Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Yudi Andika Takes Victory at Aceh Boardriders Series 11 Event in Banda Aceh

21 March 2011,  Banda Aceh-Indonesia:  In the closely contested 30 minute final on Saturday March 19th, local Yudi Andika narrowly bested Frenchman Erwan Lafitte to claim victory with less than a point to spare at the Aceh Boardriders Series 11 surfing competition at Lhokgha Beach.  Third place went to Sam Thwaites of Jakarta and fourth place was taken by Rully, another Aceh local.

“It feels great to win here at my home break”, said Yudi.  “But I wasn’t thinking about winning actually, just trying to get some good waves and have fun.  I was pretty relaxed and I guess that’s what worked for me today.  It was a fun day of surfing with friends and I really want to thank Billabong and all the sponsors for their support of our small local competition.  It means a lot to me and to all the surf community here.”

This two day event was organized by the Aceh Boardriders, and in addition to the surfing competition on Saturday included live bands and beach games on Sunday.

Saturday morning saw perfect surfing conditions at “the Peak” with 2-3 foot glassy waves on offer, so the organizers elected to run a full day of competition for the 30 contestants comprised of locals, expats, and traveling surfers.  MC Lutfan got things started by first thanking everyone for coming, then introducing Aceh surfing legend Herliansyah who gave the opening speech.  Herliansyah has the distinction of being the first Acehese surfer, and in his speech he first thanked Billabong and the sponsors for their support before stating how proud he was of the growth and progress of the local surf community.  He closed by expressing his hopes that the growth would continue and that the local surfers would soon be able to travel and compete nationally and internationally to represent Aceh.

Before the first heat was called into action, MC Lutfan called all the contestants and crew on the beach to form a circle and send up a silent prayer in memory of those lost in the catastrophic tsumani that devastated the area in 2004, during which most all the locals present had lost family and friends.  After this somber moment of introspection, the music was cranked up and the energetic first heat surfers piled into a waiting boat and headed out to the surf break.

Due to the wave’s location several hundred meters offshore from the beach, the surfers were ferried out from the beach by boat and the judges spent the entire day in another boat anchored in front of the break.  It was a long hot day for the judging crew who were made up of Head Judge Erwan Lafitte from France, Eric Volpi from France, Andri Karna from Aceh and Luke Landrigan from the Philippines, but as Erwan Lafitte said after the final, “It was such a rewarding day  today, seeing the improvement of the boys over the last few years that I have been coming here.  I hope they keep it up, as I expect big things from them.  The situation was perfect today, not to difficult but still challenging with the variety of conditions on offer throughout the day.  It was really great to be here at this event and I’m very thankful I could be a part of it.”

As Billabong SEA’s representative at the event, Luke Landrigan from the Philippines was also thankful for the opportunity to come to Aceh for the first time, saying “This is my first time to Aceh, but certainly not my last.  It’s a beautiful place with great people and everybody had such a good time, so for myself and on behalf of Billabong I’m really grateful for the opportunity to help the Aceh Boardriders and support the local surfers here.  Looking forward to next year already!”

On Sunday it was time for the non-surfing locals and anyone else in the area to join in for some fun and games such as sprint races, tug-of-war, pillow fights, gunnysack races, and listening to the numerous live bands.  Just before the sun went down, the surfing finalists were called up to the front of the beachside warung for the awards presentation.  The results had been kept secret by the judging crew from the day before, so it was indeed a surprise when the winner was announced.  After the trophies and goody bags from Billabong had been handed out to all the finalists, the judging crew were called up to the front and given special t-shirts as a token of appreciation from the Aceh Boardriders.

Last but not least was a special award of a custom made surfboard, given by the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour to the local surfer who had the highest wave score and whose level of surfing could be even higher if he had better equipment.  That reward went to boat pilot and surfer Musriadi, who was without a doubt the most surprised of anybody on the beach when CC-ISC Media Director Tim Hain announced his name as the recipient.  He will receive his custom made board in from 4-6 weeks after providing the CC-ISC with his preference of board size and measurements.

The Aceh Surfing Competition 11 wa proudly sponsored and supported by Billabong SEA, Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championships, Yudi’s Place, Sunset Café, Antariksa, Nurma’s Losman, Joel’s Bungalow, Edi’s Homestay, Diana Rana Bungalows, PLN, Roy Style Music and Entertainment, Bank BRI – Lhoknga branch, Bank Mustaqin, and Water Park as well as other private donors that have kindly contributed to the event.

Contest Results:

1st Place:  Yudi Andika (Aceh) – 11.33 points (out of a possible 20)
2nd Place:  Erwan Lafitte (France) – 11.00 points
3rd Place:  Sam Thwaites (Aus/Indo) – 9.1 points
4th Place:  Rully (Aceh) – 6.7 points

Coca Cola ISC Board Award – Musriadi

Tags: Aceh, Banda Aceh, Erwan Lafitte, Lhokgha Beach, Luke Landrigan, Rully, Sam Thwaites, Yudi Andika


View the original article here

East Coast Bali, Serangan 22nd March 2011

21st – 22nd March 2011
****AFTERNOON SURF UP DATE****

Hello surfers and welcome back to your baliwaves (’99) for the latest news on surfing and weather conditions from here on the No.1 surfing holiday destination of Bali.

Well as I was mentioning through my twitter up dates yesterday it was pretty much a waste of time and petrol to go out on a wave hunt. But today knowing there was a new swell in transit to Bali we thought we’d go for a sticky beak over to Serangan. Not the best conditions this morning with heavy rain through the night and continuing through until around 10.15AM this morning. Needless to say there was some serious road flooding in the Kuta to Legian area’s.

We stalled our visit hoping to give the new swell a chance to start showing, arriving at Serangan around the 11.00AM mark. On first glimpse the boys were happy to see a head high set roll through, but with the wind blowing cross shore out of the WSW @ 6 – 9knot. There was only 15 surfers in this usually packed when small surf location and the odd left and right hander mushing out the front of the warungs (cafes).

Around midday or shortly there after our new swell did start to show itself and wave height was increasing with each new batch of sets. By the time we had to pack up wave height was pushing over head to almost double head high. But by this time the number of surfers had increased into the 50's. There was also a Russian surf school just turning up to learn to surf as the swell was arriving.

Tomorrow is looking good for some better waves and hopefully some cleaner conditions, so make sure you drop in again to see what’s happening here on the island of the God’s.

Tidal info has us down for a 0.2mtr Low @ 6.00AM then flooding back in for a massive 2.6mtr High @ midday, then finishing off with another reef exposing 0.1mtr Low around the 6.00PM mark.

Weather wise like I mentioned it was pretty ugly last night and into this morning with flash flooding in the streets. But by 11.00Am the sun was out and sucking the moisture back out of the ground for a hot and humid afternoon.

Swell forecast for this week is looking real good for the lucky buggers already here in Bali. We should see 2 to 3 new swells pretty much back to back over the next 7 days. But we can continue to expect the wind to be coming out of the W – SW quadrant for at least the best part of it.

Changing dollars to Rupiah on the streets of Kuta (Bemo Corner) — 1AU$=Rp8,710 — 1US$=Rp8,680 –

Good news for any of you that want to get over to the legendary location of G-Land this year as baliwaves.com will still be dishing out a solid 15% discount off their advertised prices for the G-Land Surf Camp. All camps at G-Land will be re opening in March 2011 so if you want some un crowded G-Land get in early. Make sure you contact us first if you want that 15% rebate back in your pocket.

NEW SERVICE For baliwaves surfer(s) (1 -3 only) who want nothing but a safe and secure surfing holiday in Bali. We can now offer the complete surfing package for Bali. This includes airport transfers, accommodation, breakfast. daily surf information and transport to the best waves available (local knowledge) with your own personal surfing photographer. What more do you need for Rupiah 4,500,000. (+- US$450.00 for 1 surfer, Rupiah 4,000,000. (per surfer) for 2 surfers & Rupiah 3,750,000. (per surfer) for 3 surfers per week. Just contact us to get the REAL Bali experience !
Accommodation includes; AIR CONDITIONED room with double bed. Hot and cold water in bathroom. International cable TV, DVD player and Playstation 2. For  breakfast, your choice of egg’s, sausage, tomato on toast or banana pancakes / fruit salad + tea or coffee, plus mineral drinking water. Daily surf info and transport to the best waves on Bali (to suit) in new air conditioned car. Airport transfers to and from airport. Not to mention all the surfing photos your going to get buffed out with !!!

We’ve also been playing around with our “Surf Spots” page where we are currently up-dating with more locations, and an extra bonus of Bali street maps. So go and get yourself lost in there !

Night club danger; New’s came through to me of an Australian having the shit kicked out of him by no less than 6 security staff in a Kuta night club. Apparantly the English owners of the bar gave the order to the security staff…. Caruso’s, Cruso’s, (some name like that anyway) Bar in Kuta.

Best Regards in Surfing

Slim

Tags: Bali surf report, east Coast Bali, new swell, Serangan


View the original article here

Surfing East Coast Bali Keramas 2011

23rd March 2011
****AFTERNOON SURF UP DATE****

Hi crew and a very big thank you for dropping into the baliwaves.com (’99) for today’s 1 click run down on surfing and weather conditions here on the best value for surfing holiday dollar destination of Bali.


Before you read the surf report check out this video!




>
>


I think I told ya’s yesterday that there was a 99% chance of us scoring some bigger and better waves today, and I have to say it was a lot bigger and a lot better. I was up early way before dawn and when I stuck my head out the door at 4.00AM we had a blanket of stars over us and a light Easterly wind. But also knowing that we were in for a 0.2mtr Low tide @ 6.30AM there was no rush.


We actually hit the road for the East Coast around 8.30AM and our first stop was Padang Galak (Secrets..). Surfing conditions here were pretty ordinary with the wind having already swung to the SW. But still there were a few nice waves peeling off the left hand reef break in the head to over head range and with only 2 surfers in the water.


But my crew wasn’t that impressed and were keen to have a crack at Keramas a bit further up the coast. Our first glimpse of Keramas was showing very clean waves cranking through in the head to double head high plus plus. There were already 26 surfers in the water but the waves were super consistent.


I don’t *really know* were all the local pro’s would have been surfing but they weren’t where we were, just a couple of the local boys and the rest were basically from Japan. I also have to say that our Asian neighbors were surfing very well and by the look on there faces were having a ball. We hung out for two sessions and by 1.30PM the wind had increased out of the SSW and it was time to get back to Home Base.


Photo Below: Travel and you just may find waves like this!


Surfing Indonesia


Not sure where we are heading tomorrow but if you stay tuned to my twitter up dates you might get an idea, although it be to late to join us :)


Weather wise today it’s blue sky and pure holiday weather for the lucky bastards here in Bali.


Tidal info for today had us penned in for a 0.2mtr Low @ 6.30AM and then flooding back up for another 2.6mtr High around the 12.30PM mark.


Changing dollars to Rupiah on the streets of Kuta (Bemo Corner) — 1AU$=Rp8,660 — 1US$=Rp8,640 –


Swell forecast for this week is looking real good for the lucky buggers already here in Bali. We should see 2 to 3 new swells pretty much back to back over the next 7 days. But we can continue to expect the wind to be coming out of the W – SW quadrant for at least the best part of it.


Good news for any of you that want to get over to the legendary location of G-Land this year as baliwaves.com will still be dishing out a solid 15% discount off their advertised prices for the G-Land Surf Camp. All camps at G-Land will be re opening in March 2011 so if you want some un crowded G-Land get in early. Make sure you contact us first if you want that 15% rebate back in your pocket.


NEW SERVICE For baliwaves surfer(s) (1 -3 only) who want nothing but a safe and secure surfing holiday in Bali. We can now offer the complete surfing package for Bali. This includes airport transfers, accommodation, breakfast. daily surf information and transport to the best waves available (local knowledge) with your own personal surfing photographer. What more do you need for Rupiah 4,500,000. (+- US$450.00 for 1 surfer, Rupiah 4,000,000. (per surfer) for 2 surfers & Rupiah 3,750,000. (per surfer) for 3 surfers per week. Just contact us to get the REAL Bali experience !
Accommodation includes; AIR CONDITIONED room with double bed. Hot and cold water in bathroom. International cable TV, DVD player and Playstation 2. For  breakfast, your choice of egg’s, sausage, tomato on toast or banana pancakes / fruit salad + tea or coffee, plus mineral drinking water. Daily surf info and transport to the best waves on Bali (to suit) in new air conditioned car. Airport transfers to and from airport. Not to mention all the surfing photos your going to get buffed out with !!!


We’ve also been playing around with our “Surf Spots” page where we are currently up-dating with more locations, and an extra bonus of Bali street maps. So go and get yourself lost in there !


Night club danger; New’s came through to me of an Australian having the shit kicked out of him by no less than 6 security staff in a Kuta night club. Apparantly the English owners of the bar gave the order to the security staff…. Caruso’s, Cruso’s, (some name like that anyway) Bar in Kuta.


Best Regards in Surfing


Slim


Tags: 4-6ft+, Bali surf report, Indo surf report, Keramas


View the original article here

Aceh Boardriders Host Aceh Surfing Competition on March 19-20

aceh

17 March 2011, Kuta-Bali:  Billabong SEA is proud to announce their support of the Aceh Boardriders Aceh Surfing Competition Series 11 to be held at Lhoknga Beach in Banda Aceh on the 19th and 20th of March 2011.

The two-day annual event includes the surfing competition as well as beach games and a beach cleanup, with 30 local contestants having registered so far.  This is the fourth local surfing competition organized by the Aceh Boardriders since the now infamous tsunami devastated the region back in 2004.

With the recent catastrophic tsunami in Japan making headlines, the surf community in Aceh is very sympathetic and their prayers are with the people of Japan, and this event is certainly a timely tribute and form of encouragement to them all.

Billabong’s Brand Manager of SEA Peter Thew just returned from a surf trip to Aceh and was very impressed with not only the locale but the local surf community there, saying “Aceh is a beautiful place with such nice people and a great surfing community,  and after what they went through with the tsunami and all it is impressive how they have recovered so well.  We are very proud and delighted for the opportunity to help the Aceh crew with their event, and look forward to assisting in their development in the years to come.”

The Aceh Surfing Competition 11 is proudly sponsored and supported by Billabong SEA, Yudi’s Place, Sunset Café, Nurma’s Losman, Joel’s Bungalow, Edi’s Homestay, Diana Rana Bungalows, PLN, Roy Style Music and Entertainment, Bank BRI – Lhoknga branch, Bank Mustaqin, and Water Park as well as other private donors that have kindly contributed to the event.

For more information please contact Yudi Andika by phone at 08126942879 or via email at yudigogo@yahoo.com.  On Facebook, look for Aceh Boardriders.

Tags: Aceh. Banda Aceh, Billabong


View the original article here

2nd stop of Rip Curls GromSearch 2011

Kuta-Lombok, 20th March

The Rip Curl GromSearch is on again. After Batu Karas, Java, Rip Curl’s next stop on the search for the best groms in Indonesia was Seger Beach in Kuta, Lombok. Groms under-14 and under-16 years were competing for a ticket to the national GromSearch final which will be held in Kuta, Bali in October.

The 29 under-14-year-old groms started their 15 minute heats at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning. The morning was sunny with clear skies, no wind, and perfect 2 foot waves with the odd 3 footer coming through; guaranteed perfect conditions for the rest of the day. The contest site was packed with excited groms and spectators – cheering and enjoying the action.

Rip Curl is looking for the best groms from Indonesia to send them to compete in Rip Curl’s International Final at Bells Beach, Australia. This is reason enough for the grommets to come from all over Lombok and the Gili Islands to participate in Lombok’s biggest surf event of the year.

Rip Curl also set up the first Test Drive Center in Lombok during the contest, to provide the opportunity for local kids to test Rip Curl surfboards. Any kid could take a board out either in their heat or freesurf down the beach.
“We wanted to make sure that every kid had the chance to go surfing and could be part of the event. This is Rip Curls commitment to the youth.” Pete Mathews – Rip Curl Surfboard Specialist

The grommets were frothing the whole day, and the crowd on the beach was a mix of proud parents, baffled farmers, water buffalos, and a few hot chicks. The first semifinal of the under-16 groms was a highlight of this event. The grommets impressed the judges and the crowd with floaters, airs, roundhouses and even small barrels. The final for the under-16 boys was held at low tide with smaller waves but the groms were battling it out hard for the title of the best grom in Lombok. In the final heat the judges decided that Jihar from Gerupuk, a village around 10 minutes from Kuta-Lombok, was the stand-out surfer of the day and therefore won the contest. “I didn’t think that I could win the final heat. My board hit me hart in the stomach earlier, so I couldn’t hold my breath and had not much energy. Now I am really happy and look forward to the national final in Bali,” Jihar said later.

Four friends also from Gerupuk competed in the under-14 final. Mohamad Rifai, who won the Lombok GromSearch in 2009, was dominating the final heat and took his second grom search title “He will win. He always wins, he is just better than us,” his friends said before they went into the water.

The international judging panel, consisting of Rip Curl’s teamrider Pepen Hendrik, Gobleg, Lombok local Kimen, and Ado and Jeremy, both Bukit Boardriders from Australia, were excited about the enthusiasm and the skills of the grommets. “The standard of surfing was extremely high. You really could see a great improvement in the local surfing scene. Also there is a good vibe and a great hospitality of the community here in Kuta-Lombok.” Ado – Bukit Boardrider.

Dhanny Madaniah, Rip Curl’s event-manager, who organized the GromSearch for the third year was glad to see so many kids enjoying this event. After the awards were given to the winning kids, Dhanny had a series of fun games and giveaways that incorporated to clean the beach. This incentive was part of Rip Curl’s environmental program, “Rip Curl Planet”.

All in all, it was one of the most memorable GromSearch events ever in Lombok. Rip Curl wants to thank all people who were involved and participated in this GromSearch. Special thanks goes to Pak Kimen, his team, and all the people of Kuta, Lombok.

The next Event will be held in Lakey Peak – Sumbawa, at April 10th.

Results

U-16
1st Jihar – Gerupuk
2nd Usman – Bangko Bangko
3rd Hamzah, Kuta Lombok
4th Riyat Hidayat – Gerupuk

U-14
1st Muhamad Rifai – Gerupuk
2nd Arzan – Gerupuk
3rd Yin – Gerupuk
4th Julika Bahri – Gerupuk

Expression Session
Best Wave : Mole – Kuta-Lombok
Best Trick : Pras – Senggigi

Tags: arzan, hamzah, jihar, Lombok, muhamad rifai, rip curl gromsearch, riyat, seger beach, usman


View the original article here

Mentawai Islands, Kandui Surf Resort 18th March 2011

Kandui Surf Resort Mentawai Islands
Surf Report 18th March 2011

I had to go to Padang for the last few days to take care of some things before our
season starts in earnest on the 22nd.  You know what that means.  Yes, Rifles came
to life!  Me making plans to go to Padang is better than any website for predicting
a Rifles swell.  At any rate, the few guys that were on the island scored and got
some fun waves.  There has actually been days of swell and the boys have been
surfing Rifles, 4 Bobs, and a little Bankvaults.  I’m back on the island now and the
swell has plummeted, also very predictable, but there looks like a swell in the
forecast for the 22nd, just as our new guests arrive.

Tags: Kandui, Kandui surf reort, Mentawai surf report


View the original article here

West Coast Bali, Balian 20th March 2011

20th March 2011
****AFTERNOON SURF UP DATE****

Howdy friends and thanks for taking the time out to tune into the baliwaves.com (’99) for the most comprehensive news on today’s surfing and weather conditions from here on every sane surfers favorite surfing holiday destination of Bali. (not too mention the photos, right).

Ok ok, so like I mentioned in yesterdays “twitter reports” we had plans for today. Plans to hunt down the best waves in Bali, and that’s what we did. I had the boys up well before dawn and on the road by 4.30AM, heading for Balian up on the north west coast of the island.

Arriving just as the moon was setting and the sun rising to see head to well over head lines stacked up and clean as a whistle. The boys didn’t waste time getting out there as I had already tuned them that possibly every man and his dog will start to roll up within the hour. Around a dozen surfers were already scattered through the left and right handers, with plenty of waves for everyone. There was even quite a few waves going through unridden.

We hung around for two sessions at Balian with snacks and coffee in between at the always welcoming “Ayu’s Warung & Home stay” It wasn’t until around 10.30AM that the gloss was taken off the waves when the wind switched around to the West. By this time all the car parks were full and at least 50+ surfers in the water, game over.

Tidal info for today had us penned in for a solid 2.4mtr High @ 11.00AM and then she’ll be bottoming out around the 5.00PM mark with a reef exposing 0.2mtr’s.

Weather wise the good stuff is continuing, more blue sky and sunshine with a top temperature of at least 32 degree’s Celsius.

I’ll try and catch the dollar exchange rates for ya’s in my next up date.

Swell wise it’s not looking real good for waves tomorrow and seeing as my current guests want to head out into town tonight we might call a lay day on Monday and wait for the new swell that should be arriving on Tuesday. But I’ll still be posting the odd twitter up date so get signed up ASAP.

Good news for any of you that want to get over to the legendary location of G-Land this year as baliwaves.com will still be dishing out a solid 15% discount off their advertised prices for the G-Land Surf Camp. All camps at G-Land will be re opening in March 2011 so if you want some un crowded G-Land get in early. Make sure you contact us first if you want that 15% rebate back in your pocket.

NEW SERVICE For baliwaves surfer(s) (1 -3 only) who want nothing but a safe and secure surfing holiday in Bali. We can now offer the complete surfing package for Bali. This includes airport transfers, accommodation, breakfast. daily surf information and transport to the best waves available (local knowledge) with your own personal surfing photographer. What more do you need for Rupiah 4,500,000. (+- US$450.00 for 1 surfer, Rupiah 4,000,000. (per surfer) for 2 surfers & Rupiah 3,750,000. (per surfer) for 3 surfers per week. Just contact us to get the REAL Bali experience !
Accommodation includes; AIR CONDITIONED room with double bed. Hot and cold water in bathroom. International cable TV, DVD player and Playstation 2. For  breakfast, your choice of egg’s, sausage, tomato on toast or banana pancakes / fruit salad + tea or coffee, plus mineral drinking water. Daily surf info and transport to the best waves on Bali (to suit) in new air conditioned car. Airport transfers to and from airport. Not to mention all the surfing photos your going to get buffed out with !!!

We’ve also been playing around with our “Surf Spots” page where we are currently up-dating with more locations, and an extra bonus of Bali street maps. So go and get yourself lost in there !

Night club danger; New’s came through to me of an Australian having the shit kicked out of him by no less than 6 security staff in a Kuta night club. Aparantly the English owners of the bar gave the order to the security staff…. Caruso’s, Cruso’s, (some name like that anyway) Bar in Kuta.

Best Regards in Surfing

Slim

Tags: 2-4ft, Bali surf report, Balian, Indo surf report


View the original article here