MENTAWAII 2010 – take 1…Boat trip “TOTAL VIBE”

And finally it was time for the first BALI SURF CONNECTION EXPEDITION 2010...After two weeks running around Bali where I organized everything for one more season, I saw many of my friends and warmed the engines with some good sessions at Uluwatu, it was finally time to go hard on a serious surf trip to the Mentawaii Islands where I would work as a surf guide on the boat AILEOITA-2 that I booked for this group from Brazil.

The group was formed by all Brazilians in the vast majority from Itajaí, SC. Initially my friend Makon had begun organizing this group but ended up not being able to follow the crew and ended up in Bali with other friends while Russo, Beto, Guigo and Airton came from Brazil especially for this trip and their friends Alemão and Wagner came from Australia together with Taz that also incorporated the trip and came together from Australia especially to join the group. The eighth member, Murilo "Cascao" contacted me recommended by the Brazilian travel agency Nivana and he came directly from Brasil to close the group of lucky guys that was going to be to be part of this blessed trip...the first expedition of the 2010 season was closed!!

We left Padang towards the Mentawaii islands on the 19th at night with high expectations as the swell forecast sites were showing a good swell on the way for the next few days leaving a climate of a lot of anxiety for good waves hovering in the air...

Our first stop was in Scarecrows where a swell of 4feet was hitting the coast providing lefts with long walls for many turns before ending up in the channel. Perfect for breaking the ice...

Soon after we traveled to Lances Left and upon arrival we could not believe what we saw...3 to 4 feet lefts being licked by an offshore breeze providing waves with 2 to 3 barrel sections and long blue walls that allowed many turns with pressure before ending in the channel very close to our boat in front of a surreal white sand beach with many palm trees and a dense jungle behind as a backdrop...Add to that the warm crystal clear water over the colorful reef full of live coral, the blue sky, a redish orange sunset and an abundance of seafood with fish and jumbo king prawns at dinner with a sky full of stars at night and a beautiful new moon and the crew just couldn’t believe it! The dreams of all the surfers on the planet were now a tangible reality...we were on the Mentawaii islands.

We threw anchor and stayed in Lances Left for three days as the conditions were absurdly perfect and everyone without exception stamped the traditional “Mentawaii smile" after each surf session or each meal on board...everybody was saying that the trip was much better than expected and they were already organizing to make another one next year...the boat crew really worked very well being always very helpful all the time always paying attention to the smallest detail to satisfy the passengers and the quality of our food was impeccable as I had stressed this point a lot with the boat owner in emails that preceded the trip which really proved being worthwhile.

After we got exhausted of getting barreled and tearing the walls with pressure at Lances we kept moving to Thunders as it was the best spot for the conditions of swell size and direction and wind direction for the following days...at Thunders we surfed two days of good waves at around 4-5 feet solid with some bigger sets.

With the prediction of a new pulse on the swell with swell and wind direction good for Macarronis we lifted anchor and sailed towards one of the most coveted waves of the Mentawaii islands. We arrived at Maccas in the morning with perfect hollow waves of 2-3 feet that got everyone stoked despite the crowd. On the beginning of the afternoon we had a session at Maccas rights to break the monotony before returning for the late afternoon on the lefts again...One of the most charismatic and cool guy in the water was none other than former world champion Barton Lynch who continues ripping the waves with a very radical approach and style besides being a very nice guy always smiling and speaking with everyone in the water.

At night we went to the resort to use the Internet and had the pleasant surprise of finding Adriano "Mineirinho" De Souza, Silvana Lima and her manager who traveled with my friend the photographer Pedro Felizardo who was documenting everything for an article that would be published in a magazine in Brazil soon. A lot of fun on this night that was their last on the Mentawaii...the vibe was great and everyone was really stoked.

Through the Internet we got the news that in Bali the wrong wind and rain were punishing the island deteriorating a lot the conditions for surfing and again we had the confirmation that the Mentawaii is the safest destination in order to find perfect conditions for surfing due to its diversity of islands facing the most different angles of swell and wind with a spot somewhere always breaking perfect and with offshore winds independent of the condition of wind and swell. All you need is the knowledge of where to go...

The next day we woke up at Maccas with seven boats and decided to move to Lances...

On the way back we surfed Lances Left again and had two sessions at HT's before starting to cruise to the North.

We stopped again at Scarecrows where we met my good friends Marlon and Kadu owners of the boat Star Koat with a group of Brazilians who were on the beginning of their trip. We surfed waves of 4-5 feet with long lefts that provided many turns and I got the invitation to make a trip with them soon along with a group that I organized the booking for their boat which should make a good future article.

After Scarecrows we arrived at Playgrounds and surfed at Nipussi and Pitstops where we had a farewell party of the Mentawaii with style...a sunset on the beach at Pitstops with lots of positive energy and musicality...we could not finish the trip on a better way...live music, Bintangs and one more reddish orange late afternoon typical of the Mentawai...Actually one of the most important things that has got the magic touch on this trip was the fact that we had musicians in the group...Alemao jamming on the guitar, Wagner, Russo and Guigo alternating the spanking of the bongo and on the tambourine provided many magical moments on the top deck of the boat traveling between the islands or in the boat after dinner...the crew often joined and the party had a great vibe...just UNREAL!!

On the following day the swell had dropped off a lot and we surfed Nipussi for a farewell...on the afternoon we checked Beng-beng and some even had a last session on the tiny little lefts that were breaking...

At dusk the crew left me at the Botik Resort on the island of Botik at Playgrounds and went on their way to Padang.

Before departure we parted with the certainty that this was the first of many trips of the group throughout the blessed Mentawai islands ... as night fell I saw, now sitting on the resort’s beach front, the boat cruising away slowly while I stayed on land to spend 11 more days on the Mentawaii...The dream had not yet finished...now it was beginning Mentawaii take 2, LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE!!!

ALOHA!!