Pandawa Surf Report and Spot Info

We have a small bump in wave heights this morning over yesterday’s small surf day. Our intermediate surfers utilized the slower conditions to try a new break for the first time. This morning, the crew headed to Pandawa, which is one of the most exposed breaks in Bali (and one of the prettiest too). At Pandawa, the surfers enjoyed the head-high left-handers amidst clean conditions. The waves at Pandawa can run for longer than you expect, even on small days like today. And they also pack a punch to those not expecting so much power in a small package. The surfers all got great waves and enjoyed trying a new break.

We have an increase in swell for tomorrow and Saturday. Expect up to overhead surf and excellent surf conditions!

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.

The westerly wind and rain have returned to the Uluwatu area, leaving the entire west coast of the island with blown-out conditions. While it may be windy and onshore here at the camp, other parts of the Bukit will be offshore with clean reef-break lines. The swell came in at 3.5 ft. at 13 seconds, from 203 degrees, and the wind was blowing vigorously from the west. Our intermediate group surfed the more exposed wave at Pandawa while our Beginner group paddled out at Blackstone. At Pandawa, the head-high waves broke powerfully over the reef.

Many different parts of Bali all have their own micro-climates, which are more pronounced during the wet season. The Bukit Peninsula is generally more exposed to the wind, while further up the west and east coast, there is often no wind in the morning.

Our intermediate surfers set off to the Nusa Dua area bright and early this morning and found the waves smaller than they hoped, so they changed plans and surfed at Pandawa. The forecast predicted the swell would be 3.5 ft. at 11 seconds, which is usually enough for fun waves at Geger Left. At pandawa, the group found fun, overhead set waves, with a light wind blowing cross-shore. The faces of the waves were clean despite the surface texture, and eveyone got fun rides while testing their paddling strength!

Pandawa is a more exposed break on the southen tip of the Bukit Peninsula. The break is also facing more to the east than other south coast breaks, so the wind will be closer to offshore. The reef break serves up chunky left and rights on a moderate swell, and is more user friendly when small.

Our swell has reduced in size overnight again but there were still plenty of waves on the Southern coastline of the Bukit peninsula. The size and direction of the swell meant that there was no hiding from the light onshore breeze coming out of the south. Our surfers made the most of the fun, head-high peaks that grew in size throughout the session.

The long-range swell forecast looks more promising than it has been over the last several days. The forecast is showing many days with light wind and fun size swell. The wind is predicted to remain onshore for the Uluwatu area which will keep most people out of the lineup. We are on top of the changing conditions here at Padang Padang Surf Camp and will be out in the lineup when the weather and waves clean up around our camp.

The swell dropped off in size overnight leaving only the most exposed breaks with surfable waves. Our intermediate crew headed over to Pandawa where they found shoulder high sets, clean conditions, and a light crowd amongst the Sunday-morning beachgoers. Pandawa still managed to produce clean, left-breaking waves which allowed our surfers to practice generating speed while travelling down the line. This morning’s smooth walls presented our surfers with opportunities to feel and correct weight distribution imbalances that cause the surfboard to travel inefficiently throught the water.

It is uncommon for the swell reading to drop to 3.5 ft. at 9 seconds. The most exposed breaks on the island, such as Green Bowl and Pandawa, are only a short drive from our camp, which affords us the best opportunity to surf on a day like today, when most breaks on the island were flat.

It was a beautiful morning down at Pandawa as the clouds faded away and the sun made its glorious return! The southern tip of the Bukit was our preferred choice today for our intermediate surfers given the lighter wind and the southerly direction of the swell. Our surfers found fun, smooth, overhead lefts with a few larger sets coming in. The faces of the waves remained clean, which allowed the surfers to race down the line and work on the fundamental skill of developing drive from their bottom turns.

Tomorrow, the swell is forecast to continue to fade in size. The wind is expected to ease from a persistent westerly direction to becoming light and variable from the north. The bottom of the low tide is creeping progessivley later into each morning over the next several days, which means our sessions will have to wait untill enough water covers the reef.

Our surfers were off to Pandawa this morning where they found fun, shoulder-high waves with an offshore wind. Despite the less than ideal conditions, the session exceeded everyone’s expectations as our surfers nearly had the place to themselves. Pandawa served up fun left and right-breaking peaks, which provided our surfers with plenty of opportunities to gain speed and focus on improving their turns.

When the conditions are less than ideal, local knowledge is key. Our surf guides were on top of things this morning as we found clean, empty, offshore peaks while most people were still sleeping. This less-often surfed break is near the southernmost point of the island of Bali, which means the reef picks up whatever swell is hitting Bali. Because of the exposed nature of the break, Pandawa is often too large and the currrents are too strong.