Surfer Girls in West Java
By Karina Mattos,
Rebecca
West Java – Panaitan Island
One Palm Point
After two weeks at G-spot in Grajagan – Java to do promotional footage for a promo DVD, the Surfer Girl Team disperse to make sure that they have a representative in all the good locations for the new swell.
Like last year the Surfer Girl riders came from everywhere in the world to surf and bodyboard all over Indo.
Alexandra Kagaya (Brasil) went to Desert Point with Rebecca ( Margaret River – OZ), Luciana (Brazil) to Leacks, and myself and Rebecca Cruz ( Brazil ) decided go to West Java to get One Palm Point in a boat Trip together with 4 bodyboarders from Puerto Rico – Alvin Garcia, Hector Diaz, Waldemar, Jose Menendez and a surfer Mark Velez.The girl’s were on the mission for more footage for something special that soon will be in the Surfer Girl Shop. We slept at Javanese House on the harbor and the next day we left for Panaitan Island on a fishing boat.
Until then, I just knew that the wave was really hollow and shallow and that’s it. But on the way Hector Diaz, the professional bodyboarder from Puerto Rico who used to compete on the world tour and is now our filmmaker started to tell me more about his last trip to Turtles (a wave close to Panaitan) he had nine stitches in his head on the first day. So I just ask him .do you have a Doctor’s kit? Do you have the things to do stitches in case I’m in need? Yes we have was his answer. So I start to be comfortable with the idea…because I never had stitches before.
We got to the spot at 6:00 in the morning together with the beginning of the swell. I was so exited with the view and to be there just one in the water and the swell starting to hit the point I could eat and wait for no one. Jump in the water to learn about the waves, coral bottom reef.
The tide doesn’t show a lot difference like in Ulus. Was full moon and I was surfing in the low tide in the shallow west Java. The swell was getting bigger and in a perfect direction and windy. So I got the first the second and the 3rd wave. I was to deep in the take off and also in the barrel and I went to shallow reef, opening a roll on my left knee.
I went to the boat to clean and close knowing that I need some stitches but was too deep and we need to come back to the village (Sumur) to try find some doctor to have a look first.
I found a Javanese woman in her house and she gave me stitches and at the same day we went back to one Palm point and the swell was pumping!!! Long and deep hollow barrels.
Unfortunately I just watch and learn more about the spot but Rebecca Cruz and the crew was having a good and tense session. It was a dream. The wave was so perfect like a picture in the magazine.
In the beginning was 4 boats, us, another with a France crew who one of the bodyboarders got hurt and they gone. The another boat with 3 Puerto Rico professional surfers and the another was a American frequent visitor since 96, David from California with two Indonesians surfers from some island close and us who get the afternoon just by ourselves.
Hector , Alvin and Rebecca getting deeper in the tubes Mark and Gustavo “JP” from Puerto Rico getting deeper with the surf boards. Everyone got stuck and also a little tattoo from the local reef.
The end of the day we watch the sunset and the footage.
In the night the swell drop and in the next day the waves were smaller and another session. After everyone went diving to see the beautiful colorful reef in One Palm Point.
We stop behind Panaitan Island to have a dinner and sleep and in the next day we left to Sumur were we finish the boat deal and got two local drivers to get in to Jakarta
The trip back was fun and interesting looking the local people and cultural stuff. We stop to have a lunch in a local spot really close to the River and them strait to Jakarta. When we got in Jakarta we realize that the drivers was lost and having a hard time to get in to the Airport but everything end up good and we got there.
Good waves, times, friends and experience! This is what you always get in the surf trips.
Rebecca and Karina