|
ON DRY LAND
Surfing the Mentawais Without a Boat
By:
Lewis Samuels
|
March 21, 2006
4642 visits
|
|
Stay on land in the Mentawais and you may face the following dilemma:
You're surfing a perfect left reef, off a small palm fringed island. A single charter boat motors away, leaving you alone in the lineup. The wind is calm, the sun is too strong, and swell lines are stacked from you to Madagascar.
|
|
A set comes. You spin and paddle for the third wave. As you airdrop into the bowl, you catch a glimpse of a mind-bending sight. Directly in front of you, where the parking lot would be back home, there's a wide lagoon. And on the other side of that lagoon, a half-mile distant, you see the tail end of Kandui Left, coming straight at you. You kick out, and the last remnant of the Kandui barrel meets your wave in the center of the lagoon, making a little ping of backwash, the swell having refracted 180 degrees around each side of the island, meeting itself. Your mind tries to solve this riddle: A triangle of three islands, four perfect rights, four perfect lefts, each facing a different direction, each offering a different take on perfection. All spots are empty. It's nearly a mile paddle back to the island where you're staying, and you're already tired, thirsty and sunburned. But still, you have to ask yourself, "How can I let these waves go unridden?" Over the last decade, the Mentawais have been photographed and drooled over more than almost any other location on the planet. Exposure has brought hordes of traveling surfers, the vast majority by charter boat. But in recent years, the inevitable colonization of the islands has begun. The 2006 season offers a handful of land-based resorts. In the southern Mentawais, the Macaroni Surf Resort is entering its second season. In the northern region, New Zealander Christie Carter has been hosting guests at Wavepark since 1998. Nearby, Kandui Resort officially opens in April. At least three other camps are rumored. (It should be noted that none of these resorts are attempting to restrict access to lineups.) Purists may cringe at the thought of developing the Mentawais, fearing another Nias-like surf ghetto. Aware of the stakes, all three resorts share goals of preserving local environments and communities. Importantly, these projects supply medical support to surrounding villages, and offer the local population a chance to make a good wage without having to move to the mainland. For example, Kandui Resort was built through a joint effort of local workers and the resort's American owners. As partner Ray Wilcoxen points out, "The boats have been coming here for years, and the local people have gotten almost nothing. We want to help them out, teach them skills, give them jobs, maybe improve their lives." "The boats have been coming here for years, and the local people have gotten almost nothing. We want to help them out, teach them skills, give them jobs, maybe improve their lives."
-Ray Wilcoxen, Kandui Resort
From the traveler's perspective, these resorts offer luxury accommodation and access to sick waves, without the close quarters and seasickness that can accompany boat trips. Resorts also provide an alternative for surfing couples who want to experience the islands, without being stuck on a boat with six frothing guys. One such couple started Kandui Resort, in conjunction with the well-respected charter company Saraina Koat Mentawai. In June of 2004, John and Ainsley Ocean sold their Hawaii farm and belongings, and moved to Karamajet Island. They spent the next 10 months living in a tent, learning Indonesian, teaching local workers construction skills, and reclaiming driftwood for the construction of buildings. They surfed and worked through the off-season, facing a myriad of challenges that included storms, heat, tsunamis, earthquakes, injuries, and Indonesian politics. Assisted by partners Amen May, Ray Wilcoxen, Jordan and Aii Heuer, Anom (Un) Suheri, and Anthony Marcotti, the construction of Kandui Resort is now nearly complete. As Ainsley puts it, "This will be the kind of place you can bring your wife, and she'll be stoked." Indonesia is a tough place to do business, and there's no guarantee that these resorts will share the success of Tavarua. However, spend time with the crew at Kandui Resort or Christie Carter at Wavepark, and it becomes very clear that these projects are not about profit. Instead, they're about dreams. "We just wanted to go surfing," says Ainsley Ocean. "You only have so much time… we were ready to sell everything, travel, and surf." Simply put, these are hardcore surfers, and they've abandoned their western lives to pursue dreams of tropical reef barrels. As you can see from the photos, they've already succeeded on that level. *Note: if you plan on going to the Mentawais -- or even just care about 'em from afar -- check out www.surfaidinternational.org. It's a non-profit humanitarian aid organization, created to improve the health of people living in isolated regions connected to us through surfing. They deserve your money. SURFLINE HOME PAGE MORE TRAVEL |
|
