Spots in Lombok Island, Part 4

Tanjung Aan

Pantai Tanjung Aan dan Pantai Torok Bare lokasinya bersebelahan. Untuk menuju ke tempat ini jalannya kecil tapi sudah beraspal. Tidak susah, waktu kita kesana bulan September kondisi aspal cukup mulus dan penunjuk jalannya cukup jelas. Sepertinya lokasi kedua tempat ini memang sudah dipersiapkan oleh pemerintah daerah Lombok Tengah sebagai tempat wisata satu paket dengan lokasi wisata Pantai Kute.

Kalau kita lihat di peta yang ada pada umumnya, terlihat hanya satu jalan pantai saja di sepanjang jalur Pantai Selatan wilayah Lombok Tengah ini. Tapi faktanya tidak demikian. Tadinya kita mengira kita akan langsung menemukan Pantai Tanjung Aan ini dalam perjalanan kita ke Awang, ternyata tidak. Kita memang melewati bagian dari desa Tanjung Aan, tapi bukan jalan pantai.

Untuk menuju Pantai Tanjung Aan kita melewati jalan pantai dari Pantai Kute, melewati Novotel dan kita ikuti terus jalan ke Timur. Kita akan temukan banyak sekali penunjuk jalan untuk menuju Pantai Tanjung Aan. Daerahnya cukup berkembang dan tidak sekering wilayah Lombok bagian Selatan lainnya.

Kita penasaran dengan Pantai ini karena kita punya customer di Lombok yang sering windsurfing di Pantai tersebut. Kita benar-benar ingin tahu seperti apa spot di tempat dia. Customer kita ini sebelumnya punya boards yang volume-nya kecil dan layar size 7 meter kebawah. Dia bilang jarang sekali kondisi seperti itu terjadi di Tanjung Aan. Itu sebabnya dia memerlukan board dengan volume besar dan layar lebih besar. Perkiraan saya berat badan dia sekitar 80 kg dan tinggi badan sekitar 180 cm. Dan dia membeli dari kita board 140 Liter dan sail 8.5 meter.

Pada saat kita berada di Tanjung Aan memang kecepatan angin lebih sedikit dibanding kondisi di teluk Bumbang pada hari yang sama (jam berbeda). Kondisi saat itu memang sesuai untuk board dan layar yang baru dia beli.

Note :

Pada saat kita lagi di Tanjung Aan itu kita juga sempat dikejar turis dari Belgia yang penasaran ingin tahu dimana bisa windsurfing di Lombok. Kita juga jadi heran sendiri kok bisa dia tahu kita yang mereka kejar ini windsurfer. Padahal waktu itu kita nggak mengeluarkan peralatan kita dan kita tidak berencana main saat itu karena sudah terlalu sore. Ternyata katanya karena merek yang ada di rushguard yang kita pakai, kita belum sempat ganti baju. Juga karena bulky surf bag yang kita bawa kesana kemari di atas roof rack beda dengan bawaan para surfer. Ada-ada saja. Tapi jadi tahu ternyata merek-merek yang tertera di apparel kita dan kita bawa kesana kemari bisa menunjukkan siapa diri kita. Tidak pernah terpikirkan sebelumnya.

Selain itu kita jadi tahu kalau ternyata masih ada saja orang yang berminat dengan windsurfing padahal sering dibilang bahwa windsurfing itu olah raga yang sudah mati tidak ada peminatnya lagi, sudah tidak trendy lagi. Katanya, semua sudah beralih ke olah raga kitesurfing. Ternyata tidak benar. Pasti para windsurfer setuju, windsurfing adalah olah raga yang indah, fun dan unik yang tidak tergantikan.

Spot in Lombok Island, Part 3

Sekotong Barat (West Sekotong)

Hmm, what can I say.... The owner of this resort at Sekotong Barat is a windsurfer.

Spot in Lombok Island, Part 2

Bumbang Bay

On the way to Ekas Bay (Awang fishing village) we saw a small advertising with beautiful beach picture on it. The content picture of the ads not lies. It is really a hidden paradise. After not succeed reach Awang on the way back to Kuta we decide to see other places. We drove already so far on the damage road we didn't mind anymore to have an extra few meter with the same situation. Surprisingly it is better. From the cross to Bumbang Bay, it is an unpave road, little bit smaller street but smooth and much easier to drive. We just follow the street then we found the gate with the sign of BumbangKu Beach Resort. We just go inside, and everybody look surprised to our arrival. Yes, nobody expecting somebody could coming to that place by car. All the visitors, the staff and supplies of the resort coming only by boat. But the people in this new beach resort are nice, they welcome us, shake hand and big smile.

Bumbang Bay, it is really paradise, quite, peaceful, beautiful. And for windsurf. Here is the measurement of the wind force at that time. Not so bad, isn't it?

Spots in Lombok Island, Part 1

Ekas Bay

East-South East wind during dry season means should be windy enough in Ekas Bay. We would like to check beaches near small village called Awang, but we cannot reach that village, we had to stop just 500 meter before it. We was coming from Kuta Beach direction. There's road going to Awang but the road was completely damage. It is small, no asphalt pavement exist anymore on the track, dusty, losing stones with lots of big hole. We was stop on the hill to look down to the village when we saw a truck have problem climb up the street. We will have the worse situation with our Kijang Avanza rent car. We could go down from the hill go to that fishing village but we could not climb back up, too danger, or we have to use another road round half of the island to go back to Kuta. We will going back next time to see this place, we know now that we need a 4 wheel drive car to drive around South Central Lombok.

Air Sanih Trip, mid August 2011

We found a windsurf spot at Kubu Tambahan, in Northern Bali. The black sandy beach around Air Sanih district at Kubu Tambahan city. It was 45 degree side on shore wind, coming from the East.

This is first time we stay around Kubu Tambahan, we arrive around 5 pm. The wind force is 4 to 5 beaufort, blowing constantly. The sun almost slipping down make us in the hurry to rig the sail, it almost dark when Robert finish rigging, the wind slowly drop, and unfortunately when the sun goes down completely at 6 pm, the wind also dropped completely. The boy who take care the cottages was around us, was watching what we were doing, he informed me that the wind used to come at 2 pm during windy season (thread wind season).

Wish that we could stay longer but we could not, next day we have to continue our trip back home, so we do not know how is the wind next day in the afternoon.

For information there are some accomodation around Air Sanih. We would like to stay in 'Cilik' hotel which is recommended by the travel book but it was fully book. Finally we get rooms at 'Tara' hotel just 100 meters from Cilik. The room is cheap (my room cost 250 thousand Rupiah and Robert's familly room size cost 500 thousand), but simple. Looks like this area is a common place for local holiday makers, the hotel typical for Indonesian people need, room with AC and TV, no decoration and no hot water.

Later we found that Cilik's has better beach to start for windsurf, it has easy access to the beach, while Tara's has beach protection wall in front of the cottages to protect from erosion. But Tara's has good enough ground in front of the room to rig the sail.

The beach is perfect for windsurf but the dis advantage is there is lots of styro foam floaters with net of plastic string, I am not sure, I didn't check it, looks like a seaweed farm or pearl shell farm, or kind of fishing net. Hmmm would be nice if it is not there.

Waterstart

Membutuhkan cukup lama sampai aku bisa melakukan waterstart. Mempelajari waterstart,tahap yang penting sekali untuk bisa mempelajari powerjibe, kenapa? Karena ketika berlatih untuk carving powerjibe sudah pasti bakalan sering jatuh. Kalau masih uphauling terus bakalan cepat lelah. Menguasai waterstart bisa sangat menghemat tenaga.

Sebelum bisa menguasai waterstart maka kita harus bisa melakukan beachstart. Apa beda waterstart dan beach start? Beachstart adalah start yang dilakukan dengan cara naik langsung keatas board dan start windsurf, tidak lagi mengangkat layar menggunakan tali uphaul. Beachstart dilakukan di air dangkal sekitar pantai, maka dinamakan beachstart. Sementara waterstart sama seperti beachstart hanya dilakukan di dalam air yang lebih dalam atau bahkan di tengah laut.

Dari saat pertama menguasai beachstart hingga aku bisa melakukan waterstart perlu waktu sekitar 4 tahun. Dan ketika akhirnya bisa melakukan waterstart rasanya WOW kenapa tidak dari dulu.

Aku sempat mengambil kelas waterstart di Procenter Hugharda-Mesir. Sebenarnya instrukturku yang orang Egypt menjelaskan dengan detail dan cukup jelas, bahkan waktu latihan di sana aku sudah bisa beberapa kali melakukannya, tapi waktu pulang dari Hugharda balik ke status lama, masih kacau. Tapi aku terus latihan dan melakukan beachstart terus menerus dari air dangkal makin lama makin dalam. Ini waktu kita masih tinggal di Tripoli - Libya.

Sampai benar-benar melakukan waterstart ketika aku sudah tinggal di Bali, tiba-tiba saja kemampuan untuk melakukan waterstart aku dapatkan. Hanya saja waterstartku saat ini baru satu arah, yaitu jika angin datang dari kanan. Ini karena kebiasaan di Tripoli saat musim panas angin dari kanan, sehingga terbiasa beachstart dengan angin dari kanan. Di Sanur waktu musim kering angin datang dari arah sebaliknya, tapi keuntungannya waktu dari air dalam menuju pantai angin jadi dari kanan maka tiba-tiba saja aku bisa melakukan waterstart.

Sekarang aku lagi melatih untuk arah sebaliknya.

Sanur Bali Windsurfing (again)

I found many information in the internet forum asking for windsurfing in Bali and people are telling others that there are some good wind in Bali but no windsurf facilities. Also, it is not one time tourist pass in front of our friend's, Pedro, windsurf station comment : "Oo, I never know that there is windsurfing in Sanur".

This is not true that there's no windsurf in Bali. Windsurf in Bali start already since long time since the era of Robby Naish in the 70's. Many local windsurfer admiring and fans of Robby Naish, at least they know when we are talking about him. And there's Indonesian windsurfer, Oka Sulaksana, he is now almost 40 years old, he was very strong in South East Asian and Asian competition when he was young. But that's it, and the developing of this sport in this country is very slow, this is correct. Yes, as a windsurfer and as an Indonesian I am not happy with this.

But it was long time ago when not much facilities to windsurf in Bali. These last two years around 2009 until this time 2011, there's some changes, little bit development in windsurf community in Bali. With dedication to the sport we (me and my husband, thanks to him) run a windsurf shop in Sanur area called 'Jump and Jibe', where you can find complete equipment and accessories and repair parts. Pedro a guy from Flores, the other island in Indonesia, he was several years living in Japan, with his friends he start running a windsurf station at Mertasari beach called 'Ocean Cowboys', live up the beach with better and more modern equipment compare to several old crapy windsurf station in Sanur area.

I agree when people say windsurfing in Indonesia not developing very well compare to the potensi of the country. Our problem is there's no support from Indonesian goverment to developing it. We found many Mistral One Design used in several rental place, coming from Porlasi, Indonesian Sailing Association, those stuff are used for the KONI (sport organization) before. It is true that boards for slalom, freeride, or wave sailing are really really hard to find. Okey a wave sailing board not really need in Bali, because the wind and good wave never come together. But slalom and freeride boards with medium to bigger size sails is needed. Our experience in importing stuff for our shop is we are robbed and pressed by the goverment system, I think the situation is worse than during the Dutch colonial goverment. The import rules, the trading rules, the shop registration, the taxes, all are crazy. It is an antagony, and contra productive to the tourisme campaign made by the goverment and the Board of Tourisme.

Anyway, the aim of what I write now is to tell the world that Sanur - Bali can be one of your windsurf destination. And with all the troubles we have in developing windsurf in Indonesia you still can windsurf in Sanur Bali with good equipment and reasonable price. And when you need information about when and where to windsurf in Bali just call us in +62 812 814 959 34 or check our web site: www.jumpandjibe.com or email us at : info@jumpandjibe.com or jumpandjibe@gmail.com or check our Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/JUMP-AND-JIBE-Windsurf-Center-Shop. We can arrange your windsurf tour or to help you make deal with Pedro's windsurf station: www.baliwindsurfing.com or to get contact direct to him. His place also a place for tourist information.