The Mighty Mentawais

Sun 6 June 2010

Chad Marais, the creator of suss.co.za, sold some stuff and booked a place on a surf adventure of a life time. On his return, we managed to get him to spill the beans on what it takes to do a boat trip in the Mentawai islands of Indonesia.

So Chad, why the Mentawis? (A Captain Obvious kinda question)

I’ve wanted to get to the Mentawais for the last 8 years. It’s always been the elusive pipe dream that my mates and I have fantasized about whilst sitting in freezing, wind swept Cape Town line-ups waiting for our piece of whatever action we were lucky enough to find that day.

What kind of package did you mission on?

15 Night boat charter on the Laga Naut. It is a kitted out 72ft boat. 5 passenger cabins. Air con. Entertainment system. Plus all the obvious stuff. All flights and airport taxes (barring one or two fairly insignificant taxes here and there). All chow and drink on the boat is covered. All taxis to and from the airport are also covered.

Boat trip huh? Okay so who did you book through?

Chantal Malherbe from All Aboard Travel - www.all-aboardsurftravel.co.za

How much did that set you back?

Yes, it’s expensive, there’s no way around it. I doubt I’ll be able to afford this trip again anytime soon! All in all EVERYTHING included, it ended up costing me exactly R39K and it was still worth it.

39K!? What makes it so expensive?

Please bear in mind these are the rough prices I paid for my trip as well as odds and ends I bought for the trip: Spot on the boat: R23K. Flights & Taxes: Cape Town -> Joburg -> Kuala Lumpar -> Padang (return): R10,500. Suggested travel allowance: $300 (R2800). You really do need this. I used exactly $300 even when trying to avoid spending cash at all times! Odds and ends: Fins, wax, leashes, ding repair, boardshorts, rash vest, pain killers, anti-inflammatories, general antibiotics, anti bacterial creams, plasters R3K

Be sure not to skimp on your medicine kit. One of the guys on our boat had flu when he arrived and it spread around like wild fire. Its not kiff being out at sea with full blown flu when you’ve brought nothing for it.

The travelling?

It’s long and pretty painful. Take stuff to do. You’ll have internet connection at some places you stop. In total (waiting included) it took around 25 hours to get onto the boat.

So what was the boat like?

Ours was RAD. Air con, kiff comfy beds. Nice space upstairs. An awesome crew. Cabins sleep two on bunk beds. 2 bathrooms. TV and DVD. I had no idea what to expect but was massively surprised when I climbed on board.

Ok now tune us about the waves bru?

Yes, they are as good as you think they are. If I had a penny for every time I said “That’s the best waves I’ve ever seen in my life” I’d be able to fund another trip. Although, bear in mind we were told that we were fairly lucky with both the conditions and the crowds.

Generally the waves we surfed tended towards a more experienced surfer, but there are plenty of ‘fun’ options around as well. It’s hard to draw a comparison to something I know in Cape Town because the waves are so radically different, so I’ll try and compare it to the only other wave I can think of, which is Supers in Jbay.

Most of the waves aren’t quite as long as supers. Anything from half to three quarters the length. A few of them are quite a bit softer, but most of them are as hard, if not harder. In general I’d say I hit the reef more in J-bay than I did in the Mentawais, but I reckon there’s more potential for damage over coral reef given the potential for infection and that you don’t have a suit on. I found that, more often than not, if you were just aware of the reef when you came short you’d be fine. It’s when you get stupid and try race that last sketchy barrel that you get hurt.

As far as size, the biggest day saw some solid 10ft beasts at Bank Vaults with a few more days in the 6-8ft range at various spots. We had plenty of 3-4ft days with only one flat day.
How much surf did you get?

We surfed for 12 of the 14 days, 4 of which were as perfect as I’ve ever seen, and the rest ranged from very good to fun, with only one session being mildly irritating. Even then though, you just jump off your board and swim around the reef for a bit. You quickly remember why you’re there.

How many boards did you mission with?

I took 4 boards but will only take 3 if there’s a next time. I had:

2 x 6”2
1 x 6”5
1 x 6”6

I’d leave the 6”5 behind next time. I surfed my 6”2 90% of the time and used my 6”6 on the 8ft + days. I think a 6”8 would have been perfect, but the 6”6 went like a bomb as well. I was lucky enough to avoid snapping any boards, but on our boat we lost a total of 6 boards during the trip.

Were the crowds as mad as Bali?

In general there were never more than 15 guys in the water per spot. On the very last day of the trip, which was after 3 days of strong NW (not a good wind for that side as it limits the number of spot choices down to 2 or 3) and at the VERY height of the crowd, I counted 35 guys out at Bank Vaults, and it was a bit much. Bearing in mind though, that Bank Vaults was FIRING. 8ft and the roundest barrels I’d ever seen. But for the rest of that session it would fluctuate between 5 and 20 guys. But, there will also be times when you find yourself completely alone in the line-up or just with the guys from your boat. And you’re gonna let out a little chuckle when it happens.

What was the vibe in the water?

All in all it was pretty mellow. Very few verbal exchanges took place. Most of the guys out there just seemed stoked to be in the line-up and grateful for the experience. Not much hustling, a few drop-ins here and there, but usually follow by an apology. Good vibes all round.

Would you do it again?

Yes, I’m currently trying to figure out where to steal the money from.