Friday, April 15, 2011

Mentawai Surf

Broad exposure to all reaches of the southern Indian Ocean provides the Mentawais with unrivaled swell consistency, well beyond that of Bali. Background pulses keep waves breaking even between the stronger hits, and swells will often arrive over the top of each other in the mid-season boom. Few will push beyond the 6- to 10-foot range, however.

Out of the  many, a handful of spots have made themselves the focus of most charters, partly due to their quality, partly to consistency and partly to ease of access.

Here's a look at four of the hot handful:

Lance's  Left
Facing almost directly into the prevailing southwest swell, Lance's Left is  a "go-to" wave, easily ridden by all but the least competent surfers,    yet challenging the skilled to a couple of deeper takeoff zones and accompanying barrels. It's a broad shelving reef that curves through around 45 degrees into    an eventual closeout across jagged inside coral, but poses little danger, thanks to numerous easy exit points throughout the ride. When a new swell hits Lance's Left, it can take on the best attributes of Grajagan's Moneytrees section -- slabby, thick takeoffs, broad faces and a nice blend of barrel and rippability. It'll keep up this action into the 10-foot zone on a fresh swell before mushing out wide into the adjoining deep water. On smaller swells, that original takeoff zone mellows into a softer, playful drop and swinging peak that beckons the    surfer farther and farther down the line, while a new section -- long, thin and cylindrical -- pops up way over near the outside dry reef. This new section is deceptive and should be left to the highly skilled; it conceals a grand risk of coral burn.

Other than that, it's a great starter wave for a Mentawais trip and often treated as such by captains good and otherwise.
◦ Consistency:    8 to 10
◦ Difficulty: easy to medium
◦ Danger factor: low to medium
◦ Barrel factor: medium

Lance's  Right
Lance's Right or Hollow Trees, more commonly referred to as "HT's" has been voted one of the top ten waves in the world. Mentawai veterans call it the office... they like to park in the keyhole and surf all day... and call that a job! The wave wraps 180 Deg and actually breaks almost due south after bending, warping and amplifying around the south tip of Sipura. A freak of nature and a very special place. Wide sets can be fat and easy to make but everything else is fast hollow and almost mechanically perfect. The screamers across the reef can reward and they can punish. A wave to elevate your surfing skills if you can face the drop and believe in yourself.
◦ Consistency:    9 to 10
◦ Difficulty: medium to high
◦ Danger factor: medium to high
◦ Barrel factor: high

Macaronis Left
Macaroni's,  more commonly referred to as 'Maccas', has been overwhelmingly voted the  world’s most enjoyable wave by 50 of the world’s best surfers and industry figureheads. 76% of all surveyed, goofy and natural footers agreed; Macaroni's is the funnest wave they had ever ridden.

Macaronis is tucked inside several other reef layers near a lovely green-water bay that makes a beautiful calm overnight anchorage. This, plus the wave quality and ease of riding, makes Macas the target zone for almost every boat captain in the islands.    The wave itself is a sectionless left peeling across a curved limestone-coral shelf that slopes up out of the water at an almost offensively perfect angle. An occasionally complex takeoff resolves swiftly into a long hollow wall with curves suited to any turn or tube you'd care to imagine.

Theoretically, Macaronis has an upper limit around 6 feet, but has been known to hold bigger in perfect conditions.  One drawback for the less-skilled surfer is that takeoff zone: like most excellent waves, Macas is not friendly to people who try to pick up the wave farther down the line, having by then established its dredging flow. Getting in from the start is the key to Macaronis' magic.
◦ Consistency:    5 to 10
◦ Difficulty: easy to medium
◦ Danger factor: medium
◦ Barrel factor: high

Thunders Left
Being broadly exposed to the southwest and a little farther off the Sumatran mainland, it's possibly the most consistent break in the whole chain. It's a left that superficially resembles Lance's Lefts, but upon investigation, shows itself to be a very complicated  lineup, with numerous takeoff spots and massive inconsistencies in the reef.    Wave choice becomes a very broad and open game, with wide easy faces and tight hollow barrels all over the place. Most waves tend to find their way into a    peaky inside section and an eventual collapse onto craggy coral. Thunders shows better form early in a rising swell, when its true nature as one of the better  large waves in the region becomes clear -- a solid, slabby wall bleeds quickly into a swinging hollow peak, which reforms on to the inside. Some surfers have been lured way up the line on less consistent days -- generally they've found themselves to have been magnificently sucked in by mirage-like dreams of barrel sections, which don't actually exist.

On the next island North of  Thunders lies one of the best rights in the islands, perhaps the world, on its day -- Rags Right, a rifling cylinder across nearly bare coral where 10- to    15-second tubes are a serious possibility. But be warned, this is a place for  super-skilled surfers only, unless you enjoy the sensation of being cleanly stripped of flesh.  On big days Rags Left rivals G-Land for picture perfect long barreling sections and a wall that looks like Jefferies Bay in reverse.
◦ Consistency:    9 to 10
◦ Difficulty: medium to high
◦ Danger factor: medium
◦ Barrel factor: medium

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