Bali Surf Lesson Reports

Our beginner group headed to Black Stone today. The swell has dropped to a wind swell, coming in at 4.5 ft. at 7 seconds. The waves were shoulder high on the sets, and the wind blew offshore from the west. The shorter-period wind swell waves presented a challenge to the surfers as wind swell waves come in with less energy and steeper faces. This means that you must be closer to the where the energy is most focused on the wave, and you have less time to pop-up with the steeper wave face. Our surfers made the most of the conditions and tested their pop-up technique.

A new swell is forecast to come Thursday and Friday, which should provide great surfing for the Nusa Dua area. On Saturday, the west wind is predicted to pick up in strength; however, it will be offshore at Blackstone and Geger.

Our west wind has shifted to the south this morning, leaving the entire Bukit with onshore or side-shore conditions. You can generally count on the conditions to always be clean somewhere on the island. The wind swell we are left with has continued to fade, showing 3 ft. at 10 seconds from 203 degrees. Our beginner surfers surfed the protected waves at Baby Padang, where they found shoulder-high peelers with the occasional larger set wave.

Our surfers used the small conditions to focus on the fundaments of surfing. This includes how to correctly position your body when paddling and where to correctly place your feet when standing up. With a smaller wave, the process of getting to your feet is slower, which allows the surfers to more efficiently process how their body movements affect the flow of the surfboard through the water.

The strong wind and rain have finally disappeared, and we woke up to a clear, windless morning here in the Uluwatu area. Our beginner surfers took advantage of the clean conditions and surfed Baby Padang. The swell is coming in at 3.5 ft. at 12, which was enough for shoulder-high set waves. Our surfers worked on cleaning up their pop-up technique in the smaller, slower waves. Developing an efficient pop-up with your body in the correct position is an essential skill upon which to develop your surfing.

For beginner’s surf lessons, you do not need much swell. Ideally, you would have little to no wind in a calm, a protected environment, and a slow-breaking wave. Baby Padang the perfect location for a beginner’s surf lesson is that we have the channel that pulls the surfers back out into the lineup.

Our beginner groups enjoyed the easy rolling peaks at Baby Padang this morning! Our swell has picked up in size, coming in at 5 ft. at 15 seconds. The swell direction has shifted more west towards 219 degrees. The wind picked up in strength overnight from a straight west direction until it was cleared by heavy rain. The wave height has jumped to slightly overhead with larger sets. At Baby Padang, the wave faces remained clean despite the light onshore wind and slightly textured sea state. With the larger size, the surfers tested their paddle strength and ability to control the board at a higher speed.

The Uluwatu area works well on a west swell as the swells come directly towards the west and north-west-facing reefs. A longer period and a more westerly swell will provide excellent surfing conditions.

It looks like the Indian Ocean is finally taking a break after several weeks of a consistent head-high to overhead waves. The forecast is showing 4 ft. at 10 seconds from 211 degrees, which brought in shoulder-high waves with the occasional larger set. The wind blew lightly onshore from the west-northwest; however, the faces of the waves remained clean as the lines ran down the reef. The crowd in the lineup was light, which ensured all had a good time amidst the relaxed, small-day vibes.

On a day like today, with a small swell and light wind, the breaks at the southern end of the Bukit Peninsula, Uluwatu, and Sarangan are your best bets. These breaks pick up more swell and nearly always have a head-high wave. The light wind allows you to surf all coastlines, spreading out the surfers.  Grab a board and let’s go!

Despite the deluge of rain this morning, everyone made it out into the lineup where they were rewarded for their persistence with clean, less crowded waves. The swell has fallen off in size to 4.5 ft at 11 seconds coming from 207 degrees, and the waves were coming in at around shoulder-high to head-high on the larger sets. The heavy rain brought glassy conditions which the surfers enjoyed for the duration of the session. In the line-up our surfers worked on transitioning to hard boards and generating speed down the line.

The wind is looking much better for our side of the island until Friday as the forecast predicts light and variable wind until then. Additionally, the longer range forecast suggests we have made it through the worst of the wind and rain for this wet season. Let’s get out there!

Our beginner group was off to Padang Padang while our advanced group paddled out at Uluwatu this morning as the weather was clear and the sea state was calm. The swell has dropped off slightly in size to 5.5 ft. at 12 seconds, coming from 208 degrees. At Padang Padang, our beginner surfers enjoyed shoulder-high set waves which broke nicely down the reef with clean faces. The wind blew lightly from the west-southwest, but not enough to affect the conditions. Our beginner surfers worked on maintaining enough speed to do a basic turn by staying in the pocket of the wave.

The weather forecast shows the west wind picking up tomorrow, which means we will likely be surfing in Nusa Dua until the wind backs off on Saturday. From Saturday onwards, both the wind and swell are predicted to drop, which opens up more surfing locations around the Island.

After a dramatic night of heavy rain, lightning, and a minor earthquake, we woke up to a bright morning with excellent beginner surfing conditions! With the break in the weather, and the sea state smoothed by the rain overnight, our beginner surfers enjoyed a beautiful morning at Padang Padang. The swell is coming in at 6 ft at 12 seconds, coming from 208 degrees, which provided shoulder-high set waves breaking left and right along the reef amongst a light westerly breeze.

The long-range forecast shows that our consistent run of swell is finally tapering off. When the swell drops in size, we have a wider range of locations to select from for most surfers. During a small swell in January and February, breaks such as Sarangan and Geger left become surf-able for improving surfers, in addition to the breaks on the southern tip of the Bukit.