Scared the shit out of me. Beyond my pay grade at that size you really need to be semi pro to not get hurt out there.

Yep.

Yep 100% Zen that's my take on it.

My understanding is in the early days Rifles was known by many as Kandui because although fast and with punch it was still approachable by most surfers when not too big.

Even in the Wave rider Indonesia little book guide from about 2005 it list Riffles then Kandui in brackets indicating this and also list the left as No Kandui, these names & descriptions would have come from one of the charter boat operators.

I remember when the book came out, despite the focus on the Mentawais for a decade with video's and magazines apart from Ht's and Macca's etc even then there wasn't too much written info anywhere even online, i remember being kind of blown away that this book was putting exact X's on maps and conditions waves worked in.

Also noting Kandui resort on that side of the island was also built about 2005, not that that means much as the island is often called Kandui island.

In time Kandui lost favour and Riffles became the go to name as often happens.

While i believe the Left back then was called No Kandui as although a similar wave is heavier and less approachable by most and then seemed to just become Kandui

But i could be wrong thats just my understanding of things.

BTW. All those waves originally had lot of different names depending on the charter boat and then latter resorts, for instance Wave Park was the first camp in the Mentawais and they still call some waves by different names that have never caught on, kind of a bit sad in way as Christie kind of pioneered a lot of those waves that charter boats never bothered with back then.

It seems the names that become popular are normally the ones that get mentioned by media, magazines, video etc or possibly just the better names.

I reckon there would be a good book in the whole history of those islands non surfing and surfing, an intro chapter about the history of local people then Dutch, then the whole discovery of the Mentawais by surfers, and how waves got there names and what other waves were known by and just how things have developed. (base it on wide number of accounts ad interview style in parts, not just one person)

If it's not done within the next twenty years talking to early land guys, original charter boat guys, first land camps, and locals, a lot of that info and history could be forgotten or lost, sae goes for the pics.

I wish my written english skills were better, id tackle it myself and seek out all the stories and early pics.

Ive heard a few different stories from skippers etc on how waves got their names, and some of the first charter boat guys actually started surfing the mentawais by land before they ended up getting involved in the business side off things.

I thought it was Noplengkung?

hmm i dont think its a local name but you never know, the islands name is Karangmajat and other two little islands nearby have names starting with P.

Ha ha thanks.

I dont know if you remember that idea i brought up once ive had of traveling the whole outer island chain in a long boat from south to north, visiting villages etc on the way, and obviously surfing etc

The two ideas would actually combine very well, drop in at villages talking to the elders about when they firsts saw surfers or first surfers that stayed and any good stories, do recorded interviews, which the longer versions could become written form for a book, and then some little snippet of interviews could be included in a doco along with surfing.

Ive actually got a mate that speaks perfect Bahasa Indonesia and is a film maker has some crazy expensive cameras, he is well connected with Indo rippers too, i might have to throw the idea at him, at least plant the seed.

ha ha maybe one day

I haven't surfed Kandui but it looks like it's heavier, less predictable and possibly shallower with a fucekd up end section?

Oh and holds bigger size?

Shit yeah!

Craig Ando on that bomb. Burned into my memory.