1991 Tavarua to now and Surfiatrics – Getting older and surfing
The 30 year anniversary of my first surfing conference triggered emails and contact to and from the past and a request to combine and set out how that conference and others changed my life. In 1991 at the age of 38 and single I went to Tavarua for my first Surfers Medical Association conference. Simon Leslie being the conduit through Dave Byrne of the surfing and surfboard family I met three other Aussies at the Fiji airport. Tom Kirsop, aged 61 – a retired industrial chemist and environmentalist. Paul Despas, aged 53, a specialist in respiratory medicine and John Buttworth, a psychiatrist aged about 46. John and I had a week there and the other two, 2 weeks. We had a great time surfing Cloudbreak at up to about 5 foot. Tom who was then walking with a cane before a later hip replacement and I surfed the right-hander a couple of times. It was fantastic.
I pondered this email from Stephen as it took me back to the early years at the Tavarua conference when it was a one star facility with solar plastic bag showers and some really great waves. Cloudbreak was double to triple overhead and Tavarua Rights was the best I had ever surfed in 1991 and Restaurants was awesome.
Tom Kirsop was a legend at that ’91 conference as he surfed every break and inspired all of the younger fellows with the waves and positioning he had on each wave. Those of us in our 30’s and 40’s were in awe of Tom and surfing epic waves at his age. Paul was a good solid surfer and surfed Restaurants a lot of the time. John Buttworth was a “butt surfer” who used a kayak paddle and was strapped on to his board. A lot of the USA lads had not had exposure to this method of surfing and John did rip on the waves he rode.
The night I got back I met Joanne, my wife. My whole world changed for the better. I had a dinner party and invited Tom and Paul and their wives and Kim Duffy and Sue along and to show Joanne I had some nice friends. Tom co-founded Surfrider after meeting some US guys in Tavarua. He has the Order of Australia for conservation. He’s a strong character and a very good man.
This an example of how the conferences and clinics that SMA does are life changers and we may in many cases take other trip to surf with our SMA buds or surf on a regular basis with them.
I had 3 trips to Tavarua. On the 3rd trip in 1995 I got Restaurants. I gave a talk about the effect the SMA had on my life [insert article] – ‘The SMA – a lifetime affair’ – as a standalone timepiece. It was in issue 15 of Surfing Medicine in 1996 called ‘Surfing for Life,’ but that was 25 years ago.
The SMA – A Lifetime Affair – By Steve Titus, Esq., Manly Australia
Recollections and excerpts from a talk given at the SMA Tavarua Conference, June, 1995
In early 1991, l did not know anything about the SMA. My girlfriend advised me that she was going overseas and not to wait and I decided that the best thing to do was to go surfing. I made a few enquiries and found out about an SMA conference in Tavarua and headed off for a week in March, 1991. l met some interesting people at that conference and had a great time.
Tom Kirsop was aged 61 and walked with a walking stick. He got into six foot Cloudbreak on an 8 foot board and also a belly board and was much involved with the Australian Conservation Foundation and other conservation groups and was a very impressive fellow.
Paul Despas was a 53 year old cardiologist who was an eccentric. Paul and I were sitting in the surf one day just wearing board shorts when this American paddled past wearing a full-length lycra suit, a wetsuit, booties and a Gath helmet and Paul said to me: “These Americans really dress up to go surfing.” Paul was a keen fisherman. One morning we were standing in the restaurant getting our breakfast when he suddenly started jumping over seats and whatever and running down towards the beach saying – “They’re biting! They’re biting!” as he ran down to his fishing rod plonked in the sand.
Paul’s best story was that he caught a decent-sized fish on the island and in his words: “These two Frigate birds started to work me. Have you seen Frigate birds? They have a wing-span about 6 to 8 foot long with a beak about 4 inches long and big claws. The two of them are hovering round me staying just outside rod reach and despite my throwing stones and waving the rod, they kept working on me. Just like soaring Pterodactyls. I gave them the fucking fish.”
Anyway. I had a great time with really good company. I had to leave two days early and flew back with John Buttworth. He was an Australian psychiatrist. He was a hot wave ski rider and I hadn’t spent any time talking to him on the island. He spent a lot of time with Mark Renneker’s father, whose company he really enjoyed. John was the best company on our night back to Sydney and I arrived home in the best of spirits.
I got over to Manly and my flatmate had my car and I was feeling great. l went for a walk down the hill and called into one of the local hotels, the Steyne. I don’t usually go there, and it would be fair to describe the hotel as a bit of a blood bath. I’d ordered a drink and was standing at the bar just surveilling things when I looked around and noticed this well-dressed, obviously out-of-place woman at the bar. As she proceeded to order one drink for herself, l thought: ‘’Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’ I approached her and said: “Can I talk to you?” She said: “I’m meeting someone.” I said: “Well, until he comes, then.”
If I can take it from Joanne’s viewpoint: it transpired that she had been to a wedding with one fellow that day and had left early and was supposed to meet someone else and he had suggested that they meet at Ivy’s at the Steyne. She was running 2 hours late and in fact had come in the back lane entrance to the bar while he was waiting at the front. She ran into this hotel she had never been in beforehand and gets accosted by this man who is very suntanned and has red eyes. At the end of March in Australia that is very unusual – I was coming down with conjunctivitis – and she thinks: “Oh God, I’ve got the town surf drunk.”
But she was the best company and great fun and after a while, everything else seemed to be excluded so that after an hour Joanne said: “Can we go now in case he finds me?”
So Joanne and I go on from there. I just liked her so much. I burnt about 4 or 5 guvs off. My life went wonderfully haywire spending all my time with her. l headed off to Indonesia in July and when I came back I think I formally moved in. I’d been moving in more and more shirts before that time.
In July 1992 l went off with the SMA conference to Grajagan, Java. Again I had a wonderful time with good surf and great bunch of guys. One morning I saw some person take off on this wave, throw this insane re-entry, hook on the tube then get closed out on and I thought: “Wow! Who was that?” I realised that it was Malia Jones, the fourteen year-old daughter of John Jones and realised that time was moving on. Again I had to leave early but as I was leaving saw a big tiger or leopard paw down on the edge on the beach as l was ready to go. I’d gone through seven clays of good surfing without injury and was going out in the small Nautilus boat and we had to get through these one or two foot waves. We got caught inside by a big 2 foot set and I suffered more injuries there than in the whole seven days beforehand.
Joanne and I eloped to Noosa in October, 1992 in a beautiful romantic wedding, ringing the mums the next day to tell them the news. Then we come on to this Tavarua conference where again we’ve had great company and great waves, I recall on Tuesday when Black Jack (Jack Martinez – co-owner of Black Flys sunglasses) got the wave of the day out at Restaurants and attacked it like a black panther with pure animal drive and just killed it. Dean [Schoonover] and I sitting out there and he saying to me: “God we’re fickle” as this perfectly good 4 foot wave comes near us and neither of us even look at it, waiting for the sets. Jack’s friend, Tom Tare, was just the best guy in the water. He is almost a quasi Aussie. He just lifts the stoke level calling everyone on. He was great to have around.
So at present l am a married man with two daughters aged 26 and 22. We have our fights and it’s not all smooth sailing but it’s all worth it. Many of you are involved or married and you appreciate that fact. I don’t surf as much as I used to and I’m getting older but there are many things which compensate. I hope every second year to be able to get away on SMA conferences. I have good company and great waves and feel safe with all these doctors around.
As this conference is about surfing for life, I will just finish with a bittersweet story. My father died a few years back aged 66, playing top level veterans tennis. He was a very good tennis player and loved his tennis and was leading 4-2 and 40/15 on his serve when he fell down dead. 1 thought it was the way he would have wanted to go. I had a private talk with one of my best friends and we were talking and agreed that it was the best way for him to go. Stephen (Dr. Stephen Etheredge, also an SMA member) said, after we’d had lots of drinks: “Knowing you Tito, you’d go out being tubed on a ten-foot wave, screwing some girl and smoking a joint.” I’d settle for a ten-footer, my wife and an SMA conference.
Benefits of Conferences
The 1991 conference started off a pattern that has continued now for 30 years in going to SMA conferences and later on Australian Lawyers Surfing Association (ALSA) conferences and extra trips. The reason I keep going back to conferences is because of the surf, the company, and the stoke. The surf and the location is usually exceptional. Tavarua, Grajajan, Nihiwatu in Sumba and boat trips to the Mentawais, Sumba and 5 trips to Raglan, New Zealand.
The other reason is the company. It is fantastic to be away from the pressures of the office and dealing with clients and to enjoy meeting new friends, having shared experiences and learning from them. The friends become long time friends.
The stoke comes from looking forward to the next conference trip, making plans for it, realising that you still have some reasonable skill level in the surf and then looking back on some of the waves that you have caught.
Some Stories
Reading the story from Ethan Wilson about his busting two boards pretty quickly and recalling him dropping in on Rick Isbell’s sister out at Cloudbreak in a poor manners drop in and then finding out he lived way inland from the coast in Oregon, wore glasses and was probably dying to get onto a wave. But I gave him a wide berth.
Ward and Paula Smith and Les Saito, a New York lawyer and Ward, Les and myself grabbing a six-pack to go to the observation deck to look out onto Cloudbreak and talk about life in late afternoon gatherings. Great talks about adventure and misadventure, family, career and life. Memorable conversation and lifetime friendships forged.
Getting Restaurants on at 4 to 5 foot for a couple of days. Surfing Cloudbreak very early in the morning on our last day, with a new crew coming in, at 10 foot and dead low tide and Joel Steinmen, from Brazil and parents from Ukraine or Middle Europe and a great guy saying to me – “Steve, I look at you, I look at me. I look at those waves. I think about how old we are. I think about our families and responsibility. I think – what the fuck are we doing out here!”
Tom Kirsop went on to co-found Surfrider in Australia after that trip when he met US guys involved with it. Tom later got an Order of Australia for his conservation work.
Tom Kirsop’s business card has on it-Surfer and Environmentalist. He surfed Uluwatu at 80. After taking up surfing at the age of 40, having been a diving and swimming champion and champion canoeist, because he wanted to spend more time with his three sons. He went to Grajagan early in the season. He said he was the only one in the camp for four days and was torn between being exhilarated and terrified until an American turned up in a catamaran-Mike Miller, probably of Millers Right, and then he was so happy to have company.
The opening night talk was always good. Each attendee would be asked to give a picture of themselves and recount their worst wipeout or best wave. It opened up conversation for the rest of the conference.
It was two doctor friends Kim Duffy and Rick Lucas who gave me some good advice about surfing trips. I had broken up my first marriage and moved from Wollongong to Sydney in 1985 and was very busy working long hours and some big court cases. They both said – “You will become boring and regret it unless you keep going on surf trips.” Rick had gone away with SMA to north west Western Australia. He and I went to Bali and Nusa Lembogan. He went to Grajagan as resident doctor. He stitched people up on the table tennis table. He was well-received. He was called onto waves by Victor Lopez, Jerry’s brother, after fixing some Hawaiians – “Doc, yours!” Kim and I went with SMA to Grajagan in 1992. They both exemplify the best aspects of SMA. They had gone on a boat trip with a younger crew to Sumbawa, all newcomers to them. They then returned to Bali. Whilst at Uluwatu one of the guys from the boat badly injured his eye. They took him straight away to the airport, got his mate to get his passport, talked the Aussie ground staff at Qantas into putting him on the next flight, bumping some travellers off and paying for the flight with their credit cards and lined up an eye surgeon for him to see straight away. They saved his sight.
On my first trip on 1991 I did not go across to Nabila Village on the mainland. I said – “I am here to surf.” On my second and third trips I went across to the village and was really impressed. I saw the assistance that was provided by the SMA, not in a cargo cult way or western guru doctors but in ground level infrastructure and support.
My wife Joanne has run an early childhood kindergarten for many years. She put me onto what she regarded as the best children’s short story book available, the Hutchinsons Treasury of Children’s Literature which included a gorgeous story about Earthlets, as though told by green aliens from another planet. Earthlets are not green. They are brown, white, black and yellow. I thought I was doing well in giving that book and a blow up folder I had made of the drawings of it to the school at Nabila. I was humbled when Ethan Wilson, Paula Smith and Norm Vinn had two boxes of fantastic books which had been donated by the American Authors Association following an approach from SMA. They gave them to the teachers and the children in the classroom who sang to us. It was beautiful and humbling.
I recall Mark Renneker saying that in his view the best balance in life was one third surfing, one third work and one third home, and that if they were out of balance then things were not good. It was simplistic, but it was a pretty good lifetime credo.
I recall one SMA trip to Grajagan in 1992 and we picked up three young Victorians in Bali to join us to make up the numbers. We said to them the only rule was they could not drop in. They loved the whole conference and listened more intently to the talks in the evening than the other doctors and non-doctors. They did not drop in.
It was on my third trip that I first got to surf Restaurants. It was 2-3 foot and just starting to build. The only time I have ever been envious of anyone in the surf was when Jack Martinez got a 4 footer, twice as big as anything anyone had caught. He attacked it like a panther and killed it. The waves just kept on coming, building consistently to 4-5 foot and for the next 2 days we all got the most incredible waves of a surfing life. I have had a photo of Restaurants on my office desk for the last 25 years.
Sometimes words of advice go astray. I observed Scott Dlugos out in the surf. I formed the view that he was an inexperienced surfer. He was paddling for waves and missing them. I would have snaked him, only it was an SMA conference. That afternoon over drinks I found out that Scott had come from middle America and gone to California for his medical studies and always wanted to be a surfer. My words of advice to him was that his board was one foot too long. That he needed to slide one foot up on his board when paddling for a wave and when he paddled, he had to paddle like he was “chasing a root.” I think I explained to him that a “root” was a colloquial Australian expression for a single man to go out on the town and try to get a girl at the end of the night to be in bed with him. Scott listened. The next morning I woke up and came down to the water’s edge and I hear that Scott, an emergency specialist, has been smashed up on the reef. He listened possibly too well. He was back after a couple of days.
In 2004 there was an SMA boat trip off Sumatra. I signed up. Bill Jones was also involved. They could not get the numbers and they had to cancel the trip. I kept in contact with the owner of the boat and said that if he had a crew of people aged over 35 going who needed one more to let me know. I heard nothing for a while. I signed up again to go to Tavarua. Then the owner came back and said he had a good bunch of guys.
I cancelled Tavarua, never having been on a boat trip and went off with 10 Americans into the winds off Sumatra. We had the best time. We went further afield than a lot of the regular boats go. We surfed at 5 to 10 foot Bawa (sometimes compared to Sunset Beach) and at 8 foot Asu. You always think that these surf spots will be there forever. Yes, age is a factor and a busy life. Six months after our trip there, the second earthquake, the one after the tsunami, raised the sea floor in places and adversely affected both waves. They went from being powerful and flawless to now being disjointed. The surfing world can be small. Before I went on that off Sumatra trip, I was involved in some matters with a lawyer from Angourie, in northern New South Wales. I had never met Simon Priestley. I knew he had been to Sumatra. The day before I left, I called his office to see whether he might disclose some of his secret spots. I was told that he had left for Sumatra. I called his wife and asked what boat he was on and what he looked like. She said the Bohemian and he was 6 foot 4. The only boat we saw the whole time we were away came around the headland at a remote right hander. Our skipper said it was the Bohemian. They broke their boat crew of 6 into a first group of 3. I asked if Simon was on board. Yes was the answer. After my surf I paddled across to their boat where a tall man looked down in a puzzled manner. I said “Stephen Titus.” Simon said “I don’t believe it.” Simon, now a barrister, does my cases in northern New South Wales.
On the 2017 ALSA Grajagan trip, Murray Hamer came along. He was a dad at Joanne’s Kindergarten. When I called Joanne in 2010 from Nihiwatu in Sumba, she mentioned to Murray, a dad there whose family she knew well, “Do you surf?” He is also a lawyer. We had drinks at our home for the men and women who went, and Murray and his wife Jacqui came along. He liked the crew. He has been away many times since. In Grajagan he popped out of an 8 foot tube saying – “That was the best tube of my life.” We were out in the surf about 8 months ago on a Sunday morning and about 6 guys whom Murray had met were there and he was catching up. He paddled up to me saying – “The ALSA guys are just great.” He has met so many friends.
I keep in regular contact with Tom Kirsop. When I was asked to provide some legal and then lobbying advice to protect a greenbelt area in my old hometown, I contacted Tom on a business level. The best advice you could get. Strong, efficient, practical, and coming from a 91 year old twice Order of Australia recipient, someone to listen to.
In 2017 ALSA were having a conference in Grajajan. I had been three times with the first time in 1986 and it was just unbelievable. On the next two occasions there was not an abundance of surf. At 64 I thought that if I did not go I would not be able to do real justice to the wave. We lucked out. We had 7 days of 5 foot and up and one day 14 foot (3 of the 4 who got a boat out, me included, paddled in. We needed bigger boards to be safe. I was scared. We were the first ones out.) You only need one good wave. On day 2 in my third session waves were scarce and I could not get any. I came in and thought I was getting old. Two hours later in my fourth session I climbed onto an 8-footer and immediately thought – “I have a G Land express.” I had this steep, fast, challenging, beautiful, powerful wave that required to be ridden well and through necessity was. The wave of a decade. When after 250 yards I tried for a high tube and got swatted, I came up laughing. I smiled the rest of the trip. Confidence was regained. 31 years beforehand I got 10 of those waves.
I am no surf guru. In Sumba we encountered a very fast left hander where you had to take off at an angle to make it. I blew my first three waves. For the first two days I could not make it all the way through as the wave was too fast. On the third day I dropped from my seven footer onto my 6.6 to be able to get the slingshot effect and made it. The howl was heard by everyone in the water. After that I made all the waves. A new friend there, Numa Miller who had also been working out the waves, on the third day paddled for a big one with real confidence and nailed it. Magical times. Lots of laughs. Lots of hooting. Great friendships made.
I came back from that 2010 Sumba ALSA trip with a new bunch of friends. Good interesting guys, doctors and non-doctors, lawyers, keen surfers and we have surfed regularly since that time and been away a number of times. They have made life much more fun. In addition, professionally, I have made real connections. Mark Higgins, an engaging and friendly guy also happens to be a top criminal barrister. He now does most of my criminal cases. Tony McAvoy, a good surfer who enjoys a yarn, is also the first Aboriginal QC in Australia. Renewing old friendships and making new ones with the younger crew has been so enjoyable. Caught up again with old friends like Craig Leggat, an early SMA member. We had been caught up with family and work and our epic session at 6 foot Sanur was about 18 years in the past.
Surfiatrics
I have gone from 38 to 68. From being single to married and now a grandfather. My fitness level, strength and time in the water have dropped off. When I go for a surf and Joanne knows it is big she will say “Take it easy. You are no longer 42.” On a beach break I hope for lulls, rips, channels or a headland to jump off. My duckdiving is less than what it should be and I will revert to the discredited eskimo roll or a bail. Sometimes I decide the waves do not justify the hassle of the paddle out. Which usually means it is going to be a real effort to get out. Sometimes I don’t make it out. That is nature and surfing saying – you should not be out here.
What I notice is that the guys over 45 all acknowledge one another. They are considerate and they are still good surfers. There is a lovely tribe effect that applies. Likewise, I enjoy encouraging young boys and girls to surf and they are given room on waves. Women abound and lighten up the vibe. They also surf very well and are pleasing on the eye. I always say hello to women in the surf.
Surfers ear operations, some issues with hearing, shoulder and now leg, but still able to surf are a normal feature of an older active surfer. I have moved up from a 6.6 to a 6.8 as my main board. The benefit of surfing far outweighs not surfing. You come down to getting less waves because it is more crowded. One good wave restores confidence. You come back from a surf smiling. Though at 68 I am in the elder category, after a good surf I am 30 again.
Surfing conferences get you through the hard parts of the year. You look forward to them. You look back on them. You enjoy the waves that you surfed. As you get older, the world sometimes closes in and you fall into routine. Meeting new interesting people and going to new places keeps the horizons open.
Sumba 2019
In 2019, 6 of us who had met in Nihiwatu, Sumba in 2010 had a surf trip on a Macassan prau, a traditional sailing boat with a motor along the coast of Sumba. Enclosed at the end is an article I did about that trip.
Older – not necessarily wiser
Bill Jones, my co-commentator sent me a talk that Norm Vinn gave at about 2017. Norm was the co-organiser of my 1995 SMA conference. There was so much wisdom in what he wrote and his photographs. Please see the link to it. I was a bit daunted as he had covered so much. My life would not be as enjoyable if I had not gone on surfing conferences and did not go on surfing conferences.
The Fijian people and the Indonesian people have made a lasting impact with their friendship, joy of life and making me aware of how fortunate we are to be able to live as we do, surf as we are able to and travel as we do. Our family always say that a family is like a village or a tribe. The whole village raise a child. A surfing tribe is a great one and being able to get away to surfing conferences is like listening to good music. Inspiring and good for the soul.
The surfing world can be small. Mark Gillett heads up the emergency sector at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. Mark and I have kept in loose contact. We met at an SMA conference in Tavarua over 20 years ago. Last year when I had about 9 days in hospital for an emergency it felt fairly good knowing that he was one of the top men in the hospital who said if you need anything, just call. He dropped in to say hi. I always said that if I was at an SMA conference and got smashed up the doctors could fix me up, and if I was at an ALSA conference, the lawyers would talk me better. Both have interesting people with generous minds and a sense of adventure. It keeps you young.
Surfing and surfing conferences could be criticised as selfish. However, we all work hard and we need an outlet. Both SMA and ALSA have beneficial links to the places they go. ALSA with Surf Aid and the East Bali Poverty Project. SMA in stopping smoking in Nabila and assisting in diet and hygiene.
If Tom Kirsop can surf Uluwatu at 80, I have no excuse not to keep surfing.
I reached out to Craig Leggat and Paul Mitchell for some of their views. Craig mentioned about the mateship that can arise from having a yarn about real things and how blokes really feel about such things. At ALSA conferences they have encouraged poetry readings after dinner of any poems that move someone. They include a wide variety from Slim Dusty to T.S. Elliot. Craig is musical and the crew will play guitars and ukuleles and bongos and make up their own songs. He said he really likes the way some of the young blokes will come up with him and say they have been thinking of going to the Bar – becoming a barrister and really scared about it and he tells them about his fears when starting up and practical ways he found to survive. He is a QC. He confirmed the donations and support ALSA have provided over the years to groups. He said he and Peter Strain, a main figure in ALSA, visit young Aussies in gaol in Bali to say g’day. They got in through legal channels due to the ALSA connection.
Paul says he really enjoys the connection with younger people and broadening his circle of friends. To meet interesting people who are not already your friends. I met Paul in Sumba in 2010. We have gone to Raglan regularly and to Grajagan.
It is important to maintain and share the stoke of surfing. With other people in the water all getting good waves, with younger family and friends. To try to pass on some skills to my grandchildren. Whilst still keen to take on good and reasonably challenging surf, to enjoy other getting good waves, to also be able to enjoy being in the water with my grandchildren on small waves and foamies, watching them progress and stand up and smile and laugh and doing the same with all their friends. As long as I can keep on getting in the water, I am happy.
I was a keen dork who started surfing at 16. I could body surf and ride a surfaplane. Through getting a car at 20 and being able to go surfing before work doing a correspondence university law course whilst working for a local solicitor, an articled law clerk and with good waves and keen friends in Wollongong, 50 miles south of Sydney, I got better. Bali in 1977 and Hawaii in 1979 helped. 10 miles up the road was a very good right hand point and I became an honorary local. The tribe I have met through conferences is a good, generous one. They are supportive. As George Harrison of the Beatles once said – “There is only the present.” I do not want to dwell too much on the past but there are some very good memories. If the people I see in the surf and my grandchildren have half as much fun and life benefits from surf as I have, they will lead a good life and be happy. Thank you SMA.
Boat Surfing in Sumba
The unexpected is the most enjoyable
In August 2019 six of us – Tony Bannon, Craig Leggat, Paul Bannon, Numa Miller, Jeff Chapman and Steve Titus had a week away alongside the coast of Sumba. Most of us had been there to Nihiwatu for an Australian Lawyers Surfing Association (ALSA) Conference in 2010. Sumba is an island double the size of Bali with one sixth the population which is close to the Komodo dragon Island. It is a swell magnet.
Reports had come back that some of the more well known places west of Bali and east of Bali were now quite crowded. Enquiries were made and a decision agreed to be on a boat going along the coast. We flew to Bali, had an overnight there and caught the plane to Sumba. A quick 10 minute drive down to the port saw us meeting our home for the next 7 days, Lambo, a traditional prau.
Makassa is on the south western tip of the Celebes, also known as the Sulawesi Islands, to the east of Bali. The Macassans are great seafarers, the Phoenicians of that area. From 1700 to 1907 they sailed to Australia to harvest the trepang or sea cucumber and trade it in China. Some had been concerned as to whether we would get a leaky old boat with no air conditioning and be marooned on it. The exact opposite. Our boat was built 9 years ago by the best seafaring village on the island. It was 22 metres long in beautiful timber and so well thought out. Purpose built for diving, surfing and charters for 8 people. A sailing boat with motors. The speedboat met us at the harbour. Whilst waiting Craig broke out his ukulele and had the locals joining him singing – House of the rising sun. Tony also threw in his guitar and Paul played as well. It was quite a musical interlude. We motored out and met Jakob our Austrian surf guide. A photographer who was a keen and stylish goofy footer. The crew were friendly and professional and the boat was everything you wanted, with lots of space. There was no need for air conditioning with the breeze and openness. We were at the front and the crew at the back. There were daybeds alongside the dining area as well as another sundeck on top with bean bags and also the front deck. We had a great friendly cook, Dul.
Musician Craig
There had been reports of 12 foot swell shortly before our trip. I had wondered whether I needed to pick up a second hand 7 foot 6. Then the forecast changed and we were told that we would have small waves initially, getting bigger and a couple of big days. Craig and I had done our research and we had maps and locations to go to. We compared notes with Jakob who had more detailed maps and more places. Craig had a new 7 foot 2 Outer Islands and I had my 6.8 and 7 footer.
We motored down the coast. We stayed within a kilometre of the coast most of the way along. The boat could go 8 knots per hour. It felt good being on board. That afternoon we surfed a good left and right hand reef with overhead waves. No one around. In many areas of Sumba it is national park or there are no roads. It is undeveloped. We moored close to the shore under a headland. Food was fantastic and the start of a great time.
The next day we had an overhead lefthander on a beautiful golden beach with no one around. It felt pretty magic in 2019 to find uncrowded and beautiful spots. As we motored down the coast the scenery became more impressive, green, dramatic and exotic. We were going past lost world type valleys with a headland at either end, a rivulet at one end and golden beaches and reefs and green vegetation. The next day we again had overhead lefts at a beach with a village. We dropped into the village. On land, in the dry season it was dry and hot. The mobility and freedom and cooling water made us appreciate how good the boat was. No flies or mozzies on the water.
We went past Nihiwatu. If you can afford to go there you should. It has fantastic surf and barefoot exclusive luxury. We also dropped in to catch up with Christian Sea who had been surf guide for us at Nihiwatu when we were there in 2010 and now operated a surf health retreat called Ngalung Calla in a bay just across from a fantastic righthander which we had surfed. We had arranged to drop in because Christian was so friendly. On the day we did he had gone to the town. His friend Chris looked after us and we saw the work he had done in a low key but beautiful resort. Though we had overhead waves that morning Christian’s waves were small.
The unexpected
There was a name right hand break down the coast and also an offshore island lefthander. I wanted to surf there. I wanted to be there when the swell hit. We pulled in overnight to a beautiful bay with white cliffs at either end and a great valley behind it. Jakob said there was a good lefthander at one end and a righthand reef on sand at the other. It was only accessible by boat and there were no roads to it. The next morning we jumped in the speedboat to go across to the righthand reef. I thought this wave might be a 3 footer going for about 30 metres. When you come into a surf spot from behind you cannot tell how big the wave is or what the setup is. As we paddled in a swell went underneath us and Craig and I looked at one another. We might be in for a surprise! The lineup was beautiful. Sunny, dead glassy, jungle, beach, us and no one else. Craig got the first one and went for a long way. I got the second. Suddenly my expected 3 footer had the bottom drop out of it as it hit the reef I turned into this 6 foot fast, steep, fantastic wall that I had to drive, swoop and fly along to respond to, rather than control or choose a path, which went for 100 yards. Instinct surfing and purity that is wonderful. The best wave I have had in Australia for the last two years. I surfed like a 26 year old at 66 through pure necessity. When I flicked off I thought – “What was that!” The waves either closed out or went into a channel at the end and you paddled out. The surf was overhead to double overhead, 4-6 foot with 8 foot sets pushing wide and keeping you honest. Craig and I both got 8 waves each just like the first. The valley had 3 ridges before the final mountain range circling the bay with a creek at the end. Like a lost world. I almost expected a lost tribe to paddle out to greet us. We also tried the left hander. I could see it had potential. I would like to have tried it on a larger swell to do due justice to its potential. Sea eagles hovered over us above the cliffs and jungle.
Everyone else got fantastic waves and we were stoked. There was a great vibe on the boat that night. The next morning I moved up from my 6 foot 8 to my 7 footer as the swell was supposed to be bigger. It was. Craig got the first wave. He came out afterwards and said it was the best tube he’d had for a long time and said he would remember it indefinitely. I got the next wave and got tubed but didn’t make it out. We all had a repeat of great waves. We moored that night in a bay of a big harbour. There was a fishing boat nearby. Apart from us there was jungle and no roads or people. It was dramatic and beautiful and the conversation flowed freely.
We were feeling good. We tended to surf in the morning and loll around in the afternoon. We would read. I was reading The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes. Great book. We might go ashore and wander on the beach. At night after a gin and tonic and some live music we might break out an iPod with a speaker and try to surprise people with a lost gem. There were two big barrels on the deck for an easy shower with a pail after the surf as well as showers downstairs. The bunks were big. There were fans if you needed them. Jeff often slept on the daybed and I did one night too.
We would often motor in the morning from about 4am to come to the next surf spot for 6am. We had our surf legs in.
The right
I came to appreciate that Jakob had found us great surf and overhead surf when the swell conditions were not all that large. Some of the name spots we went past were not working. We surfed overhead surf every day. We went past where ALSA later stayed on land. The beauty of a boat.
One afternoon and at the right time we arrived at the righthander. It lived up to its reputation. It was 4-6 foot with 8 foot cleanup sets which pushed wide. The wave was set under a headland about 800 metres off the beach. There was no one else out. I think I got the first and Jakob the second. A big wall with a steep takeoff that I launched into, then drove along for about 80 yards before a big deep cutback was necessary. Then I found I had this incredible looping, swooping, steep inside wall to fly up and down and across for before finally flicking off into the channel. Wow! We all got into it for an hour with stacks of good waves, laughter, hooting, some wipeouts and great long walls. Two guys staying on land then joined us. Whilst we were able to moor alongside it and get dropped off, the landbased surfers there either had to paddle out or get a boat ride out or walk along the rocks. A wave that ran for between 200 and 300 metres. There were a couple of takeoff spots. The apprehension one has in surfing a new spot soon filtered into anticipation after the first session. There was no fear, though at a larger size there could be. We all got waves and we were so happy.
The Only Sour Spot
All stories should have a sour spot. Our welcome to the 2 surfers who joined us on all the sessions was met with a distinctly unfriendly reaction. In answer to our “How you going” one said “I was good until you fucking arrived.” Craig established that these two guys were from the south island of New Zealand and came across regularly and had been there for one month with another month to go. They knew the wave. I loved the fact that Craig just sat alongside the two unfriendly kiwis awaiting his turn. I drifted a bit inside. Craig later said that they did not like boats at the right. One was obnoxious. I ignored them.
Over the next few days we had solid and reasonably demanding big point surf requiring good surfing and power bottom turns of off the top with a less intensive fast glide with swoops on sections with the inside walls into the channel. The wide sets would keep you honest. You had to climb onto the wave on the sets with a late drop. I hung a little inside as did Jakob, Tony, Paul and Numa all getting a range of good waves. Driving to make it with long, fast hollow sections, wave after wave which created a fantastic routine. Getting a rhythm up on about 8 waves a session makes you feel fantastic.
On the third day, early, Jakob and I paddled across and there were the two kiwis and a third guy. I paddled out to say hello and said “G’day guys.” There was no reply. I paddled away. I grew up surfing Sandon Point. It had a reputation for having some unfriendly locals. In fact the surfers there were all keen, good and friendly and laughing and appreciated their waves and appreciated others’ enjoyment. They were friendly to visitors who did not drop in. I laughed as I paddled inside ready to get every wave that I could.
I thought then and a little later the following:
- What deadheads
- “Skill not yet developed.”
My wife runs a pre-school kindergarten and when parents enquire as to the progress of their children she will say that the skill has not yet developed. That is just a natural factor of life. Their life skills had not yet developed. Maybe South Island Kiwis don’t travel well. In my five trips to Raglan on the North Island over the last 10 years, the surfers there are great and friendly in and out of the water. - “Cover your tracks. Being friendly in the water.”
I had a good friend George Tomlinson who was one of the best wave ski riders in the world. A contemporary of Merv Larson (look him up on YouTube). Those two were the equivalent of George Greenough with wave skis utilising no fins and able to do 360s and 720s and go sideways and be totally amazing. My former wife had met George’s wife on a train in Kenya many years ago. Through that I got to surf the Ranch, Rincon and good spots north of San Francisco. I got to ski Mammoth and Lake Tahoe. George got to surf Sandon Point, Bendalong, Bawley Point, Camden Haven and the north coast and south coast. He liked our Aussie sense of humour.
George always worked on the philosophy that you treat people in a way that if you have to go back and ask for a favour they thought well of you and would do it. Doors were always open to George. An underwater diving demolition commander in the Vietnam War who looked after his troop and carried that same “covering your back” attitude through. George died too soon from a heart attack whilst abalone and urchin diving. - Another good thing about their whole attitude was one could just focus on the waves.
The cousin
In our safety talk when we first came on board we were told there were some unconfirmed reports that one or more of our Australian cousins had gone wandering and paddling looking for less crowded territory and had been seen at a couple of spots on the island. The vibe from the undeveloped Kiwi never got so bad that we needed to call on our cousin and his friends for assistance. He had a big mouth and quite a bite.
Photo of the right
The picture attached taken from about a mile away of the right gives you an indication as to what a good wave it is.
Fun sessions
At one stage I calculated that I had blown about 5 waves and I felt a bit bummed until I worked out that I had made about 25 waves. At one point Paul and I had each caught a small wave when there had been no sets about, then had to duck dive and wait out what seemed to be a 12 wave set. We were both laughing and carrying on as we had been washed a long way inside. At one stage I saw Tony lined up on a good wall and thought – “Here he goes.” He fell off. I was so surprised and he later said he was too. Numa, Paul and Jeff tended to sit in. Craig out the back. Jakob, myself and Tony a little inside of Craig and paddling for best positions and ready to dart for the wide rangers.
A bit later on the third day the attitude of the second Kiwi softened and I talked to him. The third guy, an Australian, probably ashamed of his lack of manners, talked to me. He said that in other sessions at 8 – 10 foot he was torn between being terrified and exhilarated whilst watching for the ever wider pushing sets.
We did not bother to find the lefthander. We sailed on one occasion. We saw dolphins, dugongs, turtles, fish were caught. It was great to realise that in 2019 there can still be places that are off the beaten track. We had no injuries and no broken boards.
Jakob and Author
The boat was big enough to be able to have our own space. We could all retreat to our own areas, then come together for meals. Dul, our cook, provided us with fresh fish, octopus, prawns, chicken and meat, pancakes and great salads. Indonesian, Japanese and Western. Sushi and sashimi on the top deck at sunset. His smiling face matched his culinary skills. Hendrik, the speedboat driver was cool and stylish and ever vigilant to pick us up. All the crew were fantastic.
We motored back overnight a distance of probably about 100 miles to arrive at the port to be able to fly back to Bali and home.
We had 5 world class surfs in overhead to double overhead waves and overhead waves on every day and no crowds.
Postscript
Two months later I had to be in Bali for a short time. I took my ten year old grandson Harper up to Uluwatu. By arrangement we were meeting Chris Byrne, the former professional surfer who developed a back injury and had to go off the circuit who now lives there and runs a surf store and gives surf lessons. I had not seen Chris for over 30 years. He said that if I was coming there to look him up and he would give Harper a lesson. Harper knew something about Uluwatu because he said “I am not surfing Uluwatu.” When we walked to the cliffs at Uluwatu it was going off. It was majestic and fantastic at 4-8 foot. It was alluring and just wonderful. All the peaks were working. It had 100 guys out with more getting in the water. I thought back to my first time there in 1977 when there was no one out except us and climbing down the ladder into the cave to get out. I realised that there are beautiful and fantastic waves in Bali still. Chris took us around the corner to a lovely pristine beach between Uluwatu and Padang that I had walked past 30 years ago where he had a small warung. Chris gave Harper lessons on these soft gentle waves. It was a throwback to Bali of 40 years ago. It reinforced my love of Bali. As one gets older places get more crowded. If opportunity exists to get to places further afield, then you take it. What I realised is that Indonesia has so many good waves. It was fantastic to know that many of them are in their pristine state and uncrowded and the effort to find them will be well rewarded.