FIRST BIG SWELL OF SEASON 2009

And finally the first big swell of season 2009 has arrived…On the 16th of June the swell got medium and on the 17th the so expected swell finally arrived on the island...at 6:30 there were already about 20 guys in the water at Padang and dozens checking the waves...the movement of cars and motorbikes between Padang and Uluwatu was intensifying at every minute…

Unfortunately the conditions were not the best which affect the waves formation a bit…Those days when regardless of the waves size the condition was always perfect with light offshore breeze all day long are in the past. Side shore winds, bumpy faces, a lot has changed...The tides were basically medium all day long due to the moon phase which created a lot of expectation about Padang...it could have been the “Padang swell”...it could have...

In any case from what i’ve heard all the spots had its golden moments during the day.

At Padang, even with the swell having a good size with about 6 feet solid, the barrels were rare; even then at some times on the day they appeared for the most patient that put time into it and waited...Hawaiian Joe, Brazilian Alex and Russian Gene were some of the very few awarded with good barrels on the right time of the day; It’s worth mentioning that there was almost no locals in the water, Mega and a few others have left their mark and that was about it; Many were already in Sumbawa getting ready for a contest valid for the Indonesia Professional Ranking that was going to take place in a few days; I’ve also heard that a dumb silly sponge got a red card in the water and things could have gotten a lot worse...basic rules for those that don’t know: Here in Bali, if the swell is 6 feet or bigger the priority is for whoever is standing up!! The priority order is as follows: 1- Locals, 2- Residents, 3- Frequent Tourists and Veterans, 4- Order of positioning and surfing skills, 5- whatever is left is for the sponges…

At Uluwatu it was the same thing, we had big and heavy sets at the Outside Corner and Bommie basically through the whole day but at some moments of the day the offshore wind would blow hard and the drops were harder…many broken boards on an 8 feet solid swell with bigger sets and heavy barrels was the scene, specially at the Bommie. At a certain time in the afternoon the wind gave up for a while and for one hour sets of perfect waves of 8 feet plus were connecting from the Bommie going throughout the Outside Peak all the way past the cave…it was some of the most perfect waves I have seen at Uluwatu on the last few years, not a single drop out of place…it looked like those swell from the old days before this global warming trip…

On the following days the waves started to drop gradually and finally the condition got right...Yesterday 21/6 the Race Tracks of Uluwatu was faultless with 4 feet waves that were providing 2 to 3 perfect barrels…I’ve heard Bingin had also delivered a lot of barrels and Canggu was perfect. The rumor around is that a very moody right hander was epic and “that other” favorite of many old timers I’ve also heard it was perfect and with no one out…who search finds…

At this moment the swell is medium and going downhill, we will have good waves for another 2 days and after it should stay basically flat on the 24th and 25th…but on the 26th another big swell of strong intensity is expect to arrive and it should reach the 8 to 10 feet scale again…this time with the new moon tides…

Prepare your guns, it’s gonna be on again!


BALI BAGUS!!

Special thanks:

ULUWATU PHOTO (www.uluwatuphoto.com) for the high quality surfing pictures and local people of Bali.