Harrison Roach, Adventure in Paradise, Indo

“It was my first time to Nias and there’s no doubt about it, it’s the most classic wave in Indonesia,” says our surfer, Harrison Roach, of his recent stint at Indo’s most recognisable spot (save for, perhaps, Ulu). “You’ve never seen anything so dreamy. Obviously there’s waves that are longer, more hollow and more heavy, but nowhere holds the same level of mystique as Nias. Every surfer knows the wave at first sight, dreamy barrels and palm tree backgrounds. Perfect, seemingly friendly pits. Low risk, high reward. Unless you fall over walking across the reef to get out, or go for the hero waves at Indicators and Sobatu, there’s no way you’re hitting the reef. From the old man’s VHS of Jack Mccoy’s Storm Riders to the benchmark swell of JOB and Makua, we all want a chance.”

Harrison, as you may be aware, ain’t the kinda man to pick up a Fred Rubble and hang the fins out. He’s more tapped into surfing’s earlier roots and really digs on the classics. So, what did he pack for the trip? “I was riding two different boards. One was a 6’8” handshaped channel-bottom quad that Rich Pavel shaped the day after AB died. He was a big influence on anyone who shaped channel bottoms. That’s the board. The other is another 6’8 quad, same style but with more volume. It smacked me in the face really hard and I don’t like it as much any more. I had two golf ball lumps on my head and now I have a black eye. Nias is suited to smaller boards than what I was riding, but the channel-bottom found its groove.”

And, if you need any extra incentive to strike a thick black mark through the Surf Nias line on your to do list: “Read Custodians Of The Point by Kevin Lovett,” encourages Harrison. “And tell me you don’t want to see Nias. 1998 Surfers Journal, they dedicated 37 pages to the place and his story. Shit has changed since ’75. The coconut groves are gone from the point and not coming back. The coconut bread isn’t as fresh as when the old girls made it. But the wave is still there, it still pumps as it has for decades, if not centuries or more… Nias was my dream and it is now a dream come true.”