Surfing West Java

After a four year hiatus from surfing in Indonesia, we made a trip to Java, a first for myself, and although we travelled during February which is considered the least consistent month for swell in this area, we still scored quality head high waves everyday with a few bigger days thrown in.

The motley bunch of reprobates that made up our surf crew chowing down at Sawarna Point on some spicy concoction supplied and delivered by the local villagers, from left to right, Loopy Luey, Dave, Sirus and Phuket Paul.

Due to limited time we only surfed the known breaks however the Java coastline is flogged by heavy surf year round, we did do a little sniffing around and without doubt there are countless other waves to be found. All in all it was one of the better surf trips we've had in terms of wave quality, consistency and fun, and we hope to return to West Java in the not too distant future.

Cimaja Point

The wave itself is a classic right hand point break with an easy defined take off area quickly forming into a fast barrelling wall which spins down the reef for about 100m. A user friendly spot with easy entry and exit from the water and a good spectator view of the wave from the pebble stone beach.

Because of its close proximity to Jakarta it can get quite busy with local and foreign surfers. The local rippers have this place wired and with the addition of the Jakartan weekend crew it can quickly reach saturation point. Despite this the atmosphere in the water remains relaxed and friendly. The wave starts to close out once it gets to about double overhead. Dawn patrol before the sleepy locals and hung-over travellers get up is the go.

Sawarna Point

An awesome long left hand point break which can handle big waves, picks up slightly more swell than Cimaja but not as tailored and more exposed to the wind.

There is a small channel to paddle in and out through the sharp reef but when it starts getting well overhead the long paddle from the beach may be a safer option.

We scored Sawarna several times with no one out and good set waves coming through.

Home stay accommodation can found in the little fishing village for Bt 350 per person per night including three excellent buffet style all-you-can-eat meals. Sawarna is a surfers paradise and was our favourite spot out of all the places we visited. We met Mercedes and Sergio here, two travelling Spanish surfers from Tarifa.

Mama Widi and her son who wanted the SUP for fishing, notice the old Indo paddle across the doorway.

Baya, a small town 20 minutes west of Sawarna has good beach break waves when the swell is small but was a daunting paddle out with huge thumping surf when we checked it.

Paul considering rock and river run-off at an empty Baya left.

Turtles

Situated close to the fishing village of Ujung Genteng, Turtles is a short intense left hander breaking over a shallow urchin covered reef ledge.

Steep heaving take-offs and close encounters with the reef are common here. Glassy early morning sessions before the wind gets on it are best.

There is a long black sand beach the other side of the harbour reachable from the main road by turning off where a large gray missile is mounted and taking a small dirt path over the dunes and onto the beach. The rainy season winds blows offshore all day here and there are fun shifty A-frame peaks breaking along its length. Although the waves can still be quite sizeable, after constantly surfing over shallow reefs it was cool to kick back and relax at a mellower break.

Paul surfing at Ujung Genteng beach.

West Java SUP

As promised the Starboard 8’5 Pocket Rocket SUP made the journey with us. It was surprisingly painless travelling with a large paddleboard and two paddles; we even managed to fit the paddleboard nicely into the motorbike rack without toppling the bike over. The Pocket Rocket worked a treat in bigger surf and at Sawarna we had very long rides enabling us to take off right on the first peak with enough speed to make the sections, fly straight through the line-up and all the way down the point, awesome!

Surfing the Pocket Rocket in West Java was a great learning experience regards handling a paddleboard in decent waves:

1. A quality extra strong leash is a must. The leashes we brought just couldn't handle the punishment and snapped or pulled out of shape when the SUP tested them to their elastic limit.

2. The SUP’s primary disadvantage over a surfboard - it can’t be duck-dived under a wave - is balanced by its main advantages, namely the ability to see incoming waves further out and increased paddling speed.

3. With a ledged reef break the SUP still has to take off in very much the same area as when riding a surfboard, whereas at a beach break where waves form and hold up for longer a wave can be caught and ridden much further out than a surfboard.
4. The SUP is truly an amazingly versatile design, it can be ridden on any wave of any size however there are certain breaks and conditions where a SUP is better suited.
5. The lighter the SUP model construction the better when travelling.
6. Taking the drop from a standing position is a rush of pure unadulterated fun.
7. I've a lot of learning to do.

The stand up paddleboard was well received by all; we avoided using the SUP if a break already had a crew of surfers on it and respected the local surfers in the line-up. To our knowledge this was the first SUP in the Cimaja area and for sure the first modern paddleboard the local Indonesians had ever seen. The local Indonesian surfers thought it was really cool and some of the Jakartan weekend crew commented that it looked fun.

The local Indonesian fishermen are predominantly paddle powered; they paddle their jukungs in and out to small fishing stations anchored further offshore all day. When they’d see me paddling my SUP around they’d curiously move closer for a better look and then give a big toothy smile and a thumbs-up in approval. There was an instant connection, we’d both stare and smile at each other paddle in hand, we shared something in common.

A massive thank you goes out to Craig and Amara of Amara Watersports for their enduring support and encouragement, and who not only provided the SUP with travel bag, but also kindly supplied a cool Starboard deck pad for the Pocket Rocket and two Starboard paddle covers. Thanks again guys!

Surfing West Java Information

Air Asia currently operates a daily flight from Phuket to Jakarta direct for Bt 4,500 return including airport tax. Surfboards and SUP's incur an additional charge of Bt 500 per board bag each way. Transportation with driver for four persons with boards from Jakarta to Cimaja costs around Bt 2,000 each way and takes 3.5 hours.

Budget accommodation can be found in Cimaja for Bt 200-300 per night. Rental motorbikes fitted with surfboard racks cost Bt 200 per day. Ding repair, new and second hand boards are available in Cimaja. A longer board for the bigger days is worth taking as is a good first aid kit. Hands down, the best food, service, music, vibe and view of the break in Cimaja is Nurda’s restaurant.

Learning To Surf

One of our SUP's loaned to a friend whilst he stays in Thailand has been generating a lot of interest. Here's one of the girls using a Starboard Drive 10'5 to learn to surf, taken at the end of January. Thanks to Mr. T for the photo.

Peak Season On The Sunshine Coast

Its now high season on the Andaman coast and despite the global economic bad karma, Khao Lak and its scruffy little brother Bang Niang are basking in the sun and the steady flow of tourists.

Many people come to the Khao Lak area for the relaxed atmosphere, the beach side resorts and its distance from the neon lights and late night partying of Phuket. This time of year the Similan islands marine national park is at its busiest with around 100 boats servicing the 9 islands daily. There are many different tours to suit various durations and budgets ranging from day tips to longer live-aboard trips all departing from the Khao Lak area.

Despite some damage from the 2004 tsunami the Similan archipelago is still rated as one of the top 20 places to dive on the planet. Unsurprisingly snorkelers and divers alike are spoilt with a huge variety of corals and reef fish along with regular sightings of manta rays, whale sharks, reef shark and turtles.
The Similan’s are over 65 million years old, and as we see them today are huge granite boulder outcrops sheltering untouched white sand beaches where it is still possible to have the whole beach to yourself for the afternoon. The interior of the islands are lush green tropical jungle where you can find huge monitor lizards, deadly snakes and giant hairy legged land crabs.

On the last trip the conditions were perfect and a mid morning snorkel along the steep drop off on the northwest side of island 9, a dive site called Breakfast-Bend even tempted the captain to grab his gear and jump in. He was lucky enough to swim along side a rare and critically endangered hawks bill turtle, the 300 meter swim also produced some great shots of a beautiful leopard shark.

Review: Starboard Pocket Rocket 8’5 SUP

Having previously ridden Starboards 9’8, 10’, 10’5, 11’2, 12’ and 14’8 Stand Up Paddleboards the first noticeable difference was the weight, size and overall bulk of the Pocket Rocket, its a lightweight pocket sized SUP. It's a more manageable board size, it fits into the tray of my truck nicely, it can be loaded onto a roof rack by one person easily and I don’t have to switch arms carrying it down to the beach.

Next thing that struck me was the radical shape of the Pocket Rocket, a single to double concaved stinger with plenty of nose, tapering down into a pulled quad finned swallow tail…a veritable sex machine. This combination of length and crafted design culminates into a paddleboard with unique performance characteristics.

Short, wide and chunky, the stats list at 126 litres volume, 8'5" in length, 30" wide by 4.3" thick with a 19" tail width. Moving down to a shorter length took a little getting used to but after a few quick adjustments it soon felt very comfortable.

Paddling on flat water the Pocket Rocket is surprisingly stable. The Pocket Rocket doesn’t have the same effortless glide as longer paddleboards and it won’t track as straight, however it does feel equally as solid underfoot. Although I wouldn’t recommend this as a beginners model, I have placed first timers on this paddleboard and they’ve taken to it within minutes.

I’ve been having so much fun surfing this model in a variety of small wave conditions, and it's not until you take the Pocket Rocket into the surf and pull into that first wave that you really begin to understand how the design features come into play.

The shorter length makes it easy to spin around into position quickly and it fits better into smaller wave shapes than the longer boards. The nose has plenty of surface area to paddle in early, and once it starts to glide, a slight transfer of weight over the back foot opens up the Pocket Rocket’s quick turning ability giving it a loose fun-board feel. This sweet spot between the nose and tail sections gives the Pocket Rocket its fine balance between fast acceleration and responsive bite into a turn.

I’ve not yet had the opportunity to try this paddleboard in bigger waves but I feel confident the Pocket Rocket was built to handle size and she will be accompanying me on a trip to Indo very shortly to prove herself.

There’s a good reason why this is currently the best selling sub 9’ SUP in the world. For a rider looking for a dedicated all wave type, all conditions surfing SUP, it’s a hard choice to beat. I really found the love for the 8’5 Pocket Rocket and it’s pumped my stoke for SUP, a definite addition to the quiver. In conclusion all I have to say is go buy one, ride it and cherish this baby.

Again, a huge thank you to Amara Watersports for their constant encouragement and for giving us the opportunity to test drive this beauty!

PKRA World Tour

The Professional Kiteboard Riders Association are kicking off their 2010 World Tour in Hua Hin Thailand. This will be the first International kiteboarding event to be held in Asia and is evidence of the growing popularity of watersports in the region. The event will be held at the Intercontinental Hua Hin between March 15 - 20.