March in the Mentawai – Aileoita surf charter surf report

G’day fellow frothers,

We have just received another March Mentawai surf report, this time from our good and great friends, Ailoita Surf Charter. Sebastian is your surf guide and photographer for 2012 season if you jump on, check out what he has to say about the beginning of the season:

When I had been called to guide a surf trip to Mentawai in March, a lot of questions came to my mind: Should be any waves? What about the weather? Crowds? The thing is that I had been coming here for the past 14 years during the season (April – October), but I had never been here in March… Also trying to fill up the 2 empty spaces on the boat was a mission, nobody want to take a bet on March. But the November 2011 swell (the best of the season was actually in the off-season), made us to believe that we can get something of this trip. I ended up getting 2 of my best friends just to fill the minimum number of guest to confirm the departure and then we where ready!

We arrived in Padang Sumatra the night before the trip, March14th, and organized everything to be ready for the next day. Believe it or not, the reports where pretty good, as good as any trip on the season, also the weather was calm, and nice for the 12 hours crossing. The boat was the Aileoita 1, and me and 9 guests where ready to search for some waves in the Ments.

Our first stop was Hollow Trees, a sick right, but wasn’t working, the wind was wrong, and then I start to think that we gonna get bad winds… We find a little right close by, with offshore winds, but it wasn’t what we expect from the Mentawais. We surfed for 2 hours, and by 10 am the wind magically calm down, time to head back to Hollow Trees, and there was the wave, breaking perfect, with no boats around!

I may have already been on more than 40 boat trips here, and I can’t remember seeing this place with good fun waves, and no boats around. So we surfed for 5 hours non stop and some of the guests where calling this one of the best days of their life! The next day we checked Lances Left, and was the same thing, pretty fun size, good winds  and no one around – I was starting to like this trip! The report for the next days was showing some increase in swell and we headed to Macaronis, one of the best lefts in the world; playful, barrelling, easy! And there was that magic wave with no boats around, some of our guest got to surf Macaronis by them self, because no one could make a full day session. Next day the swell got bigger, and no boats, we definitely where at paradise!!!

By day 5, we got to meet to 2 boats at Maccas, nothing more than normal, just 6 guys in the water, but we didn’t want to share those waves as it wasn’t as consistent as the day before, so we moved back to the north. Hollow Trees was waiting for us, this time was even bigger, but with one boat – no problem, it was one of my friend’s boats, so we managed it so everybody got some good waves. By this time of the trip we were surfed out, and that was just the middle trip!

We kept heading north, woke up at Telescopes, but nothing was happening there. And then we ended at Playground, one of the best areas for surfing in the world, more than 15 waves around, and many of them world class waves! The boys where dying to get back to a left, so on the low tide we got some waves at A-Frames, and as soon that the tide came up we move to Kandui, no one was there, another solo session! By the end of the trip I had just one more wish, and was to see some Rifles action, a sick right that peels for about 400 yards… And one morning, we got that wave just for ourselves, for 1 hour, before the wind came up.

It definitely was one of the best trips ever, good waves, no one around! Now I love March! Even having the whole season ahead, I can’t wait for march 2013!
Sampai jumpa lagi! (see you soon)
Sebastian Imizcoz
Surf Guide and Staff photographer from the Aileoita 1