June 26th - July 7th | 2 - 8 ft
THAT WEEK “THE LORDS OF BYRON” FOUND BLISS IN MENTAWAI
All words and photos by Uncle Lip.
Cooking!
The Group
A thick bond of brotherhood was strong on The Mighty Mango this trip as the childhood mates from Byron Bay N.S.W brought nothing but laughs, good all round surfing and ever present battle between goofys and regulars.
Conditions/Forecast
There was plenty of swell predicted on paper but we didn’t see too much for the first half of the trip of the trip but with light conditions between the storms and a nice swell angle to play with we still found ourselves surfing plenty of perfect sessions…..and solo.
An awesome sea state and light variable winds for the majority of the trip had us loading up our 24ft freedom machine “Foxy Lady” and exploring up and down the Mentawai coastlines picking the eyes out of what was on offer and maximise our surfing from dawn till dusk.
Standout Sessions:
Discovering new waves is always fun.
One evening while on a fishing trip, we were trolling off the back off a particular reef and started to see pretty consistent right handers breaking from behind. A closer inspection, and fishing was put on hold while the boys got out there to test pilot a potential new wave.
We targeted this wave the next morning and it was even better. “Stink Arse” was born.
Its hard to believe we are still discovering quality new surf breaks out here in 2023 and assumed it had been surfed before but after a few discussions with trusted comrades, without giving too much information away, maybe it hasn’t!
Hats off to Colbey for spotting it from behind in the distance and catching the first test wave. We will be keeping a closer eye on that one in future.
Another day we managed to tick off 3 iconic waves as we leapfrogged our way down the coast. When you surf Maccas for the early, on to solo Greenbush before lunch and spend the arvo at cooking Rags Right its worth a mention. One epic day.
The best was yet to come…
With a promising swell but unpredictable winds we took the gamble and woke up at one of Indonesia’s most iconic left handers. A horrible sea state and howling onshore winds had us scratching our heads with not many back up options nearby. We decided to stick it out and sure enough by around 1000hrs the wind had swung and sea state had settled. The lords found themselves pulling into some of the heaviest barrels of their life.
Big props that day to Squidy for charging like a maniac and Piney for also giving it a good nudge providing plenty of entertainment. We were the only boat in the channel once again. Only fools rush…
Another memorable session onboard The Mighty Mango…tick!
Wave of the trip:
Squidy and Piney going one for one and Piney managed to get a long one that had the peanut gallery going bonkers. At this moment we called “Wave of the Trip”.
But as the day went on the waves got bigger and better…. Squidy was in position for an absolute monster and as he rolled in the wave grew and grew which found Squidy locked in to an 8 foot death pit to straighten out on the wildest end section closeout we have seen in a while. Squidy for president!…. and “Wave of the Trip”.
Personalities:
A lot of great personalities in this group which kept the belly laughs rolling. Beach ceremonies, beach fishing, sunset parties in the beer garden, plenty of Foxy fishing afternoons filled with stories from grommethood in “The Bay”.
Captain Goodvibes (Piney) always keeping the spirit high, Colbey presenting the awards each night, Squidys boozy antics each afternoon, plus all the other Lords of Byron onboard. Every day seemed to be a bad day to be an icy cold Bintang this trip. With an attitude like “regardless of the forecast we will still be sitting on the top deck drinking beers with our best mates on the Mangalui” you simply cant go wrong.
Food:
In true Situ fashion, he knows when to exactly cook the right meal for the right time. A cold breeze had been blowing all morning and by lunch a front had hit and the rain started coming down. Situ had put on his famous chicken curry. The curry had everyone’s taste buds tingling and and the lads raving. Colbey said it was the best curry of his life. Round of applause to Situ and Putra.
Fish On:
With Lawsy and his broken wing, fishing was the next best activity after watching his mates get barrelled all day. Plenty of afternoons spent trolling, and a few hot spots had Lawsy pulling up his first fish ever.
It wasn’t the biggest fish or the best but the froth was real and Lawsy found love for a new sport. Later on in the trip we went and checked a potential left hander. Bricky and Abe brought their light flicking gear along.
As we were checking the wave Abe got hit first cast and it was a big hit but not landed. 15 minutes later Bricky’s line went off. With some great team work from Bricky fighting this fish perfectly, some precision driving and Abe on the gath we landed a very respectable Spanish Mackerel.
What’s the number one rule? Never miss a “Foxy Lady” dispatch.
“We need to do more boat trips”
Caption Goodvibes
Captain Good Vibes aka Piney
Special Thanks:
Big ups to the the lads for getting together for Abe’s 40th. Thank you to the best charter boat crew in the world once again, and to Huey for not taking a day off for the entire 11 day trip. A special mention and big thank you to Lawsy for being the best Foxy Lady deckhand to date.
Yours truly Uncle Lip
MANGALUI 23/24 SUMMER SESSIONS
One of our favourite times of year these days is the summer season, characterised by great weather, fun waves and far less surfers. It has been one of the industry’s best kept secrets for decades with only those in the know choosing to charter during this time of year.
