A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Tropical archipelago, home to the world's largest Muslim population; regarded since the late 1970s as the world's most wave-enriched nation, filled with a seemingly endless array of perfectly foiled reefbreaks. While cities like Jakarta are crowded, and in some cases blighted, vast portions of Indonesia are lightly populated (less than half of its 13,000 islands are inhabited) and sublimely beautiful. 

Excellent waves are found along Indonesia's entire south-and southwest-facing coastline, with major surfing areas identified by islands, from west to east, as follows: 1) Sumatra and offshore islands, including the sloping tubes of Nias and the wave-fringed Mentawai Islands. 2) Java, including the long, racing, dangerous tubes of Panaitan Island in the far west, and the expansive left walls of Grajagan on the island's southeast corner. 3) Bali, home to the fabled left tubes of Uluwatu and Padang Padang, the sand-bottomed peaks of Kuta Beach, and the open-ocean right-breaking waves of Nusa Dua. 4) Lombok, including the temperamental but exquisite waves of Desert Point. 5) Sumbawa, including the blazing lefts of Scar Reef, the thin-lipped cylinders at Periscopes, and the consistent two-direction waves of Lakey Peak. Many other islands—including Sumba, Timor, Roti, and Sulawesi—have first-rate surf as well, but as of 2012 lacked any kind of visitor infrastructure.

Indonesia receives surf all year, but the most consistent period is the June-to-September dry season, as Southern Hemisphere storms originating in the Roaring 40s regularly produce four to eight foot ground swells, which pour into the islands and are lightly burnished by southeast (offshore) tradewinds. Ten-foot or bigger surf hits a few times each year. The December-to-February wet season brings inconsistent swells, southwest winds, and rainstorms. Spring and fall can take on the characteristics of either the wet or dry season.

Indonesia straddles the equator, and average daytime temperatures range from the high 70s to mid-90s, with water temperatures ranging from the mid-70s to the mid-80s. Sharks and sea snakes patrol the Indonesian reefs, but the great surfing hazards here are overcrowding at the more popular breaks (Uluwatu and Grajagan, for example), shallow reefs, and in some cases extreme isolation. Indonesia's unstable sociopolitical climate has also been cited as a danger for traveling surfers, and the Bali nightclub terrorist attacks in 2002 caused thousands of cancelled surf trips.

Indonesian children have long ridden waves on small wooden bellyboards, and America-born hotelier Robert Koke introduced stand-up surfing to the country in the 1930s at Bali's Kuta Beach. But surfing didn't really take root here until the late '60s, when visiting Australian and American flight attendants began testing the breaks around Kuta. 

Sydney surf moviemaker Bob Evans filmed Nat Young, Mark Warren, and Col Smith riding the Kuta surf in 1971; a few weeks later, Australian Alby Falzon filmed Stephen Cooney and Rusty Miller riding the long lefts at Uluwatu, and the results showed up to reverberating effect in Falzon's 1972 surf movie

. Within three years, Bali had become the hottest new spot for the global surf traveler; local surfers, including Ketut Menda and Made Kasim were meanwhile beginning to pick up the sport as well, and were soon traveling to Australia and Japan to represent their country in international pro contests. 

Joe's Surf Shop, the first of its kind in Indonesia, opened in 1974 in Kuta by local surfer Made "Joe" Darsana; the first Balinese Surfing Championships were held later that year at Legian Beach, near Kuta, and won by Wayan Sudirka. The Bali Surfing Club was formed four years later, and organized the first Indonesian Championships, won by Wayan Suwenda. The OM Bali Pro, staged at Uluwatu, was Indonesia's first pro contest, and was part of the world pro circuit in 1981 and 1982.

Surf travelers began to shift their attention from Bali to the outer Indonesian islands beginning in the late '70s, a few years after waves were first ridden at Java's Grajagan and Lagundri Bay on Nias, near Sumatra. New perfect-wave discoveries were a regular occurrence in the '80s and '90s; surf resorts opened by the dozens (following the lead of the hugely successful camp at Grajagan), and chartered surf tours allowed thousands of surfers to fan out across the island chain, changing local economies as well as the surf world's perception of high-quality surf. The big powerful Hawaiian waves had been the surf world ideal since the late 19th century. Indonesia's thinner, longer waves, it turned out, were more dependable, better groomed, and better suited for high-performance riding.

Two massive earthquakes occurred off the coast of Sumatra in 2004 and in 2005. Both approached 9.0 in magnitude, and the combined death toll from the quakes neared 300,000 people, including people killed by tsunamis that flooded low-lying areas. Many surfing reefs were affected, though the most popular breaks were largely left unscathed. Some islands in the Indonesian chain shifted as much as 20 meters due to the force of the shaking. Many reef systems near Sumatra were thrust upward by several feet, rendering some breaks unrideably shallow, but also improving some spots, such as the long left-hander known as Asu.

As of 2012, Indonesia was home to about 50 surf shops (mainly in Kuta) and nearly 20,000 native surfers. The Bali Surfing Association hosts about 20 amateur contests each year. The Indonesian Surfing Association was formed in 1990, primarily to help organize international events such as the world pro circuit's Quiksilver Grajagan Pro (held from 1995 to 1997), the Nias Indonesian Open (1994–96), the Dompu Pro at Lakey Peak (1997), the Op Boat Challenge (2000–01), and the Bic One Design Challenge (2002). The Indonesian Pro Surf Tour was founded in 2004, and by 2012, Indonesia was host to a handful of high-stakes pro tour qualifying events. 

Balinese goofyfooter Rizal Tanjung, winner of the 1997 Dompu Pro, was Indonesia's first internationally known surfer. In 2012, Dede Suryana and Lee Wilson lead the Indonesian charge. The Indonesian surf has been featured in hundreds of surf movies, videos, and documentaries, and is detailed in a number of guidebooks, including

 Stormrider Surf Guide: Indonesia and the Indian Ocean

Indonesia

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

Videos

Encyclopedia of Surfing

Videos