Nusa Dua on the east side of Indonesia has been phenomenal. Even when there are double overhead sets coming in at Geiger, there are perfect head high, running and partially barreling sets that roll in on inside peaks. After experiencing Nusa Dua, Ry and I are convinced that Bali is also the island of rights. Ryan’s friend Dash and his girlfriend Saskia came to Bali and happened to stay in the same homestay as Ry and I. It was nice to have company in the water. It can be really scary by yourself, especially at a new spot. We had some solid sessions at Nusa Dua at a “secret spot.” It catches a perfect head high to slightly overhead wrap when other spots are double to triple overhead. Dash, Saskia and I had an unforgettable session at the “no-name” break. No one out our first day and only three others the next day when it was bigger, better, and slightly barreling. The waves came in around the corner and developed two peaks, one slightly hugging the peninsula and the other farther down the little bay. Poor Ry however had to sit this one out, again, in the pouring rain. He ended up building a shelter for himself. (pictures will be uploaded soon.) The shelter was actually quite impressive. As soon as he finished however, the rain stopped. We all contemplated on the name of the break “No one allowed, but us, “ or “No ones,” or “Secrets” or “Perfect Right.” Ryan decided the name. Just down from this secret break there was another break called “Sri Lanka,” and Ryan kept calling the secret right “Shangrila,” so we ended up naming the break Shangrila. It was definitely one of the best sessions that I’ve had on this trip.
Saskia and I surfed a little spot near Black Stone, while Dash headed out to a really low-tide, but pumping Geiger. A local called it “The Body board spot.” It was a little small when Saskia and I surfed, but later on in the trip, Hil, Jason and I paddled out and nice, little pitching, right-hander sets came rolling in. It reminded us of Baby Haleiwa, right next to Bamburas at Magic Island, Ala Moana. Awesome for body boarding.
Now comes the crazy, crazy, crazy day at a very special spot called Greenbowls. When pronounced by the locals it sounds like “Green-balls,” so we either call it the Greenbowl or Greenball. It was Dash and Saskia’s first day of surf. Ryan and I wanted to show them some spots and so Greenball was the choice made. “It’s kind of like a Diamondhead,” Ryan exclaimed to Dash and Saskia. I thought to myself, yeah…a Daimondhead South shore O’ahu wave turned into a Mokulei’ia, Quarries, North Shore wave depending on the tide and swell. We arrived at the break. It looked a bit windy and Ry asked if this would be an okay place to jump in or we could venture on to other breaks. Since the tide was getting lower, I pushed to stay since time would be running out. When the tide goes out in Bali, certain spots become treacherous and I didn’t feel like getting caught and be in danger in a brand new spot. Dash, Saskia, Ry and I headed down the 322 stairs to Greenbowls. I’ve had good sessions at Greenbowls in the past and so I was excited to go out. It did look a little bit bigger than before and a little more currenty. Ry and I warned about the rip that ran like a river to the right-hander peak. We all geared up and I quietly said a little prayer to myself for the safety of all of us. The rip took me out very quickly and Dash and Saskia followed. There was a bit of a crowd when we got out there, around 6 Australian surfers. Waves were fun and perfect in the beginning. Solid head-high to slightly overhead sets, nice drops, with a line that curled like a bowl (thus Greenbowls). Around 40 minutes into the session I told Saskia that it seemed like it was getting bigger since the tide was dropping and that I would take the next one in. She agreed. We waited for a few minutes and all of a sudden an eerie feeling came over me. In the back, like way in the back I saw dark bulges, like fat dark hills coming towards us. My heart began to pump and I knew this was it. “Saskia, you need to paddle now! Everyone needs to paddle now!” I got a head start and kicked with all my might. I didn’t care how sore my feet were from any previous day of body boarding, it was my life I was beginning to become concerned about. I looked back, no one was following me or was following very slowly. I kept thinking, did I second guess myself? Maybe it wasn’t going to be that big? Then a monsterous set came and I used every part of the adrenaline that was now fiercely pumping in my heart to kick over the first set. I barely made it over the first wave through the tip of the curl. The other’s were not so lucky. A second one came, then a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth…it seemed bigger and bigger as one by one they came crashing down. It was like the sound of thunder in the back of me. Greenbowls had went from a comfortable 2-4 ft. Hawaiian to 6-8 ft. Hawaiian in 40 minutes! I had never been in a situation like this before, 6-8 ft. Hawaiian was extremely big and I was not prepared for it….I’m not that great of a body boarder! I kicked the hardest that I had ever kicked before to get over each set and felt completely out of breathe. I thought to myself, if any one of these sets crashed on my head, I could not hold my breath, I may very well die today, please help me God. Dash I believe had made it through alright and one other Australian, but Saskia and the rest of the surfers were washed into the rip to the shallow left-hander break on the other side. Dash went to help Saskia and I was on my own…there in the deep blue. I looked back to see how far I had kicked out and it was very far. I slowly made my way back in and tried to stay on the shoulder, but not too far to where the rip resided. I by now was quite terrified, but I tried to calm myself down. “If I panic more, I won’t get in, it’s okay,” I said to myself,” it’s over now, catch a wave in if you can and avoid that rip!” I ended up catching a wave on the shoulder and pushed my weight to the left as hard as I could. Unfortunately it didn’t have enough power and instead I drifted into the dreaded rip. It took 10 minutes of fighting the rip until I got to shore. An Australian guy and I paddled intensely to get out. I finally made it. Ryan swept me up in his arms. “Thank God you are safe, I was so scared for you out there and I couldn’t do a thing, but pray.” “I know, I couldn’t avoid that rip, but I made it in okay and I am so very thankful.” Saskia and Dash finally made it in over the reef and we all plopped down, in the sand with the other Australians stood and looked back towards the ocean from the stairs. We all took deep breaths and pondered about what just happened. All of us looked at each other…”We survived.”
There isn’t any other time in my life where I really thought I wasn’t going to make it out alive. I am truly very humbled at the power of the ocean. I would never want to be in a situation like that ever again. This experience made me want to train better, swim more, and practice holding my breath longer. I guess it’s these kinds of experiences that bring about unique wave knowledge, of which I will definitely carry with me the rest of my life. I definitely learned the hard way! Granted, even though the waves were treacherous, dangerous, double-overhead masses that came through, it truly was a beautiful wave and I got to feel the intense energy of the ocean. I still believed in Greenbowls, so much so that I have been back twice, of which the latter was one of my best sessions…even better than Shangrila! But I now know, that I would never go out on a dropping tide during a new moon! I purchased a woven bracelet that day, blue to remind me of the incredible power of the ocean and waves, yellow, to continue to have hope even after a scary session, red to symbolize what could happen when taking risks, and white to symbolize survival and humbleness. I will wear it for the rest of this trip!
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