Ability Level: Intermediate

The swell has continued to drop this morning leaving the entire island with smaller surf. Our camp’s favourite small swell spot, Pandawa, served up thumping lefts and rights breaking nicely across the reef. The wind blew lightly offshore, keeping the lines open for longer. The waves were overhead high on the sets, which came at regular intervals from a swell of 4 ft. at 12 seconds from 205 degrees. The intermediate surfers enjoyed the challenge of the powerful waves and smiled after making a few.

The waves at Pandawa are surprisingly powerful, even on small days. When catching a wave at Pandawa, you must commit to the wave by stroking down the face, past the point at which you can safely pull back from the wave. Surfing a wave like this one is the next step in an intermediate surfers’ journey.

Our intermediate group was off to Black Stone this morning, where they enjoyed a bump in the swell and clean surfing conditions. The surf camp enjoyed the thumping, head-high set waves with the occasional barrel for the more advanced surfers. The swell came in at 5 ft. at 12 seconds from 209 degrees. The wind blew offshore from the west at a moderate strength. The surfers enjoyed the nicely formed peak with several turn sections where they worked on improving their cutbacks and developing drive from their bottom turns.

Black Stone is a reliable wet-season wave that is great for a wide range of surfers. Beginners can catch the white water on the inside, while the intermediates can surf one of the many peaks on the outside. For advanced surfers, there are barrel sections. See you out there!

We sent our intermediate group back to the groomed shores in Nusa Dua this morning as the west wind continues to blow, leaving the Uluwatu area with onshore conditions. At Black Stone, our surfers enjoyed an excellent morning of fun intermediate surfing conditions. Our surfers paddled out to the middle peak, where they surfed head high to overhead set waves brought in by a swell of 5.5 ft. of 13 seconds from 211 degrees. The wind blew from a better direction today and has reduced in strength. The waves offered a fast section long enough for the surfers to trim down the line for a nice ride before the wave closed out on a shallower end section.

The next few days look good for the Nusa Dua area, with a consistent swell, an offshore breeze, and favorable tides. See you out there!

Our intermediate surfers were off to Mushroom Rock this morning, while our beginners took the opportunity afforded to us by the light wind to surf Baby Padang. At Mushroom Rock, the swell is still producing overhead and barreling set waves on the outside, providing excellent waves for advanced surfers. Our crew surfed a smaller peak down the beach which offered overhead set waves from a swell of 5 ft. at 14 seconds. The waves were nicely groomed by a light offshore breeze which kept the wave faces open beautifully.

Over the next week, the swell will remain in the head-high to overhead range, and the wind will remain offshore. This is a recipe for a great ending to the seasonal westerly breeze.  Lets enjoy our last few sessions in the Nusa Dua area!

After enjoying a few days of sunshine and clean waves on our side of the island, the seasonal wind and rain have returned. Our surfers all headed to the various breaks that make up the Nusa Dua area, where the conditions are offshore when the Uluwatu area is onshore.

Our surfers enjoyed the shoulder-high waves at Black Stone which broke both left and right at the peak in the middle of the beach. The swell came in at 3 ft. at 13 seconds from 221 degrees, and the wind blew offshore at a moderate strength. Our surfers tested their paddle strength after surfing waves with little wind which allowed easy entry into the waves. While the offshore wind holds up and organizes the waves, it does make catching the wave more difficult as you must break through the added resistance from the wind.

Another beautiful morning here in paradise! With fun conditions on our side of the island, our intermediate group headed to Uluwatu while our beginners were back to Padang Padang. At Uluwatu, our surfers enjoyed small-day surf at Bali’s most consistent wave. The waves were shoulder-high with the occasional larger overhead set, and the wind was light onshore. The wind swell has continued to drop in size, coming in at 3.5 ft. at 10 seconds from 236 degrees. Our intermediate surfers enjoyed long rides where they focused on reading the wave, which is used to determine where to pump for speed and where to do your turn.

There is always a head-high wave at Uluwatu, and it can be surfed at least a few days every month of the year. January offers the least amount of surfable days per month, so it will only get better from here!

With hopes of a brief respite from the persistent west wind, our surfers set off to the scenic beaches in Nusa Dua. At Black Stone, the swell came in at 2.5 ft. at 13 seconds from 212 degrees. The waves were head-high on the sets at the peak towards the middle of the beach, and most of the surfers were spread out between the various peaks and beaches that make up the Nusa Dua area. The wind blew moderately offshore which kept the wave faces clean, and the sea state was left textured by an overnight breeze.

There are several beaches within the Nusa dua tourist zone that are great for beginner to intermediate surfing. These breaks, primarily Black Stone, Mengiat, and Mushroom Rock, provide a mix of waves with varying difficulty, and it is simple enough to find the right peak for just about anyone.

Everyone had so many good waves at Nusa Dua yesterday that we sent our surfers back for some more excellent wet-season surfing! The swell has continued to drop in size for another day, with the forecast reading 2.5 ft. at 14 seconds. This is enough swell for shoulder-to-head high sets at Black Stone. The wind blew offshore stronger than yesterday, while the rain has cleared and the sun has returned. Our surfers used their practice from yesterday to continue to improve their control of the surfboard in the fast, tight pockets of the waves.

The wind forecast pedicts the stiff breeze to finally subside on thursday. If the wind does back off, we should get some more days in our neck of the woods! With an increase in swell size and a lighter wind, it should make for great surfing!