sumatra newbie question (January + newbier girdfriend)

[dude_le_skibum]

looking for a total disconnect from world in January, I can surf ok, looking for clear water, nice waves and roots chill adventure, girlfriend doesn't really surf, but avid to learn in right environment, looking at Krui but more Ujung Bocur area, how feasible is it for the GF and I to have good time?

[Ottime]

You've been around a while. You must know this thread can not continue with out pics.

I know nothing, other than that is summer down there, and imagine the swells come in winter. But, as usual, I have no idea.

And a good time doing what exactly? Meaning, what are you looking for in a vacation? I'm planning a family trip around the same time frame and am considering places that are in their off season. No so great for the surf, but that is not my primary goal. As long as i get in the water now and again, it does not need to be epic. But if I was going on a surf trips with a bunch of surfing buddies, it would be close to the only thing that matters.

bump

[dude_le_skibum]

ok. ok here are the pics. but this is the start of the thread, we'll see where this goes.

swell is year roud in sumatra, swell looks sick but jungle and lots of jungle, but less waves for newbies, I am looking more and more into Sri Lanka' south western coast

[splat]

dudele!!!

[subtle plague]

sri lanka is probably not the destination for good surf.

in january you can also check out the aceh area on sumatra they have NE monsoon offshores and you can surf really empty stuff there. and really cool little isalnds on the nw tip of sumatra (with excellent waves (pulau breueh)and snorkeling (pulau we) ).

Ujung Bocur /south sumatra has NW winds in off season so you have cross onshore. bali off season should also be ok and more swell down there. but no disconnect.

disconnect on the cheap would also be panaitan island. Monster surf and national park. but i don't think a lot of intermediate friendly waves except "inside rights." which is offshore in the january nw winds
on the plus side: no real settlement on the island and super disconnect

[Clownshoe]

I scored big time in Aceh back before the tsunami. A month (December) of dirt cheap awesome surf. Friendly beach breaks, quality reef breaks, welcoming people. There was a bit of unrest while we were there, but it had nothing to do with whitey, and we had no problems

Post tsunami? Hard to say. Aceh was pretty much destroyed.

[TheDon]

Nay-keed pics of this "GF" or no info...

[subtle plague]

Post tsunami? Hard to say. Aceh was pretty much destroyed.

my info is pretty much post tsunami. the reef uplift wasn't bad. just the flooding. so the quality breaks stil work. (that's also what the most recent 2011 stormrider indo guide says)

[dude_le_skibum]

sri lanka is probably not the destination for good surf.

in january you can also check out the aceh area on sumatra they have NE monsoon offshores and you can surf really empty stuff there. and really cool little isalnds on the nw tip of sumatra (with excellent waves (pulau breueh)and snorkeling (pulau we) ).

Ujung Bocur /south sumatra has NW winds in off season so you have cross onshore. bali off season should also be ok and more swell down there. but no disconnect.

disconnect on the cheap would also be panaitan island. Monster surf and national park. but i don't think a lot of intermediate friendly waves except "inside rights." which is offshore in the january nw winds
on the plus side: no real settlement on the island and super disconnect

why the certainty about not going to sri lanka, I was more and more leaning that way, ok, i agree that there are no big time world class break, but SW sri lanka looks interesting and surf worthy

[ate'em]

I dunno, I spent a week in SW Sri Lanka some years back, it was allright. I def wouldnt travel half way around the world to go there, but as a vacation from India, it worked. I cant quite put my finger on why it wasnt super good. The biggest thing I remember was the crazy warm water, like sweating when surfing warm. The food is not great, lots of trash, kinda dumpy in general. People are friendly. Nothing to do really along the coast besides chill and surf.

Remeber that world class break = not for you as a noob, so that is no factor. You need consistent small waves, which sri lanka is good for actually. You know its only mediocre if HC is giving out the name. That alone is suspicious to me

[ate'em]

hard to say, i had been in india for a long while beforehand so was totally into that style of food. i was in a really small town past galle, not a resort at all. food options were pretty limited and not great, other than fresh fruit. it was a small sample to chose from. I have no comparison to Indo, wish I did.

im not saying sri lanka is a bad time, just saying it was a bit blah to me, fwiw. i was there in april, as the monsoon was starting to pickup, so onshores were pretty destructive. jan sounds the perfect time to go. crowds are easy, so that is a major plus.

[subtle plague]

dude le - subtle's an armchair german surf snob. same approach he has to skiing and powder. take it for what it's worth, you don't seem to have the same approach to skiing as he does either where the only time it's worth going is when it's waist deep and that's the only time he goes.

well that's not exactly true since I spent the summer surfing in spain enjoying 2foot sideshore mushburgers. (we actually had 6 ok days, out of 23! The rest of the time we spent climbing and bouldering.) and yes it showed me why i keep on going to indo. And I don't need constant world calls breaks, but constant nicely shaped waves.


Consistency in SW sri lanka is not good in winter. due to NE monsoon you have offshore, but less swell since the clean swell keeps coming from the antarctic lows. and aguram bay doesn't really work during that time of year . (and is crowded; which is also a pretty big factor in the SW--> appararently you missed the disconnect dude le wanted).

Skiingwise: Apparently we must have had 33 waist deep days last season. which you can't really judge because you barely ski at all

concerning dude le ski bums original whish: you could check out the maluku islands in northern indo: decent and relatively small surf in N hemisphere winter and absurdly remote. I don't know whether they are doable on a land based trip, but the scenery and culture shoul be amazing. I'm still a fan of the aceh idea though.

P.S. here am I Armchairing around in costarica and indo

[ProHoHater]

Sumatra or Sri Lanka...are you high? Go to Sumatra your chick will be fine.

[JasonLesh]

North Sumatra is awesome this time of year. Smallish swell, good winds, great breaks and uncrowded. Get to Medan (MES) and either take the night bus to Banda Aceh or fly. Then work around the West Corner and back down South. Start in Lhok Nga. If you need help with anything: contact Tom at Boraspati tours and travel. He will have a guy waiting for you at the airport and will line you up.
Lots to surf. Lots of empty coast. And quiet. Also might want to head out to Nias. Uncrowded at this time and still possibility of swell. Be aware that these are conservative areas though: keep your eyes open about what your girl is wearing, how much skin is being exposed, and the reactions that shes getting on the beach. I dont leave mine alone while i surf if there are men on the beach.