The north west of WA is a special place to be in winter. Strong southern ocean swells make their way north to Indo, smashing every inch of the WA coast on their way. The prevailing SW direction of these swells mean they reel off from south to north when they hit shallow water. So, throw a perfectly formed reef (well, nearly perfect) into the mix and you get some of the best lefthanders in the world. Last week was testament to this…
After a long haul north eating road house grits and dodging roos we arrived at the desert surf camp. We awoke the next morning to solid double-triple over head sets hitting the shallow coral reef, but the conditions were really testing with a dropping tide and a northerly wind tearing into the wave faces…
The next day was onshore but by midweek the left hander we drove all that way to score was firing in all her glory. It’s a long way to drive for a surf but it’s well worth it when you’re standing on the point as perfect waves reel down the reef at an impressive 6-8ft. Frothing!
The lineup was full of pros making it hard to get a good wave but it was worth the wait. Some very impressive surfing by Hawaiian madman, Mark Healey…
…and the strong Aussie contingent, including Dean Harrington and James Catto.
Former World No 2, Dave Macaulay, was out there to show the younger crew how it’s done with some classic tube wizardry and big turns.
Some really memorable waves.
I’m off to Indo at the end of the week so ww transmissions will be intermittent at best for the next couple of weeks but you can be sure there will be some good gear in there when they come though.
More soon from the Mentawai Islands.
>>ww
