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!
