The Scarmatra Files part one

Kissing the Reef

CARNAGE IN PARADISE

After arriving the previous afternoon I skipped lunch and went straight out for a surf while everyone else was having a feed. It was only a couple a couple of feet but it gave me a chance to feel the reef out with only a handful of guys out. The next morning the swell was slightly larger but so was the crowd, so by midday a new swell had started to kick in and with nobody else out I thought it was time to try my spoon out….big mistake! By the time I had walked up and where I had to jump off the edge of the reef I knew it was a stupid move in going out on a spoon, but with the only advantage that I can sink and duck dive the sets with ease, so I was in the line up in no time and the swell was increasing and sweeping down the reef with the incoming tide. The winds were more cross shore, in fact we never had a day with true offshore trade winds blowing the whole time we were there, but after trying to catch 2 smaller waves and getting mowed down before I could even get to my knees, I had to ride one prone, with the other one breaking over my back even though I was kneeling. Now I never use a leash or legrope when riding my spoon, the zero floatation means your board will normally pop up near you if you do loose it , well standing in waste deep water and seeing my spoon just laying a few  feet away , I turned my back to the ocean and went to swim toward my board only to get pounded from behind by 6 feet of foam and was pushed face first into the reef…..all I heard was crack as my face impacted and lucky enough I took the brunt of the blow with my forehead, but it still broke and split my nose right on the bridge and some how ripped the top of my left hand, so I was luckey enough not to be knocked out and was able to recover my spoon, which now  has a nice little scar running down the bottom, and make my way back to shore, much to the laughter of my fellow travellers ……little did they know what was in store for them in the following 2 weeks.






Yes , a bit hard to kick into a wave on a spoon






by the time you are able to kick into a wave, it will just mow you down









I turned my back to this wave and received a face full of reef



at least the fin is intact








I feel blood


Yep


right there


Oh Goody!








Surprise







Now for the lime treatment to kill the bacteria











The Scarmatra Files part 6 from adam williams on Vimeo.

A few days later I was able to give it another go on my spoon, with the conditions a lot cleaner and settled I was able to catch a few waves, but with a decent  crowd of surfers in the line up, I couldn’t sit on the main peak of the reef, so I had to paddle further up and take off deeper.






Every take off was a late one, unlike riding my kneeboard, you cannot paddle as well as kick , so this made the take offs interesting, but apart from that first day , I made every take off , my knees landed in the sweet spot,  and never lost my spoon once, it was just a pity that there was so many surfers in the water to compete with.













































Fellow surf traveller and kneeboarder Mark Able below, also known as the Wookie because of his body hair, was unfortunate enough to hit the reef not only once but twice , at least he surfed a few days in between injuries, but the last one did his shoulder in and was out of action for the last few days, and to this day is still having problems back here in Australia.



Why?



Uncle Brian Manahan tried to rip his nose from his face, fortunately they were able to stich it back on and after a day he was back in the water surfing



Worst thing was it was his own board that did the damage to his face, but nothing Nanung the Sumatran Ding Repair guy wont fix





The Scarmatra Files Outakes from adam williams on Vimeo.




I got the boys to make me a spare fin for my spoon and took my spoon and bonza down for them to check out.



3 days later and 500,000 rupees later I had a new fin



Nanung the Ding Repair guy, watch the Outakes  video to hear Nanung speak about repairing boards



Nanung was impressed with the glass keels and workmanship that went into making this board.








He does a roaring trade in making fins, these were Mark’s order, first day he went down and ordered 3 sets, so by the end of the trip they were ready to go.



SCUMM IN SUMATRA



Hand planes anyone?  We had these made by Nanung at a costly price of 500,000 rupees which is close to $50 aus

Bubble Time

My wife had pack a couple of those bubble toys to give away to the local kids, well us big kids had fun with them and this was way safer than the local fireworks that were for sale

Oh what a feeling
pictures by Craig McRitchie








































Stay tune for the next instalment

Entering the Inflatable Zone

The SCARMATRA Files

Its been a few weeks since we have arrived back from Sumatra, and I have been busy with work, sneaking in a few surfs , and spending most of my free time sorting thru video and photography. It’s been close to 20 years since I have travelled back to Indonesia , so going away on a surf tip for 2 weeks was something that we were all looking forward to and we were not disappointed. Apart from scoring reasonable swell and good waves most days, I was lucky enough to have the company of 11 other like minded fella’s, all around the same age group, give or take a few years . There was plenty of adventure , mishaps and funny times to go around, and I got to surf my Bonza, Spoon, Paipo , Mats and Hand Planes in that busy 2 week period, which was my main goal of the trip. Unlike when I was in my late 20’s and craving big, fast down the line waves, surfing for 6 hours and just riding   kneeboards, I was lucky enough to get all the equipment  in the water and mix up my surfing like I do here back home . Apart from some injuries, I was able to enjoy 2 surfs everyday and met and spoke with some of the interesting people . This was also the first time I have travelled to and spent the entire time in a Islamic country compared to my many trips to Bali, and G Land  when I was younger and my focus was on more surfing than embracing the local culture.The people of Sumatra are the most friendly and helpful people , and sure we saw plenty of mosques when travelling the 5 hour car trip from Bandar Lumpang , but there was plenty of smiles and waves from everyone , so where I had this mental picture of a Middle Eastern type country with everyone wearing black, this was quite the opposite , with some of the woman wearing the most colourful Hijabs or none at all.Technology has certainly caught up as well, with everyone having a mobile phone and wifi was available at most places , which is the complete opposite to what I experience 20 years ago….anyways let the story begin

Picture below

Shopping Trip to Downtown Krui

local school kids giving me big smiles.

Photo Bomb

Fellow traveler Greg Byers jumping in on the fun












Paul Gleeson and Greg Byers below




Brian Manahan looking at buying some gold




As you can see below we were all clean shaven when we left….not so two weeks later!




The trip started with Paul , Phil and myself catching the bus up to Sydney Airport and to meet up with our fellow travelers Justin Spittle, Mark Abel , Paul Gleeson and Brian Manahan who we knew already and new faces in Jeff Burgess, Craig McRitchie, Craig Joubert, Dave Gelder and Greg Byers.The flight to Jakarta takes around the 6 hour mark, with a overnight stay and early start and flight the next morning onto Bandar Lampung. We were then met and transported by car for 5 hours overland to our camp in South Sumatra, Dami Bungalows.

Holiday reading, helps a 6 hour flight go faster

Arrived at Bandar Lumpang and onto the terminal    

 
The Scarmatra Files from adam williams on Vimeo.


The video shows you what’s involved travelling from Sydney airport to South Sumatra, with a little edit of hand planing we had one morning at Mandiri Beach. Unfortunately with the lack of rain , the rivers have not open up to the ocean , so the sand banks were not too good, but this was a change from riding the reef breaks and we made the most of what was there before the morning onshore blew thru.

Justin Spittle

As I said this would be one of the most funniest trips I have taken, so I still shake my head at the photoshop that Justin did with the original picture !




left to right

Paul Newman, Justin Spittle, Phil Harper, myself and Brian Manahan

Bring back he Speedo’s!




View from the inside looking out

Mandiri Beach

After head-butting the reef on the first day ( that's another story in itself)  I spent the next day filming and giving my head a rest and out of the sun. So  below is the first of 10  short videos I made , and this one has the crew surfing out the front , with Craig McRitchie , Jeff Burgess, Craig Joubert, Mark Abel and Dave Gelder



The SCARMATRA Files part one from adam williams on Vimeo.

Stay Tune for more Adventure