Text: Lorca

Before finalizing this issue our Surf Time photo library was overflowing with stacks of quality images shot this August during the Rip Curl Pro Search Somewhere. Choosing between them was challenging; sorting through them was captivating. When you have to pick between photos of surfing’s biggest names making perfect waves look better than ever, narrowing down the selection becomes a difficult task because they all look so sick. Running all of them would take a whole other volume to fill, while choosing an A-shot to drop due to space constraints can be a perplexing decision that could drive one mad.

You can’t open a surf magazine these days and not see perfect Indonesian waves gracing its pages. Surf videos seem incomplete without an “Indo” segment. Indonesians, once hesitant to venture beyond waist deep in the sea, are now making careers in the surf world from riding waves. The Bali-based surf industry is flourishing and extending the stoke further through Southeast Asia, discovering new waves and markets in the process. Overall it made sense to hold a professional surf contest in Bali where surfing is held in high regards by businesses, visitors, and more importantly, the Indonesian people.
The general consensus from pros like Taj, CJ, Mick Fanning, and more is that the Rip Curl Pro Search Somewhere contest was cool. What was also pretty cool was to see these surf celebrities around town at various locales. The Balcony restaurant in Kuta has taken over where Tubes once ruled as the surfers’ hangout and was the official nighttime gathering spot. Taylor Steele’s new film “Stranger than Fiction” premiered there with many of the starring surfers present under one roof, hooting for their friends and sharing a Bintang with the locals. Kelly even helped host the Surf Time Awards Ceremony at Kuta’s Ocean Beach Club. Surf breaks in the Bukit, Bali’s East, and Kuta showcased hard-ripping pros putting on command performances daily. Bali was saturated by the surf world and it all seemed to fall into place.

For that busy month of August the magazines came to life in Bali. It was a whirlwind of a time, with Bali’s peak-season people traffic and hypnotizing nightlife adding extra dimensions to the picture. And then, just like a day of peaking Padang swell, it was gone. Gone on a jet plane out of Ngurah Rai Airport to prep for the next stop on tour. Gone with the wind back to the pages of those monthly magazines and surf films that keep the surf fire fresh. Gone back to that profile on your Fantasy Surfer webpage. Bali handled its international guests like the warm tropical host that it is, coming through with waves without hassle or problems, stoking everyone out in the end. All that remains are these images carefully picked by Surf Time for you to relive some peak-season wave action.