6^th of June 2017 – Kandui – Pulau Karangmajat – Western Sumatra (Mentawai) – Indonesia

The most scarry one minute in the water, when you are swimming with your camera in the breaking point of the wave, wating for the next set to come in.
At one point, people start to yell from the boats, they already see the lines of the incoming set, but you dont, for this 30-60 seconds waiting, every part of your body wanna swimm in the channel not to get washed, but you wanna get the best shot, so you stay and hope that you are in the right position..

Mostly you are..
After a couple of months staying in Bali, i was dreaming to get to the Mentawais Islands!
Lucky i got a job at Diego’s place in the Mentawai Surf Camps locaited in Siberut Islands, for some film documentations.

Checking the forecast with Trav (surfguide of the camp) and Diego, we know, this is going to be the biggest, most powerful swell of the dryseason, no question that, a sotuh west 20 second period swell with 8-10 feet was on the way..

The day had come so we took the boats out and checkd out E-Bay first, a proper lefthand barell wave with 2 sections, Trav was already ripping here, no wind, glassy water,overhead barrels!
After an hour session, we jump back to the boat and headed to Kandui, an 30 min drive.

We got there in the midday,when the real swell started to arrive, still no wind at all.
I never been to Kandui before, a perfect lefthand barrel wave, runs all the way, not really closing out,but only works from 7-8 feet, before is just to fast and shallow, almost dry in lowtide.

I was honestly scarred on this day, i never experience such powerful wave before in real life and now its breaking 10 meter from you, just the noise of the water was so loud you coudnt talk when the set come close to you!

This is truly the day, when everything burns in your mind, the smell of the ocean, the fear inside you, the adrenalin rush, the watermountains, the coming outs, people faces..
My surfing is not on the level to be able to surf such waves, but i can swimm and take pics or film it and this satisfe me and wanna go again!