Finding Macaronis

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Swellnet Dispatch

This interview was originally published on Swellnet in 2009. To see photos of the first time the Mentawais were surfed click here.

After Bali was first put on the surfing map in the early 1970's the pioneers of Indonesian surfing slowly started peeling back the frontiers of the wave-rich nation. They ventured east and west along the archipelago to find waves that had never been ridden before: Bill Boyum and Bob Laverty discovered Grajagan in 1973; Kevin Lovett, John Geisel and Peter Troy landed on Nias in 1975; Paul King layed the first tracks in Sumbawa during the mid-80's.

In each of these instances word quickly spread through the surfing world and surfers headed - first in trickles, then in swarms - to the new locations, each hoping to get their own slice of the magic. The hordes of subsequent surfers often pushing the original pioneers deeper into the remote regions of Indonesia to discover even more great waves.

However, every now and again an expedition didn't tip-toe into the dark but rather, took a giant leap into the unknown. The distance they leapt measured by how long it took other travellers to discover their footsteps. In the following case, the pioneers were three young surfers from Sydney who set off to Indonesia in 1980. They surfed the Mentawai Islands a full ten years before Lance Knight - after whom Lance's Right was eponymously named - journeyed there. In truth, the time it took for others to discover the Mentawai's says as much about the group's ability to keep their discovery quiet as it does their pioneering spirit.

In 1980 Chris Goodnow, Scott Wakefield and Tony Fitzpatrick were all twenty-years-old and up for a bit of adventure. They ended up being the first surfers to set foot in the best surfing region on the planet. And in Macaronis were the first to ride what is one of the world's great lefthanders.

Swellnet: What part of Sydney were you all from?
Tony Fitzpatrick: I came from Hunters Hill and Chris was from Mosman. Scott was from Curl Curl I think.

How did you all know each other?
Chris is my cousin, and he hooked up with Scott from the beach. The trip was Chris' idea basically. He had the idea that people had been surfing at Nias and from looking at the map that there had to be waves down there [the Mentawai's].

How did you go about getting out to the islands?
We flew from Sydney to Jakarta and on to Padang. From Padang we had to get permission from various authorities to go out there, because tourists just didn't go out there. That took a while because we were getting sent from department to department and Chris was the only one who spoke some Indonesian.

We got a ferry from Padang and stayed at a village on the lee-side of the islands. We had to try to convince someone to take us to the ocean side. It took several days and we had to go to every department again, the miltary department, the police, because no-one had seen surfing before and they didn't know what to do with us. They were like: "Where are you going? What are you doing". Chris had some photos of surfing and he showed them: "This is what we are doing."

When you first found Macaronis did you know you were onto something special?
The first time we saw it it was a bit blown out so it didn't look that good. Then we came back and as soon as we pulled up into the bay it was looking really good.

How big was it?
Six foot. Overhead. I wasn't a very good surfer then so it was pretty heavy. 

And you stayed out at Macaronis?
Yeah, Chris was looking for a perfect lefthander and, well, here it is! There was no village there but we found an old fisherman's hut on the point. It was really primitive with no walls, and half a floor, but it had a roof. We had a couple of tarpaulins with us so we rigged up a couple of walls out of the tarpaulins.

What did you call the wave?
We called it P'Land. The actual name of the point is Pasangan, and there's G'Land, so we called it P'Land. It's hardly original but there it is (laughs). I reckon it's better than Macaronis though. Macaronis is so American.

How did your boards go?
They went well for the other guys (laughs). Chris made all our boards. Or at least he made mine and his own. I had one board, the other guys had two. They were better surfers than me. Scott was a very good surfer.

Before I went I made the mistake of going to a surfshop and telling them that I was going to Indonesia. The guy at the surfshop said "oh yeah, big surf over there, you'll need a big fin." The fin he gave me was huge, like a keel, I couldn't turn the thing. It took me ages to figure out that it was the fin. At the time I thought it was just me.

Well at least you had something to blame, that's always good!
Yeah. We also had no booties. The first wave I took off on at Macaronis I hit the bottom. I just got launched and hit the reef. Cut my leg a bit. Eventually all the cuts got infected. If we got injured we were days away from any help. If we needed to get back to the village it would've taken at least two days in the boat. There was a logging operation on the island run by Germans. So we thought that if we got desperate we'd get them to fly us out (laughs).

And did any of you speak any German?
No.

How long did you stay on the point in total?
I stayed a couple of weeks. After a couple of weeks staying on the point we packed up and kept looking for waves. Then I left the other two guys and kept travelling while they went back to Macaronis for a few more weeks.

When you went in search of more waves which direction did you go?
North.

So you would've gone near Lance's Right?
Yeah, we went past it.

Were you aware there was a good wave there?
No, it was a bit onshore at the time. We went in and stayed on the beach but we didn't surf it, we just kept going.

Did you find many other waves to the north?
Yeah, but nothing like Macaronis. We surfed a few waves though.

Have you been back to the Mentawai's?
No, never. Chris went back out there the following year and stayed in the same hut. I don't think he had the same experience. There was only two of them and I don't think the surf was as good. He went back again four or five years ago and was shocked by the number of people out there.

It was ten years between when you guys surfed it and Lance Knight passed through. Other waves had large crowds within five years of them being discovered. Why wasn't that the case for Macaronis?
We were very good at keeping a secret (laughs). Although I couldn't say anything, Chris would've killed me. He said we're not allowed to tell anyone. Like no-one. So I got home and had to tell people: “No. No waves”.

Actually, I left Chris and Scott and kept travelling up through Asia, but I gave Chris the film. When I got home he had developed it and taken out every photo with a wave in it. Friends and family were telling me: “It looks like you had a great trip, shame you didn't get any waves though”. And I couldn't say anything (laughs).

Do you have any thoughts on the current state of the Mentawai's?
Well that's one of the reasons why I wouldn't go back, I'd be dissapointed I expect. Chris has told me that he pulled into Macaronis and there was about five boats there. They were all chucking out five to ten mad keen surfers.

You don't think you guys should get some sort of priority treatment because you discovered it?
Ha, you tell guys that've paid $5,000 that I'm going next (laughs). I expect they think we've had our share.

Does that trip have special significance for you?
Yeah it does. Not that we knew it was going to turn out to be the place it is. When you're twenty you go 'I've done that', and it's not till years later that you reflect on it. But it was a very good trip. Very intense though.

We kept it quiet for a long time. Like we didn't come home and say we've found this great wave and plastering photos everywhere. One or two of the photos have actually been used in an article but it was with a fictional story. No-one knew where they were taken. Not even the country.

What are the other guys doing now?
I haven't seen Scott for years but he worked in the finance industry back in the 80's and was quite successful. I think he's semi-retired on the north coast. Chris lives in Canberra but he jetsets all over the world giving lectures. He's got a house down at Bawley point so he surfs down there a bit. (Editor's Note: Chris Goodnow is a Professor at Australian NU and is one of the worlds leading immunologists. In 2009 he was inducted into The Royal Society, a community of eminent scientists established in 1660)

And yourself?
I work as a doctor in the local hospital here in Nowra. I still surf Green Island occassionally.

See the photos here.

Comments

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Friday, 27 Jun 2014 at 10:37am

What an awesome experience, imagine rocking up and not knowing if anyone had ever surfed this perfect wave you just found.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Friday, 27 Jun 2014 at 10:51am

Brilliant!

What an amazing interview. I'd imagine they'd be met with skepticism though 'oh yeah, I discovered Macaronis'.

'Yeah mate, sure'.

I have a couple of mates that did Sumbawa in the early to mid eighties. They have this wobbly Sony handycam footage of Periscopes rifling off at 6ft, insanely perfect and totally empty. What a time to be there.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Friday, 27 Jun 2014 at 10:55am

Have you seen the photos though Zen?

https://www.swellnet.com/photos/swellnet-sessions/finding-macaronis-photos-first-surf-trip-mentawais

These fellas have the proof! (Think Chris must've given back the surfing photos)

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Friday, 27 Jun 2014 at 11:12am

Sure did Stu. Kudos to them for keeping it quiet for so long.

Are there any areas in Indo left? You'd have to think Micronesia would be one of the only areas left to find a warm water P-Land?

Revelator's picture
Revelator's picture
Revelator Friday, 27 Jun 2014 at 4:24pm

What an adventure, and great to finally see those photos. Thanks for publishing. I've known about this story for many years via Chris Goodnow (worked in the same lab once upon a time). As your interview confirms, they kept it on the down-low for a long time...

Btw, Chris is an absolute champ- a great guy, and one of Australia's finest scientists. He's not a household name yet, but I reckon he will be, he's discovered some of the most fundamental and important aspects of how our immune systems work. Glad he still finds time to hit up the surf.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Saturday, 28 Jun 2014 at 7:08am

It's an amazing story, eh? One of the world's great waves was discovered, not by a hardcore surf bum funding his way with dubious means, as is often the case, but a scientist in training during uni holidays.

And jeez, I just went a looked at his Wikipage. If discovering Macaronis wasn't enough how's this list of achievements!

Academic History

1979-84: Training in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney
1983: B.Sc.Vet research, "Cellular and Molecular Studies of Kappa Myeloma Antigen", Clinical Immunology Research Centre, University of Sydney, with Dr. R.L. Raison.
1984: Graduated, University of Sydney, B.V.Sc. Hons I, and B.Sc.(Vet) Hons I and University Medal
1985: Visiting Student and Research Assistant in the laboratory of Dr. Mark M. Davis, Dept. of Medical Microbiology, Stanford University Medical School
1985: National Health and Medical Research Council Biomedical Scholar, Ph.D. research, "A transgenic mouse model for self-tolerance in B lymphocytes", Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, with Professor Gustav JV Nossal.
1986-89: NHMRC Biomedical Scholar, Ph.D. research, "A transgenic mouse model for self-tolerance in B lymphocytes", Clinical Immunology Research Centre, University of Sydney, with Associate Professor Ronald J. Trent and Professor Antony Basten.
1989-90: Medical Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, Clinical Immunology Research Centre, University of Sydney, with Professor Antony Basten.
1990-97: Assistant Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute & Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University Medical School
1992-95: Searle Scholar
1997: Professor, Director of Medical Genome Centre, Australian Cancer Research Foundation Genetics Laboratory, The John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University
2007: Professor and Head of the Division of Genetics and Immunology, The John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University

Goodnow has served:

on the scientific advisory board of Illumina Inc, a genetic analysis technology company; and
as founder and chief scientific officer for Phenomix Corp, a private biotechnology company.

Honours

1979: John Gurner and Frederick Ebsworth Prize for Biology, University of Sydney
1984: Honours Class I with B.V.Sc. degree; Honours Class I and University Medal with B.Sc.(Vet) degree
1986: National Health and Medical Research Council Biomedical Research Scholarship
1989: Medical Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
1992-95: Searle Scholar
1998: American Association of Immunologists/Pharmingen Investigator Award
2005: Australian Health Ministers Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research[4]
2006: Australian Research Council Federation Fellow
2007: Ramaciotti[5] Research Award
2009: Elected a Fellow of the The Royal Society, the UK and British Commonwealth academy of science (confirmed 2009-05-15[1])

surfchaser's picture
surfchaser's picture
surfchaser Tuesday, 1 Jul 2014 at 10:46am

"Macaroni's is so American..." Hahahaaaa... Uh no, it's actually Italian, but I digress.

What a great story. Wish it was me!

indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming Wednesday, 2 Jul 2014 at 5:49pm

Its always a great read this interview and pics, IMO these guys defiantly have best claim to being the first KNOWN surfers to surf Macaronis and possibly the Mentawai's especially as there is pics (not here) but in other articles with dates/stamps from paperwork printed in some pics.

While i i think its extremely unlikely that Lance knight was the first to surf HT,s (15 years after Nias was discovered and ten years after these guys surfed Maccas) especially to think Martin Daly just happens to be pulling into the bay in the same period of time.

IMO its crazy to think that other surfers would not think in the same way these guys did after Nias had been discovered in 75 and not look at a map and think there must be similar waves out there in the Mentawai's and HT,s is located near the tip/point of a large island the first obvious place to look for waves.(at the tips of islands)

Personally I reckon like the rest of Indo guys would have been looking and searching every bit of swell exposed coast looking for the next Nias or G-Land or Ullus, for all we know there is guys out there that discovered and surfed many waves in the Mentawais but didn't take photos or haven't come out to claim it, i guess we may never really know.

I know people may say, yeah but the local(think his name Hussain) he stayed with there, says he was, but in my experience and with all respect Indonesians will often tell you often what they think you want to hear rather than the truth.

Interestingly the old guy who is the original owner of the land Maccas resort is on, previous to this story coming out some years back actually claimed two other guys were the first surfers in the area at a much later date i believe late 80,s which goes to show you cant always believe what the locals tell you, i believe they were Americans, from memory one named Dan.

Im not sure if it was the same guys but i also heard the story, that Macaronis got its name from guys camping out and living off Macaroni and looked out across the bay into the barrels and noticed the similarity in shape.

BTW, there is actually a lot more western history in these areas like Maccas then you may think, locals say there is Dutch ship wreck in the lagoon behind maccas somewhere and if you go into the bush behind the swamp and wave, you can clearly see remains of the build up of a road the dutch built that must have been a very long time ago as there is now big trees in the middle of the road, not sure what the roads were for, perhaps logging, but believe the Dutch were quite active in the Mentawais when they ruled Indonesia.