Sharks and Snakes..
It has been increasing brought to my awareness that one of the places I have been surfing regularly has a lot of sharks, this is Nusa Dua Geger beach or otherwise known as Nusa Dua Reef. It is the place pretty much guaranteed to have a wave and pick up some swell evn if every other surfbreak in Bali is flat. It is a reef located about a km off of Geger beach. A surfer can either paddle out to the reef from the beachb takrs about 20 mins to half hour or get the boat out which is 30,000rupees each way atotal of about 5 Euros. I always paddle out as I guess the fitness needed to surf in all conditions will come if I do this.
When i have surfed Geger on a reasonable sized swell sometimes I have been sat there with not much wave activity then what seems like a huge wall accross the horizon appears and ominously approaches towards the surfers sat in the line up. This is called a “clean up set” It is a wave or often a set of three waves that appear from deep water and break a bit further out than normal. The reaction when one appears is to paddle like crazy towards in the hope of getting over it before it breaks, Usuall what happens is you paddle directly into the impact zone and getted completely worked. I have heard many stories off people finding God asking for forgiveness and mercy at this moment in their lives. Clean up sets are usually 30% bigger than the rest of the waves in the day.
In Bali there are old Aussie surfers 50-60years old that sit really far out in the sea waiting to surf one of these waves that appear about once an hour. Its as though they will not get out of bed for anything less… I assume they are called clean up sets as they do literally clean up a busy line up and wake up a waiting crowd.
Well Nusa Dua gets these sets as the reef is the beginning of the deep water around the Island, as a result this I have found along with Green Balls surf break these are the home for Reef sharks and other sharks. I was surfing the other day and Clayton, who I was surfing with saw one about six foot long leap about 5-6ft out of the water. I do not know if they attack humans or not like the great white sharks in Australia. However my friend Jonny said he had to sit with is feet on his board while one circled him three times last week. Well Geger is the one break where hardly any locals surf and this could be why. For me it is a bit scary but in reality it all seems to add a bit more excitement to the equation.
More anxiously though, on my paddle back when I was swimming in the shallows a sea snake swam directly at my face, this was more frightening because if they do manage to bite you I have heard you have maybe 5-10 mins to say your prayers before you die. I have also been informed that Indonesia has the highest species count of the deadliest sea snakes in the world. Reassuringly though I have been told their jaws are so small they can ony bite you between your fingers and toes…