by Franck Gazzola | Jun 26, 2013 | Daily Updates
It seems while I’ve been in The Mentawai Islands for the last two weeks, that I’ve missed some great waves at home. As much as I hate missing good swells while abroad, I can’t really say I’m that disappointed.
Staying at Kandui Villas and surfing amazing waves for the last fortnight is as good as it gets for me, as far as an Indonesia adventure goes these days. The food and amenities were excellent and the staff thoroughly looked after us as well. I’m sure by the time I get home, I’ll be missing it already.
Anyway, it’s time to leave unfortunately. Time to do the hard yards of bumpy boat crossings, sweaty bus rides and airport hops again. But it’s a small price to pay for living the dream.
Billy
by Franck Gazzola | Jun 25, 2013 | Daily Updates
The expected peak of swell has come through during the night. Lines and lines waves are coming through, fast, big, making the bay of Bondi choke on this overload of water.
The sand banks must be moving again on days like this, hopefully for the better. If you were one of the few keens today, you might have come in either super happy to have scored in those conditions, or frustrated by the close-outs and all the paddling for not much…especially if the little voice in your head was going ‘’boy…this sesh’ is gonna be hell…why did I come to Bondi again?!! I should know better by now…over 4ft, forget about Bondi !’’ before you went out.
After 7:30am, the fog settled in our City. It’s been a strike of foggin’ bad weather lately…but the weekend looks a look better than the last, with swell. Brothers, sisters and frothers: pray with me for a perfect surf day !
The Oakley Pro Bali is on again today, and Taj is looking good to go through the next round. Check it out !
Cheers,
Franck
by Franck Gazzola | Jun 24, 2013 | Daily Updates
Yesterday, we should've seen the rise of the super moon, but it ended up rising behind a thick layer of water-loaded clouds. There was surf through the weekend though, despite this terribly wintery weather.
Today is going to be the same kinda fun: grey, "cold", rainy, especially in the afternoon. But you know what: the waves were not too bad this morning in Bondi…actually quite nice. It was a lot cleaner than yesterday, empty (1 surfer in the South corner and maybe 3 or 4 a little more North), between the 2 to 4 foot mark. This E-SE swell still’s got a nice pulse, and might even see an incremental spike tomorrow morning. In absence of wind, it could be a cracker.
Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to cover for Mr Malyon roster, I did not have the opportunity to shoot for a report: with the threatening buckets of rain and the fact that I could not use my car this morning, there was ‘’recipe for disaster’’ written all over my camera gear ! I’m sure you’ll understand. So instead, I tried to bring you a bit of sun from Fiji, and the wonderful jewel of Namotu Island. Put it on your bucket list, and make sure you cross it.
Have a nice (rainy) day.
Franck
by Franck Gazzola | Jun 21, 2013 | Daily Updates
I think the endless barrels of Rifles are beginning to slowly get the better of me. Of course, scoring great waves isn't exactly out of the norm in this part of the world. However, you do need to acclimatize and modify your approach to riding a wave of such quality, like Setting your rail and keeping your line in the tube for long periods or high lining the long walls when needed to attain the speed to make the sections. It's not like wick wacking your way to shore at Bondi, that's for sure!
I was under the impression that there was only one surf camp up here on Kandui Island and I use the term 'camp' loosely. There are in fact two. There is the original 'Kandui Resort' and now, there is also 'Kandui Villas' where we are lucky enough to be staying this trip.
The founder of the original Kandui Resort saw the need to create something a little more special. A place where the traveling surfer could bring his partner, wife and/or family if wished, so he took his knowledge and experience from building Kandui Resort and created something better. If you would like to see and read more about why Kandui Villas is one of the worlds most luxurious surf resorts, click HERE and take a look.
Well, I've just finished my morning coffee and it's time to take a quick plunge into Western Sumatra's only Infinity pool, before I wax my 5'11' quad for another crazy session at the worlds best right hander.
I have a whole five days left in paradise and all I'm really praying for is that my body holds up enough for me to make it through the hectic pace that has so far been (gladley) forced upon it over this last few days. It's definitely been a while since I've surfed two long sessions a day in such perfect waves, without a break. All this old bloke can say is, thank god for anti inflammatories!
Billy
by Franck Gazzola | Jun 20, 2013 | Daily Updates
Let's do this in 2 parts: the swell and the photography.
1/ The swell: It back-off a notch, compared to the last days, making the wave a lot more friendly. Tama would be a challenge, but Bronte or Bondi may see some nice sets today. The wind is not as strong as expected, which is a good thing for those who'd like to give it a crack today.
2/ Photography: right now, it's tough to shoot those mornings. Late sunrises make it difficult to stay too long at the beach for me. In 1 hour, it should be ''door-to-newsletter. So, to mix it up with the usual, I decided not to change the settings of the camera today. Slow shutter speed all the way. Why ? First, I like it. Second, it's a perfect day for it, as the light was low. Then, it makes this work look like a serie, which is what I'd like to do more. Finally, because I don't change settings, it makes it easier for me to be quick(er).
I hope you guys like the result.
I wish you all a nice day. Tomorrow is Bill's tropical up-date…A bit of warmth in our Winter lives.
Cheers
Franck
PS: if you can, watch the Bali Pro. This even is due to be a cracker, judging from JJF or KS's recent heats…
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