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Which island in Indo would you most like to visit?

Sumatra
Java
Bali
Lombok
Sumbawa
Sumba
Timor

Chapter 1: Sonic Youth

On a stormy lay-day during the Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach, Dillon, Koa, Davey and Gabriel went off looking for something better. They found it, but it was cold. Too close to the action. Didn’t really satisfy the itch. Back in the office, the brains were feeling pretty Searchy, fighting over Google Earth pipe dreams and the sort of logistical shit storms that come with an honest, one-of-a-kind mission...

SonicYouthMain.jpg
“Indo,” somebody said.

Everyone laughed.

“Listen,” the Somebody continued. “Not just Bali. Or just the Mentawais. Or just two bloody weeks on the boat.”

Attention was being paid.

“Six months,” the Somebody reckoned, “from one tip of Indo to the other. That’s a mission. That’s a Search.”

It was, everyone agreed. It is.

About that time, Dillon and the rest of the groms came crashing into the office, meat pies on their faces, ocean in their manes, exotic reverie on their breath. The brains had their students; a Search was started. 

CHAPTER 1 PASSENGERS

DillonPerillo.jpg KoaSmith.jpg GabeMedina.jpg MadeGarutWidiarta.jpg DaveyCathels.jpg

episode 1.3 - hi-fi

Indonesia’s first generation of traveling surfers were men in search of tubes and solitude. Nowhere else in the world did waves grind away with such sustained, balmy, vacant perfection. Back then Indo was the high performance surfer’s wet dream and unequivocal escape. Well… generations change; rules get re-written. Today, the air is as psychedelic as the green room. Kuta as electric as a LA nightclub. Yet still, Indo is the ultimate surf park for those uninterested in rulebooks. There’s just more noise now.
OK, so this isn't on the boat. It's days before the voyage... a sort of signing-off party for the boys in Bali before the "work" begins out to sea. Gabriel, soaking it in. Photo: Trent Mitchell
Dillon, loosening up during one of the first sessions aboard Quest 1. Photo: Shorty
Surviving a scooter mission in Indo is a feat in itself, especially when scenery like this waits at the end. Photo: Trent Mitchell
Young Koa builds up a lot of energy sitting on the boat, waiting for the waves to come. Photo: Shorty
Lighting it up. Dillon. Photo: Shorty
"Well...ya see...I'm gonna be on a boat with a bunch of dudes for the next 6 months..." Photo: Shorty
Bali down time. Photo: Trent Mitchell
It's never hard for Koa to fit in. Photo: Shorty

Boat Sounds: Musical Weirdness from the Crew

Trip Stats: With Davey Cathels

  • 7 a.m. Average wake-up time
  • 5 Average number of beers consumed per day, per passenger
  • 2 Islands visited
  • 5 Spots surfed
  • 5 Sessions with no one else out
  • 1 Fish caught
  • 350 Miles searched
  • NONE Women seen whilst at sea

YouTube Gold: Cosmically High Performance

Not that long ago, going for a surf at Uluwatu meant an all day trek through the jungle and a pit-stop at an afternoon cock fight. No all-day balinese photographers snapping and selling you surf shots of yourself. No topless European girls. No massages. For Australian Stephen Cooney and American Rusty Miller, it was simply nature, patchouli oil, single fins, and their cameraman, Albert Falzon. THAT was high performance. That was Morning of the Earth. Check out their sooo groovy Uluwatu session above:

episode 1.2 - in-betweening

Indonesia stretches for 2,600 miles from tip to tip. The United States stretches about 2,500. Yet nearly all of Indo is surfable territory, not cornfields and hunting clubs. On a boat trip concerned with such ludicrous distances, heavy exploration is inevitable. And so is downtime. The average teenager’s attention span is about 2 minutes… if they’re lucky. You can see the sort of challenge the captain of a boat full of psyching adolescents is facing here. Just another day on the job.
Davey and Koa, playing the waiting game. Photo: Shorty
Davey, sparking. Photo: Shorty
Multi-tasking is the way of the Search for Captain Raynul. Photo: Trent Mitchell
Liening into it. Dillon. Photo: Shorty
Gabriel and Davey, settling in for the matinee. Photo: Trent Mitchell
Little Gabriel, making the best of little Indo.Photo: Shorty
Appetizers, then... Photo: Trent Mitchell
...Happy hour. Photo: Trent Mitchell

Relapse: Garut and the Reef

Garut: "It all went down on the first day of the trip. It wasn’t that big - maybe three feet but super low tide. I mean really low - like ankle deep. I was in the barrel and couldn't see anything because of the morning light. I was coming out and getting ready to pull into the second section when things went wrong. The lip hit my head, and I fell hard and hit my chin on the reef straight away. When I hit the reef, I instantly thought: “This is going to be really bad.” The whitewash dragged me chest-first over the reef, then rolled me over and I hit my hand and butt really hard.  I didn't realize until I got to the boat that my chin, inside lip, hands, chest, butt, and legs were pretty well shredded. The lime burns like you wouldn’t believe; that's serious pain. That was without a doubt the worst bash on the reef of my life."
"I'm pretty sure Davey just got a massage from Sponge Bob Squarepants."
-Photographer Andrew "Shorty" Buckley's first words after the boys' massage mission in Sumbawa.

episode 1.1 - anticipation

From Los Angeles to Denpasar, it takes around 30 hours of air travel endurance. Even worse, from Rio de Janeiro to Denpasar, you’re looking at 44 hours. If you’re lucky enough to be Australian, grueling ocean crossings and nearly 2 days of lost surf time aren’t an issue. But after the drive to the boat and the run out to sea, the reality is outer-Indo is still a journey for even its closest neighbors. This is the price tag hanging from every flawless wave and castaway landscape… a fee, however, that’s gladly paid.
The boat called Quest. Photo: Trent Mitchell
Behind the private gates of one of Malibu’s most moneyed neighborhoods, live storied names like Anthony Kiedis and Bruce Willis. But on the beaches of this high-profile hood, the resident star is young Dillon Perillo. In the water, you see, all the cameras are pointed at him. Photo: Trent Mitchell
Dillon, bagging serious style points. Photo: Shorty
Davey Cathels burst onto the scene a couple of years ago when a sponger burned him at Pipe, causing him to dismount and disco slide one of the sharper pieces of reef hiding underwater. His bloodied coat was the source of heavy media attention, but it was merely a source of comedy for Davey. Photo: Trent Mitchell
Davey, sliding below sea level once again. Photo: Shorty
Gabriel Medina is of the new breed of Brazilian shredders – from the school of Adriano de Souza but with even more spring. He is a kid who passionately prefers the air to the hack. Photo: Trent Mitchell
Here’s Gabriel, telling you what he likes best. Photo: Shorty
As a son of Indonesia – Bali to be exact – Garut Widiarta is among the first generation to enter the realm of professional surfing. He is a man raised and refined on left-hand reefbreaks. He has the scars to prove it. Photo: Shorty
Garut is used to all of the attention by now. Photo: Trent Mitchell
Koa Smith once showed up to a NSSA Nationals awards banquet in a faux leopard fur coat to accept two national title trophies. Obviously, when it comes to style, Koa is a boy beyond his years. Photo: Trent Mitchell
Koa’s pretty smooth in the water, too. Photo: Trent Mitchell
Tip 2 Tip is a 6-month quest on the Infinite Search, stretching from one end of the Indonesia Archipelago to the other. Stay tuned for daily updates and 3 fresh video edits a week. See more here

Your Comments

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entry #1 by miles fassett

02/12/2013 21:44 — fasset78 at gmail dot com

i am trying to get a hold of a photographer i think i can modle for you guys face book miles fassett

entry #2 by andy

04/14/2011 22:56

whats the intro song on episode 1.3??

entry #3 by Rudi

02/15/2011 00:38

Hello, maybe someone can tell me on which one of these “tip2tip” trips Owen Wright was on? Thanks

entry #4 by bobo

09/18/2010 00:07

Yeay. i love Bali. Lotta memory in Bali. It's the place yall must visit

entry #5 by sharon

09/02/2010 01:01

reeeebuenoooo..!!!

entry #6 by jw

08/24/2010 15:03

wow! can't wait!! this is the kinda stuff we ALL want, & wait for... thx ripcurl !!!!

entry #7 by eden

08/22/2010 15:03

באיזה ערוץ זה יהיה ?

entry #8 by nathan

08/22/2010 07:18

as melhores fotos pode cre

entry #9 by One Love

08/18/2010 00:39

This is awesome

entry #10 by James R

08/15/2010 22:29

Cool trip guys! I love Indo, but won't be going this year. This might be the next best thing!