A Mixed Mid Year Mentawai Surf Trip. Still my Mac Daddy!

I was lucky enough to get 10 or so days off work and jump on a charter boat the Raja Elang with a crew of mates and get back to the Ments lands this year for what is becoming a biennial tradition – a Mentawai surf trip.

This particular trip was a bit of an eye opener for me because on the face of it, in truth it wasn’t quite the perfect trip that we all dream off.

I wasn’t quite feeling the normal excitement when we arrived in Padang as I was starting to feel something wasn’t right.

It all became apparent why a few days into our trip.

I broke down with a full blow case of jungle fever that had me in my own private hell for a couple of days with minimal surf time.

I came good just as the doc on board was talking to the captain about heading back to port which just so happened to co incide with a serious drop in swell for a couple of days.

To compound matters when a new swell arrived it was accompanied by torrential rain and 50kt winds.

So in summation, on the face of it, mine was not the sort of trip you have in mind when you’re planning these things.

However, the amazing thing is, despite all those dramas it was still by far the best surf trip I’ve been on since the last time I was in the Mentawai.

This place is just a step up from anything else I’ve experienced in terms of the variety and quality of the waves.

Even when it’s not at its best it’s still produces something that I will always keep going back for.

I love nothing more than heading to new places and surfing new areas and that’s not something that’s going to stop anytime soon, it’s the whole reason I work where I do.

I hope I can find somewhere that delivers as much as the Mentawai but for now it’s definitely still my Mac Daddy!

Words by Charlie Pierce. Photos of Charlie by Sprout Daily