Josh Billauer and friends pinch
themselves in the Mentawais

Western Sumatran Channel, 1 Mile South of Lance's
7:15AM, Monday August 6, 2001

Heading four hours south to Macaroni's. Woke up this morning stiff and sore from three sessions at Lance's Right yesterday. It was 4 - 6-foot plus with some nice barreling corners. Got a few ones. My fishing blister is bleeding while I write (blood on the paper). Every time my thumb bends it starts to bleed again (more blood drops). Albert did say it was the largest mahi he had caught on the Nusa: 25 kilos! We've had fresh fish for three days now. Breaded, broiled, fried, and every which way.

Breakfast is on the table now: muesli, yogurt, fresh fruit (banana, watermelon, pineapple, papaya), honey, milk. . .every morning the same breakfast. . .every lunch and dinner is something new. Wayan is a five-star chef: pasta, Cornish hen stuffed with rice and raisins, mahi-mahi, cinnamon-breaded calamari, salads, local noodle dishes. . .keeps getting better each night. Daniel just opened the fruit platter, looks like Wayan added oranges this morning.

Lariam dreams sure are interesting. Sword fights, boat driving, sea driving (I forget what this is), underwater looting, gunfights, even some surfing dreams (were those dreams?). No real pattern, graphic, color, violent, but. . .fun. I kicked someone in the head last night, turns out it was my bunk. Painful. Coming upon the northern tip of Pagaii. . .breakfast is on the table, time to eat.

Wayan rigged another lure, we're trolling with two now, looking to catch dinner.

Speed: 7.6kts Heading: South; 4 hours from destination. Towing 60hp skiff drags us 1.5kts slower. Worth it though to get to the surf spots fast.

Brett and I ventured to shore yesterday; lined with sun-bleached coral, broken into small bits that grind away at the shoreline. Dead trees line the reef as the water encroaches on the village. Palm-tree lined beaches, thick jungle within meters of the ocean. We swam to shore, which seemed to take forever, and began exploring. Not many people get on land here -- the danger of malaria is too high -- but it was daytime and we're young, so we gave it a go. Soon enough we felt like castaways, wondering how we'd survive if left alone. So we began hurling coral pieces at the coconuts, trying to get one down. If we did, how would we open it?

Within minutes a machete wielding local appeared from the dense jungle. Mutt trailing, deck boots, and machete, plastic bag with woodcarvings, and dirty torn Hurley clothes. Smoking a clove cigarette he smiled, revealing the broken yellow teeth in his dark cavernous mouth. He wrote "150,000" in the sand, but we wanted coconuts, not wood carvings. He removed his deck boots and proceeded to climb the tall thin coconut tree like a monkey, like the monkeys he shoots with bow and arrow and eats. He hacked down three ripe coconuts, slid back down the tree, and then hacked away the hard encasing. Then, with one last stroke of the blade, the sweet spray of fresh coconut juice burst out of the shell.

It is hard to write each day. . .only the highlights stand out. Everything else blends together. This was my first trip to the Mentawais and I would have to say that the waves lived up to my expectations. On the other hand, the crowd lived up to my expectations as well. No doubt as long as there are charters running they will all be full. One of the most important aspects of the trip being a success lies in the knowledge of the captain. It's like a game of chess out here, boats all trying to stay a few steps ahead of the next. Some of the captains don't even know the area; they just know the hot spots (Lance's, Macaroni's, etc.). There were times when there were nine other boats at a single spot. And sometimes you can wake up the next morning at the same spot and only have one other boat. The smart captains work well with each other, secret radio channels, splitting sessions, and not spilling the beans on the air. The others are just rodents, picking up on the leftovers, just like the rats that infest their boats.

Waves surfed

Day 1: Lance's right, few fun waves, nice barrels, minimal crowd
Other days. . .I am losing track of which days are which.
Outside Bintang's: fun rights, nice drops, short wave.
Lance's Left: got it 6-8ft+, macking left handers, nice drops, fun walls.
Lance's Right againā€¦4-6+ with some really good barrels.
Macaroni's: got some VERY good waves, but also nine other boats at times.
Of course there are some other places that we went, but I tend not to write when the waves are real good, I'd rather be surfing! In fact, even if I could remember (which I do), for the sake of secrecy I'll leave a few of the locations to your imagination.

Tuesday evening, on flight SQ30 to LA

The last four days were fun. Got some sick rights finally -- the best rights in my life, if you'd really like to know. If you can imagine 400 yard peeling rights, with the possibility of five barrels per wave, then you're close. Those memories will have to remain in my head and on film. I was never too big on diaries, just pictures and notes. --Josh Billauer

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