Words and photos by John Barton of Pitstop Hill Resort, Mentawai.

Mother Nature was up to her old tricks again this month. And not the fun kind either; no disappearing handkerchiefs, no magic wands and no coins popping out from behind our ears...just a lot of tricky conditions.

Strong SE winds prevailed for most of the month. But we werenʼt arguing. Super fun waves were landing right in our front yard at Pitstops and the high-class lefts at Hideaways and Kandui were pumping. However, with only a handful of options and with low tide rendering the lefts unsurfable, crowds became a factor...especially once Slater and the Momentum crew arrived on the scene.

As the west swells subsided and were replaced from the south, it got harder to find a clean wave. Surfers were getting desperate for a taste of what the region is renowned for, and, as a result, out came the sorcery. Incantations were chanted to Huey and one by one (starting with the grommets) people were being sacrificed to the Bintang Gods.

And we think that some of it mustʼve worked because there were moments where if you looked hard enough or timed it just right, youʼd find the proverbial rabbits in the hat. And it was these magic sessions that left us smiling, hooting and rubbing our eyes in disbelief.//JOHN BARTON