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These days, when the Indian Ocean unloads those liquid grooves of joy on the coral galaxy that is Indonesia, every man and his dog, woman and cat, grom and goldfish, within cooee of an outrigger hits the Mentawaii archipelago for a share in the high season funnel fest. And nine times out of ten, those who go, score! But with each year passing there are new boats, more landcamps and fresh faces chasing their Indo dream. It’s true, the popular zones get busy in the peak months, but there’s no denying the Mentawaii’s remains one of the most consistently perfect surfing destinations on this planet, and if you want to dodge the rush, our mates at World Surfaris reckon late-season is an unmanned goldmine popping with nugs! Here’s what they had to say…
Variable winds & small to medium sized swells, made it challenging for most of September but the great thing about this beautiful part of the world is the variety and consistency of swells the Indian Ocean produces week in week out.
Of course, it can make all the difference in the world when you have a good surf guide on board with tricky conditions. That extra local knowledge is absolutely priceless and its something Moon Palikir is lucky to have! It is this point of difference that can turn your surf trip on a knifes edge and go from surfing mushy onshore waves one day to perfect glassy barreling conditions the next. This is exactly what happened a number of times throughout the month of September.
On more than one occasion, our guides noticed local weather patterns developing that would undoubtedly change the conditions in a matter of minutes. It is at times like this where you need to listen to your guide, get everyone back in the boat as fast as possible and motor to a protected break nearby before the conditions change. A proactive approach gets your surfing better waves, more often than a reactive approach a lot of guides adopt in the Mentawais.
Guests on board Moon Palikir were always at the right place at the right time.
We have now entered the “Late Season”. What does this really mean?
– Low crowds: CHECK
– Consistent swells: CHECK
– Favourable winds: CHECK
– Cheaper rates: CHECK
It is only early in October but already we are predicting some epic swells to light up. You can keep an eye on this with the 16-day Coastalwatch Plus forecast.
No sign of the Bali volcano erupting yet, so if you want to take the risk there is a VERY good chance you will be surfing epic waves with no one out as we have been noticing some empty lineups out here the last 2 weeks. There are still many more good days of surf this year in the Mentawais and we will be here to help you get there www.worldsurfaris.com