June 3rd 2025: Lost in the Ments

One of the best things I love about travelling through the Mentawais with Sumatran Surfariis is their devotion to the spirit of adventure and discovery. Chris Scurrah, or Scuzz, as he is better known, is one of the earliest explorers in this stretch of the Indian Ocean. He's a big advocate for keeping spots below the radar – even refusing to name spots that he or friends had first discovered. 

Over this past week we have surfed so many incredible waves. They have become blurred. Not by time, but by layers of adventures piled upon each other like chapters of a great book. 

We've surfed reef passes and kinks in the reef, sand islands and fringing reefs, deep water frighteningly beautiful waves and playful peaks. One of the lads on-board calls it Disneyland for surfers.

But it's more than that. 

It's a place where you can truly get lost ... but at the same time learn more about your real self – learn who you are and how you react when the ocean tests your fervour. 

See you at the reef ... Derek

PS Our broken board tally now sits at eight boards. Here are five things we've learned from this:
1. Always bring 4-5 board to the Ments
2. At least get extra glass on your step-up boards (if not all of them)
3. New quality legropes for each board and big-wave leashes for your bigger boards
4. Wear-in new leashes and avoid the fancy FCS ones that split open so easily
5. Step-ups should be proper step-ups – paddling in at some spots is paramount – being undergunned is a real compromise in these waves.