April had been such a good month of waves out here in the Northern Mentawais, that it was no wonder May got off to a bit of a slow start - it had a hard act to follow. But a week in, May dusted off its stage-fright and figured it might as well have a crack. And weʼre glad it did.

West swells were the flavour of the month. And there were no arguments from us: delicious little barreling treats were being gobbled up right on our doorstep at Pitstops. While around the corner, the premiere lefts of Hideaways and Kandui, along with the chunky rights at Bankvaults, were giving punters a taste of what this area is famous for.

As has been the case for much of the season so far, the winds have been very favourable... as if they knew the days the swell was arriving. Leading us, and Iʼm sure everyone else out here, to believe that if April was considered all-time, then May did a pretty good job of it as well.

Words and photos by John Barton of Pitstop Hill Resort.

(Ed's note: that's Jamie O doing a double grab at Bankvaults and Rasta slicing a larry layback at the same place. The rest are unknown soldiers having a great dig)