by Mark Flint of KabuNohi Sorake Resort
General Comment: As predicted the week starts with a solid swell peeling off the point for this last week in April. Sorake Point (Lagundri Bay) was at times, as good as it gets this week and still very few travelling surfers around.
Monday 24th April
Late afternoon glass off after a good day of waves. The swell still has not evened up with the presence of the slight onshore breeze during the day
Surfable waves all day with wind change variations and a range of waves options from open tubes to floatable crumbling lip sections
Tuesday 25th April “Classic Nias Surf”
Offshore conditions, 4 waves per set, 6 ft & uncrowded. What a way to start the day!
Morning light sees solid 6 foot sets consistently breaking in the early morning light with a steady offshore that has made the wave clean-up for now perfect barrelling waves off the outside take off across to the end bowl. 4 wave sets 6 to 8 feet on the early morning with a very high tide,
Low tide has hollow waves but alas the swell looks like decreasing. Take off tubes and super fun walls, cut back sections and stand up tubes on the end bowl! Nias is firing off for the few lucky ones here.
Mid-day: The wind remains favourable out the Bay making for great waves with steep take offs. In general the surfing ability is very average at present with the experienced local guys leading by example and taking off deep in the wedge zone. The camera boats are taking advantage of the near perfect sunny conditions, even though dark clouds form over the back hills. The sounds of rolling thunder signals and afternoon rain storm and the wind backing off to a light airbrushed offshore. High tide has some nice 5 foot waves in perfect airbrushed offshore condition (no pictures I was surfing). What a great end to a Classic Nias Day!
Wednesday 26th April
Overnight rain and thunderstorms have also dampened off the predicted dying swell. Even though the point is still 3-4-foot offshore wave, and drizzling rain, after yesterday’s EPIC day, this morning has been left to a small contingent of 3 learners surfers having a ball on the smaller but perfect formed waves.
New Moon
Thursday 27th April
Waves have dropped and now the action is back on the Kiddies Corner with a few small outside waves being remnants of the last swell. The wind is offshore and waves reeling down the Kiddies Corner reef. Great for the kids but a letdown for the chargers. The other nick-name for “Kiddies Corner” is the “exercise machine” for a reason and even at 2 foot the perfection it will keep you paddling!
Late afternoon incoming high see the small consistent waves peel from the outside point down the inside reef of the Kiddies Corner and rice bowl section. Great watching the action with an arvo beer in the now cooling breeze on the KabuNohi deck. It does not get much smaller than this!
Friday 28th April:
Steady falling overnight rain from the west to south west dampens back any ocean swell. Like clockwork the crisp cool morning offshore out of Lagundri Bay is straightening up a small wave pattern, focussing onto the inside Kiddies Corner section. The morning high starts to fill in over the reef, forming perfect little peelers. A couple of European learners staying at Lagundri Beach venture out to the point for the early. Surf Culture at its best as once you surf there is no looking back!
Offshore wind becomes gusty as it swings more to the SW, overcast skies, small conditions on the Kiddies Corner for the reminder of the low tide into longer running waves and with the afternoon incoming tide pushing up higher on the reef top,
Kiddies Corner is protected by most winds so as the stormy skies and wind shifts the Kiddies Corner is little effected afternoon. Late afternoon sees a slight little extra push in wave size with more a regular pulse of waves breaking on the outside point to 2-3 ft occasional and if you read the sections correctly you can connect all the way through to Kiddies Corner reef and enjoy a very long ride.
The forecast is predicting a solid swell in the end of the week. Typical of the early season the deep Southern Ocean storms start to push up into the *Samudra Hindia and project its influences across the expanse of the Indian ocean. Indonesia is blessed with a coast line that has thousands of miles of SSW exposed coastline. These days with domestic flights all over the country, you can get from one end of the archipelago to the other in a short time compared to our pioneering adventure days of overland travel that sometimes amounted to weeks to get to surf destinations! Samudra (समुद्र) is a Sanskrit term for “seven seas= ocean”, literally the “gathering together of waters” (saṃ- meaning “together” and -udra meaning “water”. Dictionary meaning of samudra is ‘confluence’ and ‘ocean/sea’. [1] Modern Indo-Aryan languages word for “ocean”
Samudra Hindia = Indian Ocean
Saturday 29th April
Hot sunny morning, oily glassy conditions on Lagundri bay with small waves peeling off the point and linking into the kiddie inside reef section. 2 learners surfers are catching waves from the outside point to the inside and walking back up the beach to paddle back out and do it again. Many waves and no people. This morning’s high tide is producing some fun for the few.
Low tide offshore Kiddies Corner, very hot tropical day today. Lather the sunscreen on! The wind remains offshore with only 2 people enjoying small consistent waves. Afternoon cools off with the rising tide producing more action with small waves breaking from the outside point into kiddie’s corner.
Sunday 30th April
Small conditions similar to Saturday’s with waves breaking infrequently on the point but the inside running through. Great day for the kids and learners seeing the early morning locals hitting the inside section before off to church. For us, the waiting game is on but always a paddle somewhere, just to keep the muscles stretched as the predicted swell pulse for this new week moving into May is predicted. Sundown late afternoon shows the first signs of an increase in the swell. Current lines in the rice bowl and more waves are starting to miss the kiddie’s corner reef and break wider in the bay. Plenty of local tourists around Sorake is becoming an attraction with the locals coming to meet and watch surfers tackle the waves at Sorake. For the more adventurous they attempt to try surfing and now in Lagundri Beach there is Appriantos Surf School for people to rent a variety of old broken boards to play in the small right hand waves of the Lagundri sandy bottom river mouth
Monday 1st May
Cloudy overcast morning. Swell has increased to 4-5 foot off the point conditions early are still a little unclean and waves breaking wide morning offshore out of the bay is cleaning all up and today is looking like and excellent start to a new surfing week New Moon
Until Next week, Mark Flint signing off from the Deck of KabuNohi Sorake Resort, Lagundri Bay, Nias.
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