NEWSLETTER

Hi from Bali,

It's a bit after midway thru the season so time to give you some Indo news. So far it's been pretty quiet, I think mainly due to the bomb last October, constant travel warnings and other government dramas on both sides. I don't want to get into the politics but I will say the regular Indo population are ready and happy to welcome us and as for the politicians, they have their own agenda.

Some surfing destinations are getting their share of surfers, although sightly down from previous years. Others, particularly boat trips off Sumatra are pretty steady, having bounced back from the late 2004 tsunami. The surf camps are going OK and it's been a good time for uncrowded waves at many locations.

Speaking of tsunami's, thanks to those who expressed concerns for everyone at Batu Besar after the tsunami hit central Java in July. Pipih, the manager of Batu Besar, said they felt the quake and everyone started running for the hills, but fortunately the waves didn't make it that far.

Here in Bali we've had plenty of surf with some big stuff recently. The business activity is down this year and the local economy is really suffering. The up side to this is that the waves are less crowed and you'll be helping the locals directly rather than by dropping a few bucks to some aid group's tin without knowing where the money's going. At least this way you know you're helping the battlers.

The NSW Police Surfing Association enjoyed a visit to Ombak Indah losmen in May where they held their annual contest. It was the most laid back and ego free contest I've ever seen. The boys got lucky with waves out the front everyday. We were privileged with the presence of Miss West Ryde, some top notch video + still photographers (Nice change to film moving subjects eh guys?), and a bunch of Queensland's finest crew. Our surf tour guide Mumuh, is now "in the job”. The boys + Leanne, through the hilarious nightly fine sessions, raised enough cash to tip the staff with about half a months wages each. So it's a big thanks to the NSW Police Surfing Association from Freeline Indo Surf Adventures, Big Rock 5 and all the Indo staff at the losmen. It was a real pleasure to have you all there and we hope to see you again.

Up in the Mentawais, the well known Kartika burned to the waterline and is no more. Luckily no casualties occurred. Steve Pascoe, the owner, is looking into getting another boat and will hopefully be back in operation soon.

We are happy to report that the feedback we've recieved from crew on our tours is that there has been plenty of good waves. West Java's been up and down with crew. My mate Diki just called me to let me know he'd just got back from 2 weeks in Cimaja after scoring good uncrowed barrels with plenty of size. He was stoked. Also Jules Groom from WA, spent some time at Cimaja this season and said the same thing.

A Kiwi mate of mine, Darren, just got back to Bali after a couple of weeks in Nias and a week or so at Batu Besar Losmen in Ujung Genteng. Nias was cranking and the recent earthquake has actually improved the break and for the handful of crew there it was quality waves aplenty. Same at Turtles, he said he was surfing alone for 3 days before he had company. East of Bali, crew have been reporting choice waves and not many in the water, and I was just talking to a guy from Sumbawa who had 3 days of empty, cranking Lakey Pipe.

Ulf Wagner from the European Surf tour company Symbiosis who operates out of Kuta Lombok reports good waves and showed me some great photos of the Euro boys cutting loose.

So all in all it's been a pretty good year with good waves and not many surfers on them. Anyway there's still plenty of time to get your ars..selves over here and pick up your share of these waves with no one on them. That's it for now, don't forget to call into our shops in Jakarta or Bali and e-mail me if you need a new stick for the trip.

Good Surfing - Catch up again soon

Nev

Stu's Report

Hi everyone, hope you've been getting good waves wherever you are, and those on the east coast of Oz would certainly be happy with the waves this year, up till the end of July anyway. It's now back to the usual small stuff so as Nev says, still plenty of time to get over to Indo. Given the fairly late start to this season, a few locals are predicting a late finish.

Wave Ownership in South Sumatra?

I've had quite a few calls this year from guys interested in going to South Sumatra, asking me about claims by another new operator in the region having ownership and exclusivity to some of the breaks. We'd like to make it clear that there is no exclusivity to any of these waves. You're free to surf them. As we all know, some people will say and do anything to benefit themselves, and it is important that no one gets sucked in by this nonsense.

Good news story

My old high school mate Ian Last and 4 of his Queensland forestry department colleagues did a ‘research trip' recently to south Sumatra. Apart from scoring plenty of waves they managed actually do some research, coming up with a very interesting article about the local agriculture and sustainable management practice in the Damar forests. Well worth a read. Thanks Ian, I think more research is needed (Click here for article ).

2005 Photo Competition & Board Giveaway

I've also had a few regular readers, and last years' customers, asking when the next newsletter is coming out, particularly since we haven't yet announced the winners of the 2005 Board Giveaway and Photo competitions. Without wanting to prolong the suspense any further, we are happy to say the winners are:

Photo competition:

James Hurley, Scott Hurley and Dave Spurling – thanks guys, see a sample of their good work in the pics to the right. Each of you receives a $100 voucher redeemable with any purchase from Freeline Indonesian Surf Adventures or Freeline Surf Shops in Bali or Jakarta.

Surfboard winner:
The winner of the new surfboard, drawn at random from all of you who returned their backwash questionnaire last season, is Tom Curnow.

To all you lucky winners, we'll be in touch.

New charter boats to Mentawais

We are pleased to say that we have two new additions to our range of charter boats to the Mentawais; the SanSouci 2 and Huey. Both these boats have been operating in the area for many years, with the SanSouci being one of the few original boats still up there (along with the Kuda Laut). They are extremely reliable and professional operations and because of this, they book out pretty quick. See Mentawais destination page for details.

Roti – Sumba aboard Sri Noa Noa

Those epic shots of Sumba in the last Newsletter stirred up a bit interest and to cater for this we will be scheduling 2 or 3 trips late season 2007. This will give everyone a chance to plan in advance and we will take individual bookings so no one misses out. Duration will be 13d/12nights and will be one way starting in Kupang (fly from Bali) direct to Rote, then Sumba before being dropped off at Lakey Beach, Sumbawa (& fly back to Bali from Bima). Most of the time will be spent along the coast of Sumba. We'll have all details ready after the next newsletter in November, so drop us a line if you are interested as I expect spots will fill up pretty quick.

Ok, that's it for now. Safe surfing and we'll be in touch again soon.

Nev & Stuart

Thanks to the following contributing photographers Simon Hodgson Sebastian Imizcoz   Paul Gallegos