my heartbeat which was off the charts. Finally, it came... All the other sounds seemed to go silent and time slowed to slow-motion. I turned, closed my eyes and paddled my ever loving ass off. It picked my up I opened my eyes looked down the line....and BOOM...I'm up. Holy f'n crap, I'm up. 3 ozzies are hooting, the guide is yelling GO and I'm flying down the face of a wave, faster than I have ever gone. It opened up for about 25 yards and I pumped like I've never pumped before trying to make the sections; the wave is sooooo fast, even on a mushy, blown out day. I made the first section but the 2nd closed out way too fast and I was caught; I couldn't go over the back or just wait for it to open up. Bryan, reef....Reef, Bryan. Yup, nowhere to go and I was in about 2' of water and it was sucking off the reef as the next waves were coming. A couple waves came through and I got worked but luckily only sustained a small cut of fire coral on my knee, and a couple scrapes but no more than if I were walking on rocks; barely noticable but the board was not so lucky. Huge gash in the bottom and the fin got a little torn up but we'll fix it later tonight. But I did it; I caught my very first wave inthe Mentawai's and not some slouch, either. The waves here are ginormous. At 6' I liken the size and "feel" to maybe 8' back home but way cleaner. I'm certainly a bit out of my comfot zone but with every wave rolling through it gets easier. I have to remember that this is day 1 of 11 so I'm just pacing myself as we all wait for some lighter winds.
We're leaving here in a few minutes to go surf a left named Beng Beng which works better with this wind but shouldn't be as big. I'm still getting my feet wet, so to say, and I'm not sure how much I'll be catching but I'm paddling out for sure.
I'll tell more tales later but I made it here and I made it here to do what I came for: catch waves. See you all later!! This place is maybe the most beautiful place I have ever seen...
posted by Bryan at
11:43 PM
1 Comments:
Ah - the king says try harder. That is in reference to your text message - You are stuck in Katamari Damacy and you can't find the prince - the king says try harder. LOVE IT!!!!
I am so stinking proud of you and could not ask for a better brother. I hope you have one hell of a time and that you get spewed out of the wave like you have always dreamed of. I can't wait to see pictures and hear about all of the mini adventures that are wrapped up into this adventure of a lifetime!!!
LOVE YA!!!!!
:) Gin
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Anonymous, at 3:50 PM
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