| WAVES |
 |
There are several great locations
in the area, from Jimmy's Point in the north to several reef
and beach breaks south of Way Jambu.
We'll only cover the major breaks and the most consistent so you're not wasting
time reading about locations that rarely break just to make the area sound like
the most wave filled area in Indonesia. Most of these breaks are beach
breaks and like all surf spots on their day are top quality and well worth the
paddle out. We'll leave a bit of exploring for you.
Between and around the breaks we cover here are others of varying quality and
consistency. We're
not into providing maps etc preferring to leave some exploring
and fun for you. It's still possible to ride down a road
and find a wave to yourself. Go look! |
Main breaks from north to south
|
| Jimmy's
Point |
Named after South Australian surfer Tim Beadman (nickname Jimmy),
who caught the first known wave on the headland on the earliest
Freeline tour there in 1994. Therefore
we have the place Jimmy's Point. It's a small headland within a big left
hand point and a large bay. There is a lefthander on the north side and
a right hander on the south side. Both are pretty challenging waves and
only experienced surfers need apply.
The right hander is often a no exit wave and after a great barrel a quick
exit is required. The left is usually steep with a big foam ball chasing
you to the end.
When we first surfed Jimmy's it was about 6'-8' and was very new and exciting. Now
it's just exciting. We had up to 200 spectators on the point that
day and when Jimmy caught that first wave they went wild. When you pulled
off the wave at the end you could hear them hooting and cheering. None
of us were surf stars but those locals made us feel like we were. It
was a bit of a comedown though when we realized the biggest cheers were when
one of us got smashed. They liked that bit the best. Later
the locals told us they'd never seen surfing there before. Back to top
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|
| Honey
Smacks |
Next going south is Honey Smacks, named by the body boarders
who came some years later. In those early days we only
surfed it occasionally and didn't name it. It's more
of a lid wave and the boys from Secret Sumatra showed me some
awesome photos of lids on a big day. Back to top
|
|
| Jenny's
Right |
Jenny's Right, is on the south side of the big headland that
leads to Jimmy's. It's
a fun right hand break though not usually the same consistent quality as Jimmy's,
Ujung Bocor or Way Jambu. The reef is pretty forgiving and the wave more
mellow than the other major breaks, still, you can sometimes get a good barrel
out there.
We'd been checking it for a couple of years before we saw it good enough
to paddle out. It was named Jenny's Right after Jenny Sheehan, a well know Sydney
surfer who beat us all out the back and caught the first known wave to be ridden
there. That's the true history of it so it was a bit hard to accept when
a few years later a ‘blow in' American tried to name it after himself (and
still does).
Jenny caught the first wave there and deserves the credit and respect that
comes with catching the first wave. The American just bought some land
there and figured that justified naming it after himself. Back
to top
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|
| Banana
Island (Pulau Pisang) |
Next down the road south is Banana Island with it's quality
right hander. From
the road you can check it out across the channel. Usually when
it's breaking good most of the other breaks are too so if you want to rent
a boat to take you out you can be assured of empty waves. It's a fast
breaking wave over a semi mellow reef. It's a fairly long wave on it's
day and low tide can be a bit sketchy. The lid riders have told me there
is sometimes a radical left on the northern end. They showed me some photos…..stand
ups and learners will have trouble. Back to top
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|
| Laae |
Next down the coast and just north of Krui are the beach breaks of
Laae. Like
all beachies it can be fickle but on it's day and when the banks and swell
are right it can be top quality and heavy. Back
to top
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|
| Krui |
Then we get to Krui, the biggest town in the coastal area. It's
a bustling busy long road of shops, plenty of dust, goats,
motorbikes, cars and people going about their business largely
oblivious to tourist activity.
Krui has a beautiful beach, spoiled a bit by the habit of many locals who use
it as a toilet.
The north end has a hollow fun right hander, known as Krui rights, on the reef
in front of the primary school and a toxic creek. Not a real good idea
to surf there if the creek is open to the ocean.
The middle of the beach sometimes has a fun peak if the swell is big.
At the south end, known as Labuhan Jukung because of the open outrigger fishing
boats kept there, is Krui lefts. Fun and good quality, with tubes to be had. Not
so long but these hollow waves can hold up to 6'-7' Any bigger it gets a bit
sketchy and tends to close out. Back to top
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|
| Mandiri |
About 15 minutes south of Krui, or north of Ombak Indah Losmen is a stretch of open beaches called Mendiri. The beach faces south-west so picks up all swell making it a good option on small days. It gets a land offshore breeze till about 8am and remains surfable till about 9 or 10 am when the south-easterly trades start to kick in.
It can get good, but like any beachie, you need to keep you're eye on it for changes in tide and bank formation. But mainly it's just a small day option for those who want to get wet. Back
to top |
|
| Ujung
Bocor |
Ujung Bocor (pronounced 'oojoong bochor') is the next quality wave south and home of Ombak
Indah Losmen.
It
was named in 1994 after our drivers' mate, who was heavily involved in our
early exploration and discovery of waves in this area. He
was a great help to us in those days and it was a sight to
see him climb 30-40 meter coconut palms to get us a drink. His
nickname was Mr Bocor and it seemed fitting to give him some
recognition for his efforts, hence the name Ujung Bocor (Bocor's
Point) The
same American who has tried to rename Jenny's Right has bought land at Tanjung
Setia, the name of the area including Ujung Bocor, and has caused a lot of
confusion with his habit of trying to rename breaks and places
that got their names long before he turned.
Ujung Bocor is a wave magnet and is easily the longest and most consistent
wave in the area. A long lefthander, it sometimes has 2 or 3 take off spots
but when it really cranks the outside is fast and hollow and barrels are to be
had. Then it goes into a long fast workable wall and can run for up to
300 – 400 meters. The reef is not too bad but has a couple of semi
sharp sections and some urchin communities along its length. Back
to top
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|
| Way Jambu |
About 15 minutes south of Ujung Bocor are the left hand barrels of Way Jambu,
probably the most well known wave in the area. This wave breaks in similar
conditions to Ujung Bocor and is easily the hollowest wave on the coast. Low
tide can be a scary take off with the water sucking off the reef just in front
of you. Don't look, just go and you'll either get smashed or get the barrel of
your life. The wave has a couple of sections and it depends on the swell
size as to where you sit and take off. Way Jambu can hold real big size
and we've seen guys, better surfers than us, scoring easily 15' stand up barrels
with not a drop of water out of place (Noel Parsons and the Wollongong crew of
hellmen who came in about 1998 or 9). Even on a 4' day you'll score some
hot barrels, long rides and you'll go away stoked.
Further south
South from Way Jambu are several other waves, reefs and beachies of varying
quality for you to check. Some of the other sites will try to talk them
up, but here we've just mentioned the major spots. Back to top
|
|
','graphics/ssl_12.jpg',590,510,'Further north is Jimmys Point, a challenging left and right setup, both waves hollow and powerful on the right conditions (Pic Respondek)'))
','graphics/c_004.jpg',590,510,'Kye Fitz Jimmys Left in 1999 (Pic Anders)'))
','graphics/c_003.jpg',590,510,'Kieren Perrow at Jimmys Right in 1999 (Pic Anders)'))
','graphics/ssl_17.jpg',590,510,'Perfect Jimmys Right (Pic Stu)'))
)
','graphics/w_05.jpg',590,510,'Not far south of Jimmys is Jennys Right, a more user friendly yet often hollow point situated in front of a picturesque village (Pic Stu)'))
','graphics/w_01.jpg',590,510,'A shot of Jenny Sheehan on the first day this place was surfed (Pic Ray Lawlis)'))
','graphics/ssl_14.jpg',590,510,'Jennys is offshore till about 8am, or all day in the wet season (Pic Thommos wife)'))
','graphics/w_03.jpg',590,510,'The right on Pulau Pisang (Pic by Stu)'))
','graphics/w_04.jpg',590,510,'If you don't score waves on Pl Pisang, it's a really nice place to check out (Pic Stu)'))
','graphics/w_02.jpg',590,510,'View back to the mainland from Pl Pisang (Pic Stu)'))
','graphics/oi_27.jpg',590,510,'Krui beach looking north. You can just see the right peeling off further up the beach (Pic Dr Kev)'))
'))
','graphics/ssl_19.jpg',590,510,'On bigger swells the left and right in Krui start to work. These waves rarely get over 6ft and are a lot of fun. (Pic Nev)'))
)
','graphics/ssl_18.jpg',590,510,'Between swells the beach breaks 20 min north offer a nice change from the reefs. Best surfed before 10am (Pic Haydn Jones)'))
','graphics/ssl_05.jpg',590,510,'Ujung Bocur, the longest & most consistent wave in the area breaks directly in front of Ombak Indah Losmen (Pic Stu)'))
'))
'))
.','graphics/ssl_21.jpg',590,510,'Although not quite in the class of G-land or Desert Point, Ujung Bocur has many moods and gets hollow on the right combination of tide and swell (Pic Anders)'))
'))
.','graphics/ssl_02.jpg',590,510,'Taking the high line at Ujung Bocur. This wave handles most swells and caters to surfers of all ailities (Pic Hodgo)'))
.','graphics/ssl_07.jpg',590,510,'Spectacular Sumatran sunset. Ujung Bocur pumping in May 07 (Pic Stu)'))
)
.','graphics/ssl_15.jpg',590,510,'Ujung Bocur barrel (Pic Hodgo)'))
','graphics/ssl_20.jpg',590,510,'Way Jambu lineup. This shot was taken back in 1999, same day that the footage in Rubber Time 2 DVD was taken (Pic Anders)'))
'))
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