Bali
Bali - Blog Archives
March 8th, 2014
Cold Classic Maine or Tropical Perfection?
Dustin Turin // Scarborough, ME — You would think that after a month of surfing perfect tropical waves, the frigid Maine water — currently hovering around 37 degrees — would be a pretty significant buzz-kill. After all, 6mm of rubber definitely slows you down a bit and the 14 degree air that greeted us on our first surf back is cold by any standard. On the temperature front, I’ll take Bali’s 85 degree water any day of the week. No surprise, the Indian Ocean also beats Maine when it comes to producing consistently epic waves. But the reality is, even though Indonesia is always going to ‘beat’ Maine in the surfing hall of fame, it’s almost impossible to compare the two experiences.
Above: Even though it’s cold, waves make a welcome homecoming in Maine.
Below: Surf Camp instructor Sawyer Theriault scores a tropical beauty in Indonesia only a few days earlier.
When the waves are always on — not an issue we are too familiar with here in Maine — it’s amazing how quickly surfing starts to feel more routine then special. Our standards go through the roof and soon enough we’re complaining when it’s smaller than head high and/or not tubing. Too many people. Too hot. And so on…
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Tags: Bali, Maine, Surf travel, winter surfing
February 14th, 2014
Reflections from Bali: Waves, the Great Equalizer
Dustin Turin // Bali, Indonesia — All surfers embrace exploration: ‘the search,’ as it has been called, is ingrained in every wave rider’s DNA. It means ‘the search’ for better waves, ‘the search’ for empty lineups, ‘the search’ for places untouched and unknown and waiting to be explored. ‘The search’ is a point of pilgrimage with no final location, always moving one bend at a time up the coast.
Bali is most definitely a point along the well-trodden path of surf pilgrimage, a mecca surrounded in an accompanying myth and mysticism. It is certainly not unknown, or — unfortunately — untouched, but for every surfer who has never been, it is still waiting to be explored. The waves here feel unreal to the experience of surfers raised in the cold Northeast. Long period groundswell is nearly constant, the coast is ringed with reefs that produce perfect waves in practically all conditions, and the wind amazes with its ability to disappear for days on end.
Surfing in a place like Bali, in the crowded and competitive lineups of Uluwatu, Keramas, or Bingin, can be a humbling, inspiring, and frustrating experience, or more likely, all three simultaneously. But being in the water here is also a reminder of one of surfing’s best qualities: that is, waves are the ultimate equalizer.
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Tags: Bali, Surf travel, waves