Mentawai Season Review and Surf Guide Interview by The Perfect Wave photographer Andy Potts

Gold coast based photographer Andy Potts has done a bunch of work for The Perfect Wave in recent years.  Andy spent much of 2012 in Indo, his highlight shooting the Bondi Rescue boys aboard The Oasis at flawless HT’s and Macaronis.

In 2013 Andy chose to split his Indo season up.  He fit in an enjoyable stint as the surf photographer on board The Oasis, and mixed things up with a land based 5 or 6 week stint at Macaronis Resort. We will run a bunch of Andy’s clips from Macaronis in the coming weeks, but today we are stoked to run a selection of his 2013 images, and a clip he compiled for TPW all shot on The Oasis.

Andy really digs The Oasis. He is hoping to spend a large part of 2014 aboard as official photographer for all guests. Andy swears by Oasis surf guide Aaron Wright. He said, “Aaron’s  a gentleman that knows where to find the most suitable waves for each individual crew, he is a chilled dude who would never heckle a guest in the water or get in anyone’s way.”

Anyway, Andy kindly asked Aaron a couple of quick questions on behalf of The Perfect Wave to give readers  a feel for Aaron’s vibe, and hopefully encourage you to jump on board The Oasis next year with Aaron as your guide and Andy as your personal photographer.

Next year’s trips are filling up – take advantage of 2014 Indonesia Early Bird Deals, save and lock in your preferred dates!

TPW – Aaron please tell us very briefly a little bit about your background?

Aaron – I’m a cruisy 60-year-old surf dog, that’s been surfing since I was 11. I won the US surfing men’s open division in 1975, and was also The Californian State champ that same year. I have been guiding boat trips since 2000. I ran my own fishing boats for 20 years and I am currently employed at Blue and Gold Fleet San Francisco CA. as a qualified high speed ferry deck hand. We run high speed ferries between Vallejo Ca. and San Francisco for the San Francisco Bay Ferry Company.

TPW – How have you found the crowds this year?

Aaron – The crowds are there some days and not on others. It depends where you go but there are many boats and camps in the north. Crowds are getting larger. All the breaks have their day.

TPW – How about big picture – how do you rate the season?

Aaron – August through October generally have a lot of winds out of the south west. I personally think the best time is April – July but the weather is always changing, so each year is obviously going to be different. Late season 2013 has been very good. We will run charters anytime someone wants to book one.

TPW – When do you kick off again in 2014?

Aaron – We will run charters anytime someone wants to book one in all honesty. We will definitely start up again in March of 2014.

TPW – What do you do with your time on your break?

Aaron – I will be back in California working on the ferry in the off season so I can take time off to guide April-July.