27TH DECEMBER – 12TH JANUARY | SUMMER SESSION
Beachy season
2 – 4 FOOT FUN THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE OF WEST SUMATRA.
GORDY AND CO RETURN FOR THEIR ANNUAL “ONE LAST TRIP”….
WEST SUMATRA’S SWELL MAGNETS IN THEIR PRIME.
It’s that time of year where the crowds thin right out and the swell magnets come into play - consistent, fun, dreamy waves.
Before departure the lads requested a few favorites and that’s exactly where we headed.
THE BANTER SQUAD
Put Blacky and Gordy in the same room and you’re guaranteed belly laughs before breakfast. Add Pete and Wayne for backup, then throw in Jimmy (Gordy’s lad) and Boston (Blacky’s grom), and the whole thing runs on full tilt from sun-up to well after dinner.
If someone wasn’t getting stitched up, they were lining up the next prank. Like Blacky’s zinc container - somehow impossible to open every time he went to lather up. Funny how that works.
THE LOTTERY SWELL OF JANUARY
When the charts start flashing 250–270 degrees at 10 seconds, you scratch your head and wonder how you’re going to make something out of it -slop on paper, and question marks everywhere.
We took a chance and positioned ourselves as best we could with some known suitable options….and scored.
During one standout day, things lit up in ways we’ve never seen. Waves breaking where waves never break. First-ever rides, novelty slabs, pumping beachies - all firing, all empty.
NEW YEAR’S MANGO MADDNESS
Lights out by ten, but don’t let that fool you, considering the saying goes “9pm is Mentawai midnight”….
There were still plenty of antics on the back deck. The scotch came out. So did the clippers. Mohawks were the order of the night, even when there wasn’t much to work with on Wayne’s dome.
Some blurry photos from a blurry night…
“If there’s no waves this afternoon it’s lucky we have 6 bottles of duty free to get through”
Gordy
SITU’S FAMOUS LAKSA
Situ’s laksa doesn’t get the airtime it deserves, but it never misses. Rain drumming on the deck, bowls of steaming noodle, prawns and coconut broth…..and the lads nodding in approval like barefoot food critics.
“Today we go to Singapore”
Chef Situ
MAN OVERBOARD
There’s no such thing as a lay day on the Mango. If we’re not poking around empty beaches or trolling behind the Foxy Lady, someone’s finding a new way to keep things interesting.
Cue Jimmy. He hooked into a solid blue-spot GT, rod bent, adrenaline pumping - and over he goes. Straight off the side, still connected. Chaos. Laughter. Controlled panic. That was hilarious!
Side note: The fish was landed, and no Jimmys were hurt.
Special Thanks
To the crew, especially for working through New Year’s, and to Gordy for rounding the boys up for “one last Mighty Mango trip”…. even though there’s already talk of another one…as usual.
Yours truly, Uncle Lip.