Written and photographed by Aidan Pfeiffer.
Simeulue is a reminder of what many parts of Indo used to be like 40 to 50 years ago; small dirt roads, limited infrastructure, plenty of jungle and lots of waves. While there are a number of resorts on the Island, a lot of the island remains relatively untouched.
If you look hard enough, the opportunity for uncrowded gold can still be found. The island picks up the same swells that hit the Ments, Telos and Nias. On one particular occasion last month we were blessed by a 2.4 metre swell. I knew everyone was going to be getting their fix at Dylans right, which is a well known spot on the island, including a particular local who had tried to drive me off the island earlier in the season due to jealousy and greed.
Avoiding Dylans, I knew a little exploration just around the corner would pay off and so I used my intuition and decided to seek this wave solo. Having spent time studying the waves on the island, weather patterns, swells, winds and tides, I knew this wave would be on. With an eager fire in my belly and high froth levels, I grabbed my camera, my board and a box of beng-bengs and headed through the dense Sumatran jungle. When I pulled up in my rusty old silver Toyota Kijang, I couldn’t believe my eyes, eight to ten feet heaving caverns draining from the top of the point for 100 metres or so, I was losing my mind.
As a well-travelled surfer and photographer, it’s moments like this that remind me why I love surfing so much. I’ve never considered myself one to follow the pack, but rather escaping the rat race is a moral I live by and to pull up and see this wave empty was a special feeling. To me, surfing is and always will be about the elements of exploration and the venture into the unknown. Waves like this ignite my love for capturing and sharing such moments.
I studied the wave for a good three hours. I consider myself a good surfer but this was out of my league. The take-off was late and would require anyone wishing to have a crack to knife it under the lip before navigating multiple tube sections across a shall reef. I knew if I could make one it would be one of the best waves of my life, but I didn’t want to risk it alone especially when you are far from any kind of hospital. On this occasion, I was happy to shoot from land.
The wave is super heavy. I have travelled a lot of Indo and have seen few like it. The wave itself is no secret, a lot of the camps here know where it is and drive past it daily but not one surfer rocked up on this day. It was just me shooting an empty spitting right than ran for 100 metres. The shots have become some of my personal favourite line up shots from my time spent on the island.
