World Class Surfers in Manokwari

by Charles Roring

As the sun approached the west, some surfers swam to the sea. Today the weather was a little bit better than the previous days. There were not many people at the beach because it was Wednesday - the usual working day for dwellers of Manokwari city. I saw 4 people floating with their boards in the middle of big swells. It was the most dangerous place in Manokwari where wave height could reach six meters or even more. But for those world class wave surfers that was the best place to "ride" their boards. 

One of them was Hayato Maki. He made swift top turn several times avoiding the breaking swell. Some women screamed when they saw the surfers were swallowed by the waves. Seconds later, they emerged again still challenging the next swells. 

It was a great show. Members of Abasi Klub Surfing have been accompanying these surfers for days trying to put Manokwari into the map of international surfers as a must see destination. Papuan children who were watching them say that they learn a lot of new techniques from these professional surfers. We really hope that more visitors will come to Manokwari after the trip of these surfers. If you are interested in traveling to Manokwari to enjoy wave surfing, please, contact Salo by email to abasiklubsurfing@gmail.com. 

Surfing Lesson at Abasi Beach

A Papuan boy was watching how
Alberto L. Castro, a world class surfer, showed his turn technique

The arrival of some world class surfers in Manokwari brings a rare opportunity for local surfers to learn new surfing techniques. On the following picture, we can see a Papuan boy was sitting on his surfboard while watching Alberto L. Castro, one of the surfers  from Brazil "played with the waves."
For local surfers at Abasi beach of Manokwari, the swift turning at a steep wave slope that creates a lot of water spray in the air is a new thing that they have never tried. After watching this "free surfing lesson," the local children tried to imitate it. Unfortunately, they could not achieve the same effect. Local Papuan surfers said that they would practice such techniques every day until they can get similar result.

The Abasi Klub Surfing expects more international surfers to come to Manokwari to "share their waves" with them. Surfing is relatively a new sports in Manokwari. Very few Papuan know how to surf. With the establishment Abasi Klub Surfing in Manokwari, we hope that in the near future, more people will consider and take up surfing as their sports too. For further information about surfing trips in Manokwari, please contact: abasiklubsurfing@gmail.com