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February 2, 2009
38841 visits
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There are over a thousand miles of coastline
on the coast of Aceh and the Indian islands off Northern Sumatra that get swell all year round. The problem is that during the traditional surf season of May to October when the swell is most consistent, the SW trades flare up making almost all breaks onshore.
It has been 14 years since I last checked out some of this coastline... When a longtime friend/client floated the idea of a month-long surf trip from mid December through mid January starting in Phuket, Thailand and traveling back to Padang, Sumatra where we are based, I made up all sorts of reasons for my wife and kids as to why I had to drive the Indies Trader III and not be home for Christmas. |
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As you can see from the photos -- we scored. There were small, clean waves most days, and a couple of real swells kept things interesting. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are when most of these particular photos were taken and the highlight of our adventure surf-wise. Overall, our entire trip seemed to have great weather, great fishing, some world-class diving, and we hardly saw another surfer for the entire month. It was amazing how much things have changed in this region since the tsunami and subsequent earthquakes, some headlands are now islands, many breaks are gone or changed but there are a couple of new gems hiding around the next corner if you've got the right boat to get there. It was great to spend some time with just a few of us on Indies Trader III, I've spent a lot of time and money on her over the last year giving her a real birthday and it was a treat to be onboard. Surf is where you find it! --Martin Daly +++ Stay tuned to Surfline over the coming months for regular dispatches from Captain Martin Daly as he scours the planet for perfect surf. MORE TRAVEL SURFLINE HOME PAGE |