The following story by Jack McCoy first ran in the Tracks # December 1980 issue. Additional archive photos have been added.
It’s hard to imagine, but nevertheless very true, that the Indonesian island of Java is the most densely populated land area in the world. An island which is scarcely the size of the state of Victoria is the home for over a staggering 120 million people.
It is also hard to imagine that under these population statistics there could be any spare space for a totally isolated jungle reserve that is the home of Indonesia’s all time “hall of fame” surf spot.
Grajagan is the name of the bay and fishing village on the inside southeastern tip of Java. The southerly point is named Plengkung and it is here that a perfect 2-mile left reef exposes itself to the winter swells that come marching from the roaring 40s towards the Indian Ocean islands of Indonesia. American Mike Boyum was a friend of the late Bob Lafferty, who was the first surfer to go to Plengkung. During some of those early 1972 trips it became apparent to Mike that this was a spot on earth where he wanted to spend some time. After almost nine years, and many Grajagan trips under his belt later, Boyum has set up what some call the ‘ultimate goofy footer’s surf trip. The ultimate surf spot was recently the location to which the American Broadcasting Corporation sent Rick Rassmussen on a TV surfing special. Also, on deck for the 1980 G-land super sessions were Gerry Lopez and Peter McCabe but more of those expeditions later. Since the discovery of the spot in 1971, only a handful of surfers have been sufficiently organised to get there.
The biggest problem with G-land is the point’s inaccessibility. The easiest entry is by boat, either from Bali, from which it is a day and a half’s sailing, or from the fishing village at Grajagan. To get to Grajagan requires 6 to 8 hours overland travel and then a two-hour, funky boat ride to the point. The reason I say funky boat ride is because you are never guaranteed, due to the fierce rips and currents, getting there via either of the channels.
Many an Indonesian prow captain with a never- been-over-a-reef-before expression on his face has taken unprepared surfers for a dunking. Eddy Rothman and Shirley Rogers were with one of that type of captain, who froze at the wheel and killed the motor when he spotted a 5′ set wave. If he had kept the engine running, he would have at least kept the boat in an area out of the impact zone. Instead, the wave picked up the boat and broached it – everyone and everything was in the drink. Food and camera equipment were among some of the valuable things which sank.
I too have had narrow escapes and never feel comfortable at the prospect of going out or in over the reefs at Grajagan.
Even more bizarre tales exist: Ray, Abdhul and Jones jumped on a broken down 16′ Hobie cat and sailed from Kuta to G-land, crossing channels and deep-water trenches which make the journey seem radical, even in a deluxe 30′ motor boat. On a catamaran toy designed for two recreational sailors these early visitors to G-land had three guys and their food supplies and surfboards. Both trips they attempted resulted in near disaster. On one trip they lost the steering gear and on the other they were de-masted. Both incidents resulted in all night ordeals at sea, drifting with the rips, only to be rescued by Indonesian fishermen to live to tell the tale. This year, with Mike Boyum’s return to Indonesia, several excursions to G-land have been made resulting in a handful of surfers scoring some amazing waves.
Among those who have made the trip have been Eddy Rothman, Peter McCabe, Rick Rassmussen, Rory Russell and Duane Webster. While not all of them got hall-of-fame type surf, the break at G-land seems almost never to be flat. As long as the tides rise over the reef and the prevailing offshores blow, one can expect good to excellent surf somewhere along the two-mile reef.
All journeys to Plengkung are adventures and those who enjoy the trip most are those who come best prepared. No one goes better prepared than Boyum who organises food and medical supplies sufficient for jungle survival.
It becomes an art in this place to hide certain valuable stashes from other camp members. Hard to get items like a bottle of beer, a few Tiger’s Milk bars, Honey Logs, antiseptic cream and bandaids that don’t come off in the water, become worth their weight in gold as the days roll by.
The master concealer of all was none other than Boyum himself and he is now writing his book titled “How to hoard absolutely nothing in complete secrecy” but he was forever holding great stashes of Non, Miso, mangoes and other delectables.
However, the most valued delectables are always out front of the camp. Every day we were there as the low incoming high tide brought up the swell, we would watch expectantly, awaiting the time that the water would come in and start the wave peeling on the reef. As soon as it became deep enough to survive wipeouts, we would hit it. For McCabe the last trip of the season (with Lopez) was his fifth of the year and his confidence and knowledge of the tricky reef was apparent. Riding a 5’8″, 7Ib single fin paperweight surfboard, McCabe stole the show consistently. ‘ Lopez later commented “Peter’s timing was right on target. He has the uncanny ability to take off late, race the lip to the bottom, hook into a heavy turn for the tube, go straight up to the lip, whip his board immediately straight back down and edge it again in the slot for a long trimming tube ride. He is extremely exciting to watch.”
While McCabe was doing his vertical manoeuvres on G-land’s down-the-line and drive-it waves, Lopez himself seemed to be forever in the tube. As he gets older his surfing becomes more and more refined. Every day as the tide dropped and the reef became more and more exposed, everyone else would come in knowing their own limits and capabilities. Lopez would always finish up being out there riding by himself, taking the fine line between ecstasy and disaster. From the beach you would see him pulling into 8′ waves, slotting himself perfectly and then tuberiding for 50 yards as the water flowed off dry reef a mere 20 feet away.
Honourable mentions for the 1980 season will also have to go to Boyum himself for getting into some of the choicest waves and longest and deepest tube rides. And to Tom Parrish who survived one trip with nothing but his board and toothbrush — he left his bag back in Bali. Tom would also surf way outside either very early (4.30 a.m.) or very late, to keep from getting cooked by the sun.
As the 1980 season at Grajagan came to a close, one couldn’t help but wonder for how much longer this place would remain a wild frontier in surfing.
Storm Riders will be shown on the big screen once again at the Jack McCoy Film Festival on Saturday 13 September. To purchase tickets, click here.
