Following on from our post on The Mentawais, we saw this clip of Kandui from just a few days ago. While it may be a long trip to get out there, including planes, cars, boats and pretty much every other form of transport, this clip shows just what’s on offer for the intrepid travelling surfer.

PERFECT KANDUI from FTR Films on Vimeo.

Kandui is a wave of many moods, but when on this is a dream left-hander with awe-inspiring barrels from start to finish. To make this incredibly long wave without getting shut down you need lashings of  down-the-line speed and guts to pull it in; there’s no other route. Inviting at 3 feet, fast and challenging at 4, and draw-droppingly hollow and powerful at 6 feet plus. Extended barrels are frequent, but lower tides and solid swell height bring consequences. Try mid tide on south-southwest swells and light southeast breeze. Advanced, although small high tide days can be fun.

Here’s a little more info on surf spots in The Mentawais and the rest of Indonesia.

The Mentawai Islands, stretching from latitudes 2 to 3 degrees south off the west coast of Sumatra are without doubt the destination most aspired to by surfers worldwide and are home to a large number of the best waves on earth.

Burgerworld

The Setup
Four main islands and dozens of islets are fringed by palm cultivations, 28 degree  water and coral reef, backed by dense jungle miles away from any western style  ”civilisation”. Like much of Indonesia, volcanic eruptions shaped the topography  and sea bottom of these islands, making for extremely deep trenches in the ocean  floor and fast rising land mass close to the shoreline. The result is minimal dilution  of swell energy and funnelling and refraction of waves to the enormous benefit of  surfers. In conjunction with the above, the Mentawais present almost the widest  swell window and fetch in the Indian Ocean.

The Waves
The convoluted shorelines, deeply recessed bays and many islets also add variety of angle to swell and wind, so whatever the breeze or swell direction, somewhere will be offshore and lined up. It’s a slam dunk for surfers! Waves here tend to have considerable power without necessarily being heavy in the Hawaiian sense. Generally speaking, peaks are relatively predictable, enabling you to tackle larger waves than you might be able to at home. Intermediate surfers can get good waves, although some of the celebradated waves are more challenging than they look in still photos. Prepare for anything from 2-10 ft, but rarely more.

The Reef
The quality waves are over lava based coral reef lying at varying depths. Some are flat tables with a safe covering of water, others are pocketed, pointy, shallow and hard to avoid in the event of a fall. Very few surfers come back from a trip here without some kind of a cut, so make sure you take the necessary medical supplies with you.

Season
Swell is in best supply from April to October, with July and August often representing the peak of consistency and size. This middle of season is also the driest and most crowded. Boat operations run from April to October/November for these reasons, and because, after November, the weather can get pretty unsettled. Trade-winds do not operate this close to the equator, and winds are shifting and unpredictable. Many days are wind-free, or with the breeze veering 360 degrees in 24 hours. Thanks to this, goofy footers and natural can both get their fix on the same day, with rights and lefts often next door to each other.

Extract taken from Wavefinder Indonesia, by Larry Blair & Jeremy Goring.