all this talk of 6'2"s and 6'3"s in 8 foot surf is hilarious - if you're good enought to ride board's this small in solid surf, then you don't need any advice from this forum. unless you shred - it's highly unlikely that you'll be tearing 6-8ft waves apart, you'll mostly just be drawing nice lines rather than destroying the lip
it's better to be slightly overgunned than undergunned. i would go slightly longer than what you think.
go slightly bigger. when you're paddling into something solid you'll be happy. or you just just scratch around on the shoulder on your little toothpick wishing you had a proper board
Bali boards
Moderators: jimmy, collnarra, PeepeelaPew, Butts, beach_defender, Shari, Forum Moderators
^^^^ Hang on Spook. A 6'2 or 6'3 to say a grom could be equal to a semi gun to you. As an example I only weigh 72kgs, so a 6'2 or 6'3 works well for me as a step up board for surf around 6 - 7 foot (depending on the break).
I know what you are trying to say, but its hard to be specific about actual board size if you don't know the surfers weight, height and ability.
I agree that you are better off having extra length under your belt than not enough.
Its very hard to talk dimensions on these forums without knowing the person. That's why I try to avoid it. I only ever list what I ride relative to me. By that I am not saying that anyone else should ride what I ride.
I know what you are trying to say, but its hard to be specific about actual board size if you don't know the surfers weight, height and ability.
I agree that you are better off having extra length under your belt than not enough.
Its very hard to talk dimensions on these forums without knowing the person. That's why I try to avoid it. I only ever list what I ride relative to me. By that I am not saying that anyone else should ride what I ride.
oh i got an outside corner story, kind of anti-climactic though but anyway...
this was 1999 i'd been living in bali since january that year and had got familiar with spots on the east side. then it was the dry season, and i started surfing on the other side. uluwatu was always bloody crowded, so i steered clear of it and usually surfed at balangan. i love balangan, had some great surfs there especially when it was overhead.
one day in may or june a big swell hit, i went to balangan first thing as usual, paddled out from under the headland and had a set break on my head. the dozen or so waves that followed smashed and dragged me all the way up the other end. i crawled out close to the other headland and thought, hmmm that doesn't usually happen.
there was no around. i waited on the grass for someone to come so we could try again together, but no one came. there were some lulls, and there were some sets - big open faces stretching for a couple hundred metres, but a hundred metres farther out than the lineup i'd got used to. then i decided to take a look at some other spots on the bukit.
but this story is already too long, so i'll jump straight to the part where i get to uluwatu and see waves breaking way, way, way over where i never expected to see them breaking.
there were three guys out, and they were really struggling. it wasn't great outside corner. it was big outside corner, but the angle was wrong and the tide was too high. i know that now. i didn't know it then.
these three guys were out there trying. they were paddling a lot. just paddling, always paddling. every now and then one of them would turn and go for a wave but not get it, and then he would have to paddle again. twenty minutes to get back to where he'd just turned and gone for that wave.
my stomach had started doing flipflops the second i pulled up in the carpark and it wouldn't stop, so i sat in a warung and ordered a coffee. made kasim was there, too. i didn't know him at that stage, just recognised him. he seemed agitated, and kept hissing and swearing softly to himself. i guess he was wishing it was breaking better. there were waves coming through that looked like great waves, but the guys out there weren't getting them. they were coming through too fast and at the wrong angle or something.
i was mesmerised, i have to say, but kind of revolted too, or at least sickened. it was probably just nerves. my knees even shook!
at some stage or other made kasim swore loudly, got up and went away, and i sat there for three hours, until the last of the guys had finally made it in. one of them caught a big one. i don't remember how the other two got in. i recognised the guy who got the big one, an american named tim i'd met in the surf at nusa dua earlier in the year. i asked him how it was and he said something like, 'no...' then he raised his eyebrows and said, 'maybe tomorrow?' at that my stomach started doing flipflops twice as fast and high as before.
that night i must have got two hours of sleep. i couldn't stop thinking about outside corner, wondering how and where to paddle out, where to sit, how to ride those waves bigger than any waves i'd ever ridden. i tossed and turned with it all night, and the next day i went back and surfed it. i think i got three waves. but i didn't turn up and just walk straight out and into it. i waited around and watched for another couple of hours, my stomach doing flipflops the whole time, my hands trembling. finally, i followed a couple of guys out...
see, a big anticlimax! gee i'm a twit.
this was 1999 i'd been living in bali since january that year and had got familiar with spots on the east side. then it was the dry season, and i started surfing on the other side. uluwatu was always bloody crowded, so i steered clear of it and usually surfed at balangan. i love balangan, had some great surfs there especially when it was overhead.
one day in may or june a big swell hit, i went to balangan first thing as usual, paddled out from under the headland and had a set break on my head. the dozen or so waves that followed smashed and dragged me all the way up the other end. i crawled out close to the other headland and thought, hmmm that doesn't usually happen.
there was no around. i waited on the grass for someone to come so we could try again together, but no one came. there were some lulls, and there were some sets - big open faces stretching for a couple hundred metres, but a hundred metres farther out than the lineup i'd got used to. then i decided to take a look at some other spots on the bukit.
but this story is already too long, so i'll jump straight to the part where i get to uluwatu and see waves breaking way, way, way over where i never expected to see them breaking.
there were three guys out, and they were really struggling. it wasn't great outside corner. it was big outside corner, but the angle was wrong and the tide was too high. i know that now. i didn't know it then.
these three guys were out there trying. they were paddling a lot. just paddling, always paddling. every now and then one of them would turn and go for a wave but not get it, and then he would have to paddle again. twenty minutes to get back to where he'd just turned and gone for that wave.
my stomach had started doing flipflops the second i pulled up in the carpark and it wouldn't stop, so i sat in a warung and ordered a coffee. made kasim was there, too. i didn't know him at that stage, just recognised him. he seemed agitated, and kept hissing and swearing softly to himself. i guess he was wishing it was breaking better. there were waves coming through that looked like great waves, but the guys out there weren't getting them. they were coming through too fast and at the wrong angle or something.
i was mesmerised, i have to say, but kind of revolted too, or at least sickened. it was probably just nerves. my knees even shook!
at some stage or other made kasim swore loudly, got up and went away, and i sat there for three hours, until the last of the guys had finally made it in. one of them caught a big one. i don't remember how the other two got in. i recognised the guy who got the big one, an american named tim i'd met in the surf at nusa dua earlier in the year. i asked him how it was and he said something like, 'no...' then he raised his eyebrows and said, 'maybe tomorrow?' at that my stomach started doing flipflops twice as fast and high as before.
that night i must have got two hours of sleep. i couldn't stop thinking about outside corner, wondering how and where to paddle out, where to sit, how to ride those waves bigger than any waves i'd ever ridden. i tossed and turned with it all night, and the next day i went back and surfed it. i think i got three waves. but i didn't turn up and just walk straight out and into it. i waited around and watched for another couple of hours, my stomach doing flipflops the whole time, my hands trembling. finally, i followed a couple of guys out...
see, a big anticlimax! gee i'm a twit.
-
Freestyler
- regular
- Posts: 102
- Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 2:08 pm
All the comments are good advice, suppose it just depends on how good you are and how big you want to surf. I went to Bali last Sept, day two awoke to solid 10' Impossibles and perfect.
Now I'm 50 and my max is 8-10 if I'm fit, but this was classic, so pulled out biggest board I had 6'8". The Aussie owner of the resort I'm staying at pulls out an 8'6 and his brother a 7'6 and smile at me knowingly.
I had a great surf, scored a handful of beautiful big walled waves, dodged the sets, survived. But truth is I was way undergunned, simply because I couldn't paddle fast enough to get on the buggers.
The brothers sat out and picked off the biggest and best set waves with ease. Big open ocean swells that hit Bukit travel very fast, like Hawaii or Margaret River, so you need a gun to catch them. If you're not catching them, then its not surfing its called paddling.
I plan going back and again taking my regular 6'1, a 6'6 and this time a 7'plus just in case.
But if you don't plan surfing Bukit then you won't need a big board.
Now I'm 50 and my max is 8-10 if I'm fit, but this was classic, so pulled out biggest board I had 6'8". The Aussie owner of the resort I'm staying at pulls out an 8'6 and his brother a 7'6 and smile at me knowingly.
I had a great surf, scored a handful of beautiful big walled waves, dodged the sets, survived. But truth is I was way undergunned, simply because I couldn't paddle fast enough to get on the buggers.
The brothers sat out and picked off the biggest and best set waves with ease. Big open ocean swells that hit Bukit travel very fast, like Hawaii or Margaret River, so you need a gun to catch them. If you're not catching them, then its not surfing its called paddling.
I plan going back and again taking my regular 6'1, a 6'6 and this time a 7'plus just in case.
But if you don't plan surfing Bukit then you won't need a big board.
it's very true what you said natho, and also freestyler. boards size depends on how big you are and your ability. i also think maybe some people on here are overestimating their ability, hence some of my confusion
freestyler's comments regarding 7ft+ boards in 8-10 foot surf make more sense to me than people saying they have surfed 6'2"s in 8 foot waves. i really can't see how that is possible for the average surfer. when it's 6-8ft (or bigger) you just wanna get into the thing and get moving down the line
i reckon i've surfed some pretty hefty waves on days when many people haven't paddled out. mostly they've been about 8 ft max. and i don't think i've ever taken off on a 10 footer, but i have been demolished by several on big days. the most memorable was massive guethery in france.
surfed it fun at 6ft on my 6'8" the day before, but on this day i knew something was up when people started running down the steps with 8ft+ boards while i had a little toothpick. got out the back and realised how massive it was, with a rip sucking me into the takeoff zone. copped some 10-12footers on the head and was very glad to get back to shore
freestyler's comments regarding 7ft+ boards in 8-10 foot surf make more sense to me than people saying they have surfed 6'2"s in 8 foot waves. i really can't see how that is possible for the average surfer. when it's 6-8ft (or bigger) you just wanna get into the thing and get moving down the line
i reckon i've surfed some pretty hefty waves on days when many people haven't paddled out. mostly they've been about 8 ft max. and i don't think i've ever taken off on a 10 footer, but i have been demolished by several on big days. the most memorable was massive guethery in france.
surfed it fun at 6ft on my 6'8" the day before, but on this day i knew something was up when people started running down the steps with 8ft+ boards while i had a little toothpick. got out the back and realised how massive it was, with a rip sucking me into the takeoff zone. copped some 10-12footers on the head and was very glad to get back to shore
-
Freestyler
- regular
- Posts: 102
- Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 2:08 pm
Totally agree Spook. The average surfer is kiddin himself if he thinks he's going to carve 8'plus waves. The pros on the vids make it look easy, but they are the best of the best.
Best us mere mortals can hope for on a big day is for a good bottom turn, a top turn and make the wave. who wouldn't be stoked at that!
I think the standard of big wave surfing at most breaks these days is pretty poor, guys paddle out on small boards then realise how big it is and sit inside for the small ones, which usually close out, and get mowed down by the big sets, which are usually really good shape.
When I was a kid the average surfers board was 6'6 to 6'10 and many guys had 7footers for bigger days. They seemed more comfortable in bigger surf, drew nice lines on bigger boards
I think its pretty simple, bigger wave, bigger board.
Best us mere mortals can hope for on a big day is for a good bottom turn, a top turn and make the wave. who wouldn't be stoked at that!
I think the standard of big wave surfing at most breaks these days is pretty poor, guys paddle out on small boards then realise how big it is and sit inside for the small ones, which usually close out, and get mowed down by the big sets, which are usually really good shape.
When I was a kid the average surfers board was 6'6 to 6'10 and many guys had 7footers for bigger days. They seemed more comfortable in bigger surf, drew nice lines on bigger boards
I think its pretty simple, bigger wave, bigger board.
-
g_u_m_b_y
- barnacle
- Posts: 1771
- Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:20 pm
- Location: Lennox. Central Coast. Dbah. Raglan.
im staying on the bukit.Freestyler wrote:Totally agree Spook. The average surfer is kiddin himself if he thinks he's going to carve 8'plus waves. The pros on the vids make it look easy, but they are the best of the best.
Best us mere mortals can hope for on a big day is for a good bottom turn, a top turn and make the wave. who wouldn't be stoked at that!
I think the standard of big wave surfing at most breaks these days is pretty poor, guys paddle out on small boards then realise how big it is and sit inside for the small ones, which usually close out, and get mowed down by the big sets, which are usually really good shape.
When I was a kid the average surfers board was 6'6 to 6'10 and many guys had 7footers for bigger days. They seemed more comfortable in bigger surf, drew nice lines on bigger boards
I think its pretty simple, bigger wave, bigger board.
i know ten minutes isnt long in big surf salty.
it was just a figure.
in regards to big waves, im not looking at "carving" 8 foot waves and never implied i wanted to.
what i meant was that if some swell hits i wouldnt mind going out and getting a monster, within my limits.
I have ridden a 5'4 in 8-10 foot surf with reaallly strong offshores, and that was gay, so the next day i got my 5'8 and it went fine.
im not very tall or heavy at all, so a 6'3 is plenty long for me,
sure the waves might be alot heavier on the bukit, but i think a board of 7 foot is a bit over the top....im not gonna be surfing 10 foot outside corner, i was hoping maybe 8 at the most.
6-8 as a figure.
i will be able to gauge that when i hava actually surfed a few waves over there, what i want to surf etc.
im staying on bingin so that should be fun.
-
Freestyler
- regular
- Posts: 102
- Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 2:08 pm
Sounds like good plan Gumby. I just suggesting a bigger board will mean you catch more waves, even in 6-8 range the swells on the Bukit move really fast. I ended up surfing my 6'8' from 10' down to 6' and had a ball in the smaller range, cause I don't often get a chance to ride a bigger board and do drawn out turns at my beachie. As for Bingin your small board will be perfect, its short reef barrel, small take off zone, no need length there. Have a great trip
you might want to check the legian beachies too, gumby. i've had some great surfs at the end of jalan padma and other spots farther along towards seminyak. you could get lucky and find a bank with just a few people on it, including a hot japanese bodyboarder chick who'll suggest you meet up at double six that night, and bowly lefts you can ride to the sand every time. of course you could get unlucky and find yourself in the middle of a huge snarling pack of local rippers, aussie boofheads who think they're the shit and russian beginners who know they're kooks but get out amongst it anyway. hope you get lucky.
Bingin is like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RdmpXZQQlcg_u_m_b_y wrote:is bingin like one of our reefs? (better of course)
short and sweet. and.....left
all **** rights over here.
As you head down the peninsula Impossibles could easily be half as big again, Padang Padang might be a bit bigger than Impossibles and Uluwatu will definitely be bigger still. After Bingin you're looking at some pretty serious waves.
You are in for a great experience.
Gumby: note the booties
-
lovemuscle
- Grommet
- Posts: 97
- Joined: Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:53 pm
- Location: pipeline
I saw some photos of a nutter surfing 15 ft Ulus by himself. He got eaten so bad, and just paddled back out for more. Its on the net somewhere on one of those seppos surfer mag sites. Im pretty sure he was the only one out.
Ive seen full euro tourists get sucked all the way down to Padang almost...just paddling out. One guy didnt even get past the white wash....haha.
If you go out Kuta reef ask the locals what board take out. i was gonna take my average board out but a kid said"big board". So I took hes advice and got some hell indside sets while the crowd sat on the shoulder.
Surf size can be very deceiving in Indo.
Ive seen full euro tourists get sucked all the way down to Padang almost...just paddling out. One guy didnt even get past the white wash....haha.
If you go out Kuta reef ask the locals what board take out. i was gonna take my average board out but a kid said"big board". So I took hes advice and got some hell indside sets while the crowd sat on the shoulder.
Surf size can be very deceiving in Indo.
Funny outside corner story...depending on your perspective I guess.
Ulu's was 6-8ft(15ft faces) and the tide was high and dropping so we decided to hit it and get an early jump on the crew before sunset. I was out with my brother and his mate who is a renowned charger in WA and who spends a few months in Indo every year. For the sake of this story I'll call him Tacker! We pretty much had the lineup to ourselves except for the odd guy here and there.
Anyway, I was paddling back out from a ride when I paddled past a dude with the long blond hair, beard and tatts sitting on his board. This Bali cliche was clearly exhausted and looking very worried.
I asked him how he was going and he said in his very thick pommie accent, "I'm farken knackered mate, how do I get in?".
Trying not to laugh at the poor bastard I replied that I'd only surfed the place a couple of times but from what I could remember you need to catch a wave and aim for the beach to the right off the rock then paddle round to the cave. I tried to be as nonchalant as possible to put him a bit more at ease and even suggested he paddle up further with me. Apparently he followed some guys out about three hours ago when it was half the size and had been trying to get in ever since. After the first fifty metres he was already starting to lag behind and it was obvious that this guy was waaaay out of his comfort zone. He could hardly freakin paddle for farks sake.
Anyway I noticed a few waves coming through and thought "Fark this. I'm not hanging around for this gumbie" but before I paddled for the next wave I told him to keep paddling up the point then ask the guy sitting out the back what he reckons you should do.
"Tacker's surfed this place a million times mate, he'll help you out" I added as I took off on a sweet little inside one.
After my ride I was paddling back up the point and noticed the git had only just got to where Tacker was sitting. From where I was I could see the guy struggle to sit up on his board and then obviously ask Tacker to save him from his nightmare.
Tacker is a man of few words at the best of times and anything more than a two or three sentence response could be considered a rant but even by his standards their conversation appeared to be a particularly short one with nary a point or nod in the right direction - nothing. Then a set came and Tacker was off, leaving Knackered Git wobbling on his board by himself, alone again, but this time another two hundred metres further out. Anyway that set was the start of long pulse in the swell that seemed to get bigger with every wave and I soon forgot about the bloke. After a couple of hours we'd all had enough and made our way in and sat up on the top of the cliff necking bintangs and watching a cast of pro's including Rob Machado and a few other local rippers get smashed out at maxing Racetracks. As I was watching I suddenly remembered the Knackered Git and thinking I hadn't seen him since the swell jumped, so I asked Tacker if he'd helped the guy out.
"Yeah sorta" he said.
Sensing a Tacker gem, I pressed him.
" Aw yeah? whadya tell him Tacker?".
" .. told him if ya don't know how to get in you shouldn't be out here. He'll know for next time." came Saint Tacker's reply.
Amen.
and g_u_m_b_y - although its good to get a board over there if need be I also recommend getting on one here and taking it out on smaller days. It pays to feel comfortable on a longer board before you paddle one out in some juice. Even just learning to duckdive the thing properly.
Ulu's was 6-8ft(15ft faces) and the tide was high and dropping so we decided to hit it and get an early jump on the crew before sunset. I was out with my brother and his mate who is a renowned charger in WA and who spends a few months in Indo every year. For the sake of this story I'll call him Tacker! We pretty much had the lineup to ourselves except for the odd guy here and there.
Anyway, I was paddling back out from a ride when I paddled past a dude with the long blond hair, beard and tatts sitting on his board. This Bali cliche was clearly exhausted and looking very worried.
I asked him how he was going and he said in his very thick pommie accent, "I'm farken knackered mate, how do I get in?".
Trying not to laugh at the poor bastard I replied that I'd only surfed the place a couple of times but from what I could remember you need to catch a wave and aim for the beach to the right off the rock then paddle round to the cave. I tried to be as nonchalant as possible to put him a bit more at ease and even suggested he paddle up further with me. Apparently he followed some guys out about three hours ago when it was half the size and had been trying to get in ever since. After the first fifty metres he was already starting to lag behind and it was obvious that this guy was waaaay out of his comfort zone. He could hardly freakin paddle for farks sake.
Anyway I noticed a few waves coming through and thought "Fark this. I'm not hanging around for this gumbie" but before I paddled for the next wave I told him to keep paddling up the point then ask the guy sitting out the back what he reckons you should do.
"Tacker's surfed this place a million times mate, he'll help you out" I added as I took off on a sweet little inside one.
After my ride I was paddling back up the point and noticed the git had only just got to where Tacker was sitting. From where I was I could see the guy struggle to sit up on his board and then obviously ask Tacker to save him from his nightmare.
Tacker is a man of few words at the best of times and anything more than a two or three sentence response could be considered a rant but even by his standards their conversation appeared to be a particularly short one with nary a point or nod in the right direction - nothing. Then a set came and Tacker was off, leaving Knackered Git wobbling on his board by himself, alone again, but this time another two hundred metres further out. Anyway that set was the start of long pulse in the swell that seemed to get bigger with every wave and I soon forgot about the bloke. After a couple of hours we'd all had enough and made our way in and sat up on the top of the cliff necking bintangs and watching a cast of pro's including Rob Machado and a few other local rippers get smashed out at maxing Racetracks. As I was watching I suddenly remembered the Knackered Git and thinking I hadn't seen him since the swell jumped, so I asked Tacker if he'd helped the guy out.
"Yeah sorta" he said.
Sensing a Tacker gem, I pressed him.
" Aw yeah? whadya tell him Tacker?".
" .. told him if ya don't know how to get in you shouldn't be out here. He'll know for next time." came Saint Tacker's reply.
Amen.
and g_u_m_b_y - although its good to get a board over there if need be I also recommend getting on one here and taking it out on smaller days. It pays to feel comfortable on a longer board before you paddle one out in some juice. Even just learning to duckdive the thing properly.
Last edited by Da Duke on Fri Mar 07, 2008 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 92 guests