CHARTER FIFTEEN // 29 SEPTEMBER - 9 NOVEMBER // 2003

Passengers: 
Bob Lemon, Peter English, Rob Elliott, James Hamilton, Chris Desmond, Ralph Guderiahn

The Lemon was stripped bare. Gone was the golden green of a swayed crossing.

Gone was the sturdy fibreglass. Gone was da chunk of foam. The Lemon Stripped Bare - a meta-phor the voyage.

Selemat stirred the batch of resin and filled eloquent Bob's dinged board. It was the first day of another "Old Bastard's Tour'. Some had been seasick, most had hit the reef, 2 fins had been snapped out. Was this why the Captain should have started the tour at a somewhat softer reef break? Stuff that! They were on their own and the waves were perfect, and the lads were getting right back into dormant memories - board shorts, blockout, and surfing their brains out!

And so began the November shuffle. Looking for the waves and new equatorial summer swells.

"No Pete, I don't want to ride your mini mal!" yelled the Captain as Pete hung 5 past him on one of the smaller lefts of the trip·..giggling like a grommet. Was that a Quasimodo that Rob just pulled? "No I don't want to have a go!" At least Hambo's riding a normal board and certainly throwing it around. Chris won't get out of the bloody water and Ralph's cruising past on his ····. Aaarrrgghhh MINI MAL!!!!!!!!!!! As for Bobby Jeruk·..knee-boarder, that rare breed of surfer, a class unto their own. Off the bottom, top, always in the pit·.a forgotten question·.Are you a goofy footer or natural footer?????

An all round classic late season trip. A particularly weird thing happened, we came across of floating pallet full of Heineken beer. Can you believe that? The World Cup and all!!!!!

A special mention to my wife - B - who not only put the boy's little present together but began catching waves and feeling the pulses the Indian Ocean has to offer - she wanted to say sorry to Ralph yet again·.she didn't see you.

Old surfer trips never die, they just take the boat in November!

CHARTER FOURTEEN // SEPTEMBER // 2003

Passengers: 
Tony Warrilow, Stephen Blakey, David McGroder, John Allen, Kate Skarrat

I was just stoked John and Belinda were at the airport to pick us up. I pictured them in Honeymoon bliss, playing scrabble in Phuket and forgetting about the charter. But then again, John is the 'Office' Manager and its time to get back to work. Our first contestant, David McGroder, John's fire fighting brother. Second, Belinda's fire fighting brother. The hose control between these two is spot on. Tony, 'the Wildebeest' Warrilow the next contestant was a werewolf photographer extraordinaire. The beauty of the group, Kate Skarrat, a professional surfer from the Goldie. And of course there was me·.John Allen·the 'consummate seppo' as the captain put it. The adventure began amongst feeding sailfish in the Padang Harbour. Rinsing the aeroplane grime and our previous existences away at a picturesque nearby island, we were ready for the overnight crossing. The ensuing days, we surfed ourselves senseless, dragged our lures and mixed the Bintangs with Heinekens. We are on holiday aren't we? Just checking! It wasn't long until we had nightly slideshows, compliments of Tony's technology. Feasted on Elvis's culinary creations (my favorite being the BBQ Spanish mackerel with a rich green curry sauce - EPIC!) and doctored various ailments. Selemat's passion for fishing is unparalleled and it wasn't long until we were hooking up more than a rock spider in Thailand. Spanish Mackerel, Dog Tooth Tuna, Trevally, and even a barracuda.

The swell hit like a Mac truck and our limits were pushed. The captain pushed us deeper and we saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Mangrove missions, and snorkeling entertained between free fall take offs, and heart pumping rail-grabs. We are still on holidays, aren't we?!!!! Kate had to leave the party to compete in the Quiki event in France (WIN FOR THE BJ). We had lost a team player, so we were forced to drink heavily and jump off the top of the boat naked (well I was)! Dodging other boats in a Mentawai game of chess, we were surfing alone once again. The Wildebeest landed the fish of the trip, Steve soul arched into another barrel, Dave claimed he wasn't going to drink tonight - but did. And, I, well I relaxed on the deck and listened to The Clash. God Bless Joe Strummer. Just another day in Paradise. Above all, this trip allowed us to get back to the basics - wearing no shoes, breathing fresh air and just surfing. Is there anything else??????????????????

CHARTER THIRTEEN // 27 AUGUST - 3 SEPTEMBER // 2003

Passengers: 
Helmie Tilders, John Paraman, Mark Paraman, Eddie Godfrey, Gavin Ruddolph, Jason Reynolds, Ashley Walter, Ross Lindsay.

This trip we had some of Jefferies Bay legends on and they were keen for some big swell, unfortunately the biggest waves we had were 5" Franklins, it was a good session though, as we had it to ourselves and it felt great to get into some bigger waves after 3 days at Burgers, perfect burgers mind you but who come to Indo to surf that? The trip had plenty of keen fisherman and sailors onboard and we caught every species of fish that Mentawai could offer, the highlight being the 25kg Wahoo that Selemat our deckie caught, Ross scored a great sailfish also and released it. Other highlights were Eddie amusing us with the amount of shit that he bought and Gavin's ability to keep his hair perfect and Marky's attempt not to have a beer before lunch. The Boys weren't happy to hear that the biggest swell of the year hit as we anchored back in Padang, anyway they will be back in 2004 to try again. I had a great time skippering the BJ.

CHARTER TWELVE // 6 AUGUST - 18 AUGUST // 2003

Passengers: 
Brain "Will" Williams, Dewi Williams, Edward Graham, Jason Quinn, Neil Croft, Carlos De Limo Maia

Our last trip before B and I headed home to tie the proverbial knot. Will was to take the next trip and was aboard for a training run, catch a few waves and hang out with his wife, Dewi. The winds blew, the waves tubed and Carlos, our first ever Brazilian, kept us entertained with friendly stories from his homeland. Jason, another of those kneeborders, dug his fins in and carved on. Neil and Edward cruised with us on a very relaxing journey.

On the last night the winds changed and we all had a bonding experience at our new found island where we went night diving, weight lifting, and coffee tasting. Special thanks to the Sans Souci for her participation in our merry morning.

CHARTER ELEVEN // 23 JULY - 4 AUGUST // 2003

Passengers: 
John "JP" Powell, Damien "Ollie" Oliver, Sean "The Machine/The Hulk" Moore, Tony "Precious" Marquardt, Carlo "Carlos" Lowdon, Denny "Dan" Stocca, Ashley "Ash" Kelleher, Reece "McLeod" McLeod

It's always good finding a quiet wave to yourself out here amongst the madness. Even better when that wave is throwing some 5ft perfection down the reef. Ollie took the wave count here·wave after bloody wave. It was the last 2 days that culminated the charter into the epic category for waves. We were already satisfied with what we had surfed. But those lefts on the last day had to be seen to be believed.

We caught no fish till the last day. There was one of B's bikini tops for the voted moron of the day award·.had to wear it in the surf for an hour. Brought some strange looks from other boats. A good old egg fight with the Santa Lusia. The battle went our way when JP let forth with a volley eggs that had him staring in the upcoming movie·"The Eggs of Macarone". Denny took the wipe-out of the season, bounced off the reef then scored one of the best barrels of the season.

And we all got rocked to sleep on the way in.

CHARTER TEN // 9 JULY - 22 JULY // 2003

Passengers: 
Jason Hoey, Danny Hoey, Matt Loughran, Tony Prat, Paul Walker, Stuart Gregory, Jamie Spivey, Bryce Cosdon

What would posses 8 men to leave Jacksonville, Florida and venture into the wilds of Indonesia aboard a boat for 12 days?????

Now these blokes are different.

There was plenty of blood, tattoos, musical instruments, weird haircuts, fish, and an armadillo. We surfed by a setting full moon, dived beneath the sea, had a rock concert aboard Mangalui, sipped on Stu's homemade coconut daiquiris, as well as listened to some good'ol stories·and we even surfed some bloody good waves.

One word to sum this trip up·.."BOOYA!!!"

CHARTER NINE // 27 JUNE - 7 JULY // 2003

Passengers: 
Mike Dolan, Dennis Ferguson, Jeff Fieldson, Rick White, Jonathan White, Travis Foellmer

Unfortunately, Mike's bag was misplaced at the airport and I had to lend him a pair of Bondi Beach Speedos to surf in. He was not really into the 'sluggo' look so we donned him in some boardies and let him surf.

Jeff is part of that rare breed of surfers·a kneeboarder. There are plenty of names for these guys, but they are all hardcore and surf the waves really well. Jeff was no exception. Both he and Dennis showing the young blokes what a surf trip was all about.

Our first bunch of Americans for the year. Travis' goofyfooting hours surpassing everyone's surf time. The lad also landed a 14kg Mahi-mahi.

Rick was a proud dad, helping his son, Jon, celebrate his 18th birthday aboard, as well as watching him surf day in and out. Elvis made his first batch of ice-cream on this trip to accompany the birthday cake.

CHARTER EIGHT // 16 JUNE - 27 JUNE // 2003

Passengers: 
Luke Duggan, Daniel Haggerty, Matthew Haggerty, Terrene Black, Eli Soper, Robert Coote, Phil Coote.

These people scored·big time! It could have something to do with collective karma or the fact that they are from the Central Coast of NSW, a surf mad community that always seems to get good surf whenever they venture into the Mentawai Islands.

It started off with a bang at one of the better lefts and a new clean swell that had the crew all over it. They all held their own at this left and any other spot we took them to. The trip was all about the surf. 3 solid swells in 10 days. You cannot ask better than that. Such a contrast from the previous trip.

CHARTER SEVEN // 8 JUNE - 15 JUNE // 2003

Passengers: 
Ted Grambeau, Kai Neville, Shaun Cansdell, Koby Abberton, Mark Mathews, Dane Beevor, James Wood, Clinton Kimmins, Brooke Sylvester

It was to be our big promo tour. We had the best photographer in the world, we had the Bra Boys, we had fish, we had reef cuts, we had some bloody hot surfers·.but we did not get the surf. 7 days just was not enough time. In the end it did not matter. It was a particularly lean time for waves. The guys were all cool though. Patient as for surfers on a photo trip. We did land a nice sailfish and caught enough to keep us in a feed. Lots of stories and Beevor's birthday bash·he always seems to have his birthday on boats, coincided with the full moon and a few bintangs. Everyone made the best of what was on offer. That's surfing!

CHARTER SIX // 14 MAY - 26 MAY // 2003

Passengers: 
Nathan Edwards, Fletcher Green, Brad Potter, John Robertson, Nigel Mills, Shaun O'Callaghan, James Stevenson, Dean Loane

As the biggest Low pressure system brews in the fabulous Fifties and the Sou-east trade winds kick in for the first time this winter; we prepare to hoist the sails and head back to Padang. If I could only get them out of the water. The boys will probably get the swell back home in Torquay. I wonder how much the wetsuits will dull the memories of this charter·..

The lack of crowds, the perfect day at the perfect right with a couple of 'Ferals' and the chances to make that barrel again and again and again, Scotty's big Barracuda or Napalm's Spanish Mackeral, and Owie's Cod made nice fish and chips.

What about the flotsam in the line-up at the start of the trip. Getting dropped in on by trees. The reef never poked its teeth out of the water on the supposed lowtides. One has to wonder if the islands are sinking quicker than anyone realises. Does this mean that the mean waves will become more of a pleasure to surf?

Fletcher and Millsy's surf time was right up there, no matter where they surfed or how many sharks they spied. Should I waffle on about the perfect Lefts, rights, the March flies or the all in sing-a-longs on the beer deck, the starry nights, the full stomachs, or the mozzie zapper····..

Rather just say thanks to the lads. Bloody good fun.