Season Overview

Weather:
The Mentawai are just below the equator so the climate is tropical, but the season are effected by the Australian landmass to the south and the Asian land mass to the north. Roughly, Australia = dry season and Asia = wet season.
The Wet is October to March, when high pressure flowing south from Asia combines with humid air from the Indian Ocean to drench the archipelago with rain. Islands in the north and west of the archipelago get more rain than those in the south and east. The Mentawai get a lot of rain this time of year.
In March, high pressure over the vast, arid Australian desert pushes hot, dry air to the north, where its picked up by the spinning of the earth and blankets the Mentawai with warm, dry air.
Praise Allah, the dry season peaks in July and August, which is also the peak time for surf, and that blessed combination of swell and offshore winds is what makes the Mentawai so epic at that time of year.
During the southern hemisphere winter, low pressure systems in the Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean send ground swells moving toward the equator for hundreds and thousands of miles, allowing the swells to unwrap - and march onto the reefs of Indonesia as perfectly groomed soldiers.
Winds moving off continents are a factor, but so are local winds. From April to May the surf is smaller, but there is less wind and days are frequently sunny and glassy. From June to August there is more swell but the wind is 80% southeast tradewinds, so the northwest winds for the rights are infrequent. In September and October there is less southeast wind and less swell, which can be very good for the rights with the onset of the northwest monsoon. After October, the air can fill with heavy haze from burning in Sumatra - thick and smoky haze, for weeks.

The Good:
If you are in the right place at the right time in the Mentawai, your eyes are going to pop out of your head, and all those daydreamy scribblings on your Pee Chee folders will come true, before your very eyes. Perfect surf in the Mentawai are one of those things that live up to the hype, and beyond. These are perfect, perfect, perfect waves that seemed to have been designed by a loving God, just waiting for civilization to catch up and get surfers into them.

The Bad:
You can get skunked. You could bounce off the reef or hit your board and get so worked, you cant surf for the rest of the trip or have to be helicoptered back to land, and then home. You could suffer from heat exhaustion or surf exhaustion or dehydration and get so sick, you have to sit out sessions and days. You could not like your skipper, or your boat mates. You could end up surfing perfect waves in a crowd, which pretty much blows the whole perfection thing.

InshAllah, none of these things will happen to you, but they could. Not many surfers return from a bummer trip to the Mentawai.

The Waves

Breaks: These days, images of places like Macaronis, Thunders, Lances Right and Lances Left are permanently burned onto the screensaver in the heads of surfers around the world. Those places are famous and often famously crowded but there are dozens and scores of other reefs, beaches, nooks and crannies available in the Mentawai, where the surfer with the right skipper (or chopper pilot) can find the perfect wave on the perfect day and be alone with the surf and his/her thoughts.

Click here for the Indies Trader website which gives a good thumbnail overview of surf exploration in the Mentawai. The Indies Trader fleet know the Mentawai as well or better than any other operator.

Water temps:
Adding to the ridiculous perfection of the place, air temperatures range between 74 and 84 year around and water temperatures are always in the 70s.

Equipment:
Choose wisely, Grasshopper. Think speed. Think performance. Think of remarkably fast, six-foot waves, barreling for hundreds of yards. Then think of what you will need to get into them and get out of them.

Most surfers going to the Mentawai will have quivers in the 6 6 to 72 range. First-timers to the Mentawai might want to ask the advice of an experienced Mentawai explorer and/or shaper, because whatever you are riding at home might not translate well in the perfection of these waves.

Think backups, because think how bummed you will be if you break your entire quiver on the third day of the trip. You might want to consider throwing in an indestructible Surf Tech or other epoxy or carbon fiber board, just for peace of mind.

In general, four boards. Bring that Fish you have been wanting to put through its paces, and then three other mid-range boards for the serious days. Also bring extra wax, leashes and consider nose guards and fin guards. You really dont want to get injured here, and you dont want to injure anyone else.


Wetsuits:
Wetsuits are nice when the wind comes up or stormy weather rolls through, but for the most part, wetsuits will give you a layer of protection from the staghorn coral, which Dr. Ricky Grigg says is the sharpest coral in the world.

Theyre also good for sun protection, because the sun is nothing to trifle with in the tropics. Find someone who has gone snow blind from too many hours in the tropical sun, and ask if they liked the experience.

Locals:
Martin Daly, skipper of the Indies Trader, had this to say about Mentawai localism: Localism doesnt really exist in the Mentawais, the local surfers are generally friendly and respectful and imitate the behaviour of the travelling surfers so its a great idea to be polite and take turns where possible. The various charter operators to varying degrees try to make the Mentawais a nice place to surf and encourage sharing and staggering the number of guys in the line up. Most places break all day and a bit of common sense goes a long way. Generally speaking despite isolated incidents of stupidity the vibe is pretty cool and everyone gets their waves.


Dangers:
Tropical diseases, infectious diseases, surfing injuries have been discussed, but lets talk a little bit about staghorn coral. Dr. Ricky Grigg is one of those studious surfers with funny letters after his name. A top California to Hawaii surfer in the 1960s, Grigg is now a professor in the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he is one of the worlds experts in coral reef ecology. Dr. Grigg has published many papers on coral reefs, including Invasion of a deep black coral bed by an alien species, Carijoa riisei, off Maui, Hawaii and Coral Reef Evolution: short term instability versus evolutionary stasis.

A great surfer and an expert on coral reefs, so when Dr. Grigg talks, people listen. Actually for coral I can give you two categories of superlatives, Dr. Grigg said. 1. Hardest = Teahupoo and the Banzai Pipeline and that is because the bottom in both places consists of a fossilized super-hard limestone covered with a thin layer of living coralline algae that is equivalent to cement. As for the sharpest, I would lump all the atoll passes in the South Pacific that have low to moderate surf wrap-around breaks. There you get live species of Acropora and Pocillopora corals that will cut you to ribbons if you fall on them.

In laymans terms, Ricky Grigg is talking about staghorn coral, so called because the polyps form into branches shaped like the antlers of a male deer. Imagine falling into a pile of rock-hard, razor-sharp deer antlers and being rolled around, helpless, six feet under many tons of water, and that gives you an idea of what its like to surf over the coral reefs of the Mentawai.

Accomodation/Transportation

Where you stay:

Going feral is still an option, camping in the bush or staying in the homes of local people, or small local accommodation.

There are a growing number of land-based surf resorts scattered around the Mentawai Islands, but the majority of surfers will be sleeping on boats large and small, anchored close enough to the reef to be lulled to sleep by the crack of the surf but far enough offshore to be shielded from mosquitoes and jungle rot.

The accommodation on these yachts range from sleeping on hammocks, to five star, and its all a matter of how much money you want to spend.

Getting around:
At least one of the surf-charter yachts has a fricking helicopter on board, but thats getting a little silly. Some surfers are still taking ferries from the mainland to the islands and getting around by bus and canoe and foot and paddling, but for the most part, traveling surfers will be under the command of a skipper who knows the islands and its moods well, and will get you into good, uncrowded surf at the main breaks, or at the dozens of lesser-known spots that are still 10 times better than anything you will surf at home. Unless you are from the North Shore or Tahiti or somewhere silly like that.

Featured Resorts

Freedom III Yacht Charter

The 72 Freedom 3 is able to luxuriously accommodate up to 10 surfers in individual berths in four A/C cabins. Saloon and deck spaces are divided into four main areas: the aft deck, the rear saloon, the mid-saloon area, and the main forward saloon.

The aft deck is a covered outdoor lounge area with seating for 10 guests around a large table. It's a great place to hang out in the day to watch the action from the shade and on breezy, balmy evenings it becomes the ideal outdoor dining patio.

As you step inside, you enter the aft-saloon area which includes the galley, another large table/seating area, and a plasma TV hooked up to a DVD entertainment system. This is a good place to have your chef whip up a quick snack while you catch a movie between surfs.

Further forward and up a short flight of stairs you will find the mid-saloon area with wraparound windows offering a good view of the surf. Kick back and have a cold drink as you check the waves and chat with your buddies.

Finally, another short flight of stairs takes you down to the main forward saloon/lounge area where you will find another large plasma TV and a huge, comfy sofa lounger. This will probably be your main after-surf lounging and socializing area and comes with all the comforts youd expect from a luxury living room.

Guests are ferried to the lineup and to shore in a 16 rigid-bottom inflatable with a 60 HP Yamaha outboard motor.

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Midas Yacht Charter

The MV Midas is a quality hotel on the water. From 6 10 guests are accommodated in four staterooms equipped with air-conditioning, surround sound TV/VCD/DVD, stereo systems and individual en-suite bathrooms.

Common areas include an enormous saloon with long sofas, comfortable seating, TV, DVD, Bose Sound System and Xbox console. This main saloon is so large some groups have brought along a ping-pong table. The aft deck seats eight for watching the sunset. There is an air-conditioned fly bridge for a panoramic view of the ocean and the jungle, and there are also exterior seats for watching the surf action or sunbathing.

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Nusa Dewata Yacht Charter

Nusa Dewata can accommodate as many as six surfers in air-conditioned, dorm-style beds below. There is a head below with a shower and also an outside shower for rinsing off all the sun and salt. The saloon has an IPod, TV and DVD player for your entertainment needs.

Topside, Nusa Dewata has plenty of shaded deck area both forward and rear for guests to relax and enjoy their surroundings and contemplate their next surf session.

Nusa Dewata is equipped with weather fax, satellite phone and all the modern communications, navigation and safety equipment, including a 15-person life raft, flares, life jackets, fire fighting equipment, Icom SSB radio VHF radio, two hand-held radios, EPIRB, GPS, depth sounder and an extensive first aid kit for all sorts of emergencies.

The crew consists of the skipper, an Australia-trained Indonesian cook, and one or two Indonesian hands who will ferry you to the lineup and to land in a 15 aluminum tender with an 60 HP outboard.

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Macaronis Surf Resort

Guests at Macaronis Resort are styling in eight Pole Villas, which are on the edge of the jungle and elevated above a beautiful lagoon. Each self-contained villa includes an upstairs loft and accommodates up to four guests with a split A/C system and central fans keeping things cool on all levels. Each villa has a two-person spa bath with a hot shower, cold shower on the deck, bar fridge, private phone. The TV has satellite access, in house movies and also a live surf channel which keeps an eye on the surf so you can check it without getting out of bed.

The interior of each villa is tastefully decorated with oriental furniture you will want to take home, but please dont. French doors lead to a spacious balcony overlooking the spectacular lagoon. If you dont want to watch TV, the popular entertainment here is to watch the parade of sealife attracted to the spotlights shining down from each villa: fish, small octopus, squid, mud crab, lobster and sometimes even the small salt water crocodiles that reside in the lagoon.

What???!!! No worries, these crocodiles are timid and not a threat.

If that parade of seafood makes you hungry, Fellas Bar and Restaurant is a franchise of the popular Padang restaurant which is renowned for their menu of Indonesian and Chinese food - specializing in seafood.

The bar stocks tapped Bintang beer plus a wide range of imported spirits, liqueurs and wines. Healthy non-alcoholic cocktails and fruit smoothies are also available. The Internet cafe has five computers connected to the outside world using C-band Vsat satellite internet and there is also VoIP phone service.

A two-meter by two-meter big screen TV in the bar and restaurant provides guests the opportunity to watch international sports and news live as well as showing live surf footage of Macaronis plus a variety of DVD movies and music.

A games room is located on the second floor of the entertainment complex offering flat screen TV, two pool tables and two table tennis tables.

And should you take the cueball in the eye or cut yourself playing ping pong, Macaronis Resort has a 24 hour medical clinic operated by Revive Indonesia a non-profit aid organization. Whether it be stitches, Chinese stinging potion for reef cuts or anti fungal cream to cure a case of prickly heat, Dr. Donny is based at Macaronis Resort to treat guests for any basic injuries or illnesses. And when Dr. Donny and his staff arent soothing sunburns or patching skin dings, they are involved in various humanitarian projects assisting surrounding Mentawai villages.

If you really damage yourself while shooting pool or playing cards, emergency evacuation by boat, helicopter or plane can be arranged.

Macaronis Resort also has a small armada of boats ranging from a five-meter dinghy to the 115-foot Indies Explorer. In between, Macaronis has two 12-meter speedboats powered by 40 hp and 15 hp engines for surf transfers to Macaronis Left, Macaronis Right, Silabu Left, Green Bush and Bat Cave and also fishing and snorkeling excursions.

Surfers who want to explore on the Indies Explorer will suffer no downgrade in comfort or accommodation aboard this newly-refurbished, 115-foot hardwood Indonesian schooner. Also known as the Laut India (meaning 'Indian Ocean'), Indies Explorer was built in South Sulawesi in 1998 specifically for long-range surf exploration, with a cruising speed of nine knots.

Guests stay in 13 private, air-conditioned cabins, each with a brass opening port hole and skylight with two showers and two toilets.

The main hub of the Indies Explorer is a modern, open galley which leads onto a spacious aft deck. There is a private saloon with TV and DVD / CD player and an extensive book library. The rear deck can seat 16 people for dinner and is great for checking out the surf from 16 feet above sea level.

Current Surf Conditions

Click to see current conditions

Travel Info

Getting here:
What was once a big adventure, a secret thrill enjoyed by feral surfers in canoes and piratical adventurers in rigged-up dive boats, has now become a milk run for most of the surfing world. The usual routine is to fly into Padang in west Sumatra (whats left of it, anyway) by way of Djakarta, Medan or Singapore. From Padang regular ferry service crosses to the Mentawai, but Padang is homeport to a flotilla of surf adventure boats ranging from sketchy to luxurious, which comb the islands in season and out, looking for the shit.

Official language:
Bahasa Indonesia is the official, pan-Indonesian language, but the islands of Indonesia have dozens of dialects, which change from island to island, village to village.

The older a language is, the easier the grammar is, and Bahasa Indonesia is a relatively easy language to learn. The basics: Ombak is wave. Bir is beer. Yang lain is another. Makanan is food. Tidur is sleep. Berapa lama sampai disana? is How long until we get there?

The Cunning Linguist chimes in: Mentawai language is completely different than Bahasa Samat Sabeu is thank you.

And thats pretty much all you need to know. The rest is taken care of by the captain and crew.

Currency:
The rupiah, usually pronounced roo-pees.

Exchange rate:
As of 11/1/2009, the Rupiah exchange rate is 9,610.8 IDR to one US$

Health and safety:
Cerebral malaria is nothing to sneeze at. Travis Potter contracted it in New Guinea, but it could just as easily have been in the Mentawai. Hepatitis is serious, too. Jeff Divine got his in El Salvador, but that could also have been in the Mentawai.

All it takes is the wrong mosquito or one little cut from staghorn coral, and you have big problems: dengue fever, staph infection, even polio and plague are all worth worrying about when traveling to the Mentawai.

So be prepared.

The Center for Disease Control is a US-government agency which will make you proud to be an American. They have their act together and their website is required study for anyone going to the Mentawai or anywhere.

As of November 2009, the travel advisories for Indonesia included Rabies in Bali, Indonesia and Typhoid Fever and Measles and Dengue Fever and Avian Influenza. All of these perils related to Indonesia, which means they are related to the Mentawai.

The CDC also advises to take shots for the following conditions, before traveling to Indonesia: Measles/mum/rubella, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus, poliovirus, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Typhoid, Rabies, Japanese encephalitis. And there is a great deal of warning and precaution about malaria.

Take it seriously. Hepatitis is a life sentence, and malaria could be a death sentence.

Pitfalls:

Seasickness sucks. Say that three times fast. Bring Dramamine and Saltines.

Airlines losing your boards sucks. Pray it doesnt happen to you.

Getting turned around because your papers arent in order sucks.

Be very careful with your Visa and passport when entering Indonesia, and leaving. The U.S. Department of State has advisories about this at:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_2052.html

In essence, your passport needs to be valid for six months after your entry date and you need a blank passport page for the Visa. Screw up on either of these and you will be turned around and sent home and you dont want that.
The State Department also advises about the threat from Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and other terrorist cells who have been responsible for horrific bombings in Bali and Jakarta over the past few years. The State Department has a system for sending emergency text message alerts for Americans with Indonesian cell phones.
See above for the disease and injury pitfalls. It is also possible to spend a lot of time and money getting to the Mentawai and cruising around on yachts for hours and days, only to get skunked, or not get the dream surf you fantasized about all year. The Mentawai during the season are as close to a sure thing as the surfing world gets, but there are those who have come back disappointed, hitting a period of slack surf and/or stormy weather.

Crowds are the other pitfall. There are a lot of boat operators legitimate and not so legitimate plying the islands of the Mentawai, making significant amounts of seasonal money, exploiting those barreling natural resources. Perfection is a little less idyllic when battling hoards of Israeli, Australian, Brazilian and American surfers.

And believe it or not, one of the bigger hazards of surfing the Mentawai is dehydration and exhaustion from surfing yourself silly in perfect waves under the hot sun, getting so blissed on the waves you forget to eat and drink, and surf yourself sick.

Not a problem in most places of the world, but something to watch out for in the Mentawai.

Expectations:
All surfers go to the Mentawai with incredibly high expectations, fueled by the countless surf videos and magazine articles featuring the impossibly perfect barrels of Macaronis and Lances Rights and dozens of other unnamed spots. The Mentawai are more than capable of turning your fantasies into realities, but a lot of surfers find that their abilities and experience are not on a parallel with the quality of the surf, and they find themselves getting pitched on takeoffs into a crystal clear reef, or pumping for their life in a racing barrel, only to lose that race.

The Mentawai will answer the question: How good of a surfer are you?

Some chaps might not like the answer, but there is always next year.

Things To Do

Attractions: The waves are the main attraction, but the whole trip is a trip: flying halfway around the world and going miles out to sea to chase the worlds best waves. Along with ocean and waves you get mountains and jungle and an exotic land that time has sometimes forgotten. Along with surfing there is fishing and diving and other water activities, and this can be the place to learn SUP or sailboarding or kite surfing or those other things you dont have time for at home.

A Well Known Surfer Who Wishes to Remain Anonymous For Obvious Reasons said: In the Ments its ALL on the boats. if you go way back in the jungle you can meet some rad people but that has to be a separate trip. Its just a male bonding Bintang booze cruise otherwise.

Where to Eat and Drink: If youre a fresh fish lover welcome to heaven. Most Mentawai travelers will eat on the boat, but these guys have surfer food wired: Lots of it, gut healthy, made to fuel you up and restore, not weigh you down.

Shopping: Be careful what you buy and how you use it. Long Island surfer Peter Spacek tells a story about himself riding a bike around a village in Indonesia, with the sun beating on his head. He saw a woven, basket-shaped sun hat at a local shop and put it on and it worked but everyone was laughing at him. He couldnt figure out why, until someone told him he was wearing a rice strainer on his head.

Events: Eat, sleep, surf are the days events.

Nightlife: According to A Well Known Surfer Who Wishes to Remain Anonymous For Obvious Reasons: Haoles are too scared of mozzies to go ashore. If they do its in a couple towns that they go to for whorin'. Do you need a list of the best places to go whorin'? Sorry I dont have more info..

Additional Resources

Center for Disease Control page for Indonesia
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/indonesia.aspx

Indies Trader Marine Adventures has a nice website
" target="_blank">http://www.indiestrader.com

U.S. Department of State Travel Advisories for Indonesia
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_2052.html

The Top 33 Waves in the Mentawai
http://www.mentawai.com/page31/page31.html

Rupiah to dollar exchange rate
http://www.exchange-rates.org/Rate/USD/IDR/11-1-2009