07/07/2023
Hi Cara, Greg , True Blue and Surf Travel Guru
Apologies that it has taken so long to respond to your query; it feels like a lifetime ago now and yet I am still constantly thinking about the trip we just had…
You asked for some feedback:
Boat – very comfortable, stable in rougher seas – we watched some of the monohulls and they were swaying all over the place. After experiencing the stability of the Cat, that would be my preference in future.
Crew – were legendary and extremely attentive. Over time we got to know them and understand communicating with limited language & understood their respective characters. It became uncanny how they were able to produce whatever it was that we were looking for (rashie, board, towel, omelette etc.) without any verbal communication or fuss. Truly intuitive and Moose has them well trained. Apart from Alex the tinny (Auzzie for small aluminium boat) driver who was kakked out by Moose a couple of times for risking the boat in rough areas…! Seriously, he was awesome and a welcome sight after a long session.
Food – really generous portions, good variety and we were all amazed at the constant work involved in feeding 18 people 3 meals a day. The dessert kept coming – who would have thought icecream in the middle of nowhere was even possible. The Beng Bengs got a good working over and I think that by the end of the trip we were all fans..pity you can’t buy them in Oz.
Moose – was a fantastic skipper, he definitely knew the area well and was able to get us into uncrowded surf on many occasions. We knew that it was high season and for the number of people and boats around, we did well to score a couple of sessions with just our boat in the water. Moose provided a lot of comfort around his ability to skipper the boat, find us waves and he ran a tight ship with the crew. None of us will forget all of the crew out with sponges and soap in a massive downpour giving the boat a scrub down, or two of them in life rings in the water with scourers cleaning the water line… Moose was easy to talk to and had numerous interesting stories and anecdotes from his time in the islands. A good human being.
On the whole, it was a great experience and by far the best boat and skipper / crew that I have experienced to date. The right balance of comfort and action I think and Moose was motivated by surfing himself which made all the difference – no lounging around in luxury pretending…
Thanks for all of your work arranging the trip, I am sure it can be a thankless task especially when we all get back and head off to our daily lives.
I’d be keen to do another trip with them sometime – my wife has already suggested that I make it a “regular” thing…Grant has not stopped reminding me that we need to plan the next trip..
The Cape Town and USA Crew were very cool guys and we got on well I think so credit to Greg B for connecting us.
Thanks again, I really appreciated all the effort that went into the trip.
Cheers Jeff – Mentawai June/July 2023