CHARTER THREE // 28 MARCH - 8 APRIL // 2009
Passengers:
Andrew Read, Tim McGuigan, Richard Edmonds, Richard Rogers, Steve Blackmore,
Rob Couriel, Neil Starke, Peter Botterill, and Greg Anson.
So, here we were back again on the mighty Barrenjoey - Lookin' bloody spicko after its latest refit.
It's all feelin' pretty comfortable with plenty of memories flooding around the team of previous adventures. The swell is not so big on departure so we head off for guaranteed waves at Spot X. They ended up being exceptional, 3-4 ft as good as it gets. A great way to get into the Indo grove.
Sick of right handers the lefties wanted some action so of we went to Spot Y, Z and U. The swell hit with some seriously magnificent 3-5 ft clean waves. Barrels everywhere (did I mention to ourselves?). Everything was going off.
Fishing was all time (caught that Dolphinfish I had been trying to get for 4 years!) and the Joey put on the food like never before. No incidents to report, just a little police gunfight in the bushes retrieving Tim's board from a crazy bush man, but details stay on the boat!
Thanks to Hillzee (capt) and the lads for putting it on. Would we go back you ask? Too late, we are already booked. Stoked!
Andrew Read
CHARTER TWO // 14 MARCH - 25 MARCH // 2009
Passengers:
Chris Duncan, Gary Aitkenhead, Ian Collins, Peter Sharkey, Christopher Russell, Nick Austin, Nick Hogan, Barry Hatch, Andrew Becker, Paul McGroder, John McGroder.
A Typical Day on The Barrenjoey
Well it's all about treating yourself like an amusement park really, one might say. Up with the sun, standing on the deck as the anchor drops in front of yet another perfect wave; world famous breaks which serve up perfect walls of water leaving it up to your own wits, ability and commitment to make of them what you will.
But beware, if only it were that simple! The first obstacle you will encounter for the day is booking sometime in the Head. By the time the first rumblings of that delicious curry you've eaten the night before start to occur Huskisson's favourite son, publican Clash McGroder will have tap danced his way in there to take care of business over a couple of photography magazines before settling down for his first DVD for the day. His brother Cannonballs 'Booties are for Wimps' McGroder is normally long gone by this stage, a mere silhouette in the early morning light ripping the water off the first of his 50 off perfect left handers for the day. Once you do make it into the Head be careful with taking the amusement park thing too far as you may well lose something very precious to you down its throat as when pumped it's as sucky a Bintangs right hander.
You head back up on deck for some much needed fresh air where you will encounter a fairly muscular chap known as the Kickboxer, never one to take a backward step after a skin full of Laras particularly when the other bloke is halfway back to shore. Beside him, zincing his beak up as a few crabs drop out of his boardshorts you might also find a bloke called Hollywood aka Spongearse, the Chemist or the Sorcerer cackling his way into the day and awakening anyone hoping for a sneaky little sleep in. Anyway, 'you can sleep when you die' says Cannonballs McGroder.
Nearby you might also see a guy pulling on his Cathy Freeman racing hood called Pistol Pete. If you haven't already done so you might wish to wait a little while before putting your board in the water; with the help of the aforementioned he will make the waves seem scarce. When you do, keep an eye out for a couple of guys called Fumbles and Mumbles, a lethal combination. While the slight but swift Mumbles enlightens you with a tale which is no doubt brilliant but impossible to understand, Fumbles will start his paddling for a wave which would otherwise be yours. Then, as you are left scratching your head wondering what the hell he was talking about, Mumbles will deftly snake inside both yourself and his mate Fumbles and paddle onto the wave. But thankfully, whilst one hell of team on ship or land, old Fumbles and Mumbles are quite at odds among the waves. So despite Mumbles' less than obvious cries of "No Gary Go", Fumbles will continue his paddling and perform the first of his many spine chilling drop ins nearly decapitating his dear old school buddy and earning himself the perilous pink rash vest in the process.
For some respite you might like to take in the picture perfect surrounds of some of the world's most famous surf breaks (HTs, Macaronis or Lance's Left) but your vision will be interrupted by a rather tall fellow, Cleo who, as many of the fairer sex around the world have done, you might recognise from his days as a lauded bachelor back in the 80's (he also answers to the name Boom Boom!).
Then a guy you might also recognise, not from a magazine but from one of your favourite action thrillers, will paddle up beside you on one of his endless array of rare and expensive surf craft. It's Bintang Barry, so named for his insatiable thirst for the local brew. Despite having just turned 50 he's one of the fitter chaps on the boat and although sparing with his conversation he's a very pleasant fellow. But don't be fooled by his genteel demeanor, BB is just as ruthless as the others when it comes to catching waves. In his characteristic gentlemanly manner he will usher you onto the first wave in the set, a gnarly close out that will put you right in the squeeze box as the other 3 or 4 waves in the set come crashing down on your head. And you will look up from your fear and loathing to see BB surf by smiling gleefully whereupon he might even wave to you as you check into the coral hotel and receive a couple of reef tattoos for your troubles.
So to escape all this lunacy you might like to relax with a quiet spot of angling. Waterlogged and breathless, you paddle back to the boat and slip into a delicious omelet or banana pancake but not before a little guy collects your board which you pass up from the water while he pumps his hips and reprises an 80's dance beat you thought was all but lost (but still obviously gets a fair bit of time in Padang nightclubs) - 'I like to move it, move it, I like to move it, move it...
And so you do, hot footing it onto the Binda Laut with the sweet jingle of an esky full of Bingles not far behind you and the calm fisherman with only one gag, Salamat at the helm. But before you can get away you've got bloody Fumbles, Mumbles, Richo, Hollywood and the Kickboxer sitting alongside you vying for some time on the reel. There goes that idea! But you go anyway because you wouldn't want to miss the catch of the day. So you're sitting around drinking a few Bingles discussing what you've done in the Head that morning and the line gets a hit, but sadly it's not your turn. Instead it's that Fumbles (No Gary Go) guy again who, quite coincidentally, is also the timekeeper for the rotation of taking turns on the rod.
So for half an hour you ride the physical and emotional rollercoaster of pulling in a whopper with Fumbles as he commentates on how it feels to have a fish big enough to pull the whole boat from side to side with it as it runs. Suddenly, just as things seem as though they couldn't get any more hectic, a sea snake tries to claim a seat in the boat and its own share of cold Bingles (can't blame it really). Eventually, you realise that triathlete Fumbles might be as crazy as you thought when it's revealed that what he had on the end of his line wasn't a fish but bloody Gilligan's Island instead. Unfortunately, the Kickboxer's new friends have already set up shop there so Fumbles' claim for local real estate is thwarted.
Just now Richo will start his commentary on the pink again, secure in the fact that he himself has already caught a decent sized fish earlier in the week and so is not a contender for it. But he is swiftly reminded that catching a fish by its tail doesn't really count and pipes down again. The boys assume the thing must have been asleep at the time but this is a question they will save for the captain Heelsy. However, be careful not to ask him too many of those kind of questions as he might fire himself up with a bit of "cap in yo' ass" gangster rap before pulling an aerial and kindly putting a double fin chop in your new board. However, this kind of act rarely goes unpunished on the Barrenjoey and he's awarded the mysterious pink rashy, which claims the young fella by sending him under with a heavy case of Indo flu for a few days.
Maybe a trip to dry land with Hollywood for a massage might be just the tonic you are needing after all these shenanigans. So you head for the surf camp at Macaronis. It's all smiles and light humour when you recognise the trio of Australian, German and Estonian surfers who were stealing all the waves from you that morning. You decide to square up the slate by asking the Estonian, a preacher by trade, what kind of porn he is checking out on his computer. You then decide to break the blanket of silence this has thrown over the room with a little more comedy by asking if the masseur might be willing to give a happy ending. This also certainly doesn't help Barrenjoey/Macaroni Resort diplomatic relations, in fact damages them irreparably, when the young aussie resort manager responds by saying that the masseur is in fact his mother-in-law so a happy ending (and a massage for that matter) is now definitely out of the question. Time to head back to the boat, massageless!
As the day draws to close you'll slip up to the beer garden on the top deck for a wrap up of the day's events, chewing on some mouth watering sashimi and a sucking down a few more Laras in the process. Mumbles will once again have you reeling at the profundity of life when he reminds you when you that you are not here to fuck spiders. In fact, by the end of the trip you'll realise that all this surfing and philosophy stuff is thirsty work as the Bingles case count reaches 55. Then, if you're keen for a little more fleecing and sorcery you might try your hand at a bit of Texas hold 'em in the saloon over a bottle of bourbon, probably not to be missed as it is during this time that you might see the normally measured Cleo open up and pull a few tales from the depths of his war chest.
As you stumble off to bed carefully avoiding the bodies strewn all over the deck you may notice in the moonlight that there's still a guy out there surfing. You look again and he's gone- it must have been a merman you think to yourself. But before you make the cot, keep an eye out for Hollywood's nocturnal alter ego, the Chemist pushing some sort of cure-all on to you in the half light. For any problem you might have - such as the inability to sleep through all the nightmares of having yet another wave pinched by the Kickboxer or Pistol, future relationship problems due to what you saw in the Head's mirror that morning, anxiety over all of the times you've been dropped in on by Fumbles, early onset of deafness you think you might be suffering because try as you might you still can't understand what Mumbles is saying, paranoia due to Richo's pink politicking or some such other common ailment - the Chemist has the answer.
But be careful to read the instructions carefully before taking whatever panacea he prescribes for your particular problem. The wrong pill might see you end up with some deeply disturbing pains the next morning and all of your crew mates sniggering among themselves at breakfast as they murmur to each other the name of a rare but apparently highly entertaining movie called the Donkey Punch.
Yours facetiously,
Geppetto (aka the Organ Grinding Sea Otter)
CHARTER ONE // 1 MARCH - 13 MARCH // 2009
Passengers:
Neil Croft, Darren Holt, James Maguire, Mike Hartwig, Mark Kimura, Rene Strehler, Quinten Symth, Derek Voorspostel, Ronnie Wong.
First charter for 2009 went off with a bang as a mixture of surfers from very different backgrounds came together.
There were first-timers and hardened Indo veterans. There were the Bondi Boyz V The Manly Maniac (Ronnie) and the LA influence (Mark & Mike) to keep the vibe mellow.
After towing in 2008 Jim showed a new found style which saw him charging anything and everything including some serious "Thunders". Darren (The King of Medan) puffed away two packets a day and managed to get some tube time as well to make his comeback complete after a 10 year lay-off.
Once again the Mentawai Islands produced solid waves every day. Not bad for early March!
By Neil Croft
CHARTER SEVENTEEN // 28 NOVEMBER - 8 DECEMBER // 2008
Passengers:
John Botella, Fionall Botella, Benjamin Botella, Jesse Botella, Flynn Botella,
Pieter Ellison, Sherman Chan.
A surfing family affair to end our 2008 season.
Watching young kids push their boundaries over here is incredible. Watching Ben and Jesse gain confidence and catch some classics. Fiona and JJ getting their share. Uncle Peit enjoying the ride. All part of the stoke. Sherman, the Tank, got his share of waves and photos. A village trip to the local school showed the boys, and us, how children in other parts of the world gain an education.
For me, watching Fynn (3) and Flynn (5), play as only young boys can on a 70ft boat, was one of my 12 years' highlights in the Mentawai Islands. Sword fights, swimming, learning to stand up on the beachies, snorkeling, body surfing (smashing), watching Lilo and Stitch, or just making up games and watching the fish come aboard. They say that the first few years shape a child. I do hope Flynn remembers his time aboard the Barrenjoey. He was Fynn's little shipmate for this trip.
CHARTER SIXTEEN // 8 NOVEMBER - 27 NOVEMBER // 2008
Passengers:
Rudy Dupouy, Robert Mace, Benjamin Legallais, Jean-Luc Eychenne, Benois Aumont, Paul Counil, Galaad Hemsi, Abdelali Belhadj
Ca Ferm Mal!!!!
An extended trip with the Froggies. Galaad brought his camera, but ended up surfing so bloody much it was ridiculous. The camera was handed over to Paul, and he ended up handing it over to Firy and the two Parisans ruled!! Abdul, on his second trip proved the point that coming back a second time was definitely good for your surfing. Robert and Jean-Luc, ventured to our pristine waters from Tahiti. The island lifestyle of surfing, swimming, fishing and relaxing was second nature. As they pointed out, it was the boat aspect that they enjoyed this time. Benoit improved out of sight. Rudy, "La Machine" scored his waves, my waves, every bloody wave. The guy truly is a machine catching everything in sight. His apprentice, Benjamin, followed his lead. And their surfing was superb.
CHARTER FIFTEEN // 225 OCTOBER - 7 NOVEMBER // 2008
Passengers:
Richard MacBride, Ian Wallace, Carlos Tiscareno Jr, Eden Scallan, Philip Leadley, Benjamin Davies, Mark Simpson, Samual Lovell.
Our two American deputies brought their worldly knowledge and air of change on the brink of a new President. It set an auspicious occasion for us unassuming Aussies. A paradigm of aspiration juxtaposed with the irony of the brilliant Bonzer board that Simmo made Deadley (don't ask) ride. Those boards really do go. Smoking Sammy had all the angles down pat both in and out of the briny sea. Carlos stood with one foot in either camp and a middle fin stuck in the face, blasting off! Macca thought it was all bloody good. Bad Benny played soccer with the reef and guess who won. Scall swooped and turned with seemingly aboundless energy and we all wanted that formula. Wal wanted lefts and smashed them on offer. Everyday was NOW and it took its toll.
Thank Beer for enlightenment.
CHARTER FOURTEEN // 11 OCTOBER - 22 OCTOBER // 2008
Passengers:
Michael Green, Brent Clarke, Paul Jones, Jason Ardler, Martin Drysdale, John Stevens, Luke Hazelgrove, Tim McGroder, Steven Drysdale, John Beattie
Initial carnage saw skin left on reef, blood on the deck and some bruised and twisted bodies. Rights and lefts with no names. Luke, Tim, Steve all shining. Brent and Mick on their personal fishing quest. The jibes were sharp those first couple of days. Onward via some scenic spots that had waves to ride. Johnny's long-board fitted snugly on the wally rights. Our other Johnny (how many on this voyage?) displayed a refreshing keenness for whatever was on offer; fishing, surfing, or just plain sipping Bintang. The ski came out down the track and everyone had a taste of tow fun. Paul could not stop grinning, relaxing, and thanking the whining Captain for all and sundry. Jason found his footing and his feet after losing some feeling to a particular hard bit of coral. Marty was doing the waves justice and keeping in tune with the other fellas. Finally our fisherman began to catch, and catch and catch. We found some idyllic waves to ourselves. The relax mode hit reverse. And we had to stop catching fish. Good bloody trip.
CHARTER THIRTEEN // 24 SEPTEMBER - 9 OCTOBER // 2008
Passengers:
Braden Kane, Anthony Summerville, Allan Kelsey, Timothy Badyk, Mark Thomson, Daryl Van Der Graff, Michael Shields, Darren Hawthorn, David Pirie.
Buzzy Thompson had returned with his sidekick, Colonel Onebungwing. Their alter egos, Ren and Stimpy, joined the foray. Gigantor was there to surf, drink beer, and play the part of a Castro Cuban cigar smook'n wise critic taking on Bosun Fynn in an ongoing David and Goliath epic. Constantly reminding everybody that this was as good as it gets. BK had decided to brave the tropics and figured, milking a wave till it ended on dry ref was OK! Allan, kept up the Barrenjoey tradition of accommodating kneelos. I reckon the old girl has seen more "half surfers" than any other vessel in the trade. They are all older blokes and all hard core. Al was no exception. Dave and Tony challenged the waves and came out on top. Mick scored plenty. Daryl re-broke the mal. Plenty of fish were caught and speared. And Fynn became a budding photog. Cheers guys and thanks for the laughs.
CHARTER TWELVE // 28 AUGUST - 8 SEPTEMBER // 2008
Passengers:
Steve Vallance, Will Powell, Tony Warrilow, Paul O'Connor, Matti Scott, Joel Scott, Ben Sebatian, Ron Bateman, Steve Blakey, Annaye Blakey
Safely back from the latest mission to the magical isles off the NW coast of Sumatra aboard the floating home of family McGroder, aka good ship Barrenjoey!
Our hosts, Captn John, wife and logistics manager Belinda, and bubba tow partner fearless Fynn along with crew Elvis, Yudi, Eric and Bang Bang worked tirelessly to ensure sensory overload, empty perfection and laughs aplenty. This year the visiting team comprised yours truly, eldest nephew and recipient of the "Rookie of the Trip" award after memorable HT's launching Will "Aqua Boy" Powell, fellow "Blindforce" founding member, and brother to Belinda, Steve "deaf in one ear how's the body holding up" Blakey together with daughter and renowned Dolphin Pt charger Annaye who took all in her stride (evidenced by HT's barrel weaving captured on film!). Additional crew members included Margaret River charger and pro-photog Tony "Phantastic Wildebeest El Toro" Warrilow (the only person NOT to take a camera - everyone needs a holiday sometime!), Mexican (well Victorian) and fellow 40's something nurofen sponsored ripper Paul O'Connor carving on another vehicle created by master craftsman extraordinaire Wayne Lynch, plus team Cronulla - jousting identical twins Joel and Matti, the smiling master of the casual late drop Ben and provider of comic relief (when released from the infirmary) Glen who amazed all with his newly discovered surfing skills after trading motor-x and snowboarding for surf only 2 years prior! (Smelly Skater can breathe easy that the discovery wasn't made 10 years ago!!).
The trip had all the right stuff - Will burnt the midnight oil to successfully wrap up uni exams and report deadlines with moments to spare to secure the trip as a 21'st gift, Amanda and lil Jack Adam farewelled us amidst hugs 'n tears 'n hurry homes. Qantas club provided G&T liquid refreshments to calm the pre-flight anxiety. Several hours/movies/G&T's later we left the work/uni pressures behind and enjoyed a night in the luxury of Singapore's Goodwood Park Hotel where my folks treated Steve B, Sheardie and I to a memorable feast only a quarter of a century ago whilst we were en-route to our first taste of the wave fuelled spices of the Sumatran islands. An unscheduled rendezvous with Steve B and Annaye at the bus stop to Singapore's budget airline, Tiger Airways, had us belly laughing amidst a bundle of boards and bags ill designed for bus transport. Singapore vs Sumatra, the Malacca Straights a moat separating one world from an entirely different other, the transition from arguably the most efficient to the most chaotic never ceases to amaze - somehow both function. Tiger are superb however don't be fooled by on-line $10 tickets, total cost is ~$300 once you add plane/fuel/seat/belt/bag/sporting equipment (surfboards) - pay all up front to remove check in angst. Padang - immigrasi, queue for visa, pay $25US in crisp clean notes - smile 'n wave boys, smile 'n wave. The Barrenjoey sign bearer complete with transport and tips for baggage handlers greeted us once customs was successfully navigated. Somehow (a word often used in these parts!) we survive once more the hour long, 2 speed (flat out and stop) hand-on-horn drive through the peak hour Padang maze to keenly awaited ice cold long neck Bintangs and mega sandwiches at Christina's Hotel situated on the salubrious Padang canal development. The rest of the team arrived via Jakarta - meet and greets all round and it was time to board the Joey, run through safety protocols and life aboard ship, select a bunk, weigh anchor and set a course. Almost all points of the compass west of the 0-180 degree meridian lead to world class surf from Padang harbor - John set the helm on W by NW for a morning assault on the fabled Playgrounds, a collection of picture postcardesque tropical islets complete with blindingly white coarse coral sand beaches, thick groves of coconut laden palms and surf on all fringing reefs. Motor sailing through the night we awoke to the familiar sound of the anchor chain running through it's hawsepipe and we're greeted by an oily clean ocean the likes of which can only be found in the equatorial doldrums.
First get wet, a fun 3-4' right hand peak - a perfect reintroduction and a great way to wash off travel fatigue. Unleash the 5'8" flying fish quad - yeehah! From here we traveled north, and for the next week were amazed by the set-ups and sheer beauty of the island chain.
Everyday day delivered a variety of waves in the 3-4' range with several days pushing sets overhead. The potential of this area when a solid swell is pushing in would be phenomenal. A major bonus is the lack of other operators - we only saw 2 other surf charter boats the entire time we were up there so were able to enjoy the solitude that these trips should be all about.
With 3 days to spare the signs of a solid swell started to show well to the south - John started roaming the decks muttering about his beloved HT's and the fact that if we motored south we could enjoy several days of the new swell or stay put and maybe get only 1 day at best - easy decision, up anchor, motor south for 14 hours plus and we're in the channel at HT's! Sounds simple but the effort that John, Belinda and the crew put in to getting us to the best waves day after day was just phenomenal.
Sure enough as John predicted the swell arrived, the office started to fire and John put on a show of how the HT's barrel should be ridden. Special mentions go to Steve B for taking on the peak and pulling in to all on offer in a semi-crippled state, Will Powell for hurling himself over the ledge, making it on several beasts and getting back out there after washing across the reef with his tail between his legs, Wildebeest Warrilow for charging through "one of the best barrels of his life", Annaye for showing no fear and slotting a similar tunnel, Paul for keeping me company across the inside bowl and all the lads from Cronulla for having a "Blindforce" style red hot crack!
Asia, paradise you still haunt me...
John, Belinda, Fynn and crew of the beautiful Barrenjoey.
We had an awesome time.
Terimah Kasih Banyak.
Stay safe and look forward to reconnecting soon.
Steve Liberty V.
CHARTER ELEVEN // 15 AUGUST - 26 AUGUST // 2008
Passengers:
David Ryan, Ben Hardy, Mark Neumann, Jon Hastings, Aaron Williams, Dean Andrews,
Glen Nattrass, Scott Kennaugh.
We had a real search on our hands. Sort of went off the beaten track for a while and found Aaron's A-Frame. Mark did not stop fishing, and telling stories the whole trip. Also found the waves to his liking. Johnny thought he was at J Bay on one session. Ben loved the lefts when we found them. Dave kept out surfing everyone. Deano smashed all his boards with pure powerhouse surfing. Glen threw the nugget around like there was no tomorrow. Scotty and Aaron threw buckets. The Gods must be crazy as they gave us enough swell and variety to last the laughs.
