NOTSHOCUZ

I was now ready to plan my next mission and was introduced to a guy going to panaiton island who needed someone to share a charter boat. I had heard about this place and was excited to go with someone who new this place. It consists of a large bay that contains four world class waves that could all be rated double black diamond. It wasn’t until i had commited to go and was telling people, that I found this out. The first question i was hearing was, “do you have a helmet and a wetsuit?” I seached for a wettie in bali and was having a hard time finding one my size. I was getting nervous because I couldn’t find one. I ended up buying one that was very tight but it would do. As it turned out, I was one of the few that did not make use of the extra protection.
To get there we flew to jakarta, indo capital of 12 million people. Then we drove 2 hours to arrive on the boat, a 24 ft fishing cabin cruizer, to arrive at 3 am. Despite the tragic death of the indonesian captain possibley due to appendicitus, we were under way with a deckhand named Hindi and the boat owner. While being very knowledgable about where we were going, the captain turned out to be somewhat of an alcoholic, which we realized after leaving. We were stoked to realize that the deck hand, despite having never worked on this boat, had it wired and were relieved to know that someone had our safety in mind.
We arrived at one palm point around 1100am the next day and realized our swell prediction was accurate. This is an incredible point break that draws very large swells, bending them about 140 degrees around a point onto some crazy reef, hence helmets and wet suits. The wave breaks only 50 or so feet off the beech with about 40 of it being reef, and marches down the point for about four hundred meters, with a ususally unmakable girgley section after the first 100. Upon arrival we see solid 12-15 foot faces, some with mechanical barrels winding down just off the reef and then hitting this section.
Within the first hour, 3, of the 10 regular crew here, paddle by our boat with torn wetsuits and broken boards. I was still trying to prepare my mind and get a handle on what I was doing or going to do here. Everyone had a helmet on, and i started to wish I did too. Finally, my friend and paddle out to get some. I get a standup barrel on my second wave and am trying to settle in to this place. My next one looks make-able through the girgle section which turns the face indo a flat surge of water until you make it past. I think I am through and I see a little barrel seeting up….oops. The face double over and knocks me off with out warning…Thoughts of no helmet are racing through my head but i escape with a few minor cuts around my hands.
I get my board and paddle off the reef just in time to see a six footer grind down the same section with no water under it. Glad to be out of its way! Evening session is higher tide so i get about 6 solid waves just carving the face as fast and hard as I can, love my 7′2′ bushman. This place is so heavy that no one hassles for waves, plus the only people surfing here have been comming here regulalry, so communication is pretty good on who is going.
The next morning I break my board on a small wave, first one of the day…I am bummed. We head out to the other side of the bay to check Apocolypse, a barreling right that doesn’t let you out. I decline a surf because I don’t want to break another board, knowing the chances are high with a backside barrel that doesn’t let you out. My friends wait it out as swell here tends to be sporadic in size and score a few 6-8 foot hawain size barrels, they are stoked because in the many trips they have done here, they havn’t scored this wave.
Next stop illusions, another right that ususally isn’t ridealble this time of year, due to wind, and it looks really fun. It doesn’t really barrel, but just peels down the reef for a hundred yards before getting too shallow to ride. Afternoon sesion is fun but most of the crew is on it and light winds make it a little challenging but still fun. Every wave allows about 5 off the lips. Evening session is a score, celebrations on the other boats, involving lots of beer and vodka, keep many out of the water. The captain, 2 others and I trade waves for almost 2 hours. I have never covered so much water or done that many off the lips in that amount of time. Opting not use wetsuit or booties, I get lucky after taking one to far and unsuccessfully punching through. 10 or more hardcore duckdive and no new scrapes. After a few more waves, I take a smaller one thinking it was the last in the set, hitting a chop onthe drop cuses me to fall only to see one of the biggers sets of the day. I duckdive for my skin and starting to regret my decision to go without booties. While not as close to the reef as one palm, the reef is just as narly… I manage to save my skin again and survive to catch a few more.
Day 3 we surf the 4th wave in this place, a left hander called napalm. This is a short wave that allows a pretty easy drop that sets up a havey barrel. It is a little windy, but still very rideable and tubing. The guys from my boat get some serious shacks and I get some good waves, stoked to get waves at 3 out of the 4 spots here, pretty sure I will be back.
I am now back in bali, shopping for gifts and trying to decide where to go for the upcoming swell as my trip is comming to an end. ocean=home aloha christian

After Hanging in Bali, three Ausies I had gotten to know on the Coconut Adventure, invited me (and my video camera) on a trip off the beaten bath, Krui. Home of the longest left in Sumatra and the Sumatran Pipeline, who could resist. Two short flights to Bandar Lampun and a 5-8 hour drive landed us in Krui. With a population of over 12,000, it was by no means desolate. However in the week and a half I spent there, I saw no more than 20 westerners. It was a true Indonesian travel experience and refreshing to get away from the tourism of Bali and jungle of G-land. Every person made a point to use their one english phrase for any white visitor, “hello mister”. It didn’t matter who you were, man or woman, or how many times you had seen them before. We stayed at one of the two hotels in the town, who hadn’t quite realized what surf travel is. No western food and only two stores that even sold Bintang. This community was 95% muslim, but I couldn’t find any terrorists. The people were fun-loving and loved to joke around. Kids had no fear of walking up to a complete foreigner to practice the english they were learning in school. I was stoked to meet the english teacher of the town, who would talk to me for hours, answering every question I had and eager to hear new words and the context to use them. This place was awesome, the surf was uncrowded, accept when small, and we had a great time. At least until the day we left. About 2 minutes after we decided to leave Krui, my stomach started to talk to me, it requested the bathroom about every 15 minute for over an hour. My travel back to Bali included food poisoning, 5 hours of driving on bumpy dirt roads, 3 hours in lampun airport with no western toilet or toilet paper and 2 flights. I survived, and was glad that it was only food poisoning. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t eat for 24 hours. Once back in Bali, we treated ourselves to first class accommodations, the Bounty Hotel, $35 a night.

Just finished one week boat trip on the Coconut. The Captain, Capt. Coconut, scored us Desert Point for 2 epic days. We then stopped at Scar reef for some smaller surf and fun. The last couple of days were spent neat Yoyos, which i had planty of the last few trips, so we opted for an afternoon of Karaoke and Mansion House Bourbon and Vodka, your choice. Seperated from my friends with no currency or passport, I managed to hitch a moped ride back to yoyos with my slippers, shorts and a bottle of mosquito repellant. Apparently a tanktop is good for a one way moped ride. I was relieved that the boat hadn’t left yet. On the way back, we stopped in the Guillie Islands for some food, drink and a little tea. It was time to head back. Once back in bali, the coconut crew met up in Bali for a night on the town. It was a lot of fun and included some break-dancing and the most entertaining impromptu dance by our friend Cookie and a bar stool. It was only a matter of minutes before the crowd on the dancefloor formed a circle around him, as they watched what looked like a well choregraphed dance between unwound traveler and a most unlikely partner, a 30 pound balinese barstool. We all payed the next day for the fun we had.

nice!!! I just spoke to Christian on the phone, he is on a boat trip and just
surfed 8 foot desert point. He asked me to email everyone and let
them know he is doing great, and will be in front of a computer again in
about 5 days.

Aloha,
joe

Wake up to rat sounds, another twix bites the dust. Vid cam succumbs to Indo moisture, Sh*t! Oops, false alarm-Its dry. Hang out with Molly and Kiki, one of the locals. He introduces us to his morrocan friends. Chillaxin and a having fun in 2-3′ surf that reminds me of being a grom in Kona. Light off shores with a half mile of peeks, all lefts. Time to go back to Bali!

Morning session on 6′4 merrick, crowd increases from 2 to 40 in about 20 minutes… time for early lunch. Lunch hour session, super fun 4-6′Hi.scale. Speedy’s and the point barreling. Chow down and pass out at 8 pm.

Swell dropped a little, wind not cooperating yet. 10 am paddle out, 2-4′ fun session, lots of waves, schooling the newbies and youngsters. Lunch and then some water-video. Dam rats ate my twix and the silica packs for my camera…some lens fogging. Get some usable footage anyways. Killer barrel shot of the wombat.

Start my day off shooting Tom Carrol and Jim Banks ripping 6-8′ hawaiian scale! Tom looked like he was riding a 5′3″, and Banks was ripping’m of the top Old shcool. Eammon and I surf the afternoon supper fun, even though we used our boat-fag transfers(free boat ride to the line-up), instead of paddling out. Dinner then sleep.

10 pm Bali time, Load up as many surfers, surfboards and luggage as possible into seemingly plush Bimo(9 passenger van), for a night of travel to G-land, Gragagan. After the first hour, my ass was numb from the not-so-plush seats. I have been on this journey before making it evan less exciting.

All night travel with 3 hours on a overcrowded, diesel fume filled ferry, make resting nearly impossible.Arrive at G-land departure camp in the dark, sleep if you can. It is a hub-bub of fishing activity and you can smell it. It is day 3 of my trip, the Sun has risen and now we wait for the tide to rise high enough to get the transport boat off the sand, we all help push the boat back into the water.
We arrive to see double overhead swells, but first I must sleep…I nap until lunch and then paddle out just above the main peek, Launching Pads. I am still dazed from the travel and lack of sleep, so I am not evan trying to work my way into the line up. I am sitting about 30 yards deeper than the main pack waiting for the current to carry down, when I see a perfect peek comming straight to me…I look toward the pack, who are all to far away to be in contention for this wave, but close enough to know that no one gets a wave this good, this easy, this soon after paddling out. I can feel 50+ onlookers expectaions burning a hole through me. I proceed to get the best barrel of my next nine days here, not to mention the last 2 trips here. As I come flying out of the barrel, I hoot and proceed with a celebretory gaff, not enough wheeties, as I re-enter with the lip and get pounded.

I catch a few more and head off to dinner and a liitle celebrating with the boys. After relating the story to one of the well sesoned surfers, he told me that it was just a welcome back gift from G-land. In bed by 8pm Java standard time.

Left Hawaii at midnight on thursday and arrived safely in Kuta Bali at 4 am on Sunday morning. Survived 12 hours of flying, 12 hour layover in Tapei and the dateline crossing.
Yesterday was my first day here, and I already got barreled at Balangan. I also got locked into another tube that deposited me on the reef. If you know balangan you know how easy that that can happen at the end of the wave. It just gets hollower the further you go. It is hard to pull out as you see the barrel get thicker and thicker, then dry reef. I chose to pull out, only Minor scrapes mom.

I also tried the scooter transport, imagine me, a 120 pound indo driver and a surfboard on a scooter, a little bigger than your standard moped. I was shocked when we got a flat.

Already ran into a friend from North shore, we are thinking about driving+ferry to Desert Point, where I got the Longest tubes of my life last year, or going back to G-Land. I wil probaly get a cel phone here so I can text message relatively cheap and still be in contact if i leave the civilized part of Bali. Until my next update, Aloha this christian bartsch reporting from the internet outpost in Kuta, Bali