As a yacht captain, and I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world on my job. But there’s one place that stands out above the rest: Indonesia. These islands are a surfer’s paradise, with consistent waves and perfect conditions.
I recently had the pleasure of captaining a two-week superyacht surf trip to Indonesia. It was an epic experience, and I’m so glad I got to share it with my guests.
We began our trip in Bali, where we spent a few days stocking up on provisions, resting and relaxing the crew, and buying surfboards for the trip. We also had some much-needed engineering done on our systems by Eighth Degree South’s qualified marine engineers, who were superb.
Having never been to Indonesia driving a yacht before, it was essential that I choose an experienced yacht agency like Eighth Degree South. Their founders are both ex-captains and engineers that have a wealth of experience in these waters and come with glowing recommendations, so the choice was simple.
I wasn’t disappointed. Eighth Degree South made the journey to Padang simple and easy. They gave us docking in Teluk Bungus (which involved clearing out 8 fishing boats just for us!), where we took fuel and offloaded supplies into storage. We then went shopping in Padang and checked out the local markets.
We couldn’t find much there, so we engaged Eighth Degree South to sort out our needs through a combination of local high-end produce from Padang and items sent in from Jakarta and Bali. To keep things super fresh for the guests, they arranged for the supplies to be dropped off and loaded into our charter plane with the guests.
We took a recommended surf guide, as it was my first time there and I was unfamiliar with the waves and anchorages. He did not disappoint! He was very knowledgeable and a great help, choosing the best anchorages and waves of the day.
The charter plane landed with the guests, and a short tender ride later, they were onto their first wave surfing while the crew took their luggage and unpacked. After surfing until sunset, they were welcomed back to the boat with cocktails and a fabulous lobster dinner.
We had great waves all trip, and the guests were very happy and loved every bit of it. We surfed many waves until it got small, and we decided to go elsewhere. But not knowing the area well, we asked Eighth Degree South for advice. They looked at the forecast and recommended Asu and the Hinako Islands off the coast of Nias. We went there and had great waves!
The guests got barrelled on their final day of surfing, what a way to end the trip!
After the guests departed on the charter plane, we stayed in the Telo Islands for a few more days for some crew relaxation and, of course, surfing! We then headed back to Padang to fuel up, pick up our storage items, say our goodbyes, and depart to Thailand.
I want to say a big thank you to the Eighth Degree South team for a flawless trip and excellent support, and to Indonesia for being the friendly, beautiful country that you are.
