Stormrider Surf Stories - Indonesia

Join the pioneers and share their experiences as they hack their way through the jungles of Nias, the Mentawai Islands, G-Land, Sumbawa and Sumba, searching for the perfect wave around the next headland. Feel the terror as survivors recount their flirtation with disasters as big as the Boxing Day tsunami and Bali bombings or as small and personal as getting lost or falling overboard. Learn what it was really like in the early '70s on the sleepy island of Bali or jump in a sampan for a magical mystery tour of the far-flung Mentawai islands, decades before the modern, luxury, charter boats appeared. Shipwrecks, tsunamis, volcanoes, bombs, beatings, malaria and death are all cheated by an intrepid cast of trailblazers and chancers, but it's not all danger and mayhem as there are also some heart-warming narratives of love, joy and face-creasing comedy. This compendium of Stormrider Surf Stories will delight both the road-weary Indo traveller and the inquisitive intern, looking for a good ol' yarn to read during the next flat spell.

Alex Dick-Read is a freelance writer based in the Caribbean. He was Founding Editor of The Surfer's Path magazine and before that worked as a news reporter for Reuters and Associated Press. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers including the Guardian, Independent, High Life, ID, Index on Censorship, and he has worked as a contributor and editor on books for Dorling Kindersley, Schiffer Publishing and Low Pressure publishing. He surfs most days, travels when he can and is always trying to figure out a way to get back to Indo.

Bruce Sutherland, a director of Low Pressure, and co-author of The Stormrider Guide Europe, The Stormrider Guide North America and The World Stormrider Guide trilogy has 35 years extensive experience of surfing and travelling.