The one that got away
*
Probably a few years back my second surf on an Mentawai's trip where i hit the reef on my first wave cracked some ribs and punctured a lung, it was a perfect swell and i missed a lot of good waves on that trip, I even tried paddling out and surfing twice in very good empty waves. (and almost drowned)
As a grommet it use to tear me apart missing good waves, but now i dont care so much plus where i live never gets epic, it's just more consistently average, i think its harder in areas that are less consistent but get epic (most of the east coast) if you miss those truely epic days it hurts.
I do think back to times where maybe we sat in the car watching perfect waves peel off, going argh its too crowded or something though and have regrets, especially now when what we saw as a crowd is then is now not that bad compared to todays crowds.
Japanese Airlines Hotness Hostess
First Mentawai boat trip, about 25.
It was early season and our boat was the only one there for 3 days, only a few staying on land that would paddle out intermittently.
8 foot on the biggest day, thick double up roll ins and the most incredible waves I’d seen up to that point. No one out. Glassy.
And I sat on the boat.
Too scared to get off and have a go.
One of those rare sessions I’ll probably never get to re-live and I blew it big time.
Solid 6-8ft Frigates, made the highline barrel take off, came out to see the heaviest west bowl drainer lining up. Top turning at the bend, half shitting myself I think I subconsciously kooked it on purpose and fell off the back. It threw like Chopes with the biggest spit. You don't get many makeable ones like that out there.
It was actually busy that session too, a catamaran full of young hot shots moored at the end all staring at me made it worse haha.
Fuck that would have been one of the best waves of my life. Thanks BD, haven't thought about that one in ages haha.
Soild thunders 8-10. Took off and a bloke on a mid length dropped in after I had already set rail. Stalled behind him, yelling what you would all know, he did flick off thankfully, then I hit his wake and lost the edge. got totally smashed. Paddled back out and he apologised profusely, so we shook hands and let it be. Still got to be one of the deepest and most open barrels i have ever been in. Just didn't adjust for the wake of his board. Etched into my memory...........damn!!
Moonah wrote:First Mentawai boat trip, about 25.
It was early season and our boat was the only one there for 3 days, only a few staying on land that would paddle out intermittently.
8 foot on the biggest day, thick double up roll ins and the most incredible waves I’d seen up to that point. No one out. Glassy.
And I sat on the boat.
Too scared to get off and have a go.
One of those rare sessions I’ll probably never get to re-live and I blew it big time.
Moonah . Hi mate, hope you’re well.
Good on you for not being afraid of telling us folks you sat on the boat.
The truth will always set you free.
Let’s say it was just a bit of visual surveillance for when you do return.
I know exactly the place you are referring to, it can do that to you. All the best my friend. AW
Here’s mine from a few months ago..
I’ve a real life story to tell where I almost left this world in October 2022 at Lances Right on the island of Sipora, Mentawai Archipelago, Indonesia..
I’d previously been there on boat trips years ago, this was the first time there land camping. So, I fully understood the power of the place.
As Nathan Florence once stated, the underwater turbulence at LR can be similar to that of many breaks in Hawaii.
One thing I learnt, you must go there fully fit.
Late season , shoulder season, myself and two mates had a 10 night stay at Katiet Beach Resort, a great place to stay with great owners. ( So much so, myself and Supafreak are going there for 14 nights this coming July) .
Before leaving Oz, got a Swellnet surf forecast from here and it held true to every day. It never dropped below 4ft and in the middle period of the stay , the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, it absolutely pumped relentlessly from dawn to dusk, line after line of groomed 6-7ft, odd 8ft sets, marching around the corner of the island like military precision. You could see what you were in for before the sets were upon you. For anyone who’s surfed there previously, you’d know the kind of power I’m talking about. Sure got the heart rate up as you planned your moves and positioning.
It’s midday, baking hot, I’m 57 years young, I’ve got a receding hairline, plastered all over with that good shit that Cocoa/Beeswax sunscreen, the best in my opinion, I’m 70kg and all I’m wearing is board shorts.
I’m riding a beautiful Fletcher Chouinard 6’10” round tail quad, catch two waves around 6ft, feeling good and confident, paddling and positioning is going fine ( it’s always pulling you towards The Office or the Surgeons table to do you in ), slowly the sets start to develop steps in them, found myself paddling right up to the crest of large waves to then have to paddle quickly up and over the next one, the swell is on the pump and its incrementally getting bigger.
Next bank of sets comes marching around the corner, I clamber over two waves, then just make it over the next one, horribly I felt my board getting sucked over the falls and then that all encompassing body feeling of knowing the leg rope (brand new Ocean&Earth) stretching and then snapping clean in half at its midpoint, such is the power.
Suddenly, an overall feeling of doom comes over me, I’ve no board I’m out the back in the impact zone bobbing around like a fishing float, big swells are rolling in and I’m being sneakily pulled towards the death zone by some mythical coral Neptune dude who is on the other end of the rope so to speak. I’m fucked.
I cop 6 large set waves on the head, drilled close to the bottom near the coral but not on it, no chance of a gasp of air at any stage, up I’d pop, to be then hammered time after time, for those who know that lagoon, when the wave breaks and the water fills the lagoon it’s all good, but a second later as the next wave breaks it sucks you straight back out and into the impact zone for another flogging on repeat rinse’ cycle, it was no fun I can tell you.
All the while I’m becoming exhausted as I duck under for the 5th or 6th time, I’ve run out of air, I could feel life being drained out of me as my saturated oxygen levels in my blood drop to all time low levels, I was in the process of drowning, the faces of my two mates, my son and my then wife back in Oz slowly flashed past by my subconsciousness. I merely felt myself drifting off to who knows where.
As I’m nodding off, a minor amount of adrenaline kicked to awaken me, I had no energy to swim so I did a side stroke kind of kick like a fish laying on the deck of a boat moments after being pulled from the water, I moved slowly into the lagoon, fortunately bump a vertical coral head with my foot, so I stood and sucked in air like a puffer fish and then got creamed again by a set but I was further towards shore at this stage.
Slowly I kicked and bobbed into more shallows and I was safe and alive, all the time feeling drained to the max.
I look towards the shore, there’s much commotion, I can see my board laying parallel to the water on the sand, an Indo kid nearby.
I finally reach the coralline sand edge at the water and sucked in big ones.
I stood up, fell over immediately from exhaustion, an American guy stood me up who’d been watching the whole drama from a tree top lookout next to Hollow Trees Resort.
He said, I had you down as about to die, I agreed. He said I was white as a ghost and I was definitely feeling like Casper.
Slowly start walking along the beach , dizzy, giddy, loads of self reflection as to the what ifs etc.
Get back to our bungalow, rest in a chair for an hour , totally buggered, have lunch.
A couple of hours later, feeling slightly relieved and better.
My mates had ridden over to surf Bintangs which was about 5ft, I got on my bike went over , watched for half an hour then decided the best thing is to just get back out there, told my mates what happened who were totally shocked when they saw me and said I still looked pale.
So there’s a very truthful story, no bullshit, proves it’s very easy to leave this world when doing what you love.
Alas, as Reforms wife said in some kind of way, if you don’t tell your stories, the only person you are kidding is yourself.
So, to all, give us your stories.
That’s heavy AW, my moment of shame was at Lances, I think you already knew that though.
Lucky you pulled through that one.
Moonah wrote:That’s heavy AW, my moment of shame was at Lances, I think you already knew that though.
Lucky you pulled through that one.
Hi mate. Do you have plans for a return?
If so, and if you’re keen , I’m always up for a surf trip.
I love that location for the surf, the birds , the owners of our camp and the locals. All the best. AW
When have you missed perfect waves? Perhaps the best waves of your life slipped through your fingers?
I’ve been on a few surf trips and have had a few sessions stand out where the waves were pumping but there was always SOMETHING. Maybe it was too crowded, the wind a bit iffy or the swell a bit inconsistent. It seems there’s always something right?
Well this time it all lined up. I was in an extremely remote corner of Peru. We didn’t see another surfer for the 3 days we were there. We saw one other car, a few local fisherman. So we had the waves to ourself.
6-12ft waves. Absolutely pumping. Consistent. Clean. Long. Perfect. Barrels galore. But this time the thing that let me down was myself - I’d brought the wrong equipment. I guess I underestimated the swell and the types of waves here. Not big per se as in tall. But powerful and the sweep unlike anything I’ve experienced. A full moon and cranking swell and a different coastline than I’m used to meant paddling out felt like being in a river. Unbelievable amount of water moving around.
I couldn’t get out! Sent to the beach multiple times when trying to paddle out. Juuust making it then getting cleaned up. The time that I did make it out the back spent an hour trying to get into position but just couldn’t make ground on the board I was on. Had one wide one come my way which I could have made but somehow decided to wait for the one behind it which didn’t do the same thing. Really needed probably something in the 7’6+ range or a JetSki. The guide told me when pros visit this place they bring a ski but we didn’t have that option and cos I already had the small boards I was travelling with I didn’t bother to find something bigger before setting off.
So I was relegated to the land. Just watching long spitting perfectly clean waves with no one out. It was a humbling experience and I’m trying to let it go cos sure, I’ve never been to this place or experienced waves like it before, how could I have known? But also I shoulda just thought about it or asked around more and been better prepared.
With second kid on the way I probably won’t get a chance like that again for a long long time. So those waves will be frustratingly etched into my mind. The ones that got away. Could I have made one of those 10 second barrels if I had the right board or been in slightly better shape?
So tell me SN, how did you fuck up perfect waves?